The following picture is the summary of what I see and how I drew the first three fingers.
In the part “1” the angles I constantly compare are in solid green and dotted green in part “2” the angels are in solid blue and dotted blue. The pink areas are the negative space I draw, one might say an alternative to drawing in angles.
This is the most technical and almost mathematical side of my style of drawing.
There are many superb books on the anatomy of humans for the (up rising) artist. In each book, you need to see the human body as 3D shapes, that you then need to translate it as a 2D shape unto a 2D medium. I find that most people give up here already, which – in my opinion – is understandable.
In my style of drawing there is no need for such an in-depth knowledge of the human anatomy, not that it is not useful, it very much is, and I wished that I would be more versed in it. It is suffice to know the relation of each limb and their consequential angles to each other.
As I see it, it might be more than useful but helpful as well, to understand the anatomy and the underlying constrictions of certain movements. Seeing three-dimensional will help when one strives for drawing without a model.
In my case that would be landscapes, other than that, I need models for almost every moving object (actively moving, not passive, like wind-blown branches of trees).
These actively moving subjects, I draw with as little understanding of the (human) anatomy as knowing he difference between the left arm and the right leg.
I see hundreds more and constantly compare angles upon angles.
What would be more helpful is to know the musculature; the main ones is more than enough to create an illusion of a three dimensional figure; as the shadows – which are being cast by protruding muscles groups, outline what is essentially the human body or the object’s in every pose.
The elegance in my drawings arises from figures becoming indistinct the further away they are from the observer. Each figure melts with his background due to the many varied shadows they harbour (both the environment / background and the object), and this is the sole reason why I love to draw “white on black”. I basically only draw the reflections and let the shadows be one from the very beginning of every drawing.
Inspiration can be drawn from everywhere. The people around us, the trees we grew up with, the cat running across the street, scenes of films or simply one’s own hand.
First a very faint outline and placing the motive in its right spot, then minor adjustments.
Now for the shadowing part:
Look for the brightest area and the darkest area. Leave the darkest area to the already black paper and the brigthest spot will be the pure chalk, all the intermediate “colours” are grey in all its shades and nuances.The use of a tortillion and an eraser is imperative.
And this is how it is done.
The softness of the drawing is a result of the blending of the chalk and pastel with the tortillion. If it is not blended together, chalk and/or pastel on cardboard will leave a rather textured pattern. Which is useful for drawing water, rocks or trees but for smooth skin, it should be literally smoothed out a bit.
A note: be reminded that you can draw inspiration from everywhere, but you cannot force the Muse.
Let the Muse reach out for you, keep hold of you and embrace you.
If you don’t feel like drawing, take a rest from it, and only start again if you “feel like drawing”.
Nothing is worse than drawing in listlessness! You will inevitably manoeuvre yourself in a vicious circle, in which each lines is not to your liking and this generates a dislike and an aversion even, which can degenerate disillusions, resulting in a belief of ineptness to draw!
Drawing is not purely a talent but a skill that can be mastered. A profession, if you will which is endorsed in life-long learning. Never can and shall you reach the “end of a development”. There is no finish to the skill of what makes Art Art. You must keep on evolving, see things in different ways, and break open the frames of established styles and directions. Re-invent you and your style constantly.
And again one cannot do without a tortillion and a soft eraser!