Some would say that is not how you draw a (live) butterfly: http://emilydamstra.com/news/please-enough-dead-butterflies/
How to Draw Animals (1930)
91–100 of 110 posts
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#92Couldn’t help but remember Picasso’s bull. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sorarium/8578925321/in/photoli... Also teaches you about how hard abstraction is. You really really need to understand the subject and the underlying dynamics to simplify.
Many artists aren't trying to simplify an final subject. If anything, they come from the opposite direction - they don't worry at all about the final object - just look at it. Look at its lines. Mark out the major shapes. And there you have your abstraction. Now if you want to finish it, keep adding the next layer of detail. Mark out the smaller shapes. Mark out lines and endpoints. Start filling in some shading. Then add some texture.
In other words, you start from a simple abstract and fill in. And most of the 'how to draw' sketches from the original post do exactly that.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#93The fundamental issue that is hardly addressed in drawing by shape recognition is that it gets the proportion right but fails to teach the inherent "3D" structure of the animal. The litmus test for drawing is to ask someone to draw an animal. If they can, great. Follow up and see if that draw the same thing but now in isometric view or from an arbitrary viewpoint/perspective. Imagine if you have a camera with various…
I don't disagree with what you are saying, though I do think it's a little harsh for what's seems to be just a book to get kids going when they want to draw animals. Everyone needs to start somewhere, and I think this is just one of many ways to pick up drawing.
That said, I'm honestly interested in any suggestions for books or online courses that you would recommend for someone who wants to improve their drawing skills. As a kid I got a lot of feedback from various people that I had a talent for drawing, and I remember my drawings were in fact quite good compared to everyone else, but sadly I never invested more into this and forgot about it in favor of playing with computers ;-). Until a while ago, when I wanted to pick up drawing using my iPad Pro + pencil + ProCreate. I really want to invest more time in drawing and make a hobby out of it, but I have no idea where to start except trying to copy other illustrations. When I try to draw from imagination I'm so disappointed with the results and my total lack of direction how to improve, that I quickly give up. I would really love to find some good drawing books, online courses or other source material that structures the learning process in a way that can give some positive reinforcement, but so far I have not been able to filter out the right source material from the vast supply of 'this is how you should learn to draw' resources.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#94Thanks a lot to whoever posted this. I have recently started my new "(at least) one drawing every day" stint and I am currently working on animals (even if I tend to copy from photos) so this is very interesting to me.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#95Some would say that is not how you draw a (live) butterfly: http://emilydamstra.com/news/please-enough-dead-butterflies/
This was very insightful. I never thought about what the natural wing position of a butterfly is like.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#96It reminds me of Ed Emberley. Or Trogdor.
"S, more different S... Close it up real good for his head, then, using consummate V's, give him teeth, spinities, and angry eyebrows."
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#97Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#98It was a simple book like this that I had as a boy that got me into drawing.
It taught me to see the simpler shapes that things are composed of — start there and build up.
It also caused me to begin to think about proportion when drawing — so that an animals head is properly proportioned to their body, etc.
If I were granted a wish it would be that schools had the budget to create books like this and outright give them to students to take home.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#99The fundamental issue that is hardly addressed in drawing by shape recognition is that it gets the proportion right but fails to teach the inherent "3D" structure of the animal. The litmus test for drawing is to ask someone to draw an animal. If they can, great. Follow up and see if that draw the same thing but now in isometric view or from an arbitrary viewpoint/perspective. Imagine if you have a camera with various…
I don't disagree with what you are saying, though I do think it's a little harsh for what's seems to be just a book to get kids going when they want to draw animals. Everyone needs to start somewhere, and I think this is just one of many ways to pick up drawing. That said, I'm honestly interested in any suggestions for books or online courses that you would recommend for someone who wants to improve their drawing ski…
> I would really love to find some good drawing books, online courses or other source material that structures the learning process in a way that can give some positive reinforcement
That seems to be the problem with learning to draw from imagination - it's just very hard and slow process, and the positive reinforcement is stretched over months or years of training.
Re: How to Draw Animals (1930)
#100Couldn’t help but remember Picasso’s bull. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sorarium/8578925321/in/photoli... Also teaches you about how hard abstraction is. You really really need to understand the subject and the underlying dynamics to simplify.
Many artists aren't trying to simplify an final subject. If anything, they come from the opposite direction - they don't worry at all about the final object - just look at it. Look at its lines. Mark out the major shapes. And there you have your abstraction. Now if you want to finish it, keep adding the next layer of detail. Mark out the smaller shapes. Mark out lines and endpoints. Start filling in some shading. The…
It's interesting to compare how theatre went from scripted shows to improv. Soon painters will ask audience members to draw some random shape for them to start.