[Cougar]

Hi everybody
I've been lurking for on this board for a while, and thought it might be time to post a little something.

I've been in art al my 15 way-to-short years, but never really cared for anatomy.

So lately I've been scuffeling in my biology books to find out more about the human body.

Here's an attempt I did yesterday. It's a fast sketch. :/



Oh, I really slacked off with the hands/feet due to lack of time

btw, does anybody know some good paper/pencils? Mine are kinda grainy.

[This message has been edited by Cougar (edited August 10, 2000).]

[samdragon]

glad to see you posted something.
As far as your anatomy goes, it can only get better by more practice. Looking in biology books is ok if it's all you have. Try to find actual artistic anatomy(figure drawing) books that will show you the landmarks of the body and help you concentrate on special features.
As for pencils and paper, if it makes a mark use it. If you want a smoother line, look for a hotpress paper, it's surface has less tooth to it.
Some papers are coated, so your pencil lines may not show up as well, those are usually for pen and ink. Best advice I can give you is to buy a good size sketch book and fill it full of drawings.

figure drawing books range in price from $5 to $200. Try to find a book that appeals to you and doesn't seem to tenchnical. YOu don't want to get turned off by all the technical stuff this early in the game.
A very good book for beginning figure drawing is a book by Jack Hamm. Called the head and figure. It's easy to understand and the concepts are explained very well.
You can also look for other books by Andrew Loomis, George Bridgeman at budplant.com.
Stay away from Hogarth, it's pretty to look at, but for a beginner it can steer you in the wrong direction.

good luck.

[Cougar]

Don't really need drawing books, just a better understanding of anatomy. I've mostly stuck to drawing robots/ships the last few years.
The time before that was nothing more that *tons* of random scribbelings

I entered the Art Class this year (4th year highschool - You can finally pick your own courses), but sofar all we get is lame assignements, and stuff I've heard about 20 times already.

Anybody have any comments about the pic?


[This message has been edited by Cougar (edited August 10, 2000).]

[Cougar]

*bump*
No one?

[Freddio]

Hey Cougar

Nice pic!

Yea.. You can get some really great anatomy books to get a good idea of the Human Structure. Also Always keep on drawing little sketches all the time... Like in class heh

Yea really try to get a good understanding of the hands and lower legs.. They are a little of in this pic..

Also go back and find Fred Flick Stones head tutorial and others they are a great help ...

Anyway talk tyo ya later

Freddio

[Rinaldo]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Cougar:
Don't really need drawing books, just a better understanding of anatomy.


Wtf? You want to have your cake and eat it by the sounds of it.

GET A GOOD ANATOMY DRAWING BOOK!!!!!

Okay now that that's outa th' way...(sorry) your drawing is suffering from a case of "comic book anatomy" all the muscles are bulging.
The only way to really understand what happens when body parts move around is to do some life drawing or failing that follow Samdragon's advice and get a book which explains some of it. I could go on to try and explain about what is exactly wrong with the anatomy but a good book would be able to do it better. Seriously.

As for materials, I found that using a mechanical pencil and smooth paper really helped iron out all sorts of little problems. it disallows you to smudge things up and hide under the grain I use a 5mm lead at about 2B or sometimes HB. the results are not always as good as a normal pencil but it teaches you a lot.

Your pic is probably a lot better than I could have done at your age





[This message has been edited by Rinaldo (edited August 11, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rinaldo (edited August 11, 2000).]

[Ronin65]

Nice pic man -
I agree with Samdragon in that you should get a sketchbook and start filling it up on a dailey basis. Refer to everything you can get your hands on for subject matter - books, magazines, movies, storyboards, photos, and don't forget to spend some time at the park or sidewalk cafe; pick a quite spot and start sketching people. Practice practice practice! Try to put in at least 2 hours (or more) a day - really!

I typically use a machanical pencil with an HB lead filling; the HB allows me to get a reasonable range of values from one grade of lead; it keeps me from carrying around a bunch of pencils as well. Don't forget your eraser though!

As for books, the most definitive resource I can recommend is "Human Figure Drawing" by Nathan Goldstein; It will give good insight to the beginner while remaining a valuable resource to the experienced. It's only drawback that I can think of is that it's a bit pricey - around $55 I think.
Practice practice practice.