Reaching hands.

[Victoria Vassos]

Hello! I would love some critiques! I know this drawing can be more effective than what it is… So far I am self-taught and I am so happy that I have now the possibility to watch this online classes and learn from great artists. Thank you for doing this!

[Morgan Moore]

These are really striking. You can really tell you’ve put a lot of effort into careful observation! The proportions are good and everything is in its right place two dimensionally.

I see two main issues that are inter-related.

1. You have very beautiful details, but they’re all screaming to be #1. As a viewer it’s not clear where the most important place is, or where one’s eye should go — everything jumps out at once.
2. The values aren’t clearly describing the form. This flattens out a lot of the features and also makes the fingers and hand/wrist connection less clear three dimensionally speaking.

The reason I say these are interrelated is because knowing and drawing the forms will help you decide what details are more important than others, as well as telling you where to place your values to clearly state the three dimensional character of your subject. This’ll help you simplify and clarify your subject.

Good things to practice for this are drawing boxes in perspective, first with lines and vanishing points if you need them and then later without. You can also practice lighting the boxes from different directions (all from imagination).

When you’re drawing something complex and articulated like a hand, breaking it all down into simple forms is very helpful. It’s a lot easier to draw a tube in perspective than it is to draw a finger! Once you have a tube though, “finger-izing” it isn’t too hard.

Another thing that might be helpful is to grab some tracing paper and trace over this drawing, but making everything a box. A box for the palm, for each finger join, for the arms, etc.

[Victoria Vassos]

Thank you Morgan for the advise!

[Joshua Jacobo]

@ChrisLegaspi has critiqued your drawing, @victoriavassos!

Chris Legaspi critiques paintings, chracter art, and more from New Masters Academy on Vimeo.

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