OFFICIAL WORKBOOK

ULTIMATE
DRAWING
MASTERCLASS
DRAW LIKE A PRO TODAY

© KEVIN GARDIN, 2019.

W W W . D R A W C A D E M Y . C O M
WELCOME TO THE COURSE!
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
ENROLLMENT!

IN THIS COURSE YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT:

-The Best Drawing Tools To Start With
-How To Add Light And Shade
-1,2,And 3 Point Perspective/ How To Set It Up
-How To Create Full-Page Compositions
-How To Add Depth To Your Drawing
-How To Add Scale To Your Drawing

Click here to visit my website at www.kevingardin.com

to find more art courses for sale!

Email me at kgillustrator@gmail.com to inquire about

ordering original art prints.
KEVIN GARDIN
B.A ILLUSTRATION WITH HONOURS
*BEST-SELLING* INSTRUCTOR*

Kevin Gardin was born in Windsor, Ontario,

Canada. He currently resides there after
completing his Bachelor of Illustration at
Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.

He has worked in a game studio as a concept

artist and now is the owner of Kevin Gardin
Illustrations and Gardin Painting. He provides
services locally and online for both artwork
creation and residential interior painting.
Safe to say he's at home in the paint and
brush department.

He began drawing at the age of 3 and has

never stopped, always trying to make the next
one better than the last. His greatest hope is
that he can help you onto the right track!

These courses are his lessons on the most

sought-after techniques an artist can come
across. They are all designed to improve
anyone at a quicker rate and at a fraction of the
cost when compared to most post-secondary
educations. And the best part is it's all in the
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MITCHELL BOUCHARD
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Canada. In 2016 he graduated from Dakota State University
with a B.S, in Computer Graphics specializing in Film and
Cinematic Arts.

Mitch operates as the Chairman of Red Cape

Studios, Inc. where he continues his passion for filmmaking.
He is also the Host of Red Cape Learning and Produces /
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Mitch is currently working as a Graduate Assistant and is

an MFA Candidate at the University of Windsor. Winning
several awards at Dakota State University such as "1st Place
BeadleMania", "Winner College 10th Anniversary Dordt Film
Festival" as well as "Outstanding Artist Award College of Arts
and Sciences". Mitch has been Featured on CBC's "Windsors
Shorts" Tv Show and was also the Producer/Director
for TEDX Windsor, featuring speakers from across the
Country.
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 COMPOSITION
The composition of an image is the sum quality of all of its 
ingredients or constituents. It is what we see when we hold up a
photograph, view a movie or look at a painting. To the untrained
eye, all of these mediums appear different, yet to the student of art,
they all draw from the same well of rules to create a masterful piece.
The expert will consciously use these techniques to achieve the
ideal viewing experience.

The purpose of composition is to create the most beautiful and

understandable image possible to the human eye.

In this chapter you will learn to do so.

 visual ELEMENTS of art

Every drawing you could every create is composed of 5 elements. It is

important to know these so you can decipher what part of your
images you are creating and what needs to be improved upon in the
future.

1. Line- Either straight or curved, this is a mark that spans the

distance between two points (start and end). Essentially it is a dot
in motion, the width determined by the mark-making tool being
used. A line has width, direction. length, and curve. An outline is a
type of line, as is cross-hatching, but an outline creates a 2-
dimensional shape when it is completed, A shape can be organic or
geometric in nature.
2. Form- The form in an image is the illusion of perceived volume and
depth created by employing techniques such as shading and
perspective. The tonal scale (also known as the value scale) is the
amount of lightness or darkness present in any given colour. The
difference in tones next to each other is called contrast and this can
be used in the process of giving a shape its form.
3. Texture- The texture is the description of how something looks or
feels in an image. There are two types of textures: visual and tactile.
A visual texture is one that is completely flat but gives the illusion
of it being raised off of the page and a tactile texture is one that
actually rises off the page and can be felt with touch. A painting
will typically have more tactile textures than a drawing because of
how some types of paint dry. Some examples of textures are
bumpy, smooth, fuzzy, wet, and rough.
4. Colour- There are 3 properties to the element of colour: hue,
saturation, and value. Hue refers to the wavelength of the light
photon when it reaches our eye. It is the name we give colours such
as red or blue. Saturation, also known as intensity, is the purity of
the colour. The more saturated the colour is the more vibrant it is
and the less saturated it is the closer to a dull grey it becomes.
Value (see #2) is the amount of black or white present in a colour.
5. Pattern- An underlying structure of form and space that is
organized in consistent and regular way to promote rhythm. It can
be either man-made or natural.
 COMPOSITION CHEAT SHEET

WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

COMPOSITION is so important. Eveything in your scene gives information to the audience.

Wether your creating a corporate video or a feature length film, information is everthing and
you want to control it. As an example, I have a shot from a music video down below. Location,
Clothing, Camera Angle, Movement and Acting all plays a role in commmunicating the tone. Be
careful and make sure that everything in the frame synergizes with the scene.

TALENT PERSPECTIVE
(MUSICIAN) (HIGH ANGLE)

SET DESIGN LOCATION

(FLOWERS) (FOREST)
The quickest way to improve your compositions is to learn the hard
and fast rules first.  In the following pages you will learn by description
and example with the help of Tommy Toon. I have drawn him in the
most powerful and popular ones used by the best artists in the world.

THE RULE OF THIRDS

This type of compositional technique will take you away from the
natural tendency of a beginner to place the main subject of focus
directly in the center of the page. The rule of thirds can be seen
when you divide your picture plane into 3 equal parts horizontally
and 3 equal parts vertically, to give you 9 equal rectangles.  Many
cameras actually have the capability to display this grid built in
because it is so widely known and effectual. Your goal is to place the
important subjects of your picture along one or more of the lines or
where they intersect.
 Here
Location of the
most space and
the face of the
Jungle Guardian.

Here
Approximate top of
the adventurers'
heads.

Jungle Guardian, Kevin Gardin 2015.

 CENTERED AND SYMMETRICAL

To avoid a boring image, you usually want to stray away from

putting the main focus in the center of your picture plane… But
there are a few circumstances where it is actually beneficial! If you
divide your picture plane into 4 equal quadrants you will have one
line running vertical and one line running horizontal. Your goal is to
place the central point of your subject along those lines or
intersection as long as in the opposite quadrant you have a direct
reflection. For example, I could draw a water reflection of a tree
where the edge of the pond runs along the horizontal line and the
real tree directly mimics its reflection in the upper quadrant

In the image of Tommy through the doorway, along with symmetry

I have used another compositional technique. It is called framing
and it deals with using an element in the environment such as an
archway or a window to “frame” the main subject you want to focus
on while also not being a focus itself. It should be noted that the
focal point doesn’t need to be entirely circled either, just enough to
give the effect. Certain elements from the ‘Foreground Interest and
Depth’ technique can be used on the frame to accentuate the feel of
distance as you look through, but the main focus should still always
rest on an element within the “frame”.
 LEADING LINES

This compositional technique primarily deals with the human eye’s

natural tendency to follow a line from beginning to end. As an artist
you can use this to your advantage. You can use a winding road
through a countryside to lead the viewer through or you can play on
perspective’s ability to converge parallel lines to a single point. Rigid
objects such as tiles, tree lines, and city streets all tend to converge
to single points on the horizon if they extend far enough to it. Your
goal is to line your main focal point up along or at the end of their
convergence so the viewer’s eye is naturally led straight to it.
 TRIANGULAR

This compositional technique involves the main focal elements being

arranged into a large, imaginary triangular shape preferably the center
of the picture plane. The reason this shape works so well is the human
eye naturally follows the sloping edges to the top, and this is where you
want to place your main focal point. There can be any amount of figures,
creatures etc. inside of the triangle. For it to work best, the triangle can’t
be broken by any huge shapes, but you also want to be aware that if it is
too perfect it can come across as boring. In Tommy's picture, you can
see that I've done this by adding horns, wings, and interesting things
slightly breaking the edges of the triangle. Overall, this is meant to be a
very dynamic, powerful composition and your goal is to highlight the
most visually interesting part of your picture in that triangle.
The Storm Bird Anzu Steals the Tablets of Destiny, Kevin Gardin 2017.
 THE GOLDEN RATIO

This compositional technique involves similar elements of the Rule of

Thirds but is slightly different. It uses a mathematical equation that is
prevalent in the natural world and generates beautiful sequences.
Instead of splitting the picture plane into equal rectangles, you split it
into smaller and smaller rectangles, all of equal size ratios to the last
division.

Even if it seems confusing, you don’t have to memorize it, only

understand how the spiral looks. Once you see how the picture plane
is divided using it, you will want to line important elements of your
picture up with the grid lines and place the main focal point inside
the smallest square.
Phi (1.61803398874...) is another name for the golden ratio. Its symbol
is the Greek letter "phi" , hence its name.

It is a number with all sorts of unusual mathematical properties and it

is the solution to a quadratic equation. I apologize for bringing you
back to math class when you thought you would be learning how to
draw, but hear me out! Phi is an incredibly important number! Do you
realize that many things in the physical world are beautiful because of
math's organizational abilities? Think about a spiral shell, the human
body, or Romanesco broccoli. DNA is programmed with this
mathematical equation on exactly how to grow by offering vectors of
placement!
Just like Pi (3.1415...) is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its
diameter, Phi is also a (golden) ratio. It's the ratio between line
segments when a line is divided in a particular way. The way that it
needs to be divided is so the length of the entire line (A) divided by
the length of the large line segment (B) is equal to (B) divided by the
short line segment (C). Essentially, in this ratio, if the total of (A) is
equal to 1.618" then (B) is equal to 1" of it. If this division in the line is
made, then (C) to (B) is automatically the same ratio as (B) to (A).

Phi can also be derived through a numerical series discovered by

Leonardo Fibonacci known as the Fibonacci Sequence. This sequence
is infinite but starts with 0 and 1. The next number in the sequence is
found by adding the two previous numbers together. The first 10
numbers in the sequence are:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and 34.

 PERSPECTIVE
Atmospheric perspective deals with the amount of detail and
variations in colour levels to show the viewer that objects are to be
perceived closer or further from them in the picture plane. 

1,2, and 3 point perspective deal with how objects appear to change
shape and trajectory as they move further away from the viewer into
the horizon.

It is one of the most powerful tools in an artist's arsenal.

 PERSPECTIVE CHEAT SHEET

NORMAL HEIGHT
Normal Height is a great way to
establish a character or to make
things feel normal in the scene.
This is used alot to establish to
characters point of view
accurately within the frame.

LOW ANGLE
Low Angle shots offer a unique
perspective. It instantly makes
the subject look and feel
powerful. It is used alot when
filming action heroes and to
display dominance in a scene.

HIGH ANGLE
High Angle shots are a great way
to make your subject look and feel
culnerable. Altho depending on
the acting, it is used to add an
intersting aesthetic as well.
 atmospheric perspective
With atmospheric perspective, your goal is to accentuate the
foreground object, creature, or character. Your goal while using this
is to bump up the detail, colour and size of the foreground while
doing the exact opposite to all of the background elements. This will
give your whole scene a lot more depth and make it feel more 3D at
the same time.
 WHITE INFINITY
White infinity means you begin with a white background and as
objects go further into the distance they become white-washed.
Jungle Guardian, Kevin Gardin, 2015.
 BLACK INFINITY
Black infinity means you begin with a black background and as
objects go further into the distance they become darker.
Grapple-Bot vs. Monroid, Kevin Gardin, 2016.
The Storm Bird Anzu Steals the Tablets of Destiny, Kevin Gardin, 2017.
 MIDTONE
When objects go further into the distance they don't quite reach black
or stark white, they are reaching a midtone that you have decided.
Space Biker, Kevin Gardin, 2016.
1- Point perspective Worksheet
2- Point perspective Worksheet
3- Point perspective Worksheet
isometric perspective Worksheet
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SHAPE AND DIMENSION
Shape and dimension are some core elements that any artist needs
to understand when drawing. 

When you are putting pencil to page, even if you are able to make
something "look" 3D, it is still a 2 dimensional image because it lies
on a flat page. In this chapter I'm going to get mathematical on you,
but you will learn crucial information about the nature of shapes
and what dimensions are.
 1 DIMENSIONAL

1 dimension is the simplest of the dimensions in the universe. Below

that we have 0 or nothing. A dimension is a line in space where a
point on that line can be determined using coordinates. Remember
those y=mx+b graphs that you always had to draw out in math class?
Yeah, that's exactly what this is about. But hey, at least it is going to
have a practical use for you now!

The y-axis and the x-axis each represent a 1 dimensional plane on

which you can plot points. The grid they create is essentially a square
which is a 2 dimensional shape where a point can be plotted inside of
using 2 1-dimensional coordinates.

How you can understand all of this in respects to drawing is by

breaking down what a line is. When you create a line, whether it's
straight or curved, you are creating a 1 dimensional shape. If you
make one dot with your pencil, it is one point on your line, once you
drag your pencil, you create a longer and longer 1 dimensional shape.

X
 2 DIMENSIONAL

2 dimensional shapes are ones that are made up of a connected,

closed network of 1 dimensional lines. For example, a circle is 1 line, a
triangle is 3 lines, a square is 4 lines, a pentagon is 5 lines, and so on.

To identify if a shape is 2 dimensional, it must be closed to enable

you to place a point inside of it and determine its location with
coordinates.
 3 DIMENSIONAL

3 dimensional shapes are one step from 2 dimensional shapes in that

they are composed of a closed network of 2D shapes. For example, a
cube is composed of 6 squares.

In our physical reality, we generally only have 3 dimensional objects.

Even a piece of paper or a sticker is a 3D object because it has a slight
amount of height to it. A cube drawn on that page is closer to a 2D
shape because the graphite or ink is essentially undetectable on the
surface.

To determine if a shape is 3D, it must be closed to enable a single

point within it to be determined using coordinates of length, width,
and depth.
 METATRONS CUBE
Since ancient times, the nature of the physical reality that we all find
ourselves in has been pondered and debated. Across the globe, there
have been a set of highly revered images that showcase the
mathematical aspects of nature without the use of numbers. A lot of
geometric knowledge can be uncovered by using them, however.
Their combined artistic and mathematical beauty is what sets them
apart from other images. These primordial, timeless patterns are
known as the Flower of Life and the Fruit of Life.

FLOWER OF LIFE

This is the more complex, underlying

pattern of the Fruit of Life. The names are
chosen just like how flowers and fruit on a
tree have the same relation. The flower is
pollinated and the fruit is born from the
internal genetics of that tree. The Flower is
actually the green circles that are overlaid
on eachother in vertical lines, intersecting
over the center of the next line's circles. The
amazing part about this is that it's created
by 2D shapes but it creates a giant matrix
of intersections to build and study from.

FRUIT OF LIFE

This is the extracted pattern of the Flower.

It's created by simple 2D shapes, circles, in 3
intersecting lines of 5. They all share the
common center circle and are miniature
versions of the greater outside circle. It is
easy to philosophize upon why this is such
an important pattern because the whole
construct is dependent on the duplication
of the core, center circle as much as it is on
the outside circle. Not only that, but it uses
the most perfect and simple form, the
circle. It's a perfect image showing how a
seed and the fruit itself are interconnected
in a never-ending sequence. Maybe it is the
first grappling of human thought at the
duplication of cells?
At any rate! The reason why they are majorly important to all artists is
because we are in the business of creating illusions on paper. These
patterns help us to understand how the shapes that we are trying to
represent on paper actually are self-constructed in the physical reality
around us.

If we take this one step further, we can start to see how this all comes
together. In Medieval times, an Italian man by the name of Leonardo
Pisano discovered that if you draw lines (remember 1D!) from the
center of each circle in the Fruit of Life through the center of each
other circle you get something very interesting...
He called his discovery Metatrons Cube after the archangel Metatron
and the obvious cube that appears around all of the crazy lines in the
center. What Pisano was so excited about was that he was able to
visually demonstrate all of Plato's 5 Platonic Solids (3D shapes!) using
this informational diagram. Plato is a pretty big deal, and being able
to figure this out was an extraordinary achievement by any standard.
By using Metatron's Cube, Pisano was able to create and teach others
how to create perfect illusions of tetrahedrons, hexahedrons,
octahedrons, dodecahedrons, and icosahedrons. It also helped to
solidify the Flower of Life as an incredible tool in understanding our
universe.

Now that you know about drawing the outlines of 3D shapes, it's time
you learned how to shade them to look even more convincing!
THE SCIENCE OF LIGHT
AND SHADOW
Before you can do realistic shading or paint colours from your
imagination, you first need to know how light works in real life!

Once you understand the basics, you will be able to recreate it on

the page with a change of tone or a slight mix of colour. After all,
every piece of art can only be seen by the effects of light reaching
our eyes, so how will you design yours?

It's up to you! 
 The science of light and shadow

Light is a natural phenomenon that can be detected by our eyes. This

phenomenon is known as a quantum of electromagnetic energy and
is literally a small bundle of electric and magnetic fields that are
intertwined. The main reason why light is ever emitted in the first
place is that when an element is heated, it gains energy and light is a
way to emit an overload of energy. The colour of light that is emitted
depends on the element’s temperature. The higher the temperature,
the higher energy of wavelength is emitted. The sun emits Ultra Violet
light because it burns at an immensely hot temperature. An ice cube
emits a light with a much lower wavelength and a human would
emit light at a higher wavelength than an ice cube, none of which
can be seen without the help of scientific instruments.

Light travels perfectly straight through space and time at a constant

speed. It can be absorbed or reflected. Visible light is only a small
band of information on what is known as the electromagnetic scale
where these energy shifts are measured. The same electromagnetic
waves that are radio waves, microwaves, ultraviolet rays, and infrared
waves are also colour waves. Our perceptions are a way to detect
these slight changes in energy patterns. As humans, we can’t see
further into the other ones because their waves are either too long or
too short to detect. There are other animals that can see more colours
than we can such as a mantis shrimp.
Different colour information is communicated by the photon’s
wavelength pattern. The shorter a wave is, the more energy it has
and the longer a wave is the less energy it has. “Ultra Violet” and “Infra
Red” is an easy way to understand on what end of the visible light
spectrum the colours are at.  Purple (Ultra Violet side) at the highest,
and red (Infrared side) at the lowest. An object that appears black is
a where nothing is being reflected because that light photon was
absorbed completely. When a photon is absorbed or reflected off of
the surface of an object it causes a cast shadow on the other side,
essentially a dead zone where no photons are able to reach and
provide colour information to you from. When an object reflects a
photon, it gives a slight adjustment in colour information. When you
turn the lights out at night, the reason your vision goes black is
because there are no more new light photons being emitted in your
area and the ones that were have already been absorbed by your
eyes or something else, in that split moment everything has been
dispersed.

Through science, we have discovered that light photons are particles

as well as a wave that interacts with objects and physically meets
our eyes.  We have always been fascinated with the sun's light since
the beginning of recorded history and have tried to decode its
mysteries. It is only fairly recently where we have made the most
startling discoveries in the fields of quantum mechanics and
companies are even working on computers that are beginning to use
this type of physics. One of the first large stpes forward was when Sir
Isaac Newton displayed how his triangular prism was capable of
splitting white light into its constituent colours, the same ones as the
rainbow. He proved that white light was a perfect mix of all of the
visible colours and that it was not a colour itself. The prevailing
theory in the 1600s was that white light needed to be manipulated
somehow in order to produce another colour, such as shining it
through stained glass. To push his theory beyond all doubt of the
naysayers, he introduced a lens into the system and it was capable of
focusing the rainbow spectrum back into a beam of white light.
Now that we have covered what light technically is, how does this
help you with your drawing? Remember, light photons are tiny
particles whizzing from your light source (the sun, a lamp, etc.) in a
perfectly straight line. Remember that line is a Visual Element of
Art.This will help you when you are trying to figure out what to do
when shading your object.

Think of questions like:

What direction is my light source coming from? What colour of light
is it emitting? Is it bright or dim light? How would that affect my
colour tone and saturation levels? Is it the only source of light
affecting my object or are there multiple? Are there other surfaces
around my object such as a tabletop that are capable of reflecting
light back onto the underside of my object that are providing a light
source as well? Is this all just science?
 COLORS CHEAT SHEET

OVERVIEW
Colors play an important role in filmmaking.
Take time to understand how they can be
used in set design, lighting and color
grading.
SATURATION
The term hue refers to the color of the
image itself, while saturation describes
the intensity (purity) of that hue.

COLOR WHEEL
LOW HIGH
SATURATION SATURATION

RGB, Red, Yelow and Blue are Primary colors

that are important to understand. Mixing
these colors produces Complementary colors
such as Green, Orange and Purple. FILMS
PRIMARY

The two most promenent colors you will see

YELLOW
in films are BLUE and ORANGE. Because the
CO
Y
AR

MP

sun is orange and the night is blue, these

NT

LEM
ME

EN
LE

colors feel natural.

TAR
MP

GREEN ORANGE
Y
CO

RED
BLUE
PR
Y

IM
AR

AR
IM

Y
PR

PURPLE

COMPLEMENTARY
To an artist, things don't necessarily need to be so complex as when
we think about light scientifically. As an artist there are 3 parts that
work against eachother when you are shading your object and you
must constantly think about their interplay.

Shadow, Light, and the Terminator (core shadow).

Simply, unless something is lit by your light source, it is a dark

shadow. The Terminator is the imaginary line where the gradient
tone of a curved form transitions from light to shadow. It is located at
the apex of the curve just before the planes start to face away from
eachother and is always perpendicular to your light source. It is
darkest and is often known as your core shadow.

There are two types of Shadows: Form Shadows and Cast Shadows.
A Form Shadow is a Shadow caused by planes turning away from
the Light source and a Cast Shadow is caused by one object blocking
Light photons from coming into contact with another form behind it.
such as the table in the diagram below.
 THE STILL LIFE
In order to learn how things appear in real life and how to draw
them, artists often put together arrangements of interesting objects
of different textures and forms called Still Lives.
 PUTTING A STILL LIFE TOGETHER

To discover how you can create and draw your own still life at home,
here is an easy step by step guide. First, you want to decided on what
type of textures you want to learn how to draw. In my case, I have
decided on cloth, wood, and ceramic. Second, I have chosen objects
made of those materials that were of forms that were interesting to
me. Third, I have placed my cloth in positions that gives me a slight
challenge because it isn't straight everywhere, but bunches up and is
wavy and gives information on how cloth dynamics work. I have
oriented my other objects in an arrangement that made up an
interesting composition as a whole. Fourth, I have considered my
light source positioning and light color in order to make my objects
look great.
These are some images of what my still life looks like from different
angles. In my course you will get a full demo of how I go about
drawing this still life from start to finish using a pencil on paper!
 STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

Step 1: Block in your basic geometrical shapes using soft lines.

Step 2: Start adding in light tones in order to establish your shading.

Step 3: Start increasing your tonal range as you begin to finish up
doing your light tones. You may need to use a darker pencil now.

Step 4: Establish the entire tonal range in order to finish your piece.
 THE HUMAN FORM
Just like anything else, to draw the human form in a way that looks
natural, you need to fully understand what is involved in the process.

Strangely, it's not quite enough just to be a human yourself and go

by your memory on what a human looks like! I guarantee you will
fail every time! Not only are there mathematical relationships
between the sizes and placements of each bone, but there are
dynamic relationships in how we move that can drastically throw off
your drawing if you do it incorrectly.
 HuMAN PROPORTIONS

The first thing that you need to know when learning how to draw the
human body is its proportions. When I talk about proportions I am
referring to the relationships of each anatomical structure to another
in a way that reflects the average appearance of most people. Our
genetics are hardwired to produce certain results as we develop and
these are very consistent and mathematical.

HEIGHT: The average human is between 7 and 8 heads tall.

HEAD: 1/2= Eyes 1/4=Nose 1/8=Mouth
ARMS: Forearm is same length as upper arm. Elbow is at bottom of rib cage.
HANDS: Same height as head. Middle finger and palm are the same length.
LEGS: Lower leg and upper leg are the same length.
NAVAL: The naval is placed 3 heads down from the top.
SHOULDERS: The ball joint where the arm connects with the torso is placed 1
head-width from the center line on each side.
 GEsture Drawing

Gesture drawing is about learning how to draw the human figure

quickly and capturing the essence without too much detail. I have
included some pictures of dynamic poses so you can practice these
exercises. Remember, you are studying when doing gesture drawing
exercises and not trying to make pretty pictures yet. Your figures
won’t look like normal people (and that’s the point!), but you will start
to understand more fully how something like an arm extends
towards your eye or how to block in a rib cage and pelvis in less than
5 seconds. Think about how big of a role overlapping shapes will have
in your pose and how they will stretch and skew into perspective.

CUBE FIGURES

I am going to help break you out of your stick-man drawing with

these. Here I will start getting you to think of your stick-man broken
up into pieces. Don't worry about hands or feet for a while (since a
stick-man doesn't have them). To use this exercise, you want to first
get comfortable drawing cubes and rectangular prisms from any
angle. If you feel like you already have that down pat then this one is
for you! 

Steps:

Imagine your horizon like through the center of your character.

Use cubes for the head, and rib cage.

Use rectangular prisms for the arms and legs. 

Draw a trapezoid shape for the pelvis. 

Lastly, don’t draw any connecting joints.

When you are drawing the figure’s pose, try to be extremely conscious
of the way these body parts are angled above, below, or to the left or
right of you and draw your shapes accordingly. If you can get
satisfactory poses out of this then it’s a good gauge to tell you if you
are ready to add anatomical features like muscles and faces to your
figures going forwards. Remember, anatomy is detail, it is not
foundational to your drawing… it’s like the icing on the cake. If your
figure is not flowing properly to begin with, all the most perfect
muscles and details in the world won’t be able to make it a stronger
drawing.
ELLIPSE/CIRCLE FIGURES

To use this exercise, get comfortable drawing quick circles and

ellipses. This is a more simple technique than doing cube figures
because you can draw the circles through each other and not make
them 3D. Steps:Use circles for the rib cage, pelvis and shoulder.Use
ellipses for the head, upper arm, forearm, hand, upper leg, lower leg,
foot and stomach. This is a great way to learn how the human body
flows with organic rounded shapes. You will notice how your figure
comes to life and looks natural very quickly and stands apart from the
cube figure. Note that the strength of the cube gesture exercise is to
help you place your anatomy in 3D space when legs and arms start
reaching out from the body. Try thinking about overlap more with the
cube gestures.

Steps:

Use circles for the rib cage, pelvis and shoulder.

Use ellipses for the head, upper arm, forearm, hand, upper leg, lower
leg, foot and stomach.
BLIND CONTOUR

To use this exercise, you will first need to stop caring about what your
final product looks like, ESPECIALLY if you are always going for
realism. To do this you need to start at one point of the figure (try
starting with the face) and without lifting your pencil or looking at
your page, draw the entire body as detailed as you can. The purpose
of the blind contour is to loosen up your pencil strokes and to feel
more rather than to be in a technical mindset. It will get you to pay
more attention to your subject matter than getting caught up on
your page.
 DYNAMIC POSES

Use these dynamic poses to practice your gesture drawing!