{"id":510,"date":"2024-01-09T15:11:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T15:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/?p=510"},"modified":"2024-02-22T13:57:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T13:57:52","slug":"learning-to-draw-people-challenge-day-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/2024\/01\/09\/learning-to-draw-people-challenge-day-01\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to Draw People Challenge – Day 01 (2024\/01\/08)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nThis article was written January 8, 2024 as part of the 2024 Learning to Draw People Challenge<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nHere is the outcome of my first day of the drawing challenge. I ended up spending almost 1h25mins on it, so my first day was quite productive from that point of view. Also, I apologize in advance: I tried to make some gifs out of the process, but had some major issues the gif’s colors. Also, it turns out the app I use does not add a line until it’s completed and the pen is raised. This isn’t an issue while drawing, since the e-ink physically appears as the pen passes. However, it makes for an underwhelming viewing experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nBefore starting my drawing session, I decided to make a detour to purchase a small ruler. I figured that being able to make small measurements and to draw straight lines might be useful. It turns out this was the a good decision.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nAfter this purchase, I went to a Cafe and started to check the book. After looking at the “lesson” I was to follow, I realized I should probably start with some basic exercises. For this reason, I started by drawing an ellipse and trying to trace over it for a while. I’m…not great at tracing an ellipse.\r\n

\"\"
First attempt at an ellipse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nAfter some time, I decided it might be a little easier to divide the task. Instead of drawing a full ellipse, I added the two straight lines (guidelines for the face shape), and split the task in four, independently drawing the sections in each quadrant. (I also added a neck to better follow the book). I also tried to make a few fixes here and there to the shape.\r\n

\"\"
Second attempt at an ellipse (with a neck)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nOnce that was done, I looked at the first few examples demonstrating the shape of a head, and decided to start over and practice this step once more. I once again drew two perpendicular lines, took measurements from the book, and added a few annotations to show the head’s oval should be aligned, roughly. This time, I made a lot of corrections to it to try to get an acceptable result. Once that was done, I erased everything and started over once more. (My goal was to practice after all)\r\n

\"\"
Third attempt at an ellipse (with a neck)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nOn my next attempt, I drew the guidelines, and then started with the shape of the head. This time, once I got a passable result, I decided to move on with the next exercise. With this one, I added a few markers and guidelines as shown in the book to mark where the eyes and nose should be. (I may actually have gotten the wrong measurements here). Then I attempted to draw the basic shapes of eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Once that was completed, I went on with the next part, adding simple eyebrows and some complexity to the eyes. The final result is definitely not great, but for a first attempt, it’s not that bad.\r\n

\"\"
First Attempt with Guidelines and Marks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"\"
First Attempt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nOnce done, I once again started from scratch. This time, once I got a general oval shape, I tried to update the shape to get more of a jaw-line, as shown in the book. Unfortunately, this didn’t go too well at this stage, so I reverted my changes. I then moved on to add marks and guidelines, before drawing some extra features (I did waste some time on the guidelines, since I got a little confused about the ratios and measurements. I’ll have to look at this more closely tomorrow). Finally, I decided to re-attempt to sketch a jawline. Unfortunately, this second drawings seems worse than the first one. I think this is due to a measurement error with the guidelines, resulting the eyes looking too small. I’ll definitely pay closer attention to this tomorrow. This final sketch is where I stopped on my first day.\r\n

\"\"
Second Attempt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"\"
Second Attempt with Guidelines and Marks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nA few extra notes:\r\n