[PandaPops]

i read that some of you have worked through the book, my problem is on the first lessons i cant seem to get the strong poses which are shown in the book, i mean before this book i whould just draw a sketal struction as shown in loomis books, but this is entirly different. How am i meant to know what kind of action lines to draw, all my models so far have been floaty in forms. if possable could someone even post some of there poses from ch.1 up, please?

[Derek]

The one thing that he always stressed in person was not to get caught up in thinking of your first lines as anything other than feeling of an evocative line. It is the action, the pose, your reaction to it that you are getting down. Therefore, it's not really anything you see before you, but how you react to what you see. Don't think of it as a skeleton or as representative of anything... as for solid forms, that's just a lot of practice... and exaggerate it!!! A pose is a pose, stiff and weak. Give it strength and life! Push the limits of the pose, but be mindful of the limits of our anatomy.
One of Glen's students, arguably one of his best, Sheldon Borenstein also has a manual out, and Sheldon stresses tracing a lot of forms and such until you begin to understand what makes them work... but the downside of that is that the world ends up with another Sheldon running around if you aren't honest about eventually coming around to drawing as you see, not just as he or Glen would teach you.
No-brainer; but you'll get the best practice for this with a live model.
As for a more practical answer, I may have one soon... I don't think this is quite giving you what you are looking for. But, I do know Glen would tell you not to worry about the representation of the line, but the feeling and the action, the essential part of yourself (which sounds awfully fine-artsy I know) that is alive in it. More soon and clearer, I promise...

[ May 05, 2001: Message edited by: Derek Smith ]

[frostfyre]

Hiya PandaPops!

Yeah, Glen's method can be hard, no 2 ways about it, but its worth it. If you ever happen to be state side, his classes/workshops are most excellent. He also does an Italian tour, for a sketching on location kinda thing.

Back to your question, here are some pictures I did a while back when going through Glen's book. Keep in mind that these were done from live models, and executed in about 1 minute.

For the highlights (just the OK ones) heres some samples:




Try this page to see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

One last thing I took a course with glen, and he had us start with the primitives, doing the deformations and such, for an entire morning. Cubes, spheres, stretched versions, combos, cubes with attitude, etc, etc, etc. He then immediately jumped hardcore into anatomy, and we spent the afternoon rendering only the upper torso from a live model. No head, limbs, etc, just the upper torso. It was a good excersize.

Anyway, I hope this helps!

frostfyre

[PandaPops]

thanks for your relply guys i guess its just practice, practice pratice. and thanks for showing your drawings frostfyre ive got a very long way before im up to your standard. and waiting avaidly for your update derek, cya soon!!

[artboy]

Hey, any chance you could scan the drawing manual? It'd be much appreciated!

-artboy

[frostfyre]

I would hope that no one would actually try to steal from a fellow, living artist. C'mon, the book's only $20!

[Derek]

I've been thinking about this, and really all I can think of are the following things you may not get from Glen's book... can't remember as my copy has been loaned. First, for full figures, I would make a definite mark about the ground plane and where the legs are... you said you have problems with floating forms. Most people start with a head and try to work from there... but they get too caught up in bad proportion and try to 'measure' their way through a pose. Doesn't always save you. So legs, hips, give it some grounding. Still, don't get caught up in the initial marks really meaning anything.
If you are working only on specific body areas... say the torso or arms or where certain limbs or forms meet, be mindful of their place in space, but don't worry so much about the contours. You need to build the interior of a form, not just the surface... figure out what is happening inside it. How? Study anatomy really well and really honestly.
If some of your exercises leave you with no way to define and work on these aspects don't worry, others will. Or, create some work for yourself in this area.
Be sure to work in the following manner too...
Gesture
Construction
Anatomy
Technique
in that order!!!
The initial stages where you are having problems are going to be the ones that make or break your drawings, so remember the idea of gilding a turd: no matter how much you put a nice shiny finish on it, a piece of well... you get the idea. And, a stupid idea is still a stupid idea no matter how well rendered. Remember that too when making decisions about what you are responding to and drawing.
You have to put your time in at the get-go.
And if you're gonna make a mark, you might as well make a well-considered and thought out one... a beautiful one if you will. No random or nervous lines. Searching is okay, indecisiveness isn't.
When I get my copy back, I'll be sure to look through it again and will then re-read this thread, and see if I can still add anything of interest or import.

[mr lies]

For those who don't yet have the manual. Glen Vilpu has some articles of his scattered though the www.awn.com website. I know there are beginning drawing lessons 1 -12 and he was also doing a series on traveling abroad and sketching last summer. Theyre sometimes tricky to track down but a lot are in the student section. (but I haven't been there in a long time so my info might be out of date)