ok,ill post one,but it wont help my point much…
well,i was more or less looking for something much more basic than that,i meen,there has
to be something much more simple befor you start drawing complex things like people
so just wanted to know what comes befor that.
ok here's my two cents on real elementary (but not so easy...) things...
someone once told that everyone who can draw a straight line can draw.
So… the first exercise would be to pick up a pencil (more or less like shown in the photo) and fill up a page (better to start with an A4 sheet of paper or bigger format paper) with straight, even spaced (perfectly parallel between themselves) vertical lines. Obviously done freehand.You will be amazed that it’s not so easy.
1b) After that you can do the same with horizontal lines.
While doing these try also to control the width of the lines you draw keeping it constant.
After that you can do this kind of things: put two points on paper an try drawing a perfectly straight line between the two. Do lots until you can match the points with a single, perfect straight line (tip. learn how to use the elbow or even the shoulder to guide your movement instead of using the wrist or fingers)
sometimes, and this is my personal exercise, it’s quite useful to learn how to eyball distances, so, pickup a ruler and measure say 1mm (or whatever basic unit of measure you use in your country) then put a series of points and try go get them exactly 1mm apart.
Check the distances with your ruler. Repeat until perfect.
3b) when you have done try to eyeball a 1cm (or whatever distance you like). put the points on paper and check the results.
3c) eyeball distances on reference photos (for example distance width of the nose in a portrait or width of the wrist on a fashion photo etc…)…eyeball, put on paper and double check.
3d) eyeball distances on real subjects (not photos of subjects) (double checking can be tricky on this one…)
3e) the same exercises - from 3 to 3d - can be done with angles but in my opinion is far more difficult.
Next in a row can be drawing boxes. Learn a bit about perspective, take a 2 or 3 point perspective and draw boxes…and boxes and boxes…whit straight, clean, lines (one for every side of the box)
final words: just let me know if you need more…there’s plenty I can tell.
edit:
spinn99 and somhairle: thanks 
I don’t think I’ve nailed the opposing curves idea yet, but I’d like to move on, and just continue to be mindful of it. I’m neutral on the break subject (as long as it’s only a few days).
The reviews have been great! I learn just as much through your critiques of other’s work.
franzboas
haha, i’d hate to think what my long lost brother would be like if i had one. if he’s anything like me, i’d hate him. i’m glad to see other people here w/o any formal training (makes me feel less intimidated)
anyway, i just wanted everyone, especially [color=Yellow]rebecca [color=#fffffe]to know that these tutorials ARE helping. i feel that since just two weeks ago, my ability to draw figures and anatomy has SKYROCKETED. maybe it’s because i never really had any clue what i was doing and now i have a little glimpse of the right path, and maybe it’s because i’ve put so much time into practicing gestures and opposing curves because of these threads–whatever it is, i think it’s working!
here’s my most recent sketch for proof!!
haha, ignore the head, i got lazy. i feel like i’ve made tremendous strides from just the basic info i’ve learned (can’t wait for the more advanced stuff + more practice) and also from just looking at rebecca’s and everyone else’s work has helped too. THANKS A BUNCH to everyone, especially rebecca.
[/color][/color]
Xillion :thanx,those are very useful…
and,yes,i would love to hear more,if you have any.
Zepyhri,
I talked with the person whom I thought would be PERFECT for a color theory thread, and at the moment this person is a bit swamped…but I would be happy to post what I know, just to get things started, and then folks are welcome to contribute what they know! ~ thanks for the great suggestion! It will really contribute a lot to the new sub-forum, and is a VERY important area to learn!
calzoncillos,
thank you for your kind comments ~ they are appreciated!
Zarracin,
you’re welcome, and do post more so you can post your work!
augustus,
this post is great, I really like the looseness as well as the detail, and the ankles and feet are really nice ~ good work!
default.rol,
where are you! 
walknwitjesus,
awesome, I’m glad this thread has been useful! It’s great to hear, and I hope you contribute
seth1,
thanks for understanding ~ pandas just aren’t my area of expertise 
Somhairle,
thanks for sharing these Photoshop tips, these are great! I do basically a similar process for tweaking photos of drawings ~ first desaturating the image (Ctrl + Shift + U on a PC) and then usually bringing the white level adjustments over to the left as typically my images are too dark. What works best for me lighting-wise is to take the photos in the kitchen, where there is both fluorescent and tungsten lighting ~ in many cases, this gives me better results than daylight.
Sometimes in Levels, (Ctrl + L) you can hit “Auto” and this will work, but I find with Black and White drawings this doesn’t work well ~ so I just end up manually tweaking the levels to get what I want.
Part of my problem is that I’m just anal about it!
Thanks for the helpful post!
jerry123,
PERFECT QUESTION. In fact, for the sub-forum (hopefully things will be underway early next week!) I am DEFINITELY considering having different threads for different topics aimed at different levels of artists ~ BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, and ADVANCED ~ or, I, II, III ~ so, for example, I would like to have a BEGINNER GESTURES’ thread, an INTERMEDIATE GESTURES’ thread, and an ADVANCED GESTURES’ thread. And even before the Gestures thread, I would like to have a BEGINNING CONCEPTS thread, which would cover some of the great suggestions and information which Xillion provided in his awesome post.
Indeed, I think that the Fundamentals are the most important in Art, and I would like to have a place where they are discussed and demonstrated. All NOOBS, you have no more excuses for not posting!
Melissa,
LOVELY post! Keep going, and keep posting!
PotatoHead,
lol! I am happy to hear that post-puberty, you are able to post! Keep going ~ I would recommend doing something similar to what folks were doing earlier on in this thread, which I think is a wonderful exercise ~ TRACE, either with tracing paper, or in photoshop, an OLD MASTER drawing by an artist of your choice whose work exhibits OPPOSING CURVES ~ most artists’ work will do so. Then, either draw another figure from some reference of your choosing, bearing in mind the principles of OPPOSING CURVES, and post your results! I think this will greatly help you to see certain flaws in your drawing ~ and let me emphasize for everyone, THERE IS NO SHAME IN TRACING AS A LEARNING TOOL! I’ve done it millions of times, and it HELPS.
CBee,
I think I’ll be giving this thread topic a wee bit more time, say, a day or two, and then we’ll move on to the next ~ I truly hope you’re back online by then! Don’t worry too much about the time thing, though, as once the sub-forum is up, there will be a (hopefully!) long-lasting thread dedicated to learning how to draw with OPPOSING CURVES.
ZhouXiaowei,
thank you for your input! Please post your work!
ashrumm,
you are most welcome! I am thrilled you liked the review, and I sincerely hope you continue to post more of your work!
Captain Fandango,
FromanylanD has provided some highly useful links, among them:
http://figuredrawings.com/figuredrawings.html
Also, see the first page of this thread, as it contains many useful links and resources:#3
Thanks for your post!
daspetey,
thank you very much for your comments! I really appreciate the feeback, and hope you will contribute your work! Indeed, I am a monkey on crack …well, not really…
kunal wrote,
>What if the neck pit isn’t in my view i.e. back view or some twisted pose. I have no problem in thinking all way around of the neck pit but for the middle line. Do the middle line has to run through an imaginary middle axis of torso or should I figure it out as the spinal cord?
VERY GOOD QUESTION. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear. Because many posts are front-view, I’ve concentrated on emphasizing the pit of the neck. HOWEVER, from a back view, you need not find this major FRONT VIEW landmark. The most important thing in a BACK VIEW is the spine ~ after the head, this should be DRAWN GESTURALLY IMMEDIATELY to establish the major flow of the figure in space. Find where the head connects to the neck, and the neck as it flows into the spine. Indicate these things LOOSELY with GESTURAL LINES.
Hope this helps
franzboas,
Your anatomy knowledge is great! Stay tuned, you will definitely contribute valuable information!
scorpion007,
My darn computer ~ can’t see your post right now, but will definitely check it out later!
jerry123,
Great post! It doesn’t look like you are the super-noob you claimed to be!
MWarsame,
bring it on!
Xillion,
GREAT tips ~ please contribute in this way when the sub-forum gets up and running!
FromanylanD,
thanks for the feedback! I do appreciate it. Cool, I am going to give this topic a few more days (perhaps til Tuesday) and then this train will be moving down the track!
thetrianglekid,
WOW ~ for someone with reportedly “no formal training”? ~ Keep up the good work! I am IMPRESSED with the torso you’ve drawn! Mad props!
__
Thanks, all, for the GREAT posts! I will be somewhat offline today, but will be checking in later tonight ~ Keep up the great work!!
~Rebecca
my brain is exploding…I’m writing this for the second time…and I slept only 4 hours this night…plus I have to study “Computer networks”…ouch…so I’m gonna go straight to the point…(hope you’d appreciate the effort)
Pure contour drawing: this exercise can be found in Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the right side of the brain" book. Find a comfortable, quiet place (a must) with no one speaking for at least half one hour. Pick up a very complex object like an ear of corn, draw it without ever looking at the paper (you will place the object on your left side and draw it on a sheet of paper placed on your right side) just follow the object contours with your eyes carefully and slowly guiding your hand with your eyes. Try not to forget any line of your subject. The IMPORTANT THING here IS DOING IT, not the result. This will enhance your coordination, the control of your body and your ability to observe.Eventually (Not in a year maybe) you will even get something that looks good ;)
the following are more about rendering than drawing itself, but I consider them pretty basic.
Tone matching: pick up a reference object ,live or photographed (better if with a flat side exposed to natural lighting) and match the tone (brightness) toning with your pencil (or every media you like). Try different kind of strokes (parallel lines, dots, crosshatch, curved lines). If you are daring (but it's really difficult, and requires experience) do it in colour.
these two are based on Bourne Hogarth’s “Dynamic light and shading” (The images are taken from the book and are copyright of their author / publisher)
while doing these keep in mind that Light defines form.
Silhouettes: this is easier using a computer. start with white canvas, pick a brush and define a form by is contour (silhouette). think of it as if you were modeling it with clay. black is your clay. remove clay erasing on canvas color (white). practice first with simple geometrical shapes.
[[img]http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2965/ref0039zc.jpg[/img]](http://www.imageshack.us)
Minimal Light: once you have your silhouettes define their tridimensionality with simple accents of minimal light (the least amount of light hitting an object you can think of). do this on simple solid geometrical shapes. doing it on figure is more advanced, maybe rebecca will include something like this when me move on more advanced lessons.
[img]http://img24.echo.cx/img24/6362/ref0013wq.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img272.echo.cx/img272/568/ref0020jc.jpg[/img]
one last word... if I myself did all these exercises I'd really be much better now ;), but...as vilppu says these are tools means to an end...there are no rules and you should have fun :)
sidenote: these are a bit O.T… I’m writing them now so when se other forums are gone live we can simply cut and paste if necessary!
@Rebeccak i'd like to hear your thoughts on this ;)wow rebbecka this stuff is really useful! i shall read your lessons and post some of my works in v. shortly.
oh n Noob invited me from Backenwood 
Yep! Probably better known as “blind drawing”. This is a definite technique everyone should practice. It feels so strange at first, but the rewards are for a lifetime!
Just to add a little to this…try to imagine your pencil is actually touching the models forms, as this also helps to give your line better sensitivity. Try to in one continuous line without taking your pencil/medium off the page…if you do its very easy to get lost and frustrated and give up early on the technique.
Like in the first example below, practice drawing basic geometric objects (pencils in a jar, etc) … and then try drawing your pencil-free hand a few times.
Some good web examples:
http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~lang2/drawingI/blindbottle.html
http://www.flashpointmag.com/smlblind.htm
http://www.art-hutchins.com/blind.htm
http://www.flashpointmag.com/cxnud78.htm
Xillion very good tips. These are done in most art schools but for those that do not have formal traning at all these will help.
Ok, here is my update:
Hmm… I guess that the one I did a few days ago was better :sad: Well I may know something about what is art, but It doesn’t mean that I can draw:) Everybody, please feel free to make some critique on these.
[color=DeepSkyBlue] Rebecca:[/color] “keep Brief” means “keep short” or means “to stop at this moment”?
Xillion: You are a great teacher! You brother reminds me my own brother heh in that drawing…
i want to post my work .but i don’t know how to post it.i am a chinese so i can’t understand some english words.i want to read some articles before i post my work.hehe~~
Well I’m back from the beach and I managed to fill up my sketchbook mostly drawings from the last asignment but a good amount focuses on oposing curves.
Thanks for giving me a heads up on this Rebecca.
I’l try to post my things tomorrow night and I hope its not to late to recieve crits and otherwise.
Its 2 in the morning right now and my computer is virused to hell so I’l try to post something tomorrow after I get things straightened out.
Good night all and thanks for the thread I wouldnt be drawing as much if it wasnt for this.