Project - Rhythms

5.7K
Course In Progress

Project - Rhythms

5.7K
Course In Progress

It’s time to draw the figure! Use the rhythms method I showed in the previous lesson to draw the poses from the photo references in the downloads tab.

Deadline for submissions to be included in the video critique is 10/6/2023.

  • Capture the gesture of each pose using rhythms.
  • Spend at least 5 minutes on each pose, ideally 1-2 hours per session. Take breaks as needed.
  • Shoot for accurate proportions by eyeballing placement of the rhythms. Have an idea of where the line will end before you execute the line.
  • Use the the template as a starting point, but observe the pose. Remember that each pose might have some of their own unique rhythms that differ from the template I proposed. This will develop your own rhythms over time.
  • Balance loose, energetic lines with more committed singular lines. Don't let it get too messy. Consider what we've learned about line quality.

Level 2

There are a few ways to make this more challenging. Mix and match based on your comfort and experience.

  • Set a timer for 5 minutes to force yourself to draw only the most important rhythms.
  • If that's too easy, go for 3 minutes.
  • Practice developing the overhand grip.
  • Try charcoal pencils (sharpened like a bullet) on newsprint paper.
  • Add another layer of smaller rhythms indicating the muscle masses. You can add some time to the clock.
Newest
@greenbdg
First time really drawing figures at all. I thought Stan’s instructions were phenomenal. Was intimidated at first but drawings came out better than expected! Still struggling with confident lines and with proportions.
@doodleibu
Some poses from a life drawing session yesterday. I found it trickier to find rhythms from these poses. Line quality continues to be elusive… I drew on a clipboard without erasing, and kept committing to lines way too early. Will make a note of this for next session 🤔
Maris
2d
Honestly, I'm not too happy with these. I tried drawing using overhand grip but I still can't control the pencil that well. I also struggled trying to draw the figure quickly. Any tips/critiques on how to improve are welcome. Would love some feedback.
@ethel
20h
I’m having a hard time with this too. Remember that if you post in 'The Community’ (as opposed to here) there’s a ‘Ask for help’ box you can check
@deepanshu12
any suggestions please
@doodleibu
I really like the clean flowy lines in the last couple of pages!
@deepanshu12
help please
@harrow
3d
I don't have access to charcoal in one form or another at the moment but I did try sharpening a 5mm graphite lead to a bullet point. I did the first three that way. The last three I did with a soft pencil. All six drawings took significantly longer than 5 minutes.
@harrow
7h
Second batch
@osrour
6d
@osrour
6d
@doodleibu
Did level 1. I’ve done some life drawing, but I never really considered looking at rhythms across the entire body and my proportions were always pretty loose, so I tried focusing on those. I'll also need to focus on line quality next session...
Rachel Dawn Owens
These are super cool. I like how you connected lines across the figure. These seem to get more free as they go on, the last one is my favorite. The line running up from his leg to the neck is a really good idea.
@osrour
8d
samuel burgos celedon
Me pareció un ejercicio muy divertido. Los dibujé en 10 minutos cada uno. Debajo de las líneas más oscuras de estructura hice las líneas correspondientes al ritmo más suaves. Utilicé un lapiz de grafito normal y el overhand grip
Neo Diamond
Really enjoyed this one. Felt really daunting at the start but I feel like I have a good grip in the concept now. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Rachel Dawn Owens
These look awesome! These are well balanced and cohesive figure studies. The hands and feet get a little small on certain ones but that’s just a minor thing.
@christalynn
This was very challenging for me. I drew large on newsprint to make sure my shoulder and arm were moving and to keep myself from being too precious with these exercises. I am working to overcome a perfectionism/fear of failure tendency that holds back progress.
@sosoph
22d
Hi :). I tried some level 2 challenges: overhand grip with a charcoal pencil sharpened like a bullet and time limits (7 and 5 min.) Drawing with the overhand grip felt strange, I broke the charcoal and I'll need to get used to the sharpening technique. I am also confused about the soft/medium/hard charcoal types. I wonder which one would be best for this exercise (does it matter?). I also enjoyed the time limits because they forced me to make decisions faster. I think sometimes, having more time doesn't necessarily mean using it "well". I can see how practicing with different time limits can help train my brain to understand the subject in different levels of simplicity/complexity. I'll definitely do this exercise again, but for now, I'll move on to the demos. :)
Melanie Scearce
The softness is definitely personal preference. Softer pencils will get you darker values. For me, I use general's medium for initial drawings and if I want to render (and get darker values) I switch over to 2B conte charcoal pencils. I find I can't get dark enough with the general's, but they're great for quick gesture drawings because they don't get as messy. I've been loving your rhythm studies, keep it up!
@mwalker
24d
I thought I did ok on some of these but others I really don’t think turned out very well. I’m posting what I’ve been able to do thus far in hopes that some day I’ll look back on these and think ”boy I’ve come a long way” - one step at a time…
@sosoph
24d
Hi :). These were super fun. I can see how this exercise can help me improve a lot (line quality, making decisions faster, etc.) Next time, I'll try loosening up my lines more and I would love to try some of the level 2 challenges. I have a suggestion: I think it would be nice to include more male body types in the reference pictures (I think there is only one?) Feedback is obviously welcomed :)
Melanie Scearce
Hello! These are excellent, you're capturing the overall gesture quite well 👍
Auren Loper
I enjoy the figure stuff a lot, I've never done it before, so it's been hard, but again, very fun. I don't know if I'm doing this correctly, rhythm is a very abstract concept to me, hard to conceptualize. The best way I think I've been able to think about rhythm is that it's "lines of forms that continue into other forms". I don't know if this is right, but whenever I watch someone do rhythm drawing, it seems to end up being fairly accurate from my assessment. I think I've progressively gotten better as I've managed to think about it this way, these are the current drawings I've done, only 4 so far, and they take some time. I haven't timed myself, but I'd guess maybe 45 minutes. Now I would like to ask if the blue one (My most recent attempt) is somewhat close to how you'd look at rhythm in a figure or drawing, it's the only one I've stopped to add the "rhythm lines" and "action line" to.
Auren Loper
These are the two newest. I'm still not entirely sure that I'm doing it correctly.
Tyre Blackshire
This one was harder than I thought it would be. I found it hard to not just follow the contour. Drawing with my entire arm still feels kind of awkward to me so my lines are probably not as good as they could be. Any critique and advice welcome.
Mason Stroud
I enjoyed doing this one a lot! Some poses are definitely harder for me than others. My brain just didn't want to see the rhythms in certain positions. I also spent way too much on each one. About 15 minutes each. Going to try the level 2 next to force myself to go faster. I also need to work on accuracy. Critiques welcome!
Melanie Scearce
These are solid drawings! Just a word of advice, if you want to work faster you may sacrifice on accuracy a bit. But as a reward, you may get more exaggerated gesture. The more you understand about anatomy the faster you can go accurately, so working quickly can be a good test to see where the gaps in your knowledge are. Keep up the good work :)
hobodios
1mo
Sorry for the bad pictures/order I got carried away and filled almost the entire sketchbook with these but here are some good and bad poses I did. Aside from the bad line quality (because I'm still getting used to the overhand grip :sob:) my main issue is that sometimes I cant tell if my poses are flowy or stiff Idk why its just really hard for me to be able to tell the difference. I would appreciate it if someone gave me feedback thank you!!
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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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