Paint Draw Paint, Learn to Draw

Drawing Basics: How to draw a nose

2012-02-22T09:42:00.001-08:00

I recently received a request for a post about how to draw the nose. I thought it was a good idea to write about and I began putting something together. When thinking about where to begin, it occurred to me that the nose is a great example to use in showing how constructing the forms and shapes of the human body is a better way to draw the figure than just copying what we see. So, I thought we'd start there as we learn to draw the nose.

Today, we are going to look at how to draw the nose by starting with constructing a simplified nose out of basic shapes to build the smaller forms on.

Lets take a look.

Anatomy Basics: The finger bones

2012-02-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

As the last in this series on the skeletal anatomy of the hand we are now up to the fingers. This area can be tricky as beginners generally just add the fingers to the top of the body of the hand and have not worked it out to structurally fit to the skeleton.

Today, we will take a look at the finger bones to see how these bones connect the fingers to the hand, allow the fingers to move, and identify the differences between the bones of the fingers and the thumb.

Let's take a look.

Drawing Basics: Drawing the thumb

2012-02-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

Since we looked at the ways the thumb is able to move in the last post, I thought that now is a good time to take a look at how to draw the thumb.

Today, we will look at the hand in basic shapes and forms to learn a simple way to connect the thumb to the body of the hand.

Let's take a look.

Anatomy Basics: Metacarpals and the thumb

2012-01-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Hand drawing in color pencil

Continuing on with the structures of the hand we are moving onto a new group of bones, the metacarpals, to focus on a few of the movements the thumb.

Thumbs tend be a challenge for many people and understanding the thumb's connection to the hand and how the thumb moves can be helpful in resolving many issues when drawing the hand.

Today, we are going to look at the role that the metacarpals play structurally in the hand and how the lower part of the thumb moves based on the connection the metacarpal makes to the wrist bones.

Let's take a look.

Drawing Basics: Figure proportions, female

2012-01-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to update the images for my original post on the proportions of the human figure for sometime now and I am finally getting around to doing that. In the process of working on these new images I realized that it might be a good idea to create images for the both the male and female figures individually. Here is the first, listing some of the proportions for the female figure.

Let's begin.

Anatomy Basics: Skeletal Anatomy of the Hand, the wrist bones

2011-12-11T19:19:00.001-08:00

Bones of the hand

I want to focus on the bones in the hand for a bit. This is because I noticed that many of the students I work with struggle with drawing hands and I thought this would be good subject to cover here in order to help out those of you who have the same difficulties.

Even though hands are a challenge to draw, one way to learn to draw hands is to start looking at and thinking of the hands structurally. Understanding the structures that make up the hand allow us to see what kind of shapes these structures will create in the hand and to draw the hand accurately in different positions.

Today, we are going to look at the skeletal structure of the hand to identify the grouping of bones at the wrists and see how they help with the movement of of the hand.

Let's take a look.

Color Basics: Subtractive color

2011-11-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

It is easy to be confused as to why we call the color system we use when painting a subtractive color system. After all, we are adding different colored paints to each other in order to get a desired color and it seems natural to want to think of it as an additive method of creating color. The trick in understanding why it is subtractive is to look at the characteristics of light. In doing this we will understand we are relying on the subtractive qualities of the paint to get our desired color.

Today, we are going to look at how light is affected by the pigments in the paint to better understand the subtractive color system.

Let's begin,

Drawing Basics: The picture plane in 1 point persective

2011-10-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Dealing with one point perspective has its challenges. It seems simple enough but we can sometimes run into unforeseen problems. This often happens because we miss some of the specifics about the guides of one point perspective. One example is recognizing the relationship between the front planes or front surfaces in a scene and the picture plane. Its a straightforward guideline but if it is missed the drawing will not come together how we would like.

This posts is going to take a look at the picture plane and positioning of the front surfaces in one point perspective respective to the picture plane. We will discuss the principle and show a simple explanation using an exterior scene.

If you would like a refresher on one point perspective visit this link. Otherwise, let's get started.

Anatomy Basics: A couple of online references I like

2011-10-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to improve your understanding of anatomy for drawing the figure, here couple of nice resources to try.

These are sites I have used and have recommended to my students. Take a look.

Drawing Basics: Checkerboard illusion explained

2011-09-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Checkerboard illusion

One of the best ways to understand how value is perceived is by looking at how it can be used to create illusions.

There is a popular video on youtube showing a pretty cool illusion involving a scene similar to the one you see to the right. The illusion is one where a light tile is moved over a dark one and they turn out to be the same value.

If you haven't see the illusion click on the link below to watch.

Checkerboard illusion video clip

Let's see how it is done.

Beginning Drawing Posts: Just the very basics

2011-09-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

I have put together a small list of links to previous posts from this site to help those who are new to drawing find relevant articles quickly.

This is a list of links prepared for those just starting out and want to learn the basics of charcoal drawing.

Read more »

Painting Basics: Selecting and editing the scene in a plein air landscape

2011-09-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Plein air, editing a scene

I went plein air painting with a student of mine a couple of weeks ago. After we finished we took a look at each other's work and commented as we usually do. One of the comments for this painting was that the painting looked nothing like the scene in front of me which, of course, was true. I picked the scene because I liked the silhouette shape created by a few of the trees. That shape made by this grouping of the trees was what I wanted to focus on and all the stuff that was unimportant to me in the scene just didn't make it into the painting.

Today, I thought we would look at how to select what is important in a a scene then edit the information to design a composition that we like. I want to show that you do not need to include everything in a scene when painting it.

Let's take a look.

Painting Basics: Watercolor Demo, a pink rose

2011-08-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

By Hsuan Chi Chen

Painting flowers is sometimes tricky. But all you need is some patience and practice, then you will master the art of painting flowers. This article is going to show you step by step of painting a pink rose in watercolor. This demo requires both wet-in-wet and wet-on-dry technique.

Also few things to keep in mind when you paint:

a. Keep in mind that where is the light source, and where the dark side of the flower is.

b. Treat the all petals as a group. Sometimes we focus on detail too much, we forget the whole picture of the painting. As a result, the painting would lose it’s harmony, and the each petal would look like not belong to a same flower.

Drawing Basics: Breaking Down the Components of Light and Shadow

2011-08-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I have mentioned a little about how an object might appear when under a single light source and the particular elements that will consistently appear. This is something I teach my beginning students and I have found that sometimes it is helpful to separate each component for easier identification and explanation. Looking at each component or element individually helps in understanding the role of light on form and helps in identifying how everything then ties together.

Today, we are going to look at the elements of light and shadow on a simple cylinder to identify each component individually.

Painting Basics: A Plein Air Demo

2011-07-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

About once a week I paint plein air. This time I brought along my camera to show how I approach painting on location. I want to show you one way I handle painting a landscape outdoors. Though I am calling this a plein air demonstration it is not truly a step by step demonstration. It is just a chronicling of my process at different stages as I paint to give you some reference.

Today, I will recount the process I took to get the painting of the scene you see to the left to show you how to approach painting plein air painting.

Let's take a look.

Drawing Basics: Value relationships

2011-07-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

It is easy to think of value as a stable element in a composition. For example, dark hair is dark hair. An artist would always use the same value to paint the hair, right? After taking a look at a value scale that is set up in distinct steps it might seem so. But what effects does the environment have on the hair? Or more specifically, how do the values in the areas around the hair affect the look of the value level of the hair?

Today, we will look at one way value relationships can change the look of the image with a simple exercise.

Let's begin.

Color Basics: Using local color as an element of contrast

2011-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here is another painting I have just started to work on. I want to demonstrate that color variation can be used to highlight or separate different parts of the body. It is tempting to want to paint the figure using one color for the flesh and adjusting the value using tints and shades to create the forms. To me this is a mistake to rely on just the value relationships. For various reasons, our flesh expresses different colors in the skin at different locations on the body.

Today, we will look at one of those reasons why the color may vary throughout the body and see how we can take advantage of that to help separate the forms.

Quick Note: Copying as a way to learn to draw.

2011-07-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

One way to learn to draw or paint is by looking at work by other artists and trying to duplicate the image. In grad school was I reintroduced to copying artwork to learn how to draw or paint. When I was young I used to copy from comic books or whatever else I liked for fun. I did not actively look at other work to see how it was done. I just drew what I liked. I did not realize that it could be a valuable way to learn.

It was in one of my figure drawing classes where I was first assigned to copy paintings done by established artists. There the goal was to learn how other artists accomplished task and resolved problems by figuring out how they did it. It was not easy and was sometimes frustrating but I did learn from it.

Anatomy Basics: More on Muscles

2011-06-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

I usually don't post much about my work outside of what I make for paint draw paint. Most of the stuff here is made specifically for the site. I am going to change that up today and write a little about one of the things I like to think about as I work on my own projects. I started a new couple of paintings this week and while drawing the figure for one of those paintings I thought it would be fun to show you how I look for the anatomy in the figure and how I use it to guide my painting.

Lets take a look.

Anatomy Basics: Using anatomy to help with figure drawing

2011-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is something a little different this time around. I have been writing about human anatomy for artist's reference, identifying muscles and describing what they do, and I wanted to explain why I write these posts and write a little about how studying anatomy will help artists if they are interested in drawing people.

I find learning the human anatomy to be very helpful in my work. The forms created by the human figure are complex. That is to say there is plenty of stuff to work out when drawing the human figure and having an understanding of what is creating those forms makes it all easier to work out.

Today, we will look at a drawing of a male model to see how an understanding of the underlying muscular anatomy can guide us in figuring out how to draw the forms we see.

Anatomy Basics: The Muscles of the Torso, pelvis

2011-06-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Moving back to the torso for the anatomy basics posts we will move down to look at some of the muscles that attach the pelvis to the upper leg bone. These muscles play an active role in moving the leg for such functions as running or walking. They also help with stablizing the torso when standing. Understanding how these muscles cooperate will help us understand the movements the muscles makes at this joint.

Today, we will look at the muscles attached to the pelvis, to see the general shape, points where these muscles are attached to the skeletal structures, and how the muscles move the leg.

Let's begin.

Quick Note: Plein Air Painting

2011-06-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Pein air painting of a field in Elk Grove, 5 x 7 inches

While in school I didn't much care to go plein air painting. I struggled with it and couldn't find anything to keep me interested in it. Its not that I didn't enjoy landscape painting, I just didn't like to go outside and paint it. That has changed.

Now that I have been out of school for sometime and teach landscape painting, I have had the chance to explore what plein air painting is all about and I find that I enjoy painting plein air quite a lot. It just took me some time to figure out how to apply what interests me in painting to the plein air process. I like playing with color and I now paint small plein air landscapes as an excuse to play with color and try new approaches.

If you were to compare my paintings to the scenes I used as reference you would see that I do not try to mimic or copy exactly what I see. I usually simplify the scene to make a nice clean composition and then use the environment as a reference to set up the light and color cues.

Painting Basics: Atmospheric Perspective in Landscape Painting

2011-06-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Plein air painting showing atmospheric perspective.

When painting a landscape, visual perspective is an important element of creating a successful image. This will include considering where to place the horizon line and the two point perspective guides. Along with that, there is one more thing we need to consider when painting a scene covering a large distance. That is how the conditions of the atmosphere affect the elements in the scene, what is called atmospheric perspective.

Today, we will look at how to create atmospheric perspective, so that we are able to describe what it is to start using the guides in effectively painting a landscape.

Let's begin,

Quick Note: Measuring technique when drawing

2011-06-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I might mention that it is alright to measure when drawing or painting from observation. All too often I see people struggling with aspects of their drawings, trying to get things placed correctly but have trouble figuring out where to do so. Measuring and comparing lengths of a subject in the composition is a good way remedy this.

Today, I will demonstrate one way to use your pencil to measure the sizes and positions of features on a face.

Let's take a look.

Anatomy Basics: Muscles of the forearm, flexor muscles

2011-05-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

Muscles of the arm

As we continue our look at the muscles of the arm we will next look at some of the muscle found in the forearm. One of the first things you may notice is that there a many more muscles in the forearm than the upper arm. This makes sense once we understand how we move the fingers and hand. Though there are some muscles in the forearm that move the arm, many of the muscles located there move the fingers and thumb or the hand at the wrist. Since there are several muscles to discuss I thought I would break them into groups based on their actions.

Today, we will look at a group of the muscles found in the forearm that flex the hand and fingers. We will look at where these muscles attach to the skeleton and describe how these muscles move the arm.

Let's begin.