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1 April 2004
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Your April 1st,
2004
YouCanDraw.com
Communiqué
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Howdy all,
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In today's e-zine: short and sweet today
1) Coming attractions / administrative items
2) Figure drawing / and figure drawing sites
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I'm going to keep it short and simple today folks -
I've gotten my self a little buried with
doing the next Flash Interactive Lesson. Yep, I
thought I was done but as I reviewed
the sections on the features I think some re-arranging
and re-applying the great instructional
potential of Flash technology will make these sections
much more fulfilling. At least so by
setting down a patterned approach on at least one
feature. Expect to see the first one
in the next 4-6 weeks (don't hold me to that)...but it
won't be too much longer than that.
The e-Magazine Archives will be updated in 2
weeks, so for all of you who've recently
joined you can get caught up.
We'll also be re-updating all accounts here in the
next 6-8 weeks (which basically
means if it's been over 14 months since you've signed up,
you'll get a chance to
get the updated CD and a whole 'nother year of access,
e-zines, the works - and
at discount :-). Watch for details.
Life / figure drawing
I get asked frequently how to draw bodies for
caricatures. And you know what? The
answer is quite simple: learn the anatomy. You don't have
to memorize it like a Rembrandt
to learn to draw recognizable arms, legs, torsos etc.
(But it helps :-). Drawing just a
few dozen hands, feet, torsos, necks and legs can give
you all the feel you'll need to
invent your own "cartoon shorthand".
The key is just getting in there and drawing them. I
think I enjoy life drawing (figure drawing)
as much as I like doing caricatures and it sure adds
variety to your "doodling" experience.
Figure drawing is awesome practice for sharpening your
proportion skills, your "volume"
sense and just plain adds a whole new layer of pleasure
to your sessions.
What follows are links to several excellent info sites
(and even software - like this first
french site) that I found over a couple hour search this
morning. There's lots of other
sites out there but a few of them approach the tawdry /
seamy side of the net (as
you know, life drawing usually involves drawing models in
the buff).
When seen and studied artistically, the human body truly
is graceful and beautiful.
These sites respect that. Onward...
1) The french posing deal - 3-d models on a spin table -
looks like a great program
if I could just get it to work on my computer. Offers a
really neat approach to life
drawing right from your computer screen:
http://www.modelalisa.com/index_f.html
2) This one is a really interesting info site with nice
three-d modeling:
http://www.art.net/~rebecca/LifeDrawing1.html
It's a wonderful introduction to gesture drawing, gaining
a sense of volume, contour
drawing...lots of excellent info. While your'e watching
her demonstration, keep in
mind the 4 skills of drawing (the fifth - the
"gestalt" happens in your brain):
1) recognizing lines and edges,
2) recognizing and perceiving negative spaces
3) recognizing and perceiving angles and proportion
4) recognizing and perceiving light and shadow
Make sure you check out her "What's New" page
too:
http://www.art.net/~rebecca/WhatsNew.html
3) Some of the better life drawings I've seen on the net:
http://www.dangheno.net
Other sites
4) Really takes the "grids" idea (you know,
where you use the drawn squares
or you view your subject through an actual wire grid) to
a new level of sophistication:
http://www.paintbygrids.com/
Note: the only problem with using multiple squares
in your grid instead of just
cross-hairs is it makes you overly dependant on the grid
and 2) you forget to
learn how to judge proportion and angles with just your
eye - which is the most
satisfying drawing. BUT, using grids are a great stepping
stone if you remove
the number of squares bit by bit until it's you, your
subject, and your drawing
paper.
5) I haven't bought any of this site's "Flash"
tutorials, but I'm very intrigued by
them since this guy uses "Flash" technology
extensively. They have a caricature
and "Draw Cartoons in Flash" lesson there too.
If any of you purchase it, let
me know how you like it :-). Here's the link:
http://www.cartoonsmart.com/drawing_in_flash.html
Assignment
If I had an assignment today it would be to spend a
couple of drawing sessions each on
these main parts of the anatomy:
- two sessions on hands only
- two sessions on feet only
- two sessions on drawing the neck and torso
- two sessions on drawing legs
Dive on in, keep on drawing and don't be afraid!
Warmly,
Jeff
Jeffrey O. Kasbohm
Executive Director
Kasbohm & Company Strategic Multimedia
home of http://www.YouCanDraw.com and
http://www.drawing-faces-and-caricatures-made-easy.com
(952) 544-0657
1351 Hampshire Ave. So., #127
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
"Once and for all getting you drawing faces
and caricatures"
mailto:comments@youcandraw.com
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