What are the elements of good drawings?

[Ale_hq]

Hello!
My name is Alexandre, I'm 25 years old and I'm serious about becoming a real professional artist. For a while I came to this forum just to see the amazing art of you guys, but from now on I'm intending to keep an updated sketchbook here. I'm just buying my first wacon bamboo tablet, so you are going to see my digital development from scratch (though I already have regular skill in drawing fundamentals)

Without further ado, the reason for this thread is to briefly discuss about the elements of drawing... I want to know your thoughts about it.

I did not came here without doing some research and thinking on my own.

Loomis stated in his "successful drawing" at least ten drawing principles that an artist should have in mind so his drawing be successful. Those are the five "P"s (perspective, planes, placement, proportion and pattern) and the five "C"c (character, contour, consistensy, conception and construction). Although his elements are useful to keep in mind, that was not what I was looking for.

I want to keep track of my progress, breaking the great task of "becoming a professional artist" in smaller goals, more specific ones. So, I'm trying to break the drawing in smaller elements that I can handle one by one.

So, I came up with some areas that an aspiring artist should struggle in order to achieve a "professional level". Those are:

Perspective - included the actual comprehension of the perspective rules and the ability to use then properly for each work purpose.

Anatomy

Gestures

Light and shade

Uses of color

Cloths folds and types

Character design skills (being able to create the visual development of a variety of characters, from pretty girls to creatures)

Cars, motorcycles and vehicles in general

composition

expression - which I mean not only facial expression, but the whole "impact" that the great artists are able to express through a simple rough.

These is what I have for now. Do you guys would add more for the list? And I would ask one more important thing. Which artist do you consider being at the very top on each of these "elements"? At least some of them, it would be nice to know your opinion on this!
Sorry for my english, I'm trying to improve in this aspect too!

Thanks for reading up to here!

[Bowlin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_...and_principles

[QueenGwenevere]

So, you don't have, for instance, environments or animal anatomy, but you do have... cars? Why cars, specifically? Why not any other object?

I mean, depending on what they do, some artists will never have a reason to draw any cars. I know plenty of pros who are definitely not experts on drawing cars.

Also you're missing storytelling.

[JFierce]

Storytelling is an animal in its own. It's why some artists can draw and it's amazing in technical skill. But their narrative sucks terribly. They're just boring or don't draw you in like others do.

and yes as Queen pointed out subject matter is very... ..... .. subjective....

[Ale_hq]

Bowlin; thanks for the link!

QueenGwenevere; Thanks! You are totally right, after posting this I realize that I have forgotten environments. Of course, there are also storytelling and animal anatomy. The reason for me to put cars on the list, mostly is because they are very important for comics. I don't have the ambition to become a "jack of all trades", but I feel that I need to achieve at least the "professional level" at drawing anything. Of course, inside that category there are many degrees of mastery.

JFierce: I agree with what you pointed out. Thanks for the comment!


Do you guys could give some examples of artist who are the top of any of theses areas in your opinion? The reason for asking this is because I want to keep track of my progress, and I'm doing that making an 'scale' in which I can visually see where I am in relation to the top artists, and easily see the progress then. I already have some favorite artists to put on that list, but in some of the areas I don't have a clue who is considered the best.

Thank you all in advance!

[[email protected]]

Focus on principles, so do perspective, gestures, and composition, and add construction. I think light and shade, and colour, are more about painting and less about drawing, but apart from this, these are principles to study. Study life drawing, not so much because you want to draw life, but because it is the ultimate practice where all of the above fit in.

Constructive anatomy comes in a little later, and cloths folds and types are a useful add on, although I feel their purpose is more traditional than contemporary. Study expression as part of gesture, get used to drawing verbs, instead of nouns.

Keep a sketchbook. Draw cars, motorcycles, trees, buildings, bottles, boobs, asses, machines, animals. Draw.

[nE0-n1nja]

Well, for the elements of a good drawing, they are the 5 P's and the 5 C's, and those are: Proportion, placement, perspective, planes and pattern, and conception, construction, contour, character, consistency. You can read about them in the Loomis' book "A succesful drawing". These are the very basics.

[Cider]

Interesting question. I suspect you're looking for something more concrete, but I like this quote from John Ruskin:

All great schools enforce delicacy of drawing and subtlety of sight: and the only rule which I have, as yet, found to be without exception respecting art, is that all great art is delicate.

[meth]

good drawing

M

[Ale_hq]

Nobody gave any examples of favorite artists in any of these areas, I didn't want to open a new thread for that, but maybe next week I'll do so, if I can't came up with names on my on.

[email protected], thanks for your comment. The part "get used to draw verbs, not nouns" catch my eyes. I'll try to remember that.

nE0-n1nja, yes, Loomis is great, one of the reasons for me to ask these here is because I read that in loomis, I mentioned that on the first post

Cider, thank you. Before posting this here I downloaded the Ruskin book "elements of drawing", but just got a first glance. Looks like its a useful book, with lots of exercises.

MatejaPetkovic, thanks, that is the main element

[Star Eater]

good drawing

M

Amen.