Some questions

Hi all ,

sorry if this might not make any sense or sounds plain silly, but i dont know how to ask my question in another way.


maybe i am really confused and it actually doesnt make sense ,so please bear with me!

now i am generally interested in portraits and can acheive average likeness but it takes a lot of effort,which makes me some times wonder if it should be that hard or if there is some thing that i am missing

so my questiong is,

how do you keep an image or a line/angle/or shape in your head ,stop looking to whatever you are drawing from ,then look at a peace of paper and recreate it.

how does the image register in your head?

do you draw line by line/or 2 lines at a time like clock hands/or do you memorize the whole shape.

what makes one shape different from another to standout and stick in your head long enough for you to look away ,then look at a blank peice of paper and draw it accuratley.

I noticed that drawing somthing from a shorter distance is always easier.

it makes it easier to keep the shapes in my head after i look away from the photo i am drawing .and they will usualy come out much more accuratley .

why does far away objects are harder to draw then?i mean say if you are drawing the same face from the same photo ,why is it easier to draw it from a closer distance?and i am not talikng about details or shadows ,just the basic out lines and contours.


also if this is somehow similar

I play music ,and dont have a problem listening to a melody or a chord progression ,then playing it afterwards on an instrument .for some reason ,in this moment of silence between listening to a song and playing it (similar to looking away from what is being drawn),
it is much easier for me to keep what i heard in my head until i play it back on a guitar .

At the end there are 12 musical notes no more.thats the alphabet of music.

so what is the alphabet of drawing? that can be used as reference.to construct or deconstruct a peice

I think Anyone who plays music might make a little more sense of that .

so again i really hope sombody can read through my post and give me some guidence.

Thanks:)

You need to switch your brain off and relax mate,stop beating yourself up and just draw a grid,or trace something if need be.As you follow sheet music you can understand the way of structuring something,same pattern of building.
Sometimes (when i freehand) i don't even look at the paper,just try and 'flow',It's amazing what your brain can control

U did a real reconstruction here,,my advice would be,,if u really wanna do portrait drawings,,than forget every questions u just wrote,,and try to work from the very basics,,if u r confident with line laying and shading then start with proportions of the head,,learn to work out each part of the face (here is a good link to a video where all the face parts worked out in real good details : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUlM2LuQ1q5WEc23462tQzBg&feature=plcp ).
Once u got to the point where u have learned enough about the face as an object and in details,,than to make it look alike each time,,u need to studie how to catch the character of the face, the main points of the face what makes each face a unique one. And finally practice practice and practice,,hope to c ur work and progress

Wow...errr, first, grab a pencil...that is all for today's lesson. Thank you!

But seriously, there is loads of info on here about how to draw a portrait, take your time and browse a bit.
Then post some drawings, and we will see where you need help.

Votre accueil.