Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture
Optical Information 1
A course by Dan Thompson , Artist and Teacher
About the video: Optical Information 1
Overview
“In this lesson, I will show you how to organize the optical information into an effective drawing strategy. To start this process, I will explain how I prepare the scene for drawing. An important aspect of your environment is light. This component will be key in defining the planes of the head. So, it's crucial to consider this well. Will it be intense or soft? Will it produce dramatic shadows? Or will it be more diffused? It's time to discover what works for you! Once you're set up, the next step is to sketch. To guide you, I will model how to begin the observational drawing by establishing the reference points, sketching markers around the line of action, and distilling the general outline of your model.”
In this video lesson Dan Thompson addresses the topic: Optical Information 1, which is part of the Domestika online course: Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture. Learn how to use structural forms with multiple planes to create experimental pencil portraits from observation of the human figure.
Partial transcription of the video
“ Optical Information Welcome back. In the previous lesson, we talked about the trapezoid and the critical nature of the trapezoid as a vehicle for studying the head and the planes of the head from life. Hopefully you're warmed up, you're well-versed in drawing angles and simple lines, and applying line weight to your drawings. Let's turn our attention to drawing from life this time. Before drawing from life, I want to explain a couple of things about my setup and the reasons behind my setup. Let's introduce ourselves to the beautiful Catherine, who's posing for this life drawing. I've got ...”
This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.
Course summary for: Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture
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Category
Illustration -
Areas
Artistic Drawing, Drawing, Fine Arts, Portrait Drawing, Realistic Drawing, Sketching
Dan Thompson
A course by Dan Thompson
Dan Thompson is an artist and educator from Virginia, U.S. with over 20 years of experience in his field. He first discovered a love of art through making band posters and later studied for an MFA at the Graduate School of Figurative Art. Passionate about human anatomy and perspective, as well as educating others, he went on to found two art schools of his own in New York.
Dan currently serves as dean of fine arts at Studio Incamminati, as well as the faculty chair of the one-year certificate of fine arts program at the New York Academy of Art. He has been awarded two grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and received the Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting on multiple occasions. In 2001, he also won Best of Show in the American Society of Portrait Artist’s International Portrait Competition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work can be found in both public and private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.
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