Skull Study

[Jan]

This is one my skull studies from the Russian Academic Drawing Course. I was following along with Iliya in real time as he worked which has been especially helpful. As I mentioned in another post, I tried to follow his marks exactly although it proved to be a little tricky since I’m right-handed.

[Alex]

Hi jan, this is looking very nice. I think maybe dont ‘copy’ his strokes, his strokes are all accidental really as he is just reacting the strokes he already has down on the page, each new stroke should compliment the context it is going into. instead, try to feel the form and imagine running your finger over the curvature of that object, a skull is like a a sphere with some flat planes, imagine running your finger over that surface, what would feel like an aggressive curve and what would feel softer or more like a straight. imagine also what would be the best way to make marks that would limit directions you could run your finger over this surface to make a more uniform pattern of hatching, do this for your initial sketching of the form, then after this when you begin to build more form and tone think about which direction is most characteristic of the change in plane, when you build more tone or accent marks this will be emphasised so care must be given.

another way to think of it is to imagine the planar topology of the object you are drawing, first in simple terms like the asaro head, then in more complex terms like the topology of a 3d model, then think what direction is this plane facing, what is the best way to lay down the marks to describe this? and finally, what is the best way to lay these marks down so that they can either also describe the adjacent small change in plane or hatch the adjacent marks in a manner that reinforces a value change or the

contour. look at these examples, look how Glenn Vilppu does it, hes a master at it. Also remember to seperate light and shadow by drawing in your terminator shadow first then building your darks and lights from this, this will be the biggest hint on how to proceed. 

[Alex]

[Alex]

also before I forget, you mentioned doing quick studies instead of rendering out the drawings fully about the RA course on my feed. I dont know if you saw but I did a lengthy response talking about other things you mentioned or asked about. Anyway, considering this post, I would definitely spend the time rendering out the drawings, as boring as it is. perhaps, start a few long drawings at the same time, bring one up to the point you are bored; set it aside and start the next one. Rotate them out over the course of a few days. Limit the drawings to the number of drawings asked of you in the assignments, that way you will be sure to complete them (or get close to, I am personally guilty of having a still life drawing of a skull still unfinished from one of the RA assignments). Just get those pencil miles trying to think through your rendering of the form. Anyway, youve made a lot of progress from some of your earlier posts on here so just keep going the way youre going! 🙂

[Jan]

Hi Alex! Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! I replied to your other post and will say again in this one how appreciative I am for your advice and for the encouragement. NMA is incredible both for the quality of the instruction and for the opportunity to connect with such amazing participants.

Your suggestion to feel the form is very timely for where I’m at right now. I’ve been trying follow the advice to think like a sculptor and build forms slowly like you’re handling clay. Imagining the planar topology is also an excellent recommendation, as are all your other suggestions. I did follow Vilppu in real time during his planes of the face lesson as well as Iliya. What was useful to me was to adapt to their pace and follow their decision making as they work around the piece. It seemed like a live version of copying a master drawing, and it forced me to take a different approach than I normally take. I’m posting a skull drawing from the same pose that I did after following Iliya. It took me about four times as long as following him, but I felt like I did develop my technique a little more.

Also, I’m glad it looks like I’m making some progress. I appreciate the support!

[Alex]

Hi jan, honestly impressed with the difference between this skull and the previous one. Clear to see that youre grasping the concept now, I can only imagine the satisfaction of finishing this drawing and then holding it up next to the other one. Keep going with it 🙂

[Alex]

Funny you should say about the “live master copy” Stan Prokopenko and Marshall Vandruf talk about this in this episode of Draftsmen podcast, worth a listen. They talk about breaking down process and watching others for process. I listened to it while completing the Russian Academic assignments (makes all the rendering less boring).

https://youtu.be/TBm90jgk70w

[Jan]

Thanks so much, Alex! The podcast was great! I watch Proko videos quite a bit. That was interesting how they analyzed “process”. Following along with live demonstrations and then trying to integrate the same technique (and “feel process”) is something I’ve found very beneficial. It was interesting that the images they said they learned from the most from were the Bridgeman head and Loomis Head. I started studying the Loomis Head based on your recommendation and it definitely made a difference for me. Their reference to John Gnagy surprised me. I had his Learn to Draw book when I was young and have never heard anyone mention his name since then. After doing some searching, I found an article about a retrospective of his work that ran this summer at a Chicago gallery. The article has a quote by Warhol where he said that Gnagy taught him to draw. It’s always fascinating to learn where inspiration comes from! And finally, it’s encouraging to know there’s visible improvement in my second skull study!

[Alex]

Hi Jan, yeah his podcast is great for getting into how an artist thinks. A lot of people have trouble with this and I find that their podcast helps a lot with getting into that mentality. And yeah, inspiration is a funny thing in art, you always seem to find threads that connects everyone like a web to a lineage of influence that spans back for at least 600 years. There was a big effort to break it during the modernist period and again with postmodernism but I think it just cant be done in terms of picture-making, I think it has in essence been unchanged since we first began making pictures. Even photography and painting practice is completely interwoven and the boundaries continue to become more blurred the more we innovate with technology, even sculpture has become part of picture making now we so easily can import a 3d model into photoshop. I wrote my dissertation on it at uni and honestly it was really interesting to research. crazy.

as for the encouragement, everyone loves a bit of encouragement so if you get down about it post your latest piece and an old one and tag me and Ill be glad to point out the improvements you arent noticing. Im guilty of missing the steady improvement over time and beating myself up about it :’) I think everyone is.

anyway, Im glad youve hit such a stride with art lately, its great seeing others have a winning streak. I hope it continues for you!

[Joshua Jacobo]

Great job here and good advice from Alex. I would just suggest you keep the major value relationships dominant over the smaller forms.

[Jan]

Thank you so much for the feedback, Joshua! I’m amazed at the quality of not only the instruction on this site but also the enthusiasm for sharing information. Alex has been incredible in documenting both his own progress as well as with inspiring and helping others. I can definitely see how much clearer the form becomes in your draw over without the distraction of so much detail!

[Jan]

This is the drawing I submitted for the October Skull Challenge. I’ve been doing both anatomy and drapery studies lately, so I set up a still life that combined both. There were so many incredible entries! I learned a great deal just from looking at the other work and from the livestream critique. I know that I still need to work on Joshua’s recommendation to make the major values relationships more dominant. Any other suggestions are appreciated. Happy Halloween!

[Raven Kushner]

Jan,

I really love how the movement of the curls of the flowers in the background serve to make the skull seem more dynamic, and less inert. I see a lot of mid-tones. It would be cool to see some of the darks pushed darker and more distinct highlights. I also really liked your control over the rendering of the individual planes.

[Jan]

Raven,

I really appreciate your comments! I’ve always loved the juxtaposition of skulls with fabric, so I wanted to give it a try. I’m glad you thought it was effective! I’m only partway through Iliya’s drapery course, but I’ve learned a lot already. I definitely agree with your suggestion about the values. I could tell I needed to go back into the drawing and push the darks, but it was so close to the deadline to submit for the challenge. I was afraid I’d ruin the drawing at that point! I feel like I understand the concept of value but it’s definitely a challenge to apply it effectively. Thanks again for the encouragement!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Jan.

[Jan]

I feel like I got a little better range of value in this drapery study. I struggled, though, to go as dark as Iliya’s example without starting to burnish the paper. I know charcoal would allow for blacker blacks, but I’m limiting myself to graphite pencil right now. I’m going to try working more in layers to see if I can push the dark values even more.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Jan.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Jan.

[Author]

Posts