Jeff Watts on Line Quality

4.5K
Course In Progress

Jeff Watts on Line Quality

4.5K
Course In Progress
Stan Prokopenko
Jeff Watts is one of the most skilled draftsmen I know and he knows a lot when it comes to line quality. In this bonus lesson, he’ll give us some great insight on how to think about lines in our drawings.
Newest
Sumit Gupta
Here is my question, if lines is one of the exams that we need to pass what will be your criteria to pass this exam? Some of criterias I could think: 1. Successfully Imitating lines of artists you are inspired from 2. Completing all the lessons 3. Inventing a new style on your own
@clickbrick
Very inspirational, I will try my best to always be aware of the the feel, weight, and purpose of the lines I'm putting down.
@joel2311
4mo
My Key Takeaway ( hopefully right becouse english isn't my first language) The Lines need to represent, what im trying to draw. Is this form best represented by a dark thin line, do I indigate this Shadow with big soft lines, does the line represent the texture of the form etc. How I represent something with a line is Up to interpretation and the Type of drawing that im doing ( it doesnt have to look 100% like reality but close enough). Please correct me or ad something in case I got something wrong or forgott something becouse I want to be 100% sure that i understood it.
@joel2311
4mo
Also important to ad is that the more you know about the Form the better you can Interpret with Lines
Zeev
4mo
Wow! awesome and inspiring video. Thanks you so much
Natasha Johnson
Hi Stan Jeff mentioned calligraphic lines . For intricate shadow details ? And is the Viking guy Jeff ?
Natasha Johnson
wow i had 2 courses to pick from yours Stan and Atelier ... i went with you Stan as you were less intimidating . i had planned to do Jeffs course after yours . ok truth - i didn't feel up to par to do Atelier ( don't worry i suck here too ) but that was inspirational . Thank you
Maurizio Leo
When he first showed the costumed man, my jaw literally dropped to the floor. Very inspirational. Thank you for this video.
Josh Fiddler
My key takeaways: - Line can be a tool of design or as an indicator: what you want to show versus what needs to be shown to represent the thing you are drawing in a readable way - Draw Under the value you see, you can always kick it up - When it comes to the aesthetics of drawing, that is about interpretation, and that's where the artist's point of view, the way they design, comes to the fore -The process of drawing is active: Look at what you're drawing, think about what you are trying to draw, interpret what you see, think about how to draw it, draw it, decide if it's the 'right' line (more thinking), repeat - When observing, soft edges recede and hard edges come forward, meaning, a softer edge close to a hard edge will look further back. - it's not just about the local line quality and decisions. It has to work on entire forms, and on the entire piece in order not to break the illusion. This is true of any style.
Gannon Beck
"...part what you see, part what you know, part what you wish you saw." That's brilliant.
Gabi Gueron
I liked this a lot. My weaknesses are legion. Line stroke quality is an issue, though I keep practicing. The overhand grip seems years ahead of me, though I am learning to use the arm and not just the wrist. In a way it’s analogous to learning a new alphabet, or to write kanji with a brush. But my biggest block is to focus on the objective of an exercise , specially when the image is so compelling that my mind can’t give up on the right proportions or making it “look right”. I seem to lack a switch to turn in or off (I’ve recently discovered I have ADHD-TI..) I wonder if this will change once I’m more comfortable making proportions. Ok, this is starting to sound like a journal post.
Julian Blake
Wow! This guy is so wise and clever. It's like a tougher version of Marshall lol! He is a bit intimidating, because he knows so much and communicates so well and confidently. He threw such complex bombs of wisdom in such a casual yet very articulate manner, I had to stop many times to take notes. Very intelligent and talented artist! You can feel all his years of study, knowledge and hard work. An inspiration indeed! Thanks so much for this!
The guy from BluishDot
A lot of interesting points and really inspiring. Thank you.
Jon Passig
1yr
Jeff the goat
N. Yeagy
1yr
Thank you for sharing, Jeff; he is inspiring. 
@bonnieblue
Jeff says to set specific goals to keep moving forward. At this stage, what are my goals besides learn to draw or improve? I'm floundering here, i cant find the forrest OR the trees, specific daily/ weekly goals might help. The obvious goal is to draw everyday, but Jeff is talking about something more specific & meaningful. I'd like to know what please.
Julian Blake
I've felt the same for many years, but with this course I've seen I've improved in little more than a month more than I had done in like 5 years since I started learning how to draw. And I think that what has helped me improve is that this course is giving you the specific information that you can turn into your specific goals, that is, improving line quality, improving shape design, improving proportions etc. Of course all of them are important, but you can set your goals to improve in one specific area for a while, and then moving on to the other and so on. Another thing that has helped me a lot is doing the master studies, and drawing along with Stan in his demos, and taking notes on his decision-making process. Similar to Pedro who commented above, doing boxes and cylinders Peter Han style just made me hate drawing, but with the master studies and the demos, I've improved tons and my motivation has increased as well. Probably because I feel i am actually drawing something, not just doing abstract stuff. I think part of your problem and your question is that when you ask the questions, they lack a complement: learning to draw "what"? Improving "what"? Without that complement, you'll be lost. So your goals can be specific aspects that the course is giving us: line, shapes, proportions etc. Your goals can be to improve your line weight through master studies and your own practice. Do that a month or some weeks, then shapes and so on. Draw everyday, but draw with a specific learning purpose. If your proportions or shading are wrong, but your goal is improving line quality, proportions and shading don't matter, just do your best in your line quality. You don't even have to shade at all. You can study the other aspects as learning goals later, and in a similar way.
Scott
1yr
Howdy! Sorry to hear you feel like you're floundering. It's a feeling that all artists experience. The important thing is to keep going! Having studied both at Watts and here on Proko I can speak a little to what Jeff probably meant by setting goals. Jeff speaks pretty regularly about systematically eliminating your weaknesses. This means identifying what isn't working in your regular practice/finished works and specifically targeting those issues with deliberate, mindful practice. For example, let's say you've been following along with these lessons and you've been constructing simple objects around your house. You notice after completing your practice that your proportions are all over the place. In your next study session you'd prioritize (over other skills) ensuring your proportions are as accurate as possible. Other areas of the drawing (shading, line weight, etc) may suffer because you're really focusing on your proportions. Rinse and repeat for all these different areas of study (line weight, edges, values). This also applies to specific forms/objects. For example, hands can be really difficult. If you're drawing a lot of figures and keep struggling with hands that probably means you don't understand the form of the hand (or you've forgotten the information, which will happen if you don't regularly revisit complex topics). You'd set a goal to sit down and study hand anatomy or drawings of hands from other artists. The idea is to be mindful, be honest with yourself about what is and isn't working, and purposefully execute and study. It's also important to draw for yourself and not make everything an exercise. Invention and creativity are separate skill sets from the technical science of drawing/painting. Sorry for the novel! I feel you with the frustration. Just know that literally everyone here in this forum, and every teacher you'll study with has experienced these same struggles. The importance lies in accepting where your skills are and moving forward. Cheers!
Pedro Branco
Yeah I would like to know too. I've started 2 years ago and by now I'm so tired of doing boxes and cylinders. I got back into figure and anatomy today since I've been fumbling my live drawing classes only to find that I still can't do any of it. One week I can see the "important relations" next week it's all gone and I'm back to trying to "write" my drawings. I also still can't shade worth a cent. If it's any help I've been copying everything in "Fun with a pencil" by Loomis. I've also already copied Bridgman's Anatomy close to twice by now. I guess the big issue with this question is that there's way too much you can focus on and it is all somewhat necessary in the long run.
Zach Pipher
Something fun i heard today in my watch though was how Jeff mentioned something about 10 tones. And it made me laugh because our only lesson was with half of that to warm us up.
Philippe Girard
10 is witchcraft wtf
Zach Pipher
i've been watching this every day sense it came out and i feel like i keep hearing new things i didnt quite get the first time through. Trying my best to soak up everything Jeff Watts has to say. I keep hearing things that i heard before, but on each consecutive watch though i understand a new thing he said that didnt come across on the previous viewings.
Zach Pipher
"Show you a picture that is closer to where your at" Proceeds to show something i'm years away from drawing anything close to that.
Dave Sakamoto
What does Jeff mean when he says his drawing has a tonal feel? Sorry, I'm a novice to artistic terms.
Jeremiah A
2yr
It essentially means that the drawing it composed of shapes of relative values that transition into one another with a particular edge (hard,soft,firm,etc.). It mimics more so how light falls on a form in real life than say hatching or crosshatching.
Dave Sakamoto
Jeff said that his drawing exemplifies a heavy calligraphic style of drawing. What does he mean by calligraphic? Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. Is he saying that his drawing has a handwriting style? And if so, what is that?
Jeremiah A
2yr
A calligraphic style is kind of your own personal signature that makes it recognizable. For instance in observational drawing you could draw what you see while also adding bits of what you would like to see in the picture, adding your own personal style to it.
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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