While I was in Louisiana, I received an ask through Tumblr requesting that I post more tutorials. My hands were tied regarding anything fancy, but I thought a basic drawing process for a pencil sketch would be manageable. I apologize that some of these photos are low quality, most of my time was spent in a car.
1. Line of Action
Whenever I sketch a figure, be it animal or human, I always try to determine the line of action I want that figure to follow. Generally, I try to have some sort of curve in the figure, no matter how straight the figure may be standing, as it adds dynamism to the pose.
2. Blocking out the figure.
Next I block in the figure, trying to keep my lines dynamic. The more you tighten the figure, the more dynamism you lose, so it's important to make your figures as dynamic as possible from the get-go.
3. Solidifying basic forms- egg (ribcage) and rectangle (pelvis)
For me, these shapes are pretty key- every living form I draw (save for fish) tend to have these forms somewhere in their construction. Along with the cylinder and the sphere, these basic forms make up every form you see in nature.
4. Further refinement of forms
It helps for me to draw directional lines on the ribcage and pelvic box. These are useful for making sure my figure stays consistent, and it helps me place clothing on the figure later.
5. Defining the arms and legs
Right now the arms and legs are pretty much wireform, but I've determined where the elbows and knees are.
6. Defining the legs.
The arms and legs are basically just cylinders, although I taper them when I draw them. Years of figure drawing have given me a pretty decent sense of how to build attractive arms and legs, but for a long time, my cylinders were very basic.
7. Defining the arms
My definition of the arms is pretty similar to how I go about blocking in legs. Basic cylinders work really well, but years of lifedrawing will help you articulate more nuanced forms.
8. Blocking in hands and feet
A lot of artists have difficulty drawing hands and feet. Hands and feet are basically wedges- the hands are shaped like the home plate in baseball, and the feet are shaped like doorstops. I'm going to have a post focusing on how I draw hands and feet together in the near future.
9. Blocking in the outfit
Just like I block in the figure, I block in the outfit by drawing the basic shapes of the articles of clothing. For clothing, I work from reference a lot, to make sure I get exactly the forms I want. I've blocked in a dress, a sweater, and a pair of leggings.
10. Blocking in the head.
I've written about head construction in the
past, and my methods haven't changed much.
11. Blocking in the individual features of the face.
The way I approach blocking in the face hasn't changed much either. After dividing my sphere in half, I draw one eye in the center, and one on each side.
12. Blocking in the basic forms of the hair
When drawing hair, I find it helpful to think of very basic shapes first, and then divide that into smaller shapes.
13. Pencilling in the features of the face.
14. Tightening up the blue lines, adding small details.
15. Begin pencilling over bluelines.
I basically use my graphite pencil like some people ink, since I try to get my bluelines as tight as possible.
16. Drawing ruffles
17. Block in the shape that will become your ruffle.
18. Add a squiggle at the top (the seam connecting the dress to the ruffle) and some lines radiating from that squiggle (the folds in the fabric).
19. Begin drawing the bottom hem. Some of the hem will be hidden by fabric and behind the rest of the hem.
20. Try not to draw terrible looking feet.
I think these feet were erased several times because I drew this angle without reference. Ahaha, you should probably use reference.
While putting together this process post, I realized topics that would lend themselves well to easy tutorials- how I break down hair, how I draw hands, how I draw feet, ect, so I'm excited to focus on creating those in the future.
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