Lost in the circle

[Thunderfist]

Hello there,

I readed a lot of topics here and other forums and got some books written by Loomis, Hogarth and Bridgman.

So recently i just picked up Loomis "Drawing The Head & Hands" and was like "oh well, let's start from the up". So i read what he wrote, watch what he tries to tell me. Draw something here, something there. Well sometimes it comes out sometimes not. But i don't really understand the circle 3D line thingie.

Well i can draw a circle but i have trouble with making it look 3D. I don't really know why should i draw this line wider, or maybe more linear or... i don't know.

I can set up the axis, the way i want it to look, but i don't know how to make those lines proportional. Is there any rule to this ?

In the image in red are lines i mean, the blue ones are "why not like this ?" or maybe "that's how i draw those because i have no idea how to do it and do it randomly".

[J Wilson]

Draw all the way through the sphere, as if it were made of glass and you can see both sides. It should then become more clear when what you've drawn is right or wrong. In the examples you've drawn in red, the circles wouldn't be able to wrap around the other side correctly, as the curves you drew wouldn't produce a nice neat ellipse, but a series of flattened arcs.

Like many things in drawing, it's practice. Practice it and it will eventually make more sense (as long as you are drawing all the way around the form).

[Elwell]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=168328

[Xeon_OND]

LOL Elwell, that was a thread I made some months back. :D

Now, I can understand the theory behind ellipses and that they're symmetrical etc, and I can understand the sphere better, but I still can't figure out how to accurately put in the ear-line on the sphere. It seems to be a matter of estimation.

[Thunderfist]

Well from my understanding it's all about axis and point i want my character look at... but i bet that i'm wrong :D

[arenhaus]

It is about estimation, it's just that your estimation should be based on anatomy and perspective.

If you are drawing from life, you can measure where the ear is on the model. If you are drawing without a model, then you have to know where the ear normally is - or at least keep a visual anatomy manual handy.