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I think if you went darker, say a 7b or above, some of those elements would pop a bit more, and the image would express mass more dynamically. 

I hope this is helpful


All the best,

JCML Fine Art

Try working on a larger paper. I like to use A3 paper. It ensures all of my figures are about the size of printer paper. 

Also, it is not a waste to work one figure per page. 

• You can always tone the paper and work with a more pigmented pencil. So, say you draw all your work with an HB Pencil. Cover the page with leftover HB graphite shavings, then work in reverse with a 4B pencil and above to create a longer pose on that formally trashed sheet of paper intended for gestures. Now that sheet has a pretty study drawing you're most likely proud of in your portfolio. It actually saves you on materials and encourages you to retry that pose again, but for longer and with more intention.

• When you make more than one figure on the page, it means you unintentionally start composing. That can massively get in the way if you are just trying to work out the details of one element that would otherwise be in a more finished image. This was a hard rule in my college classes, and I hated it for the first few weeks. But the results after this change where absoulty massive!

I hope this was helpful

All of the best,

JCML Fine Art

Hi Seul8r,


I just posted a drawing exercise that explains how artist pencils work in our Fellow Artist Creative group in the Assignments section. It's called the Shady box set. Here is the link.

https://line-of-action.com/index.php/group/assignment/210/222

Feel free to join us, and let me know how it goes if you try the exercise. 

I post exercises when I find a new one that works well, or if I need to review a topic. However, if there are any you wish to see, find in a book or online: Please share, and I will post them on the assignments group page. 

It may also be how you are holding your pencil. Are you resting your hand on the surface as you are drawing? Highly pigmented pencils smudge very easily because they are so rich in graphite. So using an artist hold makes a big difference.

Lastly, the best way to sharpen these woodless pencils is with heavy-grit sandpaper. I have not covered this yet in one of the group assignments/exerizes but I will soon. You can use a pencil sharpener, but as you may have noticed, it dulls the blades significantly. 

Oh! Pro tip: Keep the graphite you sand off in a corresponding jar with a lid.  

• You can sift it, add medium, and make a gritty-textured paint. You can mill down the graphite and make some very cool custom black pigments for painting. Some artists will add glitter or old powder makeup to the mix to create a unique painting palette for very cheaply. It most likely won't be light-fast. But if you are using it for studying or your sketchbook, that should not matter.


• You can use paintbrushes to apply graphite to the surface, like powdered charcoal. 


• Just make sure that if you do any of these options, you wear a mask while working with loose particles. Once the graphite is fully mixed into the base medium, it's no longer a problem. Spare your lungs, wear a mask when you sharpen your pencils.

I hope this was helpful.

All of the best,

JCML Fine Art

I got the same. It gives the 404, then when I click on it it changes the layout of the images. It does not happen every time, about 1 time in three.

Ajirh,

Take some time to look at the light, and you'll often find you're drawing arrows, very organic, cell-like shapes, and some very common wobbly letters in the alphabet. 

• In the English alphabet, some of the most common letters you'll find are C, W, B, E, V, U, and D. I am unsure what they are in your language, but I do know that it works in all languages. It may take you a bit to find them in your language. But once you do, it can be very helpful for creating the figure, and very hard to unsee the letters that reside in it. For some artists, it is a compleat game changer.

But if you want to work with basic shapes because they feel more comfortable and feel like a good starting point, go for it! Just know that light does not always follow common shapes, and usually expresses more organic, convex, squiggly motifs.

What you are looking for are the core shadows and the lightest highlights. I suggest that you work with a light colour and draw in all of these shapes. Then, put a dot in the core shadow shapes. Once that is compleat, colour in the core shadows with your darkest shade, then continue to work towards the highlight space by shaping and colouring the shadows so that it looks believable, especially in your longer stay poses. The longer the pose, the more detail and broken up the figure. 

• This concept draws on the creation of Shading Scales. But this time, you are doing it in the shape of the body.


• Which, if you did not know, is where you usually draw a box with the lightest shade and a box with the darkest shade. Then you draw at least three boxes in between. Starting from the middle box, work your way to the darkest box, then to the lightest box. The idea is to make it look like you can barely tell from one box to the next that the shading has changed. But when you look at all of the boxes as a whole, they represent the full light spectrum you are using.


• Shading scales are very boring to do. But damn, do they help you learn how to control your tools. They are the bland but healthy vegetables of artistic practice that really make your art and abilities so much better. 

Actually, the letter shapes are also a very different drawing exercise, often referred to as 'Alphabet Soup'. 

• So what you do is draw the figure using only letters of the alphabet. You can come up with some very interesting and amazing results. 


• The reason this works is that we are using a familiar tool (Letters) in an unfamiliar setting (Drawing session), which can free our minds from preconceived ideas (like basic shapes) about how to draw the figure.

I hope you find this helpful; if you do, please include in your title which exercises you used. I'd be very curious to see your results.


All of the best,

JCML Fine Art

Ajirh,

You seem to be very focused on the outlines of the figure. Instead of drawing the outside edge of the figure's body, why not try to draw some of the inner shapes that make up the body by depicting only the light and core shadows? 

Make it a rule, 'I will draw everything but the outlines of the body,' and see how that reverse method increases your ability to enhance a longer sustained flash card pose.  

Now, if you have never done what I call 'The Reverse Exercise' (drawing everything except the body's outlines), it will be very mentally taxing. Make sure you have a reward ready when you are done, cause a little bit of Pavlov never hurt anyone from achieving their drawing goals. Do this hard thing, get a treat. 

I hope these suggestions help you create stronger images.

All of the best,

JCML Fine Art

Emi-k-p,



When working from memory, your work looks unsure and sketchy and has fewer clean lines. I feel it would be to your benefit to continue with this exercise often until you feel more comfortable drawing this way.

Also, when you are exercising, it's tempting to rush due to the time clock. Mainly because it's a new task under a time constraint. Don't sweat the time, and keep on with the next pose. It's better to be slower with less of a drawing done within a time frame; while staying neat and uncontrol. Then to rush and worry about how much you got it correct.

Mainly-KEEP Going!! and Do this as your main draw session for a few months. It will be so good for your accuracy.



All the best,



JCML Fine Art

Stiven,



One of the best things about your work is you have a clear drawing hand style that is rather identifiable. Your marks look rather sure, clean and clear. Which is not something you see on here on this site often. Great work.



But if you want to make your work more anatomically correct, I think that you would do well with a stint or two drawing with your non-dominant hand. I think it will help you see details, loosen up, as Polyvois stated and help you describe the image more fully with your pencil.



All the best,



JCML Fine Art

Noku,



Try slowing down and working with less sketchy lines. Clean shapes make a huge difference; make shapes within shape within shape.



Did you know You can shade with shape, and we often forget this and often admire it when others do it.

If you feel the shapes are as clean as you can make them at the seven-minute mark, then start to fill them in, in greyscale. Focus on light as you fill them in, and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.



All the best,



JCML Fine Art

When I get stuck, I edit the image on a program or on my phone.



Mirroring an image is such a mind trip after you have been drawing it from the opposite angle. Try Mirroring the picture to see your underlying issues.

Another good thing is to draw your reference right side up, and you upside down.



Mind teasers like this help us see things we are missing.



Or leave it for a week- if you can- and do something else for a bit. A change of pace can allow your brain to problem-solve in your subconscious.



Breathing exercises are also a good help, especially when you want to finish it. The finish attitude is a killer of a lot of great art.



I hope some of these suggestions help.



All the best,



JCML Fine Art

Bluekev,



GOOD POINT!

Posture is one of the essential things we don't consider enough when we are drawing. Most don't know to or forget to stretch their arms and legs and work on breathing before they start drawing. It's really important to come to the canvas in a neutral state, so you can find the emotional state or story in the figure before you start putting pigment on the surface.

The old adage that "you don't need to be in shape or go to the gym to focus on the mussels that help you draw" is an absolute lie. Being fit is a huge help, especially when you work at your surface for more than 3 hours a day.

Staying in shape, having good posture, and breathing while drawing help you with accuracy when making drawings.

Example? I have a tendency to tilt my head to the left and tuck my right leg under my bum when I draw. So what happens is my plumb lines wobble, which tosses off the whole work. If you suffer from similar problems, changing your workstation set-up may be a good idea, so it's uncomfortable to follow bad habits like these. Also, your posture/breathing will affect your emotional state when you come to the surface- which can be an aid when seeking a section storytelling state.

Warning----> If you are starting to work on your posture, don't push your drawing session longer than you can sit up straight with both feet on the floor. For most of us, it will surprise you how short this drawing time really is and will display why it is so important to stay in shape when drawing.



I hope this helps.



All the best,

JCML Fine Art

zzzzzzzeus,



Challenge- Only draw the inner lines of the body, not the edge of the figure.

Why?

When we are so focused on the edge of the figure (I blame kindergarten teachers and children's colouring books), we lose its mass and sense of movement. It's like you're trying to stamp the figure into place when you or I am hyper-focused on the edge between the figure and the background behind it. It squashes the image like bug gusts on a car window, we know what it is, but it's dead. Dead drawings, even when they are hyper-realistic, suck- cause they don't have goods to keep us looking at the work.

But what we want to do is to stir the viewer to jump a bit."Ah! Did you see that!? I think that picture just MOVED!!" That's what all good art does, it's like it's breathing, even the most abstract work has this principle in mind when making an image. But to do that, you and I must understand mass and volume dose do not come solely from the edge of the body's outline.

It is the inner shapes and visible or invisible lines that give life to that object or figure. Take some time to focus on the mass drawing exercise. Try Stucture and Vison by Skylar and Durery.



All the best,

JCML Fine Art

Tropical_Bird,



Loose gestures are very expressive. You got the "S" of the figure most of the time, which is a positive. and you are allowing your figures to have directed lines- without using lines. This is also good.



Try to find more of the minor case "s's" in the figure and bring them a bit closer to each other. Also, work on your thick-to-thin lines more. I feel these will help you a lot.



I know I HARP on this often- but less is more. One gesture per page. If you want to be more accurate, don't let the distractions of other drawings bother your learning atmosphere. It's not a waste of paper; it's a valuable learning tool. Sure, it won't look as cool on an Instagram post, but I promise it's a HUGE help.

All the best,

JCMl Fine Art

[img]https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/QgrcJHrnrmlprBxXdbFgSjKSXMNvwfWvGgl?projector=1&messagePartId=0.4[/img]AuslerDraws,



The knee works a bit like a hammer and anvil setup. (I hope the picture shows up; I have never added on to a critique before.) This photo is from Classic Human Anatomy by Valerie Winslow---->An invaluable resource for movement when you don't have a model or a large mirror in front of you when you are practising.

Fewer images on a page will help you concentrate on the image you are making. More than One image and you are composing.

It looks like you are working digitally, That's cool. Zoom in a bit so nothing else is on the page in front of you, and you can create more realistic works because your focus is on the figure, not composition.





All the best,



JCML Fine Art

Here check this out, If you are like me, you don't like your drawings smudging. I always draw on the left and leave the right page empty- Meaning each page has a front and back.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huge-Doodle-Sketchbook-coloured-doodles/dp/B084DGNM6K



Or will it take two years' worth of draws.



Hope this helps



All the best,

JCML Fine Art