On 1 Apr, 2014 With
By Lucy Chen, Drawing Academy graduate
“Do NOT smudge graphite pencil!”
Now every time I grab my pencil, I hear Vladimir’s voice, “this is an amateurish mistake.”
Some people may disagree, and think that we are the creator or maker of our work, and we can do whatever we want with our material. And I agree.
However, as a skilled artist, it is our responsibility to bring out the best and the unique quality of the different materials we use.
For graphite pencils, it is the crisp marks. For smudging, we have charcoal…
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On 1 Apr, 2014 With
From Anna Festa
Hello,
I want to thank you again for picking me to be one of the winners for last month. I am enjoying it thoroughly. I would like to submit a before and after sketch to see if there is any improvement. I did one a week before I started your class, and have done several since. I never knew smudging was not accepted in the school of higher learning, but I must admit cross hatching although a challenge makes the picture look a little more realistic.
I go to a portrait group once a week, and they told me that this method is making my pictures look like I am an illustrator. This is what I came up with for an hour and a half working at it. I went home and worked on it a little more. I will send you the revised one shortly. How to make this drawing realistic? It looks cartoonish to me. The child is naturally crossed eyed. I think the portrait doesn’t look realistic. How can I improve? I am not quite getting three quarter view, the eyes look wrong…
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On 8 Mar, 2014 With
Questions by Johann Krammer
Dear Drawing Academy Team,
A few months ago, I became a member of the Drawing Academy and always enjoy returning to this course. Your last video “Drawing from Photos vs. Drawing from Life” has confused me a little. I think many artists draw from photos. Unfortunately, we are not all Nikolai Blokhins, and we use your course to improve our drawing skills. The point that gives me a headache now is this: Where is the line between a realistic representation and the exact copying of photographs? …
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On 7 Mar, 2014 With
Artworks by Susan Morin
Dear Vladimir,
Would you please comment on my drawings? They are my first from-life drawings in a long time. The second is a drawing with the graphics pad and tracing image software that helps me get the likeness right. Should I stop doing this? …
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On 16 Feb, 2014 With
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