When learning to draw it's imperative that you are able to draw objects the correct size. Without correct proportions, no amount of shading will make your disproportional drawing look good. When artists speak of proportions they are referring to "The size relationships between objects and even the sub-parts of objects" (Harding 93). What this means is making a part, or share, in comparative relation to the whole. You don't want to make a certain feature too big or too small in relation to the whole. As seen in my drawing above, I tried to make certain features, like the head or legs, seem proportionate in relation to other features, like the arms or body.
Drawing accurately begins with "Seeing accurately" (Harding 94). what this means is that as a artist learning to draw, you must train your eyes to see accurate proportions within your given subject matter. This is usually the easiest to learn with a still life due to simplicity and stationary nature. When you are drawing you should try to be aware of the whole drawing before you have drawn the whole drawing. For example, if you want to start you drawing composition on the left side, then start drawing on the left side of the paper. If you start your drawing in the middle of the paper, you won't have enough space to do the drawing and you'll crowd the drawing on the right and possibly throw the proportions off.
To end this blog, I will go into more detail about why it's important to get your proportions more aligned. If your "...Proportions are off on one element of your drawing, it may throw the rest of the composition off as well" (Harding 95). For example, if I made the head on my leprechaun too big, it would throw the whole drawing off and make it look unusual. Using precise proportions also gives the drawing some realism, since most things in the real world are commensurate to each other.
Question: Do you think that drawings always have to be proportional or is it sometimes appropriate to not be proportional?
Harding, James Duffield. Harding's Lessons on Drawing: A Classic Approach. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2007. Print.
Hey Rashid!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your blogs and your amazing drawings. To answer your question, I think it is appropriate to not be proportional. Naturally, some things aren't always proportional. Especially when it comes to art, I think some of the beauty comes from not being perfect. For example in my blog posts, I have videos of me playing guitar but it isn't like I play my notes cleanly every single time in a orderly manner. Therefore, I think the same applies to drawing so that it is appropriate to not be proportional at times. That being said, are you someone who is a perfectionist or do you sometimes appreciate the mistakes you make? Anyways, I really enjoyed looking at your blog!
Hi Icevar!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I appreciate that you liked my drawings. I agree with you that sometimes it okay to not be proportional, since lots of things are not proportional. I would consider myself a perfectionist and I don't really like to make mistakes, but it does happen quite a lot and sometimes things turn out well without being perfect.