How can I improve my visual skills?

[waheednasir]

hi there Richard1, ure definitely on the right track and realize and have written all the good points. its nice that u can see the difference now. observation is the most important element. in my humble opinion, always spend little time on observing things that u are going to draw/paint, before u start, its like developing an attachement first with that, later when u draw, keep on comparing shapes, tones as u go. further more, after some time u can even try to draw from memory, the best excersise i know. after finishing u can compare.

see things in planes, top, side etc, this will make things easier for you. its good to be completely satisfied with the drawing first, before u go for shading, an initial mistake in drawing wont go away even by some very good shading or coloring afterwards.

3 points that i must mention, always draw from life, do tonal drawing a lot and spend time on quick, rouch sketches, that will give u a good confidence. do hatching and cross hatching and make your lines strong. and lastly, draw with light lines/less pressure and never use scale and eraser...:).

these are the things ive always considered myself, do give them a try if u havent, im sure they will do some good for you.

all the very best...:).

[CybrGfx]

Hi, Richard!
Caught your mispost over in WIPs, and had to track your thread down to see what you had to say...
Good for you! You are learning THE single most important skill to improving your visual skills...That of thinking. To look at something is no great skill. To think about what you are looking at is the secret. It is that thought process that is enabling you to "see" it on the paper.

Waheednasir is spot on with his suggestions, to which I can only add, as you train your eye to observe more carefully, do not be afraid to stick your hand up in front of your face, and use your fingers and hand to help you approximate sizes and shapes in proportion to your joints and digits. The phrase "rule of thumb" says it all. You can then translate those crude measurements onto your paper by stepping back and extending your arm once again.

That is my other suggestion, to step back from your work periodically, and squint lightly to look at it. Similar to the "turn your work upside down" theory (which I never do), just looking at it from a distance of 6 feet will give you a good overview for composition, value, shape, and space, to help you best utilize your paper for maximum effect.

You already know the value of practice, and are picking up the value of thinking about what you are drawing, so hopefully these suggestions will also be of some help to you.

Oh, yah, One last "trick." If you stare hard at something for about 20 seconds without blinking or moving your head, your eye will retain that image for a few seconds when you look away. While not optimum for an entire work, sometimes, just to get started with a new, intimidating, empty, white canvas/paper, I will use that trick to get the first few strokes going, and get over the initial, "OMG, what am I doing?" feeling. Some people use tinted paper, but it is the initial emptiness that I have more difficulty with, than the color of it.

Hope to see some of your works in WIP/Critiques!

~Cyber

[PartisanFox]

Thanks for your replies Waheednasir and CybrGfx.
Yes, no matter how beautiful is your hatching, shading or details, if what you've drawn has wrong perspective and proportions nothing can help you.
Drawing with faint lines is a little problem for me 'cause my hand is pretty heavy you know. And the more I focus, the heavier my hand becomes. Especially when I'm correcting my errors. But I'm working on that.
Lol CybrGfx - like in those optical illusions. Nice trick, but I'm afraid it only works if you draw without scaling.

[Maidith]

My favorite learning methods (copypasta time! :D )

- Look at pictures by artists you admire, and try to figure out things. How do they handle light and color? Why do they use that particular color there? What technique did they use? How did they work? The more you look at work of others, the more different kinds of styles and techniques you will see.

- Learn from the masters. Copy works you adore. Not for imitating the artist or showcasing your copy, but for the sake of learning. Don't be shy, ask your favorite artist everything you want to know, such as "What paper do you draw on?", or "How do you go about painting a picture, do you start with a sketch?", etc. But be specific, don't ask "how can I paint like that?". And check the artist's website, chances are they already have tutorials, a FAQ or step-by-step tutorials there.

- Challenge yourself. Never used a particular medium? Then buy it, no matter how poor you are, and try it out. Never drawn a still life? Do it. Never used that particular color scheme? Give it a try. At a certain point, when you are afraid of repeating yourself, you are on the right track to improve.

- Use reference. If you aim for realism, you can't paint most things straight from your imagination. The old masters always made preliminary studies of life models, and did most paintings from life models too. For example, if you are unsure how to paint a head with the light source from below, look up a photo, or take it yourself, or have someone pose for it. It is worth every effort!
Stock photos from deviantartists can be a valuable resource also and provide inspiration.
Here's an article about why reference is even more than a crutch, but essential for artists who paint realistic illustrations: http://maidith.deviantart.com/journal/15788173/

- Draw from life. It's probably the most valuable practice that there is. Sign up for a life drawing class so that you'll be actually "forced" to do it. Believe me, it works wonders.

- Look up tutorials. Browse through the tutorial section and study the many different ways and media of the different artists. Also visit the websites of the great artists here - many have tutorials up there.

- Collect pictures. On my harddisk, I have different folders: 1) one for old master oil paintings, 2) Modern master oil paintings, 3) Different kinds of watercolor paintings, 4) Great digital art images 5) paintings by Linda Bergkvist, and 6) a folder of cool anime art.
They are very inspiring to browse through and can give you new ideas in terms of technique. Whenever I feel uninspired, I look through my folders.
The images I've collected over time, mainly from Cgtalk.com, Deviantart, Epilogue, Artrenewal.org and many other websites.

[Lunatique]

Understanding the foundations of visual art is the most important thing you can do for yourself, because once you understand them, they become the tools you use for observation, analyzation, and application. The foundation generally consists of these things:

Composition
Anatomy/figure drawing
Perspective
Values/Lighting
Color theory

And as you dive deeper of specialize more, you'll pick up more esoteric elements--for example if you specialize more in painting, you'll then deal with edges, brushwork/paint handling..etc. But the general foundation applies to just about anything visual.

[PartisanFox]

Thanks for replies and advice. Well, analyzing and copying masters is much too advanced for me right now, I think. I'm still learning how to draw forms and contour lines correctly :thumbsup: .

[Biggjoee5790]

OK, so I'm learning drawing for a few months now, and lately I've seen nice improvement when I started to spend more time on watching and observing what I'm drawing and 'seeing' it on paper, than on drawing itself. I realized that until then I was drawing in some, I don't know how to call it, 'passive'(?) way, like a robot, without much thinking about what I'm really doing. I had insane problems with proportions. And now I know how important is seeing, watching, observing things, and then 'seeing them on paper' just before you start drawing. So do you have any tips (or tricks ;-) ) on how to become a better observer and how to enhance visual skills - I know - practice practice practice, but any other ideas?

Can you explain exactly what you mean when you say you started to spend more time watching and observing, than on drawing itself. Many people have told me that I should try to do this but im not sure exactly what you mean by it. Its apparently an important skill so I really wanna try to obtain it :)

[w0lf]

i guess you'll get into the groove and start noticing stuff once you actually start getting down into it.

[PartisanFox]

Can you explain exactly what you mean when you say you started to spend more time watching and observing, than on drawing itself. Many people have told me that I should try to do this but im not sure exactly what you mean by it. Its apparently an important skill so I really wanna try to obtain it :)

Well, before you touch a paper with your pencil with intention to draw a line, try to imagine and 'see' this line on the paper - draw it 'in the air' and try to 'see' if it will look good. But to know if it will look good or not you should first spend some time on observing what you are actually drawing, what part of an object, how and where this line is placed regarding the whole picture, how it corresponds to nearby lines and parts you've already drawn.

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