Drawing the Arm, How to draw the anatomy of the arm.

I like to practice looking for the underlying anatomy of the body. That is, I try to identify and draw where the bones and muscles belong on the body, in this case I am drawing an arm. This requires a little imagination and some study to do, but it is a fun exercise to try. 

To see what I do, click read more.

An Example of a Figurative Structural Drawing

Here is an example of drawing the human body using the shapes and structural planes seen in the form.

I am using line to delineate the plane changes as created by the shapes of the forms. I find the shapes of the shadows and value changes and translate the shapes into the linear two dimensional shapes that will eventually combine to create the appearance of three dimensional form in the drawing.

Painting Basics: How To Prime a Surface with Gesso

I was priming some panels for next week and I realized that this subject would be good to cover here. Today, I will show a couple of methods of priming a panel with acrylic gesso and some paint, but what I demonstrate here can be applied to priming canvas as well. 

With so much already primed products available today you don't necessarily need to do it yourself, but there are some advantages when doing it yourself. That is, mainly, you have control over the final product. This not only allows you to prime the surface how you like, but it also allows more freedom in picking the type and size of the surface. You are not stuck with just what is available at the art stores.

There are many ways to do this, but I will show you a couple of different methods. Let's prime a panel.


Priming a Panel

For these examples, I will be priming an 11 x 14 hardboard. First, you will need a few supplies, gesso, a couple brushes, sandpaper (220 grit) and a sanding block, a container to mix the gesso, burnt sienna paint, and an oil medium.  

Priming with Acrylic Gesso.

First, mix or stir your gesso well then pour the amount of gesso you need for your surface area into a container. If it is to thick add a little water to thin it down.*

Watercolor Basics: Color mixing exercise - color wheel

Color wheel in watercolor

Here is a simple and easy exercise to learn and practice the medium of watercolor painting. Doing this project you will learn some techniques used in watercolor painting and get the feel for how water color works.

Drawing the Nose

Anatomy of the nose.

Today I thought I would cover the elements of drawing the nose, including the planes of the nose and the anatomy of the nose. 

Teaching a lesson the other day I realized I had forgotten some of the anatomy of the nose. I was a little embarrassed as I explained things in more general terms and so I gave myself a refresher course. So, for todays post I had a little help from a few sources. I will list the references below for those of you who are interested.

Lets look at the elements that make up the nose.

Drawing the Nose

First, lets look at the basic shapes and structural planes of the nose. The first image below shows the basic shapes of the  nose as seen from a profile view . As you can see the nose consists of three basic shapes (wings, tip, bridge). Here is a good time to note that noses come in all shapes and sizes and though the basic structure of the nose is the same, the shapes will vary from person to person.

Basic shapes of the nose.

Drawing Basics: Two Point Perspective

Today I thought I would discuss the basics of two point perspective and how to draw a cube using this. Two point perspective is a useful guide to help create three-dimensional scenes on a two-dimensional surface.

Two Point Perspective

Lets figure out how to draw in two point perspective, but before we do, lets review some key terms discussed in the post about one point perspective.

Drawing Basics: Golden Rectangle, Golden Ratio

Golden Rectangle

Today I thought I'd show a quick an easy way to make the golden rectangle without having to calculate the distances from the golden ratio.

First what is the golden ratio? The golden ratio is what was once considered to be an ideal ratio found in nature by  in ancient  Greece and used by artists during the time Renaissance. This ratio is basically 1:618.  That means the shorter side of the golden rectangle is roughly 6 tenths that of the the larger side.

The golden ratio and rectangle are still found to be useful today by artists in varying ways and degrees, mostly in assisting with developing the compositional elements. Below I will show you how to create this rectangle using a simple step by step process.

Making a Golden Rectangle

Example of Shading and Using Value Demo

Here is an example of a demonstration I recently did. The first image is the results of the demonstration. The lesson was about placing shadows and rendering form. The second image is the construction drawing I set up before the class.

Notice that the form is suggested by the value transitions and not by line. The goal of the demonstration was to show how to make the face appear to have form with value transitions guided by the underlying construction drawing. 

Drawing Basics: How To Draw a Foot

Feet can be tricky to draw, but they can be drawn using the same techniques used in the post about drawing hands. Today's post will demonstrate how to draw a foot or feet by finding the simple shapes and planes of the foot.

The image to the left is the final result of the step by step demonstration we will do. Before we get into the drawing demonstration, lets look at the forms and shapes made by the foot. A foot seems simple enough as it is basically a wedge, but often we see the foot in foreshortened perspective and this changes the form as we see it from a particular vantage point. So it is best to understand a little about the shapes and planes of the foot as seen in perspective.

Lets take a look at the foot.

Basics: Complementary Colors

Last week I posted and introduction to color theory by introducing the color wheel and its components.  Today, I thought I would follow up with a post about complements or complementary colors.

Complementary Color

Primary colors and their compliments

Complementary Colors

Two colors are complementary to each other if when mixed together in equal amounts the resulting color is a neutral gray. As I mentioned before the complement to a primary color is a secondary color, the secondary color is made up of the other two primary colors. For example, the compliment of red is green, which is a mixture of yellow and blue. The other compliments to the primary colors are; orange complements blue and purple complements yellow. 

But the complementary relationship doesn't apply only to the primary and secondary colors.  Any two colors mixed together that create a neutral gray are considered complimentary colors.

How to find the Complimentary Color...

Introduction to the Color Wheel

The Color Wheel

Artists sometimes use color theory in developing their artwork. The color wheel is is used in color theory as a way of arranging colors so that artists can use the information in a systematic way to get consistent results. This post is a basic introduction to color theory and the color wheel. There are many types of color theories out there and they each serve a different purpose and medium, we will focus on what is useful for those who paint and draw.

As you can see above, the color wheel is arranged in a way where colors similar to each other sit next to each other on the wheel. This will provide valuable information later on.

Primary Colors

The color wheel is built from the foundation of three  colors, red; yellow, and blue. These are called the  primary colors. It is these first three colors that will create the rest of the colors on the wheel when mixed together. If you were to mix all the primaries together you would get black. Below is a example of the simplest of color wheels, using just the primary colors. 

Primary Colors