Give me advice on how to make my art better?

[AspiePie]

I made this piece which is supposed to be soft face hanging off a branch... But they say it looks like a guy being stabbed in the head?

Does anyone have advice on how I could have done the setting pose better?

This image is suppose to be a child but it came out looking like an adult?

 

[tree]

AspiePie

A child's face is usually more rounded than an adult's face.
Also, counting the number of heads tall you make your figure helps.
You have probably seen charts like this.
http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/01/drawing-tutorial-adult-child-proportions/

When I first looked at the head I thought:
"What a powerful Picasso type picture of
an impaled head." Also I took what apparently is
the beard to be a root protruding from his chin.

I think the face could be made to look more soft/achieve
a draping effect by using lines that are more flowing/S curves.
Also, develop texture with variation of shading.

 

[AspiePie]

AspiePie

A child's face is usually more rounded than an adult's face.
Also, counting the number of heads tall you make your figure helps.
You have probably seen charts like this.
http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/01/drawing-tutorial-adult-child-proportions/

When I first looked at the head I thought:
"What a powerful Picasso type picture of
an impaled head." Also I took what apparently is
the beard to be a root protruding from his chin.

I think the face could be made to look more soft/achieve
a draping effect by using lines that are more flowing/S curves.
Also, develop texture with variation of shading.

Thank you...

 

[tree]

AspiePie

http://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
If you study the watch on the branch, it shows what
I was trying to say in words.

 

[AspiePie]

AspiePie

http://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018
If you study the watch on the branch, it shows what
I was trying to say in words.

Nice I have seen that art piece many times..Give me a little on Dalis method though?

 

[Cosmophylla]

Re the face on the branch, the face needs to show it is being stretched as well. Consider that the current face has a skull inside giving it structure. Now imagine removing that skull. What would happen to the head without the supporting structure? It would be like a punctured ball or balloon.

You could try finding a piece of fabric and drawing a face on that, then draping it to see what happens to the features. The fabric needs to be fairly thick to mimic the thick layers of skin and muscle we have on our heads.

 

[Cosmophylla]

A child's face is usually more rounded than an adult's face.
Also, counting the number of heads tall you make your figure helps.
You have probably seen charts like this.
http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/01/drawing-tutorial-adult-child-proportions/

Indeed, children have large heads in proportion to their bodies. The younger the child, the larger the head seems next to the body. My kids have similar sized heads but one is three and the other seven.

Although, AspiePie, I'd say your person looks like a teenager. Say 14?

 

[ancusmitis]

Re the face on the branch, the face needs to show it is being stretched as well. Consider that the current face has a skull inside giving it structure. Now imagine removing that skull. What would happen to the head without the supporting structure? It would be like a punctured ball or balloon.

You could try finding a piece of fabric and drawing a face on that, then draping it to see what happens to the features. The fabric needs to be fairly thick to mimic the thick layers of skin and muscle we have on our heads.

I honestly just enjoyed reading this post. Especially the last paragraph.

 

[Cosmophylla]

I honestly just enjoyed reading this post. Especially the last paragraph.

Why, thank you so much!

You made me think of something I should have said before about the draping, actually.

AspiePie, this may sound weird but making a 2D image of a 3D object or concept requires a kind of shift in thinking. For example, you have drawn a 2D face on a piece of fabric, and draped it over a branch. Now comes the trick: don't fall for the idea that this is a face on a piece of fabric... You have to imagine you are looking at a 2D image. I know that sounds completely weird, but imagine your eyes are taking 2D photos. Draw that 2D image in your mind. Don't draw what you know is a flat face draped over a branch. Instead, mark the distorted, twisted lines as though they are not eyes, nose, mouth, etc.

Sometimes it's a matter of not trying to represent something. It's simply recording lines.

Hmm, I got an idea. It's a bit like when you use google street view... Each view is a 2D image. So each time you move around your 3D subject your eyes are recording 2D.

Or another way of seeing it is: in front of your draped fabric you have a pane of glass. Now imagine that the draped fabric is flattened onto that glass - the glass has become the 2D version of the subject.

I apologise if this doesn't make sense!


Some other general tips:

- try doing some drawing exercises where you use no contour lines and do only shading.

- try doing some drawings where you draw only negative space instead of the subject. e.g. You draw the background around the vase of flowers but not the vase of flowers itself.

- when shading, darker colours recede into the background, and lighter colours come forward to the viewer.

- try drawing some simple 3D objects and playing with the shading and colours. Cubes, cones, etc.

- cool colours recede and give a feeling of space and depth, and warm colours come forward. Hence red rooms feel smaller than green rooms of the same size.

- if you are interested in accurate proportions, then as you draw keep in mind the positions of other features of the subject. Use them as markers to give you an idea of how far a line should extend, etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[tree]

Cosmophylla and AspiePie

"...try finding a piece of fabric and drawing a face on that, then draping it to see what happens to the features."

Excellent advice.

That, and study the Dali picture.
Use it as a model to copy from.
I am not saying, in a vague way, to
use it as inspiration.
I mean copy.
Look at the picture, the arrangement,
the shading, the texture, and attempt
to reproduce it.

 

[Cosmophylla]

That, and study the Dali picture.
Use it as a model to copy from.
I am not saying, in a vague way, to
use it as inspiration.
I mean copy.
Look at the picture, the arrangement,
the shading, the texture, and attempt
to reproduce it.

Yes, I have done this many times and was even required to do this for my painting classes when I studied visual arts at uni. It definitely pays to repeat this exercise.

 

[Cosmophylla]

I was thinking, also, about the ponies drawing. The tool you've chosen to do the contours is one that responds to pressure, yes? Or are the thicker and thinner lines random?

If they are a result of you pressing harder with the stylus (assuming you are using one), then try this: use bolder lines (more pressure) where you want to draw the eye. Notice in the last drawing that the right hand has much less "power" than the sleeve? Play around with that emphasis. Reproduce the same drawing with the bold lines in different places each time and see where it takes you. You have an expressive style that could use this to wonderful effect.