Figure Drawing Cliff Notes

Merry Christmas everyone,

Looks like we'll be going into 2014 soon.  I hope to learn and grow even more with everyone next year.  Learning overload right now and a little overwhelmed.
CDA is out till sometime in Feb.  I learned a lot from helping students and can't wait till next term starts to TA again.
Dan and I got together and discussed what we will be covering in the Cliff notes and how we are planning on showing samples
/demos.  Before we officially start, we want to make sure that some of our instructors know what we are doing and get their
blessing.  Yes, it sounds a little cheezy but I ( along with Dan ) feel it would be disrespectful not to do so since
we are passing on their knowledge along with our own.

Just thought I should share some concerns of students I spoke with on the last day about foundations. 

1.)  Don't be feel down if you don't get this stuff fast and don't be afraid to ask the same questions if you want confirmation or if something is still not clear. 
Drawing foundation sound simple but it takes a lot of mileage for things to click.  I continue to study because I cannot confidently say I have mastered my foundations.  I just know more than when I started.   ( Some students began to feel bad because when we
would go around to help, we kept telling them to fix the same problems. )  To be honest especially if you're starting out, there will be a lot
of info being thrown at you and it could get overwhelming.   

2.)  Mileage.  Mileage. Mileage.  Keep drawing/painting.  I believe 90% of drawing/painting is mileage.  Gotta work 90 percent to understand the 10%.
Always happy to see students get better.

3.)  Practice with traditional mediums.   Things like line weight sensibilities can be picked up much faster with a pencil than with a pen tablet.
A well rounded artist can create something cool with anything that makes some kind of mark.

4.)  Learn from each other.  You learn the most when you draw with a group of enthusiastic artists.  Trouble shoot each others drawings.
If 5 of you draw the same model from different angles, you get to draw it five times too.  The first being your own drawing, and the other 4
troubleshooting in your head.   I'm sure your drawing buddy will have something that you like.  Learn from their mistakes as well as their successes.

5.) Slow down and take your time.  Learn good starts.  When you draw; draw, when you observe; observe.  A lot of the students in class
were able to call out their mistakes when I asked them questions about the pose.  Example  Me :Which way is the head tilted?  Student :Looking down side view.
Me:  Which way is the head tilted in your drawing? Student: lol OH wrong tilt and perfect side view.  Me: Okay how far do you extrude
the base circle when drawing a side view?  Student:  Half a radius.  Me: Right.  How far did you extrude your circle in the drawing?  Student: Oh not enough. Duh!
Me:  See, you know this, slow down.  

6.)  No need for egos; be honest with your work.  I know this is hard.  This will actually prevent you from getting better.  When you check your ego and go into sponge mode you learn a ton.  lol I've noticed that the more I learn, it's harder to have an ego since there's so much beautiful art out there.

Back to what we will be going over
1.Proportion
2.Gesture
3.Lay in ( shapes )
4.Simple form ideas ( your drawings should work even when the construction lines are gone. )
5. Artistic anatomy.  lol I'm gonna be honest, I know my anatomy but I don't use 90 percent of it in a lot of drawings.
If you learn how to draw and elbow with form, you can draw, fingers, knees, and midsections


Cheers

Bryan