Drawing People at the park/store/etc.

[Bohh]

Hey guys,

I went to a public place today to try and draw people walking by. This was my first attempt and I wound up with only a bunch of gesture drawings and some blockish stick people. I don't know how you guys do it. Any advice on what I can do to get better at this sort of thing?

Thanks a lot,

Mike

[Blue]

Its not that hard, its all about speed and getting the "most valuable" stuff down, then filling in the blanks once they move. Start with a quick body, and then quickly get down the face in as much detail as you can. Once you have that, move to the clothing and so on. Basically, once you get the most important things down, you can take your time to fill in the blank areas and work from memory. Detail on the rest of the figure you do long after they leave. But yea, good memory helps once they move. :)

[ArlandoBattle]

Remember that this is your first attempt, dont expect Rembrants, Coros, or any of that stuff on your first try. Drawing people from life is a skill like any other thing and it must be honed to perfection. Start by drawing people in your class when they are seated or draw people where they are forced to sit and waste time (ie lunch time)

[Jason Rainville]

Heh, I still have to work up enough courage to try this. Art students are not too common up in northern ontario, and I haven't even seen an artist outside drawing, let alone drawing people he doesn't know. :O

I may try it one day.

[tensai]

go to a bar/coffeshop/parc/subway where people are sitting down and are perhaps reading or otherwise distracted. it will give you a bit more time.

[Advocate of Fate]

i try and do this as much as i can. i try to bring a sketchbook out with me alot, and im always armed with a writing tool. Whenever the party gets slow, or im waiting for someone to do something, ill take that time to do a couple gestures, nothin fancy. You'll learn to draw faster without looking as much, because people move a buttload. Try out some coffee shops or bookstores, thats your best bet.

[DavePalumbo]

I found a good place to get random people to sit still is any place with laid back live music. If the crowd is too intimidating to draw (I myself get nervous staring at strangers), you can draw the musicians, who generally stay very very still and are expecting you to stare at them. I'm talking the kind of music you see at a coffee shop or something, like an easy paced jazz group for example.

[jfwalls]

I found a good place to get random people to sit still is any place with laid back live music. If the crowd is too intimidating to draw (I myself get nervous staring at strangers), you can draw the musicians, who generally stay very very still and are expecting you to stare at them. I'm talking the kind of music you see at a coffee shop or something, like an easy paced jazz group for example.

Haha. At first I was thinking about the kind of shows I go to. Which means you'd have to draw people in a mosh pit. Or the band jumping around all crazy-like.

[bumskee]

I think bus stops and train station is great, people waiting around for the next bus/train. I don't think drawing people walking up and down the street is going to be very encouraging. Too short to put anything decent down..Park is good, at like lunch times, people sit around having lunch, some good sitting studies.

[DireZen]

the traffic on my commute to/from work is so bad that today i tried drawing while i was driving. i spend more time stopped in my car than actually moving, so i gave it a shot. a lot harder than I thought tho

[cotron]

do it often, every day if you can- it's much easier with repetition.

and if you're worried about people looking at what you're doing, the one thing to remember is that it's likely better than anything they've ever done :)

[Farvus]

Recently I was drawing people in the park for the first time (eariler I was doing it in the class but it's different). At the beginning it was very hard but I changed tool to brushpen and it helped a lot. It's good for doing light and fast lines so later I even managed to capture movement.
When someone suddenly changes pose or goes away I try to draw him/her from memory. It's like being photographer that uses mind instead of camera :).

[DavePalumbo]

At first I was thinking about the kind of shows I go to. Which means you'd have to draw people in a mosh pit. Or the band jumping around all crazy-like

I don't bring my sketch book to those shows

[tensai]

i mostly sketch people in the train and always have a small pocket sketchbook with me. about the distraction, putting on some headphones can work really well - peeps dont bother you as much and you get high off of the music.

[Kresh]

A bookstore is a nice place to start! You always get people just sitting around on couches flipping through books. And they dont move around (as much).

[ah.heng]

i recently began sketchin on trains.
people tend to stand still longer.
and you very varied models.

[Dizon]

people sleeping are fun to draw

[worxe]

If your conscious of looking at people which makes you feel unsettled because they think your a freak or some random, wear shades. Works for me, though the shades can screw up trying to discern light on form, though I dont find it too bad as I just block in the shapes/features first before any shading. By then the persons already moved.

[Bohh]

Thanks for the responses everyone. It seems everyone agrees you just have to get out there and do it, like anything else in drawing. I'll try some of the more laid back places with people sitting still and see how it goes. I imagine, after doing that for some time I'll be able to see which lines are the important ones and can then move to drawing people that are moving better.

Thanks again,

Mike