I talk about measuring in art, especially when it comes to learning how to draw people accurately, but really, if you want to learn how to draw anything you want, measuring is a tool you should use all the time.
I often have students bristle at this word “measuring.” It sounds restrictive, tight.
But it doesn’t have to be a tool that tightens up your work. It can be a tool instead that helps you better trust your marks.
It can even help you begin to move away from your photo reference to make the art you want to make.
In this video I talk about tangents, using lines to measure your proportions, and negative space.
I share how and where outlining will flatten your work.
Lastly, I encourage you to explore media that help you achieve the results you want for your art, rather than being committed to a single medium and feeling limited by its uses.
Now it’s your turn: do you actively use measuring in your art?
Where are my abstract artists at? How do you use or how could you incorporate the idea of measurement into your art?
Tell me more in the comments below.
I try to look at where objects are in relation to the figure and vice versa.
Great tip. Thanks for sharing Doug.
Carrie, I am fairly new to your Artists Strong group, so I’m learning as I’m going along how the group works, but I must say that I really enjoyed your critique of this drawing. I find it so much easier to understand concepts of art in a critique of a work that talking about it in the abstract. I’m learning a lot just from the few of your videos. I’m looking forward to finishing up a painting that was requested by my husband and another online class that I signed up for before I found your group. Thank you so much!
Deborah thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so pleased you found us here in this particular interweb corner of the internet 🙂 and I hope my critiques continue to offer you insight into your creative practice. Enjoy your painting for your hubby and that class.