Rendering convincing space?

[kitehiGh]

When I draw I draw whatever is in front of me all at once. If I am rendering a figure in a room I am simultaneously drawing the room and the figure, and both inform each other and turn out well.

I don't have much trouble rendering figures on their own, but I absolutely, for the life of me, can not create convincing space for them to sit with in. It's super frustrating, and makes illustration really a chore.

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions of exercises I could do to correct this problem? I can draw space fairly convincingly on it's own, and the same for figures. But when I try to draw a figure from a photo, and impose it on a different space, it looks completely ridiculous.

Here are some samples: first two were done from life in my drawing class, third was my drawing final, and the fourth was my illustration final for last semester. Both major space fails (there is no space!? wth?). Bah. Ew. So gross.

My goal this summer is to be able to convincingly place figures into spaces. Help meeee.

[FourTonMantis]

I think that instead of inventing your own space for your figures, you should focus on drawing the space that your figures are actually in. That way you can figure out your perspective issues in relation to the figure.

[kitehiGh]

I think that instead of inventing your own space for your figures, you should focus on drawing the space that your figures are actually in. That way you can figure out your perspective issues in relation to the figure.

I can do that. What I am trying to learn is how to take two separate images and combine them convincingly, which is sometimes necessary when doing illustrative work from reference photos.

[Alex Chow]

Break everything into simple, geometric shapes before playing with details. Because you're working with multiple photos, chances are, you will have to change things just so that the overall structure looks unified. Think of it as if you're stacking boxes on top of each other; they would have to align correctly, don't they? After that, THEN think about rendering.

Check out stuff by Bridgman and Vilppu or anybody else who teaches how to break things down volumetrically and structurally.

[squidmonk3j]

You say you can draw figures and space, but you cannot draw figures in space. I think this is a common problem, and I also think it's more of a problem with mental processing than anything else. The problem is based on a false dichotomy - there's no fundamental difference between drawing figures and spaces. If you think of the graphical elements in your drawing as separate elements, chances are they will seem like separate elements on the page - they will seem disconnected.

[kitehiGh]

You say you can draw figures and space, but you cannot draw figures in space. I think this is a common problem, and I also think it's more of a problem with mental processing than anything else. The problem is based on a false dichotomy - there's no fundamental difference between drawing figures and spaces. If you think of the graphical elements in your drawing as separate elements, chances are they will seem like separate elements on the page - they will seem disconnected.

Ah, thank you. You're very right. When I do try and combine them, I usually completely render both and then just try and paste them in, bah, no wonder that hasn't been working. Essentially what your saying is that to connect the figure and body they need to be rendered and thought about together?