Figure Drawing From The Mind, Thread

[Ragathol]

Is no one doing corrections any more?

Well, I'm givin' a shot here.
I always prefer to draw from my memory, but it doesn't really work without a proper life knowledge.
Just a couple. Plenty of flaws...

This one caught my eye. I attempted a redline, but please note that it was done without reference as well, so it might not be fully correct... Should be a bit closer to reality, at least. I focused on the arms, since they looked most correct, and were inked, and constructed the rest of the body from their size.
Your main problem here is the lower body is way too small, and the upper body tapers down too much. A rule of thumb is that the legs(including feet) are the same length as the rest of the body, including head.
The angle was a bit too extreme as well, if he wasn't supposed to fall forward... I hope this helps.

I include a recent painting of my own for critique. It's already painted and finished, but it was made from my head, so any nitpicks are very welcome.

[Brendan Draney]

I'm surprised this thread isn't more popular. Anyway ...


A somewhat standard Loomisesque female lady :

[Brendan Draney]

Lol ! At my typo. A female lady??

[Maidith]

From my sketchbook; figure studies without any reference to find out how much I actually memorized from doing anatomy studies.

[krispee]

haven`t surfed this thread for so long, posted early on and it`s heartening that people are still drawing and posting, i agree with you, Brendan Draney, surprised this thread didn`t become more popular......

so, better post something then....
a small animation, really crappy, based on a character i was working on for a while, actually terrible animation but thought it was worth posting anyway....




i know there are issue with this guys proportions around the torso and leg area [torso too long, legs too short] but i did actually want him like that....







as you can see some general wackiness going on here lol

keep drawing people...

kris

[Zazerzs]

to post this, Seeing what i remember. got some gray areas

[krispee]

doing well, Zazer, those muscle groups are really sticking in your mind.....

kris

[throtailer]

My figure from mind, actually somewhy i draw better from mind than from ref... I dont know thats good or bad

[marks]

______a lot of great stuff on this really fun thread. ______ I like ball point pen doodling

[Burtzum]

[Freha]

This thread is great. Made me feel like posting, lol! I draw the human figure from my mind almost exclusively. As an exercise for this thread I challenged myself with a heavy-set woman. It's easy to draw thin people because you don't have to worry about any body fat and the shapes that it will take as the body moves. Feel free to point out anatomy mistakes.

Done in Painter X; 2 hrs.

[grimfeather]

hey what canvas size should i be using if im gonna do my figuritive work in ps or painter

[Mawhonic]

Freha, I think your image above illustrates what most of my concerns are about drawing the human figure from imagination...good job by the way! But mostly, I feel that I can already draw an "anatomically correct" figure. But lately I've been pushing myself to draw more "real" figures. For example, when you see most people on the street, their bodies aren't so "Peeerfect". For the girls the hips are very wide sometimes or very narrow, like more so than I would depict in my imagination. And then when I draw those figures displaying such "excentricities" it comes out looking unnatural. But I've found that weirdly, these "abnormal" figures do make more sense once I put them into context, you know, draw clothing around them or put them in a realistic scene.

Guess I'm just asking if anyone has any advice on how to draw figures that look REAL but not necessarily "anatomically correct"?? Thanks.

[Mawhonic]

And just for clarification, I'm not talking about advice like "Oh study artbooks", I mean more, is there a logic or thought process that artists can go through which would help in understanding the "essence" of these abnormal figures better?

[tecnophreak]

craps my stuff wont load up

[mentler]

As Many Of
You Already Know
I Draw From
Imagination
Most Of
The Time

I Do However
Draw From
The Model
A Couple
Of Times
A Week

[Phuzion]

Freha, I think your image above illustrates what most of my concerns are about drawing the human figure from imagination...good job by the way! But mostly, I feel that I can already draw an "anatomically correct" figure. But lately I've been pushing myself to draw more "real" figures. For example, when you see most people on the street, their bodies aren't so "Peeerfect". For the girls the hips are very wide sometimes or very narrow, like more so than I would depict in my imagination. And then when I draw those figures displaying such "excentricities" it comes out looking unnatural. But I've found that weirdly, these "abnormal" figures do make more sense once I put them into context, you know, draw clothing around them or put them in a realistic scene.

Guess I'm just asking if anyone has any advice on how to draw figures that look REAL but not necessarily "anatomically correct"?? Thanks.

I think what you're referring to is, essentially, making the person or character more unique, and getting into their individual characteristics. You don't want to draw A nose, but THEIR nose; not a generic body, but THEIR'S specifically. Really the beginning of that is simply asking the questions. I tend to draw slimmer people mostly because I draw mainly women but also because they are usually warriors of one kind or another and it makes sense that they would be of a lower fat content. However, that does not always apply to every single character. So where do you go from here? The best start I could suggest is to draw from life... A LOT! And I don't mean life drawing workshops with nude models. Those are well and good for anatomical studies, but what you seem to be wanting is naturalism. You want them to feel natural, stand in a natural way, run in a natural way, or sit naturally, and I completely agree. Draw real people doing real things at: the coffee shoppe, the bar, the mall, meandering down the sidewalk. Don't just focus on people that are standing or sitting still either, but also on those moving, because how they move is dependent on their "Power Center". Some people move with their head leading the way, some with their chest, some with their belly, some with their groin, some with their knees etc. So that's the beginning. Then, when you get into drawing folks that are a little heavier, pay attention to the stress on the convex shapes... what does this mean: Every curve in the body is "weighted" to one side or the other. Their are no perfectly even curves in the human body, the apex always sits to one side of the center. If it's a belly, the curve sits below the center because the weight is acting with gravity. Boob jobs, not so much. Take 45 minutes and sit in a public place and just study people and their weighted curves. Log them all away in your mind, then start to draw. This gets into practice now...

When practicing, make sure you have a goal for the day, or the hour. "Today, I'm working on weighted curves." or maybe "Today I'm working on the art of the feminine ankle" soooo hot. Anyway, having goals is really important for focus, otherwise you're trying to work on everything at all times and you will not get anywhere. This translates over to drawing from your head, and drawing in workshops. When drawing from your head, write down all the parts of the figure that are giving you a hard time; be specific! Generalities don't help anyone and they don't help communication skills. And make no mistake, drawing is a communication skill. So! You have your list of thorny points, now take that list with you to your life drawing workshop and focus on those points, or at least a one or two of them each time. Really take the time to do studies of forearms if you're having problems with them, then study how they connect to the upper arm, to the shoulder, to the torso etc. YOU HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION!! Most people go on auto-pilot when they do life drawing and they never learn anything. Be very specific to WHO you are drawing. And always start with a quick gesture to get the line of action. In fact, I would suggest only drawing gestures at first. I spent a solid two semesters of life drawing class only drawing gestures, never doing a drawing that took more than 5 minutes. 90 pages of those a week, and it was pretty ingrained in me. Then when I moved back to more finished pieces, I found they came quicker and easier than they had before because I understood how to block them in with a solid gesture, thus creating a solid foundation for the final piece. How does this apply to the more "natural" people? Well, the gesture does not only have to be the skeletal gesture. It could be muscular, it focus on points of stress, on creases, folds in the body or clothing. Whatever helps you to capture the MOOD of what you are wanting to draw.

Okay, gotta get to work. Hope my long-windedness is helpful.

Cheers,
~d

P.S. Just for context, here is one the latest pieces from my head. Bare in mind that I did a lot of quick sketches to get the pose just right, but I really did not want to use reference for it. I enjoy the challenge of making shit up

[Sphyzex_9]

No reference

[QETALIVAN]

Well, these are examples of how I block guys when I want them to be a bit more realistic(still they are quite iconic)
for me what work better is to begin with a good bone structure, because are the bones what tells you where the angles are, where the flesh go out or go in...and then you can put more or less muscles, and more or less fat.
To get a more unic result, just dont make it perfect, the more imperfections you add, the more realistic it will look....arms or hands a bit too big, some asimtry here or there, and specially in muscles and fat....maybe big fore arms, because the guys is a worker with hands, but not really strong biceps, belly, body hair, tendons....so many tricks and you get it!
I will post an example as soon as I have time.

[LordGaruda]

[keith eager]

I did an anatomy review the other night. We had a 1 semester(gasp!so short!) course in anatomy last year. So I decided to see what I could build from memory:
Step One: Build proportional cubic mannequin
Step Two: Build skeleton
Step Three: Muscle overlay

[Mike!B]

WARNING: Nudity below.

I took a stab at this:

(though I don't even want to post it, it's absolute garbage compared to these)

To everyone in general(I hate to see this thread inactive. Even if you don't think you're doing too good, post it anyway):

Drawing "from the mind" is great, and a really good way to remember/recall what you've learned. However, if you just go at it without learning how you should you might just continue to recall partial information.

This is sort of an informal project, I guess, for any who are interested:


Find a reference photo, or figure from real life, and draw it. USE the reference. Try to make it as accurate as you can, but don't worry about perfection.

Then, put your drawing away and get rid of the reference with it. On a new sheet of paper draw the exact same pose. But do it like this:

1. Draw a stick figure.
2. Draw a geometric/blocked figure.
3. Draw the figure with musculature
4. Draw the figure as it was in the reference

Each number should be a SEPARATE drawing. And you should NOT look at your reference until you've done all four drawings.

If at any time you feel you can not accurately recall what it is you need to do, then put everything away, get out your reference drawing and start again from #1. When you're able to complete all the drawings post 'em.



Okay, now, I'm not saying I know what I'm talking about, but I've picked up on some things, and I think this will be neat. Plus, I find it easier to work on something if I have some idea of my goals. I, personally, will be trying this. If my scanner doesn't work when I finish I'll get out the digicam and use that.


Oh, BTW, it doesn't have to be a full figure to start. If you're working on a specific area, just to that.

Hoping for more pics,
-Edge

Heres the reference picture:


My drawing from reference:



Step 1:


Step 2:


Step 3:


Step 4:


Of course, crits are always welcome, although I'm not sure I deserve them- I really rushed these.

Thanks,

Mike

[Minkie]

A very quick sketch I did today, still trying to focus on getting all the proportions right with figure drawing, and drawing straight from my head. Her hips look very large, but that's because they're meant to be. She's a pear shaped girlie.

[keith eager]

Many thanks Phuzion! Your post on progressive thinking and individual character was both inspirational and helpful. I've had a similar experience at school: spending 2 years just doing gestures and exercises. Even as a student, I have already found this training IMMEASURABLY helpful. I used to struggle terribly when drawing from imagination, but now I don't know how my thoughts end up on the paper, they just seen to find their way there naturally.

Everybody at school was drawing cat-woman this week. The spirit was so infectious that I had to try my hand at the character. Here is my page of explorations, animation layout coming soon!
I've also included some memory drawings.

[ArneSReismueller]

one in pencil one in ps...

[sandeepbarot]

great!

[LordGaruda]

[GreenPhantom]

Any critique would be FANTASTIC. I've been in a major drawing rut and I need something to keep me occupied.

dont ask about the ? thong because i dont know...

[LordGaruda]

[LordGaruda]

here's another one from the mind...it's called Reasoning from the Scriptures