I keep thinking the more I use references, the closer I'll get to being able to draw realistic people and/or anything else without a ref.... but... um, still no can do :(
this is looking beautiful for sure
I sure don't know why so many are down on using refs. Whats the difference if you draw from a picture or from something you/re looking at or something you saw and remember.. I dont get the distinction. But whatever. This is good work
Whats the difference if you draw from a picture or from something you/re looking at or something you saw and remember.
that's the difference! :-) it uses different parts of your brain.
hey poppalag..the difference is that it is a tremendous skill to be able to copy, stroke by stroke what someone else created originally. But to create from your own head, something original is something else entirely. Both require different talent. Neither better nor worse than the other. Just different.
That's not my point Donna. I meant if you draw something using a photograph as a reference, or you look at a live model and use that as a reference, OR if you draw from a memory (of a photo or a person you have seen), to me..they are all references..I'm not talking about copying a drawing someone did.
@dave:
Well drawing completely from memory is still something different, because it is almost impossible to remember everything, so that you have to be creative and fill the voids.
Working with a reference can be simply copying pixel by pixel(or inch by inch) without actually knowing what you draw. You only need a fast and good mechanism to translate the information onto your canvas.
To work successfully with you memory you have to generalize and actually know what you are drawing otherwise you would overfill you mind with useless information. For example you do not need to know exactly what color values each square-inch has of an image which pictures a simple circle. You know what a circle is, so you just memorize it's size, color and thickness of the outline to successfully recreate it. This is a very simple example but it scales up.
Maybe you are working with a lot of abstraction when you work with references, but potentially it's possible to copy pixel by pixel(the extreme) which doesn't involve much memorizing(one pixel at a time). So it's not necessary that you learn the human anatomy just by copying photos. You have to actually think about what you are drawing if you wish to understand it.
With this image I was more thinking about how to make it an exact copy, rather than thinking about human anatomy. I don't draw faces differently now. The last revision involved different thoughts.
this is very beautiful. The lighting, the style, the technique are reminiscent of Vermeer or one of the Renaissance artists. Exquisitly done!
I am not sure I get it either Dave, but I know I am way better at copying or having a model or something to look at than I am making the entire pic up in my own brain.
drawn in 3 hours 1 min
this is looking beautiful for sure
drawn in 27 min
drawn in 4 hours 58 min
drawn in 1 hour 21 min
pretty face.
that's the difference! :-) it uses different parts of your brain.
No, really, this is gorgeous, she has so much character. I love her eyes.
drawn in 27 min
asians are so pretty good choice :)
drawn in 42 min
hey poppalag..the difference is that it is a tremendous skill to be able to copy, stroke by stroke what someone else created originally. But to create from your own head, something original is something else entirely. Both require different talent. Neither better nor worse than the other. Just different.
@dave:
Well drawing completely from memory is still something different, because it is almost impossible to remember everything, so that you have to be creative and fill the voids.
Working with a reference can be simply copying pixel by pixel(or inch by inch) without actually knowing what you draw. You only need a fast and good mechanism to translate the information onto your canvas.
To work successfully with you memory you have to generalize and actually know what you are drawing otherwise you would overfill you mind with useless information. For example you do not need to know exactly what color values each square-inch has of an image which pictures a simple circle. You know what a circle is, so you just memorize it's size, color and thickness of the outline to successfully recreate it. This is a very simple example but it scales up.
Maybe you are working with a lot of abstraction when you work with references, but potentially it's possible to copy pixel by pixel(the extreme) which doesn't involve much memorizing(one pixel at a time). So it's not necessary that you learn the human anatomy just by copying photos. You have to actually think about what you are drawing if you wish to understand it.
With this image I was more thinking about how to make it an exact copy, rather than thinking about human anatomy. I don't draw faces differently now. The last revision involved different thoughts.
I am not sure I get it either Dave, but I know I am way better at copying or having a model or something to look at than I am making the entire pic up in my own brain.