I found you from RUclips search for scratcherboard tutorial and subscribed last week. Love the discoursive method of teasing out the academic and practical, which I never had. I'm self taught but don't like the description. Self directed and taught by other artists. How do I get my work critiqued? Brilliant tutorial on portraiture (and scratcherboard drawing!😊)
Yes, that's almost everyone's first impulse when it comes to the head, I totally did that too when I was first getting started! Hot white men do come in handy 😄 -Prof Lieu
I cannot watch a single Art Prof video without leaving a comment and giving it a thumbs up! I love ART PROF!!!! These videos have pushed my artwork forward and helped me step out of my artistic self-ridicule!
The grid system just starts you down the right path and saves some time in avoiding errors down the road. It doesn’t match color or get the tones right which are really what make a great painting It is the painter who decides what they’re painting and how the finished painting looks. The grid doesn’t make the painting any more than the reference photo does - it is the artist making decisions on how to use it. The audience gets to decide if they like it or not but the idea that their guess about the method used would be a factor in that critique seems counter to what the experience should be about.
Very true!! I think that every tool can be successful depending on which artist is utilizing it-- if grids are what you love, embrace it! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
I think this is one of the best drawing videos I have ever seen, so far. I will definitely start applying these tips and advices to my drawings. I wish I had seen this before. Thank you!!!
I'm so late to this, but hearing you say that you "sculpt your drawings"... agh! I feel so seen/heard! I thought I was crazy that I was describing drawing like that to my students, but it's totally like sculpting!
Once you think of drawing like carving out an image, it changes everything! We're so glad you liked the video :) Here's another portrait video, if you're interested in watching: ruclips.net/video/MKL-57HexCk/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
It's funny, because I can remember how, in junior high in the 70s, I was doing a sculpture of a horse and mentally feeling down a horse's leg and making that happen with the clay. In drawing, that's often how I think, too. I totally get this three-dimensional sculpting aspect of 2D drawing!
Art Prof, I tune in to your channel often. You remind me of the best instructors I had when attending university in France when I was a young artist. Your advice to young artists is really good and obviously based in experience and you also I would guess had excellent instruction as a budding artist. My instructors worked me to death when I was in school. Much of their initial teaching involved hours and hours of copying great artists in Parisian museums. They were also brutal in their critiques. Art schooling in France in the late 1960s was not for the faint of heart. Many students dropped out because of hurt feelings and just pure exhaustion. I received valuable instruction in those early days. But I must tell you my most “useful” learning was directly out of life experience. After graduation from my school in 1974 I immediately went back home to England (I was born in the U.S. but raised mostly in London with my mom and also in Norway with other relatives. I am a Triple citizen of these countries). I then joined the Royal Marines. I served with them for eight years including serving in the Falklands War in 1981 where I was badly wounded in combat. I then took a few years off to paint and travel then I was asked to join Norway’s Jaegerkommandoen which is that county’s version of Navy Seals. I served with Jaegerkommandoen for twelve years including combat missions into Serbia in the early 1990s. I fought there to try to end the slaughter of ethnic Muslims. What I witnessed there including the defiling and murder of little girls under the age of eight years took a toll on me that has lasted longer than the after effects of any of my wounds. In fact I was shot by a sniper in 199. The bullet entered my right hip and then skipped up inside my body nicking my liver, nicking my right lung and finally lodging under my collarbone. I hope I am not going on too long but I tell this to say that my growth as an artist was deeply informed by my life experiences both those wonderful and those that were an absolute horror. I have seen artists both young and older who never seem to achieve anything like LIFE in their work no matter what the medium they choose. So, it is Life and Experience that makes an artist as much as formal study and pure long hours practice. I was just diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and I accept this as just another part of my journey as a human being and an artist. If I survive it well, I would love that as would the people I love. But if I do not then that is as it ought to be: Another part of my journey on the planet. Your channel and a few others help me distract myself from pain and worry. The people I love keep me going as well. The painting series I have been working on for the past two years rounds out my days and nights and will be what I leave to my daughter and granddaughter to do with as they will. I hope my work is good enough to have a life after mine terminates. But who knows. I am not doing this to ask you to see this work. My daughter and myself have plans for it. I am not looking for attention or to promote my work. I actually just wanted to congratulate you on a very fine RUclips channel and to commend you on your excellent work. Finally, I live in Texas now. Yeah, I know right, Texas. People have. Become so mean hearted and downright evil here. Though I have extensive military experience I am NOT one of Trump’s Yawping crowd of imbeciles. I hope for peace and kindness because I have seen and dealt with those who worship chaos and misery. Art is a vehicle for peace and understanding in all genre and any style. Thanks for your work. By the way, my name is Rune Madlands. Stay healthy and keep doing what you do. Hope there aren’t too many typos or auto corrects. I am just too lazy to go back and correct them. 😳😁
I'm Colombian originally but I'm watching from England, I really like your style of teaching Art prof popped up in my RUclips while looking for lesson plans. Thank you for all your work! I have been watching for a few months Learning so much. Keep going
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for being here! We appreciate the kind words and we're so happy to help you create :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
On drawing portraits for my fashion illustrations, I usually starts with the facial structure and the hair especially the hair because it gives me the cue to what the characteristics of the model would be given I do not have someone I draw.
I just found your youtube channel yesterday through the youtube automatic play button after i finished watching video about Vincent Van Gogh. and i could not stop watching the videos thereon. The whole time i am like why nobody told me about this channel, i could have learned so much more...
Wow, we're so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for tuning in with us, we've got a mountain of content you can check out here if you're interested in learning more: artprof.org/library/resources/ - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I try to squint down and then focus on getting the value relationships of the large masses, and edge relationships of the large masses....which gives me the topography (the form) of the sitters head. That's usually what gives the likeness and the mood of the portrait. Any added details from there are like the spots on the surface of the apple, as Sargent used to say. Getting the topography is really the game. I love this woman's beautiful face...and voice. You can hear her passion for art and drawing in her voice. Thank you.
Thank you so much for tuning in! I agree-- working from general shapes down to details are the way to go. It's like the detail is the reward after a long day's work! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Welcome to the Art Prof family! We have recently launched our free discord server for artists from all over the globe to connect, share their work, get critiques and more! We'd love to see you there: discord.gg/g5XQRpT - Hema Somaya, Art Prof Staff
Excellent. I personally think everything has details in one or other way, but if you think about it the details that matters are the ones that if you don't put it there it takes away essence and expression. Thank you so much prof Clara, I admire your amazing vibe. 🌹
This is my favourite video so far I think. It's hilarious that Clara keeps bringing back Benjamin and jamming in dreamy compliments lol. So glad she didn't listen to that Ronen weirdo.
finally someone mention it, i started drawing and inconsciusly i was drawing "only" portraits and I never NEVER used the grid system. Although many artists where using it - after almost 7 years of drawing I dont recommand the grid system
this is AMAZING content. Im so sad i discovered art prof really late. You guys are the best ! I also identify with your benedict cumberbatch crush on a spiritual level.
Hi, thank you for your tutorial, many pertinent points that have helped clear up some of the issues I am having. I started portrait drawing using the contestants on the tv programme "'Mastermind"", because the contestants are only in the chair for approx 1 minute with front and side views. So quick sketches trying to get the character of the person . The results were a mixed bag but fun. Then I found all those ''how to' instructions on u-tube and have lost the fun and the character of the subjects! So thank you again, I will go back to observing the individuality and pose of the subject and enjoying the process, I will also try charcoal. PS I found you from artist Louise Stigel.
've been watching since late 2017 and I came across your channel as I was pretty interested in seeing youtube videos about art school portfolios and the algorithm recommended me one of yours from when you used to be in a studio critiquing portfolios. it's been really cool seeing the progression of the type of videos the channel makes throughout the years(i.e. artwork critiques where you guys used to sit and discuss about a work lol)
Thanks so much for following our channel for so long!! I always think about Art Prof as a work in progress, we're always evolving and changing, which is what makes it so fun! -Prof Lieu
I start my portraits with the contour of the cheeks and jaw and that’s a thing I do when I am making my toys too so I paint like this because it’s makes it more accurate so I don’t have to worry about measurement proportions I don’t know why but, works perfect for me.
Just finished watching woman in gold and just found this channel today . I’m trying to better my technique . The movie was truly inspiring. And these videos are awesome!!! 👏🏽 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Just found your videos in the last week and am blown away by the amount of knowledge and depth of research that obviously go into each one. Well done, and a fantastic set of resources. I've already learned a lot and Ive been drawing and painting for many years. I think you're helping me to 'let go' of some of the unhelpful stuff that has been inhibiting me in my work. And that is in one week and a few videos. Because of the coronavirus we're hunkering down here to ride out the storm, and what better way to spend the time than watching such inspirational videos and making copious notes.
What an excellent video. Found your channel yesterday, youtube recommended. I am a beginner artist, have been sketching a lot lately especially portraits, and all your advice hit right on the mark. Hoping to get to the next level, and videos like these help me greatly. I am looking forward to watching the tutorials on your channel. Thank you and keep up the good work ! Really enjoyed looking at all the great examples you showed esp Kathe Kollwitz, Van Gogh.
Thank you so much. I learnt a lot from this video. You made me value so much more many things about the head. I had my mind blown when you brought this drawing with no details to the table. There's a lot information here, but totally worth rewatching it. This video is awesome and your work too.
Thanks for watching! Clara is a wizard at anatomy, and the anatomy videos about the head really helped me to connect the dots with portraiture. ruclips.net/p/PLvt8_pMl6ywmazoENEsPesAumylTEHEoa -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
So thankful for these videos. I've started to draw again after always feeling bad and shity when I saw my portrait wasn't coming out nice and precise how I wanted (and yess I am Guly for starting with the eyes, nose and mouth hehe). but i'm glad this video is long and in depth I hope I can advance in drawing/painting and this time in not giving up lol i'm going to keep trying till I get it right. thank you!
These videos are so inspiring for me. I'm only young but you teach in a way that people can understand you across all different ages and skill levels. I can watch these videos while doing anything, their educational while also being entertaining and engaging : )
CumberB/Sherlock ❤️ here. Your Cumberbatch thumbnail made me laugh so now I have to comment. I agree with an earlier commenter that you're the coolest art teacher. And I'll add one of the best I've listened to. This one hour is jam packed with spot-on lessons many instructors take an entire semester to make. Thank you!
Awesome, glad it was helpful! Here are our other videos on portraiture in case you want more: ruclips.net/p/PLvt8_pMl6ywnK732ChN2j2qhj4UI3cnHE -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
I begin with the shape of the head with hair, neck and shoulders. Next hairline, ear, and jawline to isolate the face. Then eyes, nose, mouth. Also, I was taught to work on the entire image so at any time you stop, the whole image is at the same stage of development… in other words, not a line drawing with detailed eyes. Oh… I’d have voted Hugh Jackman! ❤❤❤❤❤
I have seen it said that one should be able to draw a realistic portrait before you can draw a caricature. My experience has been the opposite: I can often get a recognizable likeness when working in a cartoonish style, but when attempting to draw realistically, not only do I mostly fail to capture a likeness, my portrait frequently does not even vaguely resemble the person in the reference. This actually makes sense: a caricature does not have to be in proportion. But with a realistic-style drawing, everything has to be exactly right or you won't get a likeness and/or your picture will sit in uncanny valley, i.e. look unintentionally "off" or funny or creepy. And thus, realistic portrait drawing really tests one's ability to copy accurately, and to see often quite subtle things. Draw a bird and you can still convince yourself that you succeeded admirably; draw your fav uncle or celebrity, and you will immediately see whether or not you really succeeded. So to me this is a very valuable aspect of portrait drawing, and why everyone should have a go at it even if they are not particularly interested in portraiture - it will really stretch your ability to draw accurately and notice all manner of things you might not in other subjects. To some extent the same is true of figure drawing: you can immediately see if something is off, because we all know what figures are supposedly to look like. This is likely why in the classical art schools of old, they put so much emphasis on figure drawing, even for students who ended up specializing in landscapes or still life: if you can draw good figures and portraits, you can draw anything. I would agree that we should not go into panic if the portrait doesn't resemble the model (it can take a huge amount of practice to get there) but in the longer run, getting a likeness is after all the goal of portraiture, so you can't just ignore it either. How close you can get serves as a good measure of how good your eye is.
I totally agree with you. I feel like a successful portrait with a captured likeness of the person falls somewhere in the middle though. With realistic portraiture, you get the likeness and the subtlety as you said, but then additionally getting a sense of life or movement involves emphasis of features that may not be there in a still frame. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure it's something you feel, right? -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
@@artprof Indeed: a good caricature can actually look more like the sitter than a realistic portrait. And as the video noted with portraits by Sargent, even in realism that kind of expressive effect can still be brought in. This is why many people feel that photorealism is technically impressive but a bit lacking in expression and personality. It all depends on what one is trying to achieve, the type of art etc. Some kinds of art requires more accuracy. But in any event, stylization should preferably be the artist's choice, rather than the artist making a virtue of necessity. If you can do realism well, you give yourself options that you might otherwise not have. Sargent did not stretch out Nijinsky's neck by accident. :-)
I love this video and I think it’s great, I will say though that personally I have a hard time fully agreeing with never starting with the eyes nose or mouth. For me, I always start with the nose as it then gives me a foundation to judge where everything else should be in relation to that center “point”. When starting somewhere other than the eyes or nose, I have always had a hard time gaining any accuracy within the portrait. I have still learned to draw very accurate portraits at this point in my art journey doing things in the manner that I do, and have struggle gaining accuracy doing it any other way. I personally don’t think either are sins, so long as you do what makes the most sense to you, and gives you the best results. Though I do agree that it is important to map out everything in the beginning before shading, adding any detail etc.
For sure! Everyone has a different process-- in the end, it comes down to what works best for you :) If you liked the video, you might also enjoy this one about how to draw hair: ruclips.net/video/WDpfdgOfKTg/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Wow, thank you so much for tuning in! There is so much to learn outside of art school, you'll be just fine :) Feel free to join our discord, a lot of us chat about artwork/creation there from time to time: artprof.org/community/join-us-on-discord/ - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
damn i feel so grateful and lucky to have come across this video and this channel. i actually i came across this channel cause i was watching RISD related stuffs like accepted portfolios and things like that and i am so glad to come across this channel.. like i was literally doing so many mistakes (of course starting with the eyes, nose and the lips) i am so glad to learn from my mistake.. i am actually a graphic design student but i actually like illustration more cause it like attracts me and makes me wanna try drawing people. but i am not sure for myself if i would become a graphic designer or an illustrator or an animator... i am just trying to figure my way.. thank you so much for this video
We are so happy you think so, thank you so much for tuning in!! You might enjoy this portrait track of ours, there are tons of vids to check out & lots to learn: artprof.org/learn/portrait-track/ - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I dont know if youre gonna see thid, but anwering to your question on the video: im from peru and I discovered you like 4 days ago... I've been obsessed with your work, its super useful and has helped me a lot in so little time ♡
Guilty I would start with angle and eyes. But I always would imagine the structure and negative space. Now I block in first. I tried grid drawing and it took forever. I ended up eyeballing a couple different pictures for reference. A few reference points are ok. So happy to know I can toss the grid...
These days I do portraits for people a lot, and people seem to really love ir. But what they don't know is that the reason I'm so obsessed is that I sort of almost have a mild degree of face blindness. When I was younger I have so much trouble telling people's faces apart, I remember people used to tell me a son looks like his dad and I would be totally not seeing it. So I spend a lot of time examining the details, and obssessing over the relationships of shapes. It's a bit embarrassing. Now I don't have that trouble as much anymore, not sure if drawing helped me.
Thank you so much for sharing this story, it's amazing how you dived into portraiture in this way. It's always interesting to hear stories about how people are drawn to making art, even if you aren't sure it helped :) You might enjoy this portrait video as well, feel free to check it out! ruclips.net/video/1-gA3QUA_F4/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
That's really interesting. I wonder if drawing is giving you lots of stored face representations in your memory that then overcomes your difficulty by repetition and practice? Or maybe it's the way that having to do close observation for a portrait can overcome natural shyness? Some of us avoid eye contact and end up missing detail.
I discovered your channel a few days ago. I watched the video where you and the male professor talked about the differences in acryl and oil and I subcribed right away. Before I drew a lot and did only a few paintings, but I want to get deeper into painting. I felt I am to solw for acrylpaint, that is why I searched on RUclips for some videos that could help me. Maybe I will try retarder in the future. Since then I watched a few more videos and I really like them. Because the videos are so long, I like to listen to them while I am drawing or more doodleing. I can feel how passionated you guys are about art and that helps a lot with bringing the content across. I am glad I found your channel! Thanks for the good work. P.S. I am from Germany, just because you asked in the video :D
Thank you so much for this comment, and for watching our videos! Acrylic can be really hard to get the hang of, but we have tons of videos that can help the process, like this one: ruclips.net/video/CFULyTf-RzM/видео.html Good luck, and happy painting :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Really enjoying your channel. Heard about you from another RUclips artist (Frugal Crafter). Learning so much as I never had a chance to get a formal art education beyond a horrible experience in high school. (basically absolutely no instruction - just handed supplies --- disappointing). After a hiatus of over 35 years, I now have time (and money) to explore my artistic side. Scrambling to cram a lot of info in. Love all mediums, but it's hard and frustrating to learn through failure all the time ---- LOL! I don't want to be THAT anal person (so don't take this as criticism) but if you are wanting to pronounce her name correctly, it is KAY-TEH Kollwitz (sorry....half-German here).
If you do not have access a skull and skeleton use books,to draw as precisely possible,use magazines,books and photographs lay a clear plastic copy sheet and fine point marker and draw the skeleton of the image. FIRST draw from life always, the grid system only works well if you you have that experience. Drawing from life will never be replaced, however it is not always possible. Cafes,trains or any where that people are semi still for 10 minutes or more is a wonderful idea. Michelangelo's drawings are actually beautiful small masterpieces no bigger than 11x14". I use both freehand and a projector,which may be perceived to be worse than the grid system. I am working with the old glazing technique, where colors are NOT mixed and applied in various veils. So,yes if you really want to learn to draw or paint you have to do it from life,before you can move on to the next challenge.
We don’t have one yet, we will get to it eventually, it’s on our list! I do have an Instagram highlight on drawing hair with Michael Fassbender, I’m at @claralieu. Perhaps that can tie you over! -Prof Lieu
I'm fixated on a painting I'm working on of Anne Hathaway (not too hard to look at right) and struggling with her chin and jaw line because the reference photo has no real contrast and due to the head tilt and expression and the transitions are so subtle (i think I'm lost in the details now because the underpainting was a good likeness of the overall structure and then I lost it). Anyway Great tips. I have to go back now and rebuild the structure. Thanks very much Clara you're knowledge and enthusiasm and humor is greatly appreciated (from Canada) - PS - Anne is to me what Cumberbatch is to you, an inspiration from a classic female beauty - sigh :)
The problem is that very few viewers here are likely to have developed the intuitive sense of where and how things align in a facial study, unless one elects the most basic and easily checked pose, a direct squarely frontal view. If one uses a basic grid to note benchmarks that are unique to the sitter, from that stage on, as the portrait develops, the artist can relax and focus on shapes, values, shading, confident that everything will cohere through the process. Most of us are not going to be able to instinctively see accurate proportions like Sargent. My own hierarchy of a successful portrait, with only tongue slightly in cheek, measures what a stranger sees: 1) Is it a human; 2) Is the gender recognizable; 3) Does the age appear within 5 years of the actual age; 4) Are more distinctive attributes present, like ethnicity, and a general likeness of an actual person, not a mannequin; 5) Is the viewer going to recognize the subject in a crowd/lineup; 6) Does the portrait bear clues to a vitality that suggests some emotional state, even a sense of personality, and not just one of the cliched tortured, twisted angst-ridden subject. Note details aren't mentioned here, and so the Nijinsky is a perfect success. The "psychological baggage" of the best portraits should really be about the sitter's state, not be a narcissistic reflection of the artist - otherwise, they're wasting the sitter's time, and insulting the purchaser. It sounds absurdly arrogant to talk of the artist's experience as more intrinsically important than the final result. The clinical, morgue-likenesses which have every hair perfect fail, because they present a face in a condition we never ever experience, in normal life. Many also fail, because while each part seems accurate enough, the minute distortions from poor initial critical proportion setting makes the result an unsettling, very subtle sort of caricature where the viewer sees the resemblance, but senses something is off, anyway. Many works may achieve a level of great art, but still fall below a strictly outstanding portrait, and living artists need to consider the lasting evidence of a portrait as something other than an ego trip.
Hi, I was just wondering if you are going to cover individual facial feature in your anatomy series? You might’ve mentioned it somewhere but I don’t really recall it...
Hi! Yes, we will get to the anatomical structure of the face at some point. For now, here is a playlist of our current anatomy videos: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html -Prof Lieu
Thanks so much - great information! Learning to draw later in life I have had a hard time avoiding symbols for eyes, nose, mouth, etc so concentrating on shapes and not labeling has helped a lot. I love Benedict, too! Have you seen him in "Van Gogh Painted with Words?" He was great, but much more handsome than Van Gogh :-)
People get fixated on likeness because recognition of the face is a strong cognitive process. As soon as we see a face, we get working on identifying the person and comparing it to our stored memories of them. Working out exactly who it is, is so important that our minds get engaged in scanning for recognition automatically. Also the history of portrait making is all about tying the image to the person. Patronage didn't work if the end result didn't have something to say about the individual and their character and achievements. Non-artists assessing a portrait are only interested in how good a likeness it is and will be very disappointed if it 'fails' to look just like the sitter. Might be a good idea to make portraits of unknown subjects to sidestep all of these pressures.
I think you're totally right, there is so much psychology that goes into portraiture in the end. I think that is much more important than photorealism in the end :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Ommg when you started talking proportions 👏👏👏 my ears are smaller than my nose 🤣 my ears are actually quite small in general!! No ones perfectly symmetrical anyway 😎 why would we want to be? I’d look weird. Really wish I came across your channel sooner!
If you stress out, just listen to bob ross. Seriously, i had this flower painting I hated because it actually truly sucked, like all of my art, but I was ta,king to myself like Bob ross and not caring ifi screwed it up because I already hated it and now instead of it looking like a 3rd grader painted it, it looks like a 5th grader painted it, which is actually good for me because I paint like a 3rd grader.I mean seriously, I don't even know how to draw a head with the geometry, so yeah, but I have fun still, and I actually just learned a few things. Actually I learned about 5 things in the last two days. Anyway, the shadow now looks like a shadow instead of a colored line, and the part of the flower that is round and forward looks round and in front of the part behind which is basic stuff, but much harder to do with color.
That's SUCH a great idea! I'm feeling calmer just thinking to myself as if I were Bob Ross. Nothing can shake that guy. Thank you so much for watching, if you liked this video, feel free to check out this anatomy for artist's video, ft. Hugh Jackman: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Commission customers care very little about your “process”. Gridding is a method has definitely has a place. If it gives you the best result for someone paying you money you’re arrogant af if you don’t implement it. Sketch practice and stuff you do for enrichment is where you can make mistakes and find yourself. When your on somebody else’s dime do what’s best for customer satisfaction.
I think my problem is that I’m always like “ how about I draw the eyes first?!” Then I do and then the eyes are too big for the rest of the face! It’s like I know that I should start with where things are placed then everything is off from how weird looking lol!
the fourth season of sherlock was (in my opinion) so bad when they canceled I didn't feel anything. the first 3 season were awesome though. I'm from tasmania, it's a state of australia :), found you guys a week ago. I normal can't watch hour long videos but I can watch your videos for hours :D
I have EXTREMELY STRONG FEELING ABOUT PEPPERS! I just don’t know what they are. By the way, the Grid System of drawing is counterproductive and does not speak well about the artist’s talent.
I love your channel but I don’t always have a stretch of time to listen to the whole episode. Would you consider shorter episodes? Like maybe 15 mins? Your knowledge and sharing is so valuable
Hi Sue! We do have quite a number of short form summary videos of the longer content for exactly this reason. I'm realizing now that there isn't a super easy way to search for those, so perhaps we can do better at Art Prof of making them easy to find. Here's the one for Portrait Drawing Mistakes for now! ruclips.net/video/RfJ4dS3eWC4/видео.html -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
Great talk. Confirms many things I've experienced and learned the hard way along the road. Funnny and nice! And winner of the Freudian Slip of the Year Award: "Cumberbitch" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Hear Prof Lieu explain how light and shadow works in painting via Michael Fassbender: ruclips.net/video/vt-xNqlhGGA/видео.html
I found you today(8.3.20)...youtube suggested it, and it's EXACTLY what I need! wow!
I found you from RUclips search for scratcherboard tutorial and subscribed last week. Love the discoursive method of teasing out the academic and practical, which I never had. I'm self taught but don't like the description. Self directed and taught by other artists. How do I get my work critiqued? Brilliant tutorial on portraiture (and scratcherboard drawing!😊)
@@song4night I 000
oh my god she’s like the cool art teacher i’ve always wanted
"With the help of some hot white men. Here we have Benedict Cumberbatch."
I'm dyinggggg
We have other hot white men here: ruclips.net/video/vt-xNqlhGGA/видео.html and here: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html -Prof Lieu
i c o n i c
*Cumberbitch
I am currently breaking the bad habit of drawing the eyes nose and mouth first. I also love that you use Cumberbatch as your example, haha.
Yes, that's almost everyone's first impulse when it comes to the head, I totally did that too when I was first getting started! Hot white men do come in handy 😄 -Prof Lieu
You're really helping people like me who wants to study art but can't. And I really appreciate your passion. Thank you! And God bless!
I'm so glad I can help!!! -Prof Lieu
I cannot watch a single Art Prof video without leaving a comment and giving it a thumbs up! I love ART PROF!!!! These videos have pushed my artwork forward and helped me step out of my artistic self-ridicule!
Aah, that's AMAZING!! Thank you so much for the support :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
The grid system just starts you down the right path and saves some time in avoiding errors down the road. It doesn’t match color or get the tones right which are really what make a great painting
It is the painter who decides what they’re painting and how the finished painting looks. The grid doesn’t make the painting any more than the reference photo does - it is the artist making decisions on how to use it. The audience gets to decide if they like it or not but the idea that their guess about the method used would be a factor in that critique seems counter to what the experience should be about.
Very true!! I think that every tool can be successful depending on which artist is utilizing it-- if grids are what you love, embrace it! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
cried when she said cumberbitch, this channel is just great
Omg I am NEVER going to live that down...😂 -Prof Lieu
Amazing!! Laughting so hard... LOVE her.
I think this is one of the best drawing videos I have ever seen, so far. I will definitely start applying these tips and advices to my drawings. I wish I had seen this before. Thank you!!!
I wish I had found this a lot earlier! This is the best channel I’ve ever come across.
Wow, we are honored!!!!! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
I'm so late to this, but hearing you say that you "sculpt your drawings"... agh! I feel so seen/heard! I thought I was crazy that I was describing drawing like that to my students, but it's totally like sculpting!
Once you think of drawing like carving out an image, it changes everything! We're so glad you liked the video :) Here's another portrait video, if you're interested in watching: ruclips.net/video/MKL-57HexCk/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
It's funny, because I can remember how, in junior high in the 70s, I was doing a sculpture of a horse and mentally feeling down a horse's leg and making that happen with the clay. In drawing, that's often how I think, too. I totally get this three-dimensional sculpting aspect of 2D drawing!
Art Prof, I tune in to your channel often. You remind me of the best instructors I had when attending university in France when I was a young artist. Your advice to young artists is really good and obviously based in experience and you also I would guess had excellent instruction as a budding artist. My instructors worked me to death when I was in school. Much of their initial teaching involved hours and hours of copying great artists in Parisian museums. They were also brutal in their critiques. Art schooling in France in the late 1960s was not for the faint of heart. Many students dropped out because of hurt feelings and just pure exhaustion. I received valuable instruction in those early days. But I must tell you my most “useful” learning was directly out of life experience. After graduation from my school in 1974 I immediately went back home to England (I was born in the U.S. but raised mostly in London with my mom and also in Norway with other relatives. I am a Triple citizen of these countries). I then joined the Royal Marines. I served with them for eight years including serving in the Falklands War in 1981 where I was badly wounded in combat. I then took a few years off to paint and travel then I was asked to join Norway’s Jaegerkommandoen which is that county’s version of Navy Seals. I served with Jaegerkommandoen for twelve years including combat missions into Serbia in the early 1990s. I fought there to try to end the slaughter of ethnic Muslims. What I witnessed there including the defiling and murder of little girls under the age of eight years took a toll on me that has lasted longer than the after effects of any of my wounds. In fact I was shot by a sniper in 199. The bullet entered my right hip and then skipped up inside my body nicking my liver, nicking my right lung and finally lodging under my collarbone. I hope I am not going on too long but I tell this to say that my growth as an artist was deeply informed by my life experiences both those wonderful and those that were an absolute horror. I have seen artists both young and older who never seem to achieve anything like LIFE in their work no matter what the medium they choose. So, it is Life and Experience that makes an artist as much as formal study and pure long hours practice. I was just diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and I accept this as just another part of my journey as a human being and an artist. If I survive it well, I would love that as would the people I love. But if I do not then that is as it ought to be: Another part of my journey on the planet. Your channel and a few others help me distract myself from pain and worry. The people I love keep me going as well. The painting series I have been working on for the past two years rounds out my days and nights and will be what I leave to my daughter and granddaughter to do with as they will. I hope my work is good enough to have a life after mine terminates. But who knows. I am not doing this to ask you to see this work. My daughter and myself have plans for it. I am not looking for attention or to promote my work. I actually just wanted to congratulate you on a very fine RUclips channel and to commend you on your excellent work. Finally, I live in Texas now. Yeah, I know right, Texas. People have. Become so mean hearted and downright evil here. Though I have extensive military experience I am NOT one of Trump’s Yawping crowd of imbeciles. I hope for peace and kindness because I have seen and dealt with those who worship chaos and misery. Art is a vehicle for peace and understanding in all genre and any style. Thanks for your work. By the way, my name is Rune Madlands. Stay healthy and keep doing what you do. Hope there aren’t too many typos or auto corrects. I am just too lazy to go back and correct them. 😳😁
I'm Colombian originally but I'm watching from England, I really like your style of teaching Art prof popped up in my RUclips while looking for lesson plans. Thank you for all your work! I have been watching for a few months Learning so much. Keep going
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for being here! We appreciate the kind words and we're so happy to help you create :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
On drawing portraits for my fashion illustrations, I usually starts with the facial structure and the hair especially the hair because it gives me the cue to what the characteristics of the model would be given I do not have someone I draw.
I just found your youtube channel yesterday through the youtube automatic play button after i finished watching video about Vincent Van Gogh. and i could not stop watching the videos thereon. The whole time i am like why nobody told me about this channel, i could have learned so much more...
Wow, we're so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for tuning in with us, we've got a mountain of content you can check out here if you're interested in learning more: artprof.org/library/resources/ - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I am in love with her candor and sincere and genuine love for all of us that need the real real. Xoxo
I try to squint down and then focus on getting the value relationships of the large masses, and edge relationships of the large masses....which gives me the topography (the form) of the sitters head. That's usually what gives the likeness and the mood of the portrait. Any added details from there are like the spots on the surface of the apple, as Sargent used to say. Getting the topography is really the game. I love this woman's beautiful face...and voice. You can hear her passion for art and drawing in her voice. Thank you.
Thank you so much for tuning in! I agree-- working from general shapes down to details are the way to go. It's like the detail is the reward after a long day's work! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
@@artprof " It's like the detail is the reward after a long day's work! " Well put. I totally agree. - Cheers!
You're energy is so engaging, best teacher I've ever had, not even just best art teacher, best in general.
Thank you so much.
@@artprof Thank you for your reply! You are all incredible, amazing channel.
This is awesome. I was literally drawing a self portrait earlier, and was thinking of the nose as a little sculpture!
Yes!! I always think of the face like a 3D map :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Started painting and drawing year ago. Discovered you couple weeks ago. Love the advice! Thank you for all the work!
Welcome to the Art Prof family! We have recently launched our free discord server for artists from all over the globe to connect, share their work, get critiques and more! We'd love to see you there: discord.gg/g5XQRpT
- Hema Somaya, Art Prof Staff
Excellent. I personally think everything has details in one or other way, but if you think about it the details that matters are the ones that if you don't put it there it takes away essence and expression. Thank you so much prof Clara, I admire your amazing vibe. 🌹
Well said!! Thanks for watching. -Prof Lieu
this channel has honestly reinspired me SO much
This is my favourite video so far I think. It's hilarious that Clara keeps bringing back Benjamin and jamming in dreamy compliments lol. So glad she didn't listen to that Ronen weirdo.
Hahaha that's nothing compared to how I feel about Michael Fassbender. 😂 -Prof Lieu
Yes,the skeletal of the face is very important. I often
Thanks!
Thank you so much for supporting us! ❤️ -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
yes. thats why im here. i cant afford art school or art classes, but i love art and i want to learn it. also i love these videos.
I always start my portrait with the head shape then move straight onto the features I shall be changing this after watching this
finally someone mention it, i started drawing and inconsciusly i was drawing "only" portraits and I never NEVER used the grid system. Although many artists where using it - after almost 7 years of drawing I dont recommand the grid system
I don't either, I never really found it intuitive! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
this is AMAZING content. Im so sad i discovered art prof really late. You guys are the best ! I also identify with your benedict cumberbatch crush on a spiritual level.
This was an amazing lecture! I took notes!
Hi, thank you for your tutorial, many pertinent points that have helped clear up some of the issues I am having. I started portrait drawing using the contestants on the tv programme "'Mastermind"", because the contestants are only in the chair for approx 1 minute with front and side views. So quick sketches trying to get the character of the person . The results were a mixed bag but fun. Then I found all those ''how to' instructions on u-tube and have lost the fun and the character of the subjects! So thank you again, I will go back to observing the individuality and pose of the subject and enjoying the process, I will also try charcoal. PS I found you from artist Louise Stigel.
Thanks for sharing, it makes all the difference with learning if you can figure out how to have fun with it! -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
Amazing content. It really got me thinking so differently. I’m a beginner and I’m so glad to have this perspective early on. Thank you!
You are so welcome! Thank you so much for tuning in with us :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
've been watching since late 2017 and I came across your channel as I was pretty interested in seeing youtube videos about art school portfolios and the algorithm recommended me one of yours from when you used to be in a studio critiquing portfolios. it's been really cool seeing the progression of the type of videos the channel makes throughout the years(i.e. artwork critiques where you guys used to sit and discuss about a work lol)
Thanks so much for following our channel for so long!! I always think about Art Prof as a work in progress, we're always evolving and changing, which is what makes it so fun! -Prof Lieu
I start my portraits with the contour of the cheeks and jaw and that’s a thing I do when I am making my toys too so I paint like this because it’s makes it more accurate so I don’t have to worry about measurement proportions I don’t know why but, works perfect for me.
Just finished watching woman in gold and just found this channel today . I’m trying to better my technique . The movie was truly inspiring. And these videos are awesome!!! 👏🏽 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Tysm for watching, so glad you found us! -Prof Lieu
You are so insightful, informative and entertaining Prof. Lieu!
You're amazing!! Thanks so much for watching :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Hi there. I'm from Kenya, found you three days ago.
Thank you so much for Art Prof.
Welcome to the Art Prof Family! You are so welcome. :) -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
Just found your videos in the last week and am blown away by the amount of knowledge and depth of research that obviously go into each one. Well done, and a fantastic set of resources. I've already learned a lot and Ive been drawing and painting for many years. I think you're helping me to 'let go' of some of the unhelpful stuff that has been inhibiting me in my work. And that is in one week and a few videos. Because of the coronavirus we're hunkering down here to ride out the storm, and what better way to spend the time than watching such inspirational videos and making copious notes.
That’s so great to hear! Welcome to the Art Prof family. -Prof Lieu
What an excellent video. Found your channel yesterday, youtube recommended. I am a beginner artist, have been sketching a lot lately especially portraits, and all your advice hit right on the mark. Hoping to get to the next level, and videos like these help me greatly. I am looking forward to watching the tutorials on your channel. Thank you and keep up the good work ! Really enjoyed looking at all the great examples you showed esp Kathe Kollwitz, Van Gogh.
Glad to hear you found us! You might like this playlist of our anatomy videos: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html -Prof Lieu
6:53 I also like when the objects in a sill life tell a story, sometimes even acting as an inside out portrait of someone.
Yesss, I think that is called reification. -Lauryn Welch, Art Prof Teaching Artist
i just found you, super stoked!!! love your constructive ideas, i've gained so much, thank you Prof Lieu, you'r the best teacher!
Welcome to the Art Prof family!! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Thank you so much. I learnt a lot from this video. You made me value so much more many things about the head. I had my mind blown when you brought this drawing with no details to the table. There's a lot information here, but totally worth rewatching it. This video is awesome and your work too.
Thanks for watching! Clara is a wizard at anatomy, and the anatomy videos about the head really helped me to connect the dots with portraiture. ruclips.net/p/PLvt8_pMl6ywmazoENEsPesAumylTEHEoa
-Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
So thankful for these videos. I've started to draw again after always feeling bad and shity when I saw my portrait wasn't coming out nice and precise how I wanted (and yess I am Guly for starting with the eyes, nose and mouth hehe). but i'm glad this video is long and in depth I hope I can advance in drawing/painting and this time in not giving up lol i'm going to keep trying till I get it right. thank you!
That's great to hear! You might like this live drawing stream starring Benedict 😍 : ruclips.net/video/mOGVX94jDt0/видео.html
-Prof Lieu
These videos are so inspiring for me. I'm only young but you teach in a way that people can understand you across all different ages and skill levels. I can watch these videos while doing anything, their educational while also being entertaining and engaging : )
We're so happy to keep you company! It's great that you can learn and have fun with us, we love making these videos :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Prof. Lieu, thank you so much for this interesting teaching! You are such a great teacher!
She really is! Thanks for watching :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
CumberB/Sherlock ❤️ here. Your Cumberbatch thumbnail made me laugh so now I have to comment. I agree with an earlier commenter that you're the coolest art teacher. And I'll add one of the best I've listened to. This one hour is jam packed with spot-on lessons many instructors take an entire semester to make. Thank you!
I have a feeling you might like this live drawing stream then😍 ruclips.net/video/mOGVX94jDt0/видео.html -Prof Lieu
Thank you for all your hard work. Appreciate your channel so much.❤️
You are so welcome! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! You set me back on the track I started on :)
Rock on! You're so welcome :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Awesome, glad it was helpful! Here are our other videos on portraiture in case you want more: ruclips.net/p/PLvt8_pMl6ywnK732ChN2j2qhj4UI3cnHE -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
Thanks for putting so much good content! I learn a lot from your channel
We're so glad you're finding it helpful!
I begin with the shape of the head with hair, neck and shoulders. Next hairline, ear, and jawline to isolate the face. Then eyes, nose, mouth. Also, I was taught to work on the entire image so at any time you stop, the whole image is at the same stage of development… in other words, not a line drawing with detailed eyes.
Oh… I’d have voted Hugh Jackman! ❤❤❤❤❤
I have seen it said that one should be able to draw a realistic portrait before you can draw a caricature. My experience has been the opposite: I can often get a recognizable likeness when working in a cartoonish style, but when attempting to draw realistically, not only do I mostly fail to capture a likeness, my portrait frequently does not even vaguely resemble the person in the reference.
This actually makes sense: a caricature does not have to be in proportion. But with a realistic-style drawing, everything has to be exactly right or you won't get a likeness and/or your picture will sit in uncanny valley, i.e. look unintentionally "off" or funny or creepy.
And thus, realistic portrait drawing really tests one's ability to copy accurately, and to see often quite subtle things. Draw a bird and you can still convince yourself that you succeeded admirably; draw your fav uncle or celebrity, and you will immediately see whether or not you really succeeded.
So to me this is a very valuable aspect of portrait drawing, and why everyone should have a go at it even if they are not particularly interested in portraiture - it will really stretch your ability to draw accurately and notice all manner of things you might not in other subjects. To some extent the same is true of figure drawing: you can immediately see if something is off, because we all know what figures are supposedly to look like. This is likely why in the classical art schools of old, they put so much emphasis on figure drawing, even for students who ended up specializing in landscapes or still life: if you can draw good figures and portraits, you can draw anything.
I would agree that we should not go into panic if the portrait doesn't resemble the model (it can take a huge amount of practice to get there) but in the longer run, getting a likeness is after all the goal of portraiture, so you can't just ignore it either. How close you can get serves as a good measure of how good your eye is.
I totally agree with you. I feel like a successful portrait with a captured likeness of the person falls somewhere in the middle though. With realistic portraiture, you get the likeness and the subtlety as you said, but then additionally getting a sense of life or movement involves emphasis of features that may not be there in a still frame. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure it's something you feel, right? -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
@@artprof Indeed: a good caricature can actually look more like the sitter than a realistic portrait. And as the video noted with portraits by Sargent, even in realism that kind of expressive effect can still be brought in. This is why many people feel that photorealism is technically impressive but a bit lacking in expression and personality. It all depends on what one is trying to achieve, the type of art etc. Some kinds of art requires more accuracy.
But in any event, stylization should preferably be the artist's choice, rather than the artist making a virtue of necessity. If you can do realism well, you give yourself options that you might otherwise not have. Sargent did not stretch out Nijinsky's neck by accident. :-)
I love this video and I think it’s great, I will say though that personally I have a hard time fully agreeing with never starting with the eyes nose or mouth. For me, I always start with the nose as it then gives me a foundation to judge where everything else should be in relation to that center “point”. When starting somewhere other than the eyes or nose, I have always had a hard time gaining any accuracy within the portrait. I have still learned to draw very accurate portraits at this point in my art journey doing things in the manner that I do, and have struggle gaining accuracy doing it any other way. I personally don’t think either are sins, so long as you do what makes the most sense to you, and gives you the best results. Though I do agree that it is important to map out everything in the beginning before shading, adding any detail etc.
For sure! Everyone has a different process-- in the end, it comes down to what works best for you :) If you liked the video, you might also enjoy this one about how to draw hair: ruclips.net/video/WDpfdgOfKTg/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Started watching in June. Really enjoy the variety! Toronto, Ontario
That's awesome! Thank you for watching :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Just came across you now…watching from New Zealand. Have already learned so much, wish now that I had made the choice to go to art school
Wow, thank you so much for tuning in! There is so much to learn outside of art school, you'll be just fine :) Feel free to join our discord, a lot of us chat about artwork/creation there from time to time: artprof.org/community/join-us-on-discord/ - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
damn i feel so grateful and lucky to have come across this video and this channel. i actually i came across this channel cause i was watching RISD related stuffs like accepted portfolios and things like that and i am so glad to come across this channel.. like i was literally doing so many mistakes (of course starting with the eyes, nose and the lips) i am so glad to learn from my mistake.. i am actually a graphic design student but i actually like illustration more cause it like attracts me and makes me wanna try drawing people. but i am not sure for myself if i would become a graphic designer or an illustrator or an animator... i am just trying to figure my way.. thank you so much for this video
We are so happy you think so, thank you so much for tuning in!! You might enjoy this portrait track of ours, there are tons of vids to check out & lots to learn: artprof.org/learn/portrait-track/ - Mia, Art Prof Staff
@@artprof yeah i am glad thanks!
I dont know if youre gonna see thid, but anwering to your question on the video: im from peru and I discovered you like 4 days ago... I've been obsessed with your work, its super useful and has helped me a lot in so little time ♡
Welcome to the Art Prof family! ❤️-Prof Lieu
Guilty I would start with angle and eyes. But I always would imagine the structure and negative space. Now I block in first. I tried grid drawing and it took forever. I ended up eyeballing a couple different pictures for reference. A few reference points are ok. So happy to know I can toss the grid...
Toss out that grid!!!! Woohoo! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Hi there just found your channel, very intreating material, thanks, -- Saudi Arabia
Awesome, thank you! -Prof Lieu
I love this so much! Thank you for your efforts! Thinking of downloading discord just to join your community😆
Wow, that would be wonderful!! We would love to chat with you :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Ha ha ha.....totally agree with prof lieu.....i would also go “let’s just take a photo “....
These days I do portraits for people a lot, and people seem to really love ir. But what they don't know is that the reason I'm so obsessed is that I sort of almost have a mild degree of face blindness. When I was younger I have so much trouble telling people's faces apart, I remember people used to tell me a son looks like his dad and I would be totally not seeing it. So I spend a lot of time examining the details, and obssessing over the relationships of shapes. It's a bit embarrassing. Now I don't have that trouble as much anymore, not sure if drawing helped me.
Thank you so much for sharing this story, it's amazing how you dived into portraiture in this way. It's always interesting to hear stories about how people are drawn to making art, even if you aren't sure it helped :) You might enjoy this portrait video as well, feel free to check it out! ruclips.net/video/1-gA3QUA_F4/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
That's really interesting. I wonder if drawing is giving you lots of stored face representations in your memory that then overcomes your difficulty by repetition and practice?
Or maybe it's the way that having to do close observation for a portrait can overcome natural shyness? Some of us avoid eye contact and end up missing detail.
I discovered your channel a few days ago. I watched the video where you and the male professor talked about the differences in acryl and oil and I subcribed right away. Before I drew a lot and did only a few paintings, but I want to get deeper into painting. I felt I am to solw for acrylpaint, that is why I searched on RUclips for some videos that could help me. Maybe I will try retarder in the future.
Since then I watched a few more videos and I really like them. Because the videos are so long, I like to listen to them while I am drawing or more doodleing. I can feel how passionated you guys are about art and that helps a lot with bringing the content across. I am glad I found your channel! Thanks for the good work.
P.S. I am from Germany, just because you asked in the video :D
Thank you so much for this comment, and for watching our videos! Acrylic can be really hard to get the hang of, but we have tons of videos that can help the process, like this one: ruclips.net/video/CFULyTf-RzM/видео.html Good luck, and happy painting :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Really enjoying your channel. Heard about you from another RUclips artist (Frugal Crafter). Learning so much as I never had a chance to get a formal art education beyond a horrible experience in high school. (basically absolutely no instruction - just handed supplies --- disappointing). After a hiatus of over 35 years, I now have time (and money) to explore my artistic side. Scrambling to cram a lot of info in. Love all mediums, but it's hard and frustrating to learn through failure all the time ---- LOL! I don't want to be THAT anal person (so don't take this as criticism) but if you are wanting to pronounce her name correctly, it is KAY-TEH Kollwitz (sorry....half-German here).
I found your channel a couple of month ago, I am from Nassau county.
Glad you found us! -Prof Lieu
alright you convinced me to stop drawing floating heads, time to work on necks clothes and shoulders. thanks for the great video
Hooray! We love to hear that! 😁 -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
If you do not have access a skull and skeleton use books,to draw as precisely possible,use magazines,books and photographs lay a clear plastic copy sheet and fine point marker and draw the skeleton of the image.
FIRST draw from life always, the grid system only works well if you you have that experience. Drawing from life will never be replaced, however it is not always possible.
Cafes,trains or any where that people are semi still for 10 minutes or more is a wonderful idea.
Michelangelo's drawings are actually beautiful small masterpieces no bigger than 11x14".
I use both freehand and a projector,which may be perceived to be worse than the grid system. I am working with the old glazing technique, where colors are NOT mixed and applied in various veils. So,yes if you really want to learn to draw or paint you have to do it from life,before you can move on to the next challenge.
That's a really cool way of working!! I'd love to try it, I'm sure I would learn a lot :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I was wondering whether or not you have created a video on hair yet. I'm currently struggling with the process. Thank You!
We don’t have one yet, we will get to it eventually, it’s on our list! I do have an Instagram highlight on drawing hair with Michael Fassbender, I’m at @claralieu. Perhaps that can tie you over! -Prof Lieu
I'm fixated on a painting I'm working on of Anne Hathaway (not too hard to look at right) and struggling with her chin and jaw line because the reference photo has no real contrast and due to the head tilt and expression and the transitions are so subtle (i think I'm lost in the details now because the underpainting was a good likeness of the overall structure and then I lost it). Anyway Great tips. I have to go back now and rebuild the structure. Thanks very much Clara you're knowledge and enthusiasm and humor is greatly appreciated (from Canada) - PS - Anne is to me what Cumberbatch is to you, an inspiration from a classic female beauty - sigh :)
Hahaha I like your celeb analogy!!! 😂 -Prof Lieu
I tried not drawing from a model and I liked it. It ventured into more fantasy
If I am having trouble drawing say my cats paw. I think about ite form and how I would make it in clay
Thank you so mucch for your content am actually crying because of ur intro words ❤
I live in Rhode Island and I found you guys a few weeks ago
Yay!
This is very entertaining and helpful! Thank you :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
The problem is that very few viewers here are likely to have developed the intuitive sense of where and how things align in a facial study, unless one elects the most basic and easily checked pose, a direct squarely frontal view. If one uses a basic grid to note benchmarks that are unique to the sitter, from that stage on, as the portrait develops, the artist can relax and focus on shapes, values, shading, confident that everything will cohere through the process. Most of us are not going to be able to instinctively see accurate proportions like Sargent. My own hierarchy of a successful portrait, with only tongue slightly in cheek, measures what a stranger sees: 1) Is it a human; 2) Is the gender recognizable; 3) Does the age appear within 5 years of the actual age; 4) Are more distinctive attributes present, like ethnicity, and a general likeness of an actual person, not a mannequin; 5) Is the viewer going to recognize the subject in a crowd/lineup; 6) Does the portrait bear clues to a vitality that suggests some emotional state, even a sense of personality, and not just one of the cliched tortured, twisted angst-ridden subject. Note details aren't mentioned here, and so the Nijinsky is a perfect success.
The "psychological baggage" of the best portraits should really be about the sitter's state, not be a narcissistic reflection of the artist - otherwise, they're wasting the sitter's time, and insulting the purchaser. It sounds absurdly arrogant to talk of the artist's experience as more intrinsically important than the final result.
The clinical, morgue-likenesses which have every hair perfect fail, because they present a face in a condition we never ever experience, in normal life. Many also fail, because while each part seems accurate enough, the minute distortions from poor initial critical proportion setting makes the result an unsettling, very subtle sort of caricature where the viewer sees the resemblance, but senses something is off, anyway. Many works may achieve a level of great art, but still fall below a strictly outstanding portrait, and living artists need to consider the lasting evidence of a portrait as something other than an ego trip.
I used to draw top to bottom. Like hair to chin. Now I start with eyes. Idk it works for me best.
I agree totally, I believe it should be bannd along with ipads at competition s, like 'portrait artist of the year'.
Hi, I was just wondering if you are going to cover individual facial feature in your anatomy series? You might’ve mentioned it somewhere but I don’t really recall it...
Hi! Yes, we will get to the anatomical structure of the face at some point. For now, here is a playlist of our current anatomy videos: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html -Prof Lieu
Art Prof: Create & Critique that’s great!
Thanks so much - great information! Learning to draw later in life I have had a hard time avoiding symbols for eyes, nose, mouth, etc so concentrating on shapes and not labeling has helped a lot.
I love Benedict, too! Have you seen him in "Van Gogh Painted with Words?" He was great, but much more handsome than Van Gogh :-)
Awesome!! I haven't seen the Van Gogh movie with Benedict, will def have to check that out!!!😆 -Prof Lieu
I’ve seen Sherlock for a thousand times! 😅❤️
Make it a thousand and one, haha! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
People get fixated on likeness because recognition of the face is a strong cognitive process. As soon as we see a face, we get working on identifying the person and comparing it to our stored memories of them. Working out exactly who it is, is so important that our minds get engaged in scanning for recognition automatically.
Also the history of portrait making is all about tying the image to the person. Patronage didn't work if the end result didn't have something to say about the individual and their character and achievements.
Non-artists assessing a portrait are only interested in how good a likeness it is and will be very disappointed if it 'fails' to look just like the sitter.
Might be a good idea to make portraits of unknown subjects to sidestep all of these pressures.
I think you're totally right, there is so much psychology that goes into portraiture in the end. I think that is much more important than photorealism in the end :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Ommg when you started talking proportions 👏👏👏 my ears are smaller than my nose 🤣 my ears are actually quite small in general!! No ones perfectly symmetrical anyway 😎 why would we want to be? I’d look weird. Really wish I came across your channel sooner!
Yes, perfectly symmetrical or perfectly proportioned faces tend to look a bit uncanny! Thanks for watching! -Lauryn Welch, Art Prof Teaching Artist
I found this channel today , from INDIA
Wow, welcome! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
If you stress out, just listen to bob ross. Seriously, i had this flower painting I hated because it actually truly sucked, like all of my art, but I was ta,king to myself like Bob ross and not caring ifi screwed it up because I already hated it and now instead of it looking like a 3rd grader painted it, it looks like a 5th grader painted it, which is actually good for me because I paint like a 3rd grader.I mean seriously, I don't even know how to draw a head with the geometry, so yeah, but I have fun still, and I actually just learned a few things. Actually I learned about 5 things in the last two days. Anyway, the shadow now looks like a shadow instead of a colored line, and the part of the flower that is round and forward looks round and in front of the part behind which is basic stuff, but much harder to do with color.
That's SUCH a great idea! I'm feeling calmer just thinking to myself as if I were Bob Ross. Nothing can shake that guy. Thank you so much for watching, if you liked this video, feel free to check out this anatomy for artist's video, ft. Hugh Jackman: ruclips.net/video/3K1E6eOxiEY/видео.html - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
I'm in the process of learning and have been fighting the eyes nose mouth battle.
You might like this live drawing session: I draw Benedict from beginning to end. -Prof Lieu😄
Commission customers care very little about your “process”. Gridding is a method has definitely has a place. If it gives you the best result for someone paying you money you’re arrogant af if you don’t implement it. Sketch practice and stuff you do for enrichment is where you can make mistakes and find yourself. When your on somebody else’s dime do what’s best for customer satisfaction.
I think she's referring to students who want to learn how to draw portraits, not necessarily practicing pros who already know what they're doing
wow I found you today nearly a year after this episode. I´m watching from Sweden
Wow, welcome aboard! - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
thank you!!!
It's April 20,2022 and I just found you today.
Welcome to the Art Prof family! We hope you like what you've found :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Damn, i always, always start with the eyes first😵🤦🏽♀️
They're one of the most fun features to draw! Totally don't blame you - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
i spat out my apple when she accidentally said "Benedict Cumberbitch" haha omg
Haha, Freudian slip - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
I think my problem is that I’m always like “ how about I draw the eyes first?!” Then I do and then the eyes are too big for the rest of the face! It’s like I know that I should start with where things are placed then everything is off from how weird looking lol!
the fourth season of sherlock was (in my opinion) so bad when they canceled I didn't feel anything. the first 3 season were awesome though. I'm from tasmania, it's a state of australia :), found you guys a week ago. I normal can't watch hour long videos but I can watch your videos for hours :D
So glad you found us, that's high praise!!! (I'm still in mourning about Sherlock...) -Prof Lieu
I really hope Cumberbatch sees this video and appreciates Clara’s crush😂 and commission her to do a drawing/painting/sculpture of him
IN MY DREAMS🥰🥰🥰 -Prof Lieu
I have EXTREMELY STRONG FEELING ABOUT PEPPERS! I just don’t know what they are. By the way, the Grid System of drawing is counterproductive and does not speak well about the artist’s talent.
I love your channel but I don’t always have a stretch of time to listen to the whole episode. Would you consider shorter episodes? Like maybe 15 mins? Your knowledge and sharing is so valuable
Hi Sue! We do have quite a number of short form summary videos of the longer content for exactly this reason. I'm realizing now that there isn't a super easy way to search for those, so perhaps we can do better at Art Prof of making them easy to find. Here's the one for Portrait Drawing Mistakes for now! ruclips.net/video/RfJ4dS3eWC4/видео.html
-Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist
Thanks.
Welcome!
I see Cumberbatch, I click Like!
Cumberbitch! 😂😂😂 I snort-laughed!
The perils of live video! 🤣🤣🤣-Prof Lieu
Im one of those !!!
We're so happy you're using the flickr! That's wonderful :) Thanks for watching and for all of your support :) - Mia Rozear, Art Prof Staff
Great talk. Confirms many things I've experienced and learned the hard way along the road.
Funnny and nice!
And winner of the Freudian Slip of the Year Award:
"Cumberbitch" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Glad the video was affirming for you! Still can't get over "Cumberbitch", lololol -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist