View Full Submission View Parent Comment
3 users agree
2:53 PM, Sunday August 8th 2021

Hi! So my first recommendation is to use easier references for the animals. Remember the goal of the lesson is not to learn how to draw animals, but rather to use drawing animals as an exercise to learn construction. Worrying about things like foreshortening or harder orientations would detract from learning the primary goals of the lesson, and is an unnecessary challenge.

Of course, all of that being said, you are completely free to challenge yourself as long as it doesn't take away from learning the main concepts in the lesson. How I approached drawing an animal from 3/4 view is to not worry about foreshortening when drawing the individual forms, but rather capture that foreshortening in the size of the form relative to other forms.

For example, when placing down the major masses, assuming the animal is coming towards the viewer, I would make the head a bit larger than normal, and the pelvic mass a bit smaller than normal. Same with the legs, while there's no foreshortening within the leg itself, there would be a size difference between the two pairs of legs.

More important than the foreshortening I feel is capturing the correct angles (or degrees when it comes to the major masses and contours). For example, the ribcage and pelvic masses would be a lot more circular in an animal seen head on compared to in profile. In addition, most quadrupeds in 3/4 view tend to have their pelvic mass higher on the page than their ribcage mass (unless they're sitting down or standing). A contour curve across the middle of the torso sausage I've found is also an effective way of really capturing how the animal is oriented. Finally, don't forget that the contour curves defining the intersections between forms are also a great way to define the orientations of forms.

Hope this helps!

7:16 PM, Sunday August 8th 2021

Thanks for the advice and feedback. Reading your respons I can see now that im trying to jump straight into the deep end before fully understanding basic construction. First time posting here so its great to get some guidance on the lessons.

The recommendation below is an advertisement. Most of the links here are part of Amazon's affiliate program (unless otherwise stated), which helps support this website. It's also more than that - it's a hand-picked recommendation of something I've used myself. If you're interested, here is a full list.
Sakura Pigma Microns

Sakura Pigma Microns

A lot of my students use these. The last time I used them was when I was in high school, and at the time I felt that they dried out pretty quickly, though I may have simply been mishandling them. As with all pens, make sure you're capping them when they're not in use, and try not to apply too much pressure. You really only need to be touching the page, not mashing your pen into it.

In terms of line weight, the sizes are pretty weird. 08 corresponds to 0.5mm, which is what I recommend for the drawabox lessons, whereas 05 corresponds to 0.45mm, which is pretty close and can also be used.

This website uses cookies. You can read more about what we do with them, read our privacy policy.