Two Announcements

(Well, one announcement of an announcement)

We’ve all heard that drawing is a language. It’s a non-verbal expression that can be used to communicate what we see as well as our thoughts, ideas, feelings, connections, understanding … all of which add up to a singular and unique-to-you “experience” of the subject you are drawing. As such, it’s so much more than a one-stop technical skill that should only ever be used to describe the visual aspect of a thing.

But the problem for figure drawing artists, and anyone going to life drawing is that it’s all very well to talk about a “drawing language”, when what you’re faced with is having to draw what you see. And what you see is the near-definition of a representational, literal, visual subject. The Body!

But, the human figure is also the perfect subject to explore this idea of capturing something that is present, beyond what it simply looks like. Especially in Life Drawing. And I think this is why practicing to draw something so “representational” in a loose and intuitive way can actually help to unlock ways of expression that you might not discover if you were only ever tied to describing the visual aspect alone.

The crucial difference between focusing on making a photo likeness of a subject, versus making a responsive and intuitive likeness of a subject is the process. In a loose drawing, you can allow yourself to be much more interested in shape, line, edge and much more focused on exploring with a curious and intensely engaged way of looking. This is a rigorous training in itself, and can teach you how to actually see “correctly” - and it is very powerful because it develops observation as a global skill that encompasses experience, feeling and intuition.

Whereas working towards a strict photo likeness in drawing, and not allowing response or feeling in, tends to demand that you analyze every line in comparison to the photo reference, with respect to that line being “right” compared to the photo, or “wrong” compared to the photo.

This whole topic is something that I’ll dive into in future dispatches because there is so much to unpack here. In the next few weeks, I’ll be offering a 4-week Drawing Life Cohort if anyone is interested in developing a dynamic and expressive approach to drawing the figure. So, stay tuned for all the details about that next week.

In the meantime, I posted a video here of 2 drawings that were made with a loose and exploring line, so please check this out if you have time:
How to Draw the Figure with Loose Lines

And while on the subject of YT videos… something completely different:

Any animators here?? 👀
I recently worked on a commission for Procreate for the launch of their updated Procreate Dreams app, and Skillshare just published an interview with me about the project. Please check it out if you are interested in animation, especially if you want to learn how to use Procreate Dreams for your work. And let me know if you have any questions!
The Story of Jessie
(yes… of course…I made an animation about my dog! 😂)

Wishing you a wonderful week

Siobhan