And now I’ll take some questions. You, there in the front row…
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The demos and tutorials are mostly about drawing from the imagination, because there’s a greater need for quality websites that focus on this topic. Many of the SA articles, however, are only indirectly about imagined drawing, and include posts on studying art, notable artists, reviews of materials, and many other topics.
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I teach naturalistic drawing. That means figures and other subjects in a drawing have a similar appearance to their counterparts in reality, at least in their proportions and structure. How those subjects are rendered to completion, however, can vary depending on the goals of any artist.
Think of naturalistic drawing as the framework for learning to draw the human figure in many styles, from classical to comic book drawing, traditional styles of illustration, and even the more realistic styles of cartooning.
I also follow an analytical approach to drawing, focusing on proportions, structure, perspective, and skeletal and muscular anatomy, without ignoring the importance of gesture.
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If you’re going to invest your time and money in studying art (online or face-to-face), it’s important to find a qualified instructor. I’ve been teaching naturalistic drawing and painting to college students for over 25 years, with a focus on drawing from the imagination. Currently, I’m a tenured full professor at my institution, and many of my ideas about teaching have been published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at conferences within my field.Frankly, though, what matters with any instructor is that they know their subject deeply, can demonstrate their expertise, and can communicate it to others, clearly and passionately. Nothing that anyone can show you on paper can prove this–you have to experience it firsthand. I believe you will on Stronger Artist, starting right here.
If you really want to know more about me, you can visit my personal website.
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Each approach offers certain instructional advantages that the other doesn’t. With video, you get to see a drawing progress in real time, along with how the artist actually goes about drawing. With the tutorials, you can focus on each step while working at your own pace.For lessons that feature both a video demo and a tutorial, I recommend you watch the video first. Generally, I suggest you just watch the demo, without trying to draw along with it. Then, begin the tutorial, and follow along with your own drawing.
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No, not if you’re taught to draw from the imagination correctly. Art instructors often warn students against drawing what they think certain objects look like, and for good reason.But if what you think something looks like is pretty close to what it does look like, then the picture in your mind’s eye provides a reference to compare your observations to, and will actually improve your ability to draw from life.
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Currently all of the material on Stronger Artist is 100% FREE. I’m developing some premium courses on different aspects of figurative drawing, and these will be offered at a reasonable cost when they’re complete. The free material on this site will never go away, however, and I’ll continue to offer new tutorials, posts, and demos long into the future.
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Why, how nice of you to ask! Yes, of course you can sign up for my email list—just CLICK the big orange button at the bottom of this page. When you do, I’ll send you the blah blah blah and the bleh bleh bleh…well…why don’t you just scroll down to see what you’ll get…