Going by that realism vs construction thread..

[Chronos]

How do 'realist' artists draw a figure? I'm assuming by little emphasis on construction, its just a 'look and draw' approach? Or are they permitted to draw at the very least some gesture lines, etc.
I make a lot of mistakes if I don't use a few loose guidelines so I'm wondering if its a skill one can improve.

[Elwell]

It's not a matter of what's "permitted," it's simply one of emphasis, especially in the early stages of training. The "visual" approach tends to be outside-in, the "structural" approach tends to be inside-out, but there's a lot of overlap, and few people exclusively use one or the other.

[arenhaus]

Pretty much what Elwell said.

I can add that even artists who prefer the "look and see" approach actually have a lot of knowledge about construction, anatomy, perspective, etc. if they are worth their salt. They just have it all internalized to a degree where they don't have to "spell" everything out and can achieve a good drawing without using a lot of construction lines or other aids.

[TinyBird]

I can add that even artists who prefer the "look and see" approach actually have a lot of knowledge about construction, anatomy, perspective, etc. if they are worth their salt. They just have it all internalized to a degree where they don't have to "spell" everything out and can achieve a good drawing without using a lot of construction lines or other aids.

In terms of this, here's a video of Scott Waddell doing a portrait, and going through all the things he considers after getting the basic form.

[briggsy@ashtons]

The title of that thread was always a strange false contrast, but the OP was comparing schools that emphasize a largely visual approach with those that integrate 3D construction with visual observation. The largely visual approach tends to rely on delineating outlines and shadow shapes using measurements of distances and directions in the picture plane, which are only part of the procedure for the constructional approach, at least as I understand it.

[Chronos]

The title of that thread was always a strange false contrast, but the OP was comparing schools that emphasize a largely visual approach with those that integrate 3D construction with visual observation. The largely visual approach tends to rely on delineating outlines and shadow shapes using measurements of distances and directions in the picture plane, which are only part of the procedure for the constructional approach, at least as I understand it.

Hence why I was slightly confused
But I'm keen on learning the whole gamut of technique so I plan to study both.