Major art help needed!?

Question

I asked a question today, and 1 of my answers was,"Just do simply what you did here, ask advice from real people," so i got to thinking, he was right!! so here it is.


I love realism, but how can i do it properly,like shading, placement on the face, and what not. I dont do much realism cuz i imbarase people cuz it turns out terrible plz help me! Thanks alot. :)

Answer 1

wow this is the perfect question for me. I specialize in realistic drawings of people. the jaw is hardest for me, and was at the beginning. make it more square. the eyes are in the middle of the face, not the forehead. lips don't have an outline, and neither does anything else on the face. use toilet paper for blending. take longer than you think on the beginning steps of sketching where things are, it's very important. if you use an easel, stand further back and losely draw it, so you can barely see what lines you make. that is a problem i still have today, is beginning too dark. if it's a straight on face, then the top of the ears land between the eyebrows and top of eye (if you were to draw a line) and the nostrels width is from the inner corners of your eyes. make the forehead more square than you think it should be. try to stay away from medium tones. look at what you actually see, not what you know...:) that made no sense to me when i began to draw, but now i completely get it.
what made me understand that statement is drawing a simple mug leaning, you know that a mug has such and such features, but they may change when it is tilted.
i don't know how good you are....or if this has helped any...i hope it does. keep the art questions coming!!!

Answer 2

Practice, practice, practice!!!
i would also suggest working from life. When you copy other 2D work (like photographs), it comes out even more flat looking. When you work from life everything has more...life... if that makes sense. It helps to keep a sketch book and just work at it. Make gestural drawings to get the movement and feeling of the subject and make several quick preparatory drawings (this is what the Masters would do).
Mastering technique is all about practicing though. Just draw as much as you can and you will get better! It's a simple as that. I would also suggest taking some art classes at a local art institute or school. Surrounding yourself with other artists always helps. Don't be afraid to experiment.
and finally, just educate yourself. Look though the history of painting and drawing. Learn and observe as much as you can.

I suggest checking out some of these artists...

Philip Harris
Jenny Saville
Lucian Freud
Eric Fischl
Annette Lemierux
Gerhard Richter
Chuck Close
Leon Golub
Alice Neel
Philip Pearlstein
Janet Fish
gregory gillespie
william beckman
Egon Schiele
Ralph Goings
Charles Bell


Sincerely,
an art student from SAIC

Answer 3

Like some have mentioned, you could take an art class, but it is possible to teach yourself. I'm sorry to say there is no easy way, and only through practice will you get better. What i can say is when it comes to shading start light and build it up. The term realism, mostly applys to paintings and not pencil drawings, so i have to assume it's painting you are talking about . I am a selftaught artist and have artwork posted on the hellosanantonio.com website.

Answer 4

It couldn't hurt to take an art class. If you have the time to do the outside studio work then why not. Sometimes when you are doing work for bio classes or even in the future for your job you may have to draw. I know at my university one of the professors for the plant biology class has us draw pictures and label them. I know it would make it easier on the professor and the TAs to grade if they can tell what it is. I mean taking the class would really be up to you but if you have the time and are going to enjoy it, I would say sure go ahead and take it.

Answer 5

Take the photo and make a large enough copy of it to see detail. Then take a ruler and accurately and evenly measure 1" squares vertical & horizontal until the photo is complete. Next step is to lightly draw the same amount of squares on your canvas or drawing paper. You can use the same size squares or go bigger. You number each line the same on both the photo and/or paper and just copy drawing each square from the photo to the paper and/or canvas. I always recommend starting from the middle, like the eyes and work your way out.
Another, even easier way for accuracy, is to use a projector and center the image where ever you want and enlarge or shrink however you choose. Take a pencil and trace!
These methods save time and will give a good resemblance. But you won't get true realism unless you have the true gift of art.

Answer 6

I suggest you study in a Classical Realism Atelier such as the New School of Classical Art in Rhode Island. It usually takes a 3 year course of study to master the classical principles of drawing and painting. In an atelier youwill be studying in the working studio of a Master Artist. http://danalevin.com/approach.html

Answer 7

I never took any art classes, but I've learned how shading works just by practicing off of photographs. Once you have done it enough, it will work great! Here are some examples of what I've drawn, so that I can better convince you ;)

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/ucantguesswhothisis/?action=view¤t=a4sdf.jpg

off of Socrates statue

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/ucantguesswhothisis/?action=view¤t=drawin.jpg

friend of mine



hope this helped!