Drawing from life

[Great Distance]

Okay, I have a few questions about life drawings. People always seem to say that drawing from life is the ultimate way to learn and the best way to become a good artist. But I simply don't understand how people get the opportunities to draw anything from life. I assume they just go out in the public and draw whatever they see, but what if you live on the countryside? The view can be nice, but there are no benches to sit on while drawing. You also rarely get the opportunity to draw people.

So my questions are:

1) Is it possible to draw without sitting down, for example, on the side of the road? Perhaps you could use a tiny notepad to draw on?

2) Should I get an easel if I want to draw outside?

3) Can you draw with your gloves on? (During the cold, cold winter)

4) If you can't draw outside, does it make any sense to draw what you can see from the windows or just draw objects inside your house? Should you try to arrange the objects into visually pleasing arrangements or could you just draw whatever mess you see in your room?

5) Does it matter if what you're drawing is naturally lit by the sun or just a light bulb?

6) Why is drawing from life so much more important than drawing from photographs? Is it really worth all the trouble?

If anyone can answer, thanks very much. I'm used to drawing much more from photographs than from life because it seems like such a hassle to do life drawings. Reality also doesn't seem to have so many interesting drawing subjects. :dur:

Thank you in advance.

[tobbA]

1) Yes. But there's nothing wrong with sitting on the ground either. Unless it's very cold of course.

2) If you think that would be comfortable. Altho an easel might be a bit heavy to carry around a lot.

3) Never tried it, seems a bit clumsy. And I don't wanna freeze my ass off, personally. But try it. Might be rewarding.

4) Draw anything you like

5) Different lighting gives different effects, you should try a lot of different stuff

6) It can be pretty fun, so don't mind the trouble... But yeah. It helps being able to view things from different angles, really understanding the form, and also reality is in 3D, photos are just 2D.

Besides, living in the country side you have an advantage over people living in the city. You have big landscapes to paint right outside your door. And perhaps also a lot of different animals to paint and study.

[SpaceRogue]

I'm just a wannebe artist but I'll ad my POV

1) Is it possible to draw without sitting down, for example, on the side of the road? Perhaps you could use a tiny notepad to draw on?
you could but its very uncomfy, standing around for hours resting your sketchbook on an arm ,I don't recommend it . Just go to a camper store and buy a easy to fold chair.

2) Should I get an easel if I want to draw outside?
draw ,no, sketchbook will do fine. Paint depends ... actually thers no Ya or Na to this question. I used to take a few carton boards with me, sat on my butt and painted for hours in local museums, taking an easel there seems a nono.

3) Can you draw with your gloves on? (During the cold, cold winter)
I can, its just practice thats all. Find the right gloves and the right medium thats easy to handle with it :)

4) If you can't draw outside, does it make any sense to draw what you can see from the windows or just draw objects inside your house? Should you try to arrange the objects into visually pleasing arrangements or could you just draw whatever mess you see in your room?
You can do all those. Just remember that glass may deform.

5) Does it matter if what you're drawing is naturally lit by the sun or just a light bulb?
by the way I have been thought art, no it doesn't. I learned to draw in a dark and cold attic room, we only had light bulbs and dim overall lightning. Its to make you see, and understand that if light comes from 1 direction it cast shadows where it can't hit the object.

6) Why is drawing from life so much more important than drawing from photographs? Is it really worth all the trouble?
This I don't know, but I'm sure thers other who do here :)

[dpaint]

Drawing from life is the best way to learn because you aren't copying things you are translating things.
When you look at a painting or photo and copy it, it is possible after some practice, to mimic the marks and placement exactly. All those decisions about subject, value, composition and design are already made for you.

When you work from life you must translate reality into a two dimensional picture, made up of shapes.
To do this there are a bunch of decisionsa you must make before you even start your drawing or painting. You have to decide on the specific subject and its size on the page and its placement in relation to the page. How light or dark will you make it, what will you leave out and what will you put in.

If you want to work outside from life and you dont want to stand, get a camp stool. They are collapsable and light weight. The three legged ones will even fit in a backpack along with your drawing supplies for hiking to spots.

[cdejong]

I don't want to seem rude, but something you could use is a bit of initiative. Most of these questions could have been answered by simply drawing from life.

[Farvus]

1. Yes. You can have small sketchbook that fits into your hand.
2. Don't need to.
3. Yes. I got fingerless gloves for that. If it's such mystery for you, why not go out and try it out instead?
4. Yes, it makes sense to draw inside. You can arrange your objects before drawing. There's no drawing police that will catch you for that :).
5. If you want to learn about different lights then try both.
6. Photos are flat pictures. You can't learn to capture depth if you don't see it. Photos have fixed composition while when drawing from life you choose how to compose your picture (and as a result you improve your composition/arrangement skills). There's limited range of light, colors that photos capture. The less information, the less you learn about subject.

[Great Distance]

I don't want to seem rude, but something you could use is a bit of initiative. Most of these questions could have been answered by simply drawing from life.

To my defense I must say that I've gotten a lot of useful advice already. A camp stool! I would've never thought of that.

I guess I just need some encouraging to try it out. Well, actually I have tried it out. I've drawn some stuff on my yard at summer and inside our house. It's just that I can't seem to find anything interesting to draw inside, and can't figure out if it makes any sense to draw stuff that quite frankly bores you. So I've been thinking more about walking around and looking for interesting things to draw. But it's winter now and that kind of complicates thing.

You see, a part of me thinks it's a stupid idea to even think about going out and drawing in the cold. I guess I mostly fear that my neighbours would think it's weird and then my dad would be all over me saying: "Now everyone thinks our family is strange! Stop doing that stuff!" And even if it was summer, people would still think it's weird to see me sitting on the side of the road drawing stuff.

So, while I'm genuinely seeking for advice, it's also good to hear that other people have tried this stuff out and approve of what I'm doing. That way, when I'm thinking that what I'm doing is weird, I can reassure myself by saying that "at least the people on the internet think it's okay". :confident

So, keep the advice coming, I'm glad to hear your opinions. Particularly about question 6, because that's something I've been wondering about for a while. With everyone talking about the 3D aspects of it, do you think it would be good to draw a single object from multiple angles? Or are you saying you should think about the composition more, like from which angle the environment looks the best?

I'm just unsure what is the best way to learn by drawing from life, really. I've heard other people saying they sketch something outside and then finish it once they're home. Just how does that work? I thought the point was learning from observation, not filling in parts from your imagination.

[Farvus]

Regarding painting outside when it's cold... I know one example of impressionist painter that was good at painting snow - Julian Fałat. Here's one of his plain air paintings.

http://www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl/Falat/Images/Zima_Krakow.jpg

I'm just unsure what is the best way to learn by drawing from life, really. I've heard other people saying they sketch something outside and then finish it once they're home. Just how does that work? I thought the point was learning from observation, not filling in parts from your imagination.

If you want to sell finished paintings then you can develop some process which can allow you to do the rest at home. Otherwise it's just observation exercise. You don't need to finish it.

[SpaceRogue]

You see, a part of me thinks it's a stupid idea to even think about going out and drawing in the cold. I guess I mostly fear that my neighbours would think it's weird and then my dad would be all over me saying: "Now everyone thinks our family is strange! Stop doing that stuff!" And even if it was summer, people would still think it's weird to see me sitting on the side of the road drawing stuff.

I have tesame problem, my dad in general thinks I'm a ' mental retard' because I like to draw and paint and I have a hat with cat ears (especially draw things that aren't real, so now he worships my mom who copies photos ugh )
you should not let that stop you, its YOUR life not theirs. Don't become a slave like I did.

So, while I'm genuinely seeking for advice, it's also good to hear that other people have tried this stuff out and approve of what I'm doing. That way, when I'm thinking that what I'm doing is weird, I can reassure myself by saying that "at least the people on the internet think it's okay". :confident:

Your not weird, I have the feeling your surroundings are giving you the wrong signals.

With everyone talking about the 3D aspects of it, do you think it would be good to draw a single object from multiple angles? Or are you saying you should think about the composition more, like from which angle the environment looks the best?


why not ? its not fun but you'll eventually learn from it :)

I'm just unsure what is the best way to learn by drawing from life, really. I've heard other people saying they sketch something outside and then finish it once they're home. Just how does that work? I thought the point was learning from observation, not filling in parts from your imagination.

if you take care, then drawing from life will enhance your skill and you'll start to see more and more.
that last part imo is more for more advanced artist, it works if you have the scene in head , or perhaps a photo of it while you sketched out the basics. idk for sure, I did know a guy who did it.

in overall I think you need to 'pass' or 'not listen to much' to what your surrounding is telling you, you seem to be afraid of something that doesn't need fear. Your not weird by wanting to draw outside, your not weird for wanting to learn something most humans pass.

[dpaint]

Plein air painting is a huge fad right now, all across the world people are painting outdoors. I'm sure even where you live somebody is already doing it.
Scandinavia has a great history of outdoor painting, Fritz Thaulow, Anders Zorn, Peder Monsted, Peder Kroyer.

[Farvus]

I have tesame problem, my dad in general thinks I'm a ' mental retard' because I like to draw and paint and I have a hat with cat ears (especially draw things that aren't real, so now he worships my mom who copies photos ugh )


That reminds me of this http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule

[JeffX99]

The answer to all your questions is yes. There's already been a lot of good advice and observations...here's my two cents:

Get a French Easel - the "half-size" should be fine. This allows you to both draw and paint - at home or outdoors. Sketchbooks are fine for being out and about but to really learn to draw you need to use the proper set-up and approach. With an easel you can place your paper/canvas vertically which means it is in the same "plane" as the "picture plane" - it can be situated just left or right of the scene you want to translate - you can then begin to more accurately measure and translate information from the subject to your drawing or painting. You can sit or stand but you need to learn to draw from the shoulder and not just from the wrist.

Studying from life does not necessarily mean outdoors, or just figure. You can set up still lifes in the corner of your room somewhere and light it with a strong directional light - use whatever objects interest you or provide a certain challenge you want to understand - clear glass and colored glass for example. Try to shift your perception away from the subject and things that "aren't interesting" and more towards an understanding of the visual interest and character of things. Also try to keep in mind you're just trying to study the basics - musicians usually have to start with their scales and boring excercises before they can begin to really play music.

If you live out in the country there are probably livestock/farm animals and all kinds of other interesting things to study. The landscape is particularly challenging to "draw" or sketch I think - it is made of such broad forms and patterns that it isn't easily captured with point/line drawing (though perspective study works well). Pastel or paint works a little better for the landscape.

Work really hard and show your Dad how much effort you are putting into your art and hopefully he'll come around and have a little more respect - but you have to work extra hard to earn that if you want to be an artist.

Good luck!

[armando]

The difference between photos and life is immersion. Photos have there uses. It's interesting to note that in the renaissance there was an exercise where they whould set up a model by a white wall lit by a strong candle, then draw the shadow of the model that was cast on the wall(see "artists on art").

[Xeon_OND]

1) Is it possible to draw without sitting down, for example, on the side of the road? Perhaps you could use a tiny notepad to draw on?

I tried that but a physically weak guy like me have huge problems standing and draw. A tiny notebook / A5 - A6 sketchbook isn't so bad, but anything on the scale of A4 or larger is hard. And IMO, drawing on tiny notebooks when you're practicing life drawing is bad because it encourages stiffness.

2) Should I get an easel if I want to draw outside?

You should. Get a cheap one will do. This way, you can draw comfortably, especially when drawing architecture (tall buildings) or very large subjects.

4) If you can't draw outside, does it make any sense to draw what you can see from the windows or just draw objects inside your house? Should you try to arrange the objects into visually pleasing arrangements or could you just draw whatever mess you see in your room?

For me, I don't arrange the objects often, but when I do, I arrange them in the most challenging, most foreshortened and most extreme perspective viewpoint. Drawing objects in such view points is good. :D

You can also draw whatever you see from the window of your house. I live in a high apartment, so I sometimes look out of the window to draw cars parked in the petrol station.

IMO, it's better to draw indoors for a few months to get used to life drawing, then go outdoors. (because outdoor conditions can be unpredictable and harsh, and if you can't draw well indoors, very likely you'll do worse outdoors)

5) Does it matter if what you're drawing is naturally lit by the sun or just a light bulb?

This won't matter if you're just drawing / sketching, but it will matter if you're doing rendering (shading etc).

6) Why is drawing from life so much more important than drawing from photographs? Is it really worth all the trouble?
Because people including myself have learnt a lot by observing life. It's like, when you observe everything even when you're not drawing, the info sinks into your head much deeper compared to from a photo.

I personally never draw from photos cos' it takes away all the fun and the photo is dead. It's good to use them for reference but not for learning and mastering drawing.

Life drawing has the additional dimension of space, which photos don't. In addition, what you see in photos are sometimes not accurate cos' of the lens and lighting (distorted perspective etc.)

To be honest and not to offend anyone here.....

I started to really despise all kinds of cameras ever since I took up drawing. As someone here once said (was it Puck?), always learn from Nature itself because Nature always gets it right. :D

[Great Distance]

Well, thanks again for all the advice. I really appreciate it.

I'ts a bit warmer today so I decided to try drawing outside. Though just on my own backyard this time, since I could find a place to sit there. Took my diary (the pages aren't lined or anything so it's fine for drawing), a pencil and an eraser with me and got going. The result? Freezing toes, my cellphone lost in the snow and one shoddy drawing done.

Next time I guess I'll leave the cellphone at home.

Thicker socks would probably be good, too.

But I also found I way I might be able draw stuff on the side of the road. I had completely forgotten we had one of these things you can push around on an icy road. Looks like this: http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh107/GD_/potkukelkka.jpg

As you can see, you can also sit on it! It's no good at summer, though, so maybe I'll have to get an easel or a camp stool, after all. The thing is that I was actually trying to find an easel from the stores the past fall, but all I could find was a small easel that you can put on top of a table. So, not really useful to me. It's starting to seem more likely that I'll only be able to buy an easel once I move out to a big city.


Work really hard and show your Dad how much effort you are putting into your art and hopefully he'll come around and have a little more respect - but you have to work extra hard to earn that if you want to be an artist.

Oh please. I can work as hard as I want and my dad will still think it's a bad idea to consider doing art as a job, because the pay is bad and there are no real jobs and you're going to end up hungry on the streets and blah blah. But as a hobby it's okay! Why not become a doctor instead! Okay, thanks dad.

But I guess I'll try drawing still lifes like you suggested. Thanks :)

[SpaceRogue]

That reminds me of this http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule


HAH oh god I hope hes not serious... thats just low.
its very true, but in his case he deems himself as the 'better person of the family' it would not be the first time he called me the 'shame' of the family.

I'm gone quit my bitching I can write a novel about him.


Oh please. I can work as hard as I want and my dad will still think it's a bad idea to consider doing art as a job, because the pay is bad and there are no real jobs and you're going to end up hungry on the streets and blah blah. But as a hobby it's okay! Why not become a doctor instead! Okay, thanks dad.

I hear yah, just keep doing what you love. It would not be the first story I hear about highly educated folks still going back to a form of art to work in, because it makes them HAPPY.

[vineris]

I guess I just need some encouraging to try it out. Well, actually I have tried it out. I've drawn some stuff on my yard at summer and inside our house. It's just that I can't seem to find anything interesting to draw inside, and can't figure out if it makes any sense to draw stuff that quite frankly bores you. So I've been thinking more about walking around and looking for interesting things to draw. But it's winter now and that kind of complicates thing.


I wasted a lot of time looking for "interesting" things to draw. Then I took some art courses and had to produce work based on whatever objects the instructor had assembled, or put together my own still-life arrangements so that I didn't fail my assignments. Once I got used to the act of drawing, what I drew stopped mattering so much. The act of drawing a sock and a sports car are the same.


You see, a part of me thinks it's a stupid idea to even think about going out and drawing in the cold. I guess I mostly fear that my neighbours would think it's weird and then my dad would be all over me saying: "Now everyone thinks our family is strange! Stop doing that stuff!" And even if it was summer, people would still think it's weird to see me sitting on the side of the road drawing stuff.


Well, what do you want more, peace or art? I decided that I wanted to be better at art more than I wanted people to think I was normal. I also found out that most people don't care, but I do live in a city so things may be different for you.


I've heard other people saying they sketch something outside and then finish it once they're home. Just how does that work? I thought the point was learning from observation, not filling in parts from your imagination.

Even a little learning is better than no learning at all, right? It's not an all-or-nothing thing. If you only have 30 minutes to spend drawing outside and you choose to finish the drawing later from a photo, that's better than not doing it at all or doing the whole thing from a photo. It is not always possible to do the ideal thing in real life.

[dose]

I forget where I read it (maybe Gurney Journey?), but for painting outside I've found it's better to use a warm sock with a small hole in the end. It takes some getting used to, but that way you can get your regular grip on the brush (more or less) but still stay warm.

You can also rig a small setup to work in a car if you have access to one.

I recommend a pochade box over a french easel, unless you can find one of the rare lightweight aluminum french easels. French easels are seriously heavy and if you have to carry it any significant distance you will feel it. Even the half easel is still way too heavy.

[JeffX99]

Oh please. I can work as hard as I want and my dad will still think it's a bad idea to consider doing art as a job, because the pay is bad and there are no real jobs and you're going to end up hungry on the streets and blah blah. But as a hobby it's okay! Why not become a doctor instead! Okay, thanks dad.

But I guess I'll try drawing still lifes like you suggested. Thanks :)

Trust me - I've been there too - as most artists throughout history probably!

Here's something I put together for my students to share with their parents - maybe it will help:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=174079

If that doesn't help, maybe this will: http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1520

Might look up prices for Lucian Freud as well.

Granted - these are rarest of the rare - Tiger Woods type rarities - but even Tiger doesn't come close to making this much for a single "thing" (like a Major or something). So my point is that artists actually make more money for a single piece of work than any other career (maybe stock market traders could make more in one transaction - IDK).

Hope that helps!

[626elemental]

I'm no pro but here's my $0.02

1) Small sketchbooks are an option, so is sitting on the ground. If you don't like getting dirt on your pants you can buy a light, collapsible camping stool and take it with you.

2) You only need an easel for large drawings or paintings. I find a sketchbook is fine for most stuff I do, and I tape watercolor paper to a clipboard.

3) Where I live doesn't get THAT cold, so fingerless gloves work just fine. You can also draw from life inside... tables, chairs, roommates, etc.

4) See above. Start off just drawing what's lying around, and if you get bored start arranging things.

5) Natural lighting is important, but you can also practice with artificial light.

6) Photos lose something from the real object. It's hard to explain, but true. There's more vibrancy in live things. Also you are practicing going between 2D and 3D. If you can draw three dimensional objects you see, it gets much easier to draw them from imagination.