My First Critique and The Bean

Posted on by Vincent Duncombe

So, I did it! I finally built up the courage to post some of my gesture work for a critique in the Proko Figure Drawing class.

And … It was great!

Obviously, this was not the entire critique post. There was quite a bit more. Quite a bit more information under the “Areas for Improvement.” There was so much good information there. Again, thanks to Jesper for this critique.

This gave me not only the confidence to continue on but I think I also overcame a fear of the critique. I have heard that this is a necessary part of growth in ability and now I see why. You can hear things on videos but when it is applied to your own drawings there is something that clicks.

Since, then I have followed the advice and moved on to The Bean for these last two weeks.

The Bean Drawings

This sole focus on the bean was good for me. I learnt a lot. I think I have a good grasp of what is happening with the bean. However, I still know that there is still room for improvement as there are some things that I still feel I don’t have quite right. Like getting the lines exactly where they need to be. But that will come with time.

I must say that for this two weeks I had no down moments. Even thought it was not always smooth sailing. Jesper, mentioned a few things in the critique and I think it worked. I actually enjoyed these last two weeks more than any of the weeks prior. It was nice!

I will be posting my last page of beans to the site for another critique. Wish me luck!

Below is the .pdf with all my practice papers, all full of beans!

The-Bean-Figure-Drawing-3-19-21Download

Gesture Drawing Practice

Posted on by Vincent Duncombe

Since the last post I have decided to just settle down and do … “mostly” gesture practice. Instead of rushing off to the next pose, I have stuck around, done several iterations and trying to correct things that looked incorrect on previous versions. I think I have made some improvements. Well … at least the drawings and gestures are starting to capture I think the mood of the poses. At least that’s what I think. I have finally mustered up the courage to pose a few for critique in the Proko Figure Drawing Fundamentals class that I am doing. The next post will likely give an update on any feedback I receive (fingers crossed).

As you can see from the photos below … lots of iterations. From the early stages to the most recent drawings. Of course there are more in the pdf at the end that contains all my practice since the last lesson.

I’ve also taken the liberty to try out some of the more advanced stages and/or techniques. I think it has helped me understand some of the beginner stages more than I did before. But it is still a work in progress. I really liked how this standing pose turned out in the end. I didn’t do anything in the lights and all my shading is in the shadows. But I still like it. It’s progress of a sort. Not the first one that I tried. You can look through the pdf document to see what else I tried my hand at.

I’ve also been cheating on Proko. I know … shameful! I’ve been trying to get additional examples and ideas about gesture from other youtube videos as well. Some of them ended up coming from Proko’s channel as well so …. But don’t know if I mentioned it last time but “Love Life Drawing” has been particularly great. I have also been using the channel New Masters Academy for additional poses for the gesture drawings.

Anyway that’s all for this post. Have to get some sleep. Below are all of my practice sheets from this session. Enjoy.

Figure-Drawing-Practice-3-4-21Download