Draw People in 15 Minutes: How to Get Started in Figure Drawing

by Jake Spicer

Overview

Yes, you can draw! And Draw People in 15 Minutes will show you how. By the time you finish this book you'll have all the skills and the confidence you need to sketch people on the move or on the couch.

Professional art instructor Jake Spicer takes you through every aspect of drawing from life, from sketching bodies in a busy public space to drawing a model from real life or a photograph. Carefully crafted exercises break down the drawing process into easily digestible parts, while step-by-step tutorials demonstrate how you can create a full-length portrait in just 15 minutes. With advice on everything from materials to use to how to get a person's proportions right, including how to draw hands, feet, and fabric, this is the complete course for anyone who's ever wanted to draw people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250089632
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	288,995
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

JAKE SPICER is a figurative draftsman, painter, and printmaker who lives and works in the UK, where he is the principal teacher of the Brighton and London Life Drawing Sessions. In 2009 Jake was named the Fringe Report Artist of the Year, and his work is exhibited widely across the UK. Spicer is also the author of Draw Faces in 15 Minutes.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Introduction 6

Draw People in 15 Minutes 8

What You Need

Your Materials 10

Who, Where, and When to Draw 16

Drawing from a Model 18

Life Studies vs. Photographs 20

About Drawing

Attitudes and Techniques 22

Core Skills of Drawing 24

Visual Language 26

Building Skills

Beginning and Improving 28

Seeing Tools 30

Mark-Making 32

Exercise: Eloquent Scribbles 34

Edges and Lines 36

Exercise: Blind Contour Drawing 38

Relationships and Points 40

Exercise: Sight-Size Portrait 42

Shapes and Spaces 44

Exercise: Tiny People 46

Light and Tone 48

Exercise: Subtractive Tone 50

Seeing People as a Whole 52

Observational Measuring 54

Establish, Construct, Elaborate 56

Exercise: Establish, Construct, Elaborate 58

The 1 5-Minute Figure

The Basic Figure 60

Stage 1: Establish the Pose 62

Stage 2: Construct 64

Parallel Stage: the Clothed Figure 66

Parallel Stage: Anatomy 68

Anatomy and Drawn Anatomy 70

Negative Space 72

Parallel Stage: Problem Solving 74

Stage 3: Elaborate 76

Putting It All Together 80

Exercise: a Person in 15 Minutes 86

Going into Detail

The Head 88

The Face 90

Drawing the Features 92

Hair and Hats 94

Arms 96

Hands 98

Legs 100

Feet and Shoes 102

Clothing 104

Fabrics and Drapery 106

Clothing References 108

Dynamic Figures 110

Age 112

Landmarks and Mannequins 114

Human Proportions 116

Foreshortening 120

Problem Solving 122

References 126

Acknowledgments 128