A sketch of a model – Drawing critique

Figurative artwork by Sam, Drawing Academy student

I wanted to send this drawing because I need professional critique. I’m attending weekly life drawing classes locally, but my art teacher doesn’t give any feedback other than “great job.” I know I have a lot to learn in life drawing and showed this sketch to my family; they said it was good, but maybe they just wanted to make me happy.

I would really appreciate if you could tell me what is not right with this drawing and how can I improve.

A sketch of a model - Drawing critique

Thank you
Sam

Feedback from Vladimir London, Drawing Academy tutor

Dear Sam,

Many thanks for your drawing.

It is very good, well done. Many art students would love to have your drawing skills.

I can see that you use helping lines and proportions, which is the right way to draw figurative artworks.

There are some small points you can double-check:

1. The head is not connected to the neck correctly. It sits a bit more forward than it should. The neck, however, is placed on the shoulders quite well.

The sternocleidomastoid muscle of the neck, which you marked correctly, inserts to the base of the skull right behind an ear. In your drawing, there is a gap between an ear and this muscle’s insertion point.

2. One shoulder is smaller than the other one.

3. Model’s right arm is shorter than the left one.

4. The ribcage ends a bit high. It should end at the elbows level.

5. The ear is a bit too small; it looks similar in size to the eye.

6. The symmetry of the pelvis can be improved.

There are some other details that you will get better with after practicing more. All these points are minor and do not spoil the overall appearance of your artwork.

There are two important things to keep in mind when doing life drawings – anatomy and proportions of a human body. You have the knowledge of both, now it’s a matter of using what you know in practice.

Another tip that will help you in figurative artworks is drawing all body parts in pairs. If you draw one arm or a shoulder, immediately draw another one. This way, it is easier to keep proportionate dimensions.

Once again, thank you for your wonderful drawing. I like it a lot.

Keep drawing, draw from life, draw often.

Best regards,
Vladimir

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Categorized: Critique My Artworks

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Noid says:

    Dear Vladimir,
    Thank you very much for your art critique. It’s very common that the art skill is blended over time (or suddenly) if right critique is not given.

    Thank you once again for this article.

  2. achiebner says:

    Thank you dear Vladimir for your detailed art critique. I can identify myself with this situation. Many of beginning artists like myself, tend to avoid it because we take it as criticism instead of seeing it as constructive critique to improve our drawing skills.I believe is the type of thinking those instructors had had.
    It’s easy to become excited when we see our drawing skills taking form, that we miss important details as you pointed, the length of the arms, the size of the shoulders, size of the ear, the size of the ribcage. These details are almost invisible to the amateur eye like mine. If you didn’t mentioned them I would’ve not noticed them.
    Thank you again Vladimir for providing a constructive and honest critique.
    Aida Cecilia Hiebner

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