Newbie in drawing, though not young in age, but never had the time before. Thank you for being here.
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Welcome Diana, this is the best community. It is like everyone has been friends for ever. If you want feedback on your sketching all you need do is to ask. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Jim
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Thank you A LOT Jim,
it makes such a difference, especially for newbies like me than just started.
I traying to be a good student and follow Matt’s instructions the best I can.
I am having a great time.
Here I was less concentrated and I didn’t measure correctly the position of the mouth… so I did a Goya vision on Diana Troy (Star Trek)
Still it is my first ever “portrait” in watercolors.
happy to find this place and this teacher!
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Hi Diana @diana2014
We’re thrilled to have you here. It is a great place for continued learning and positive support for those of all experience levels.
Amazing that you’ve started this journey with portraits because the difficulty level is high.
I suggest that you try one or two by tracing your beginning line drawing. I do a lot of realism type artwork and tracing really helps to get the proportions spot on, which is so important for portraits. It’s not cheating.
The reason I suggest this is because it teaches you how to look really closely at your reference. Carefully LOOKING is difficult to learn, in my opinion.
When I start a project I print at least two copies of my reference photo at the exact size I want to draw or paint it. Then on the back side of one of them I completely color it in with graphite (I do this so often that I have bought the woodless pencils , and typically use the 2B.) By doing this you are kinda making your own carbon paper that is attached to the back of your reference photo.
Now I taped down the paper I will be drawing or painting on. I place the reference with the graphite back on top of my drawing paper, taping the entire top edge so that it doesn’t move. Then you can lift it up a check how your tracing is looking as often as you like.
Trace your entire line drawing and when you’re done, I flip the graphite one up and out of the way as I work on my drawing. By leaving it attached, you can always flip it back down if you missed an important reference line.
That is what I have found works best for me. If you go to the chat here on the forum called “your most recent drawing or painting “ you will find several of my pieces of art there. You will also get to know a lot of us better by reading the posts, many of us having a good sense of humor as we struggle.
Hope this is helpful.
Terri Robichon
(also referred to as Terri with 2R’s, because there is another Teri that posts here and she spells Teri with just 1 R).
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Thank you Terri, I will definitely do what you suggested. I wandered what is “allowed” or not, and I understand I put the wrong question to my self. You gave me the answer and after that I realized that Matt suggested the same in one of his lessons I’ve seen and I am relived. As you said : “It’s not cheating” when you want to learn … THANK YOU, Diana
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Hi Diana. Glad I could help. And it’s okay to trace your initial drawings forever if you want. I do 95% of the time. Now, if your goal is to learn to sketch/draw go back to the grid or other method because that’s a good foundation to have. When proportions are essential, trace. Or if time is an issue, trace. Those are my reasons because I try to complete one piece of artwork a week for submission at the county fair every year. Professional artists also trace a lot because the more they complete, the more money they make.
Just know, there are no rules (except don’t copy someone else’s work and sell it as your own.)
Terri Robichon
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