Figure Drawing Fundamentals
Gesture
The Bean
Structure
Landmarks
Robo Bean
Mannequinization
Balance
Exaggeration
Proportions
Measuring
Shading
Figure Drawing Demo
Closing Thoughts
Examples of the Robo Bean Leaning.
Newest
Eveline Rupenko
30d
Was drawing along with this video to understand a gesture in robo-bean better
Chris Martin
4mo
These are fun, and insightful, and tricky!
Zoungy Kligge
5mo
My sketches for the robo bean "lean" lesson. I thought it was pretty challenging!
pmak22
7mo
I used the references in the video above and didn't watch the actual process. I started with red as a foundation sketch, then black for my final, then yellow to show the difference in general direction between what I watched in the video afterwards.
The biggest thing I noticed was just how off I could be on some of the severity of the angles, effectively drawing a 15 degree angle when in reality the box leaned around 25 degrees. I also sometimes forgot that the start of a crease or fold typically started around the box itself not a random part of the mid section, but rather the lean of the top/bottom box causes and starts the crease.
faye zhang
10mo
I did the assignment examples on my own first and then followed along with Stan. I’m also unsure whether to indicate a top/bottom plane on some poses, but I found that overlaying Stan’s drawing over the reference first and then overlaying my drawing helped me understand where I misjudged the perspective of the forms.
Jake Riith
1yr
How do I know if I'm supposed to show a top plane or bottom plane of a robo bean cube? Thanks!
Christopher Beaven
1yr
Great question! I was wondering the same thing. I keep looking at the landmarks to give me an idea of the top and bottom planes but it's not that easy. Many times you can't see the landmarks and the bending of the boxes really confuses things.
What I did to try and figure this out, and come up with my own solutions that best described what the body is doing is by doing a bunch of tracings over poses where I felt that showing the top or bottom plane was ambiguous.
I didn't figure out any definite answers but I was able to quickly try multiple solutions.
What really helped was identifying the front or back plane first and how it matches the curve of the body then see how the side planes attach. Also if there is an extreme pinch or stretch then there is a lean that will almost always show a top or bottom plane depending on if the pinch is on the side facing you or not.
Regardless, I suggest doing a bunch of tracing and come up with your own solutions. But the most important is to demonstrate what the body is doing if if you have to gesture the boxes. Hope that helps!
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lifeflame
1yr
i keep messing these up too. I guess one way I think about it is, to what extent do I consider this box to be above or below my eye level ? any one got any more precise tips ?
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Sandra Süsser
1yr
These were my very first Robo Bean exercises.
Daniel Wladika
1yr
Here are some of my leaned Robo Bean attempts
Lebogang Monaheng
1yr
These are great, you've a great job at capturing the motion of the figure.
Nathanael Tendam
1yr
stans exaggerated drawings make it hard to identify landmarks as some angles completely change because of the exaggeration.
ryanhyndman738
1yr
Here are my Robo bean - lean sketches, let me know how I did. :)
Lebogang Monaheng
1yr
These sketches are really well done, I would suggest you try drawing from other reference images that Stan hasn't drawn from before because if you try to deconstruct other images of figures to the robo bean this will help you understand how to identify the blocks on your own.
William Horton
1yr
I'm having fun following through this lesson but I'm confused by one thing in Stan's finished examples. How I study these is that when the reference comes up, I pause the video, Draw it for myself, and then watch Stan's process and see what he does differently and how I can improve my own, pointing out the mistakes I made during my process. My confusion is that in some of these drawings, Stan will draw the "guts" connecting the pelvic and rib-cage prisms together, and sometimes he'll just leave the drawing as two floating rectangles. Is there any particular reason for it? It's just a minor thing that was bothering me through the tutorial.
dwt12345
2yr
This section sure is tough compared to the previous ones! (Except the landmark section, I had no idea what was going on there ha), but I guess that means it's where the real improvement can take place. Here's some of my attempts, some of these are from the photos he used in the video, some are based off other reference. It's so hard comparing mine to his because his line quality is so amazing, ha. Mine are certainly a lot more messy than I'd like.
The hardest part for me definitely feels like putting down the first shapes. Would it be wrong to just start with a normal bean and then turn it into boxes? Starting with the boxes from the beginning feels really hard.
Any other feedback would be super appreciated. I'll probably spend a long while on this, cuz it seems like this is a really essential skill to practice.
2yr
Hi @dwt12345, I think you're of to a great start! I'll do my best to help you further:
- I think you're making the box of the ribcage to short. Stan shows it being longer than the hip box. In many of these you got it the other way around
- If you haven't already I really recommend checking out this video https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-hold-and-control-your-pencil/assignments
Being able to draw long strokes from your shoulder is a great tool; the drawings come out faster and are more clean.
- "Would it be wrong to just start with a normal bean and then turn it into boxes?"
No, I think you can start with a bean if you feel like it helps. Then as you grow more confident you can go more directly towards the robo bean
- I noticed that you haven't posted any assignments for the previous lessons. I strongly recommend doing that, especially with the gesture lesson, since the community can help you spot mistakes that you can't find on your own.
I hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!
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Peter Tinkler
2yr
This is my final robo bean study for now, as I've decided to move onto the next exercise. I'm certainly not saying I've mastered this, far from it, but I feel a need for a new challenge. I've enjoyed these exercises, but they are really tricky. Drawing 3-D boxes is harder than it looks sometimes.
Mac Repman
2yr
Here are my first attempts at robo beans, majority from following the video examples. I started using the rounder shapes to help outline the boxes, but I think my hips are too stiff. Stiff angles, too. The distance between the ribcage and hips is too short.
persona937
2yr
CHARLES DEIGHAN
2yr
Just following Stan. Here are my Lean, Robo Beans. I plan to go back and try them on my own, at some point.
Grant H
2yr
Hello, here's my first go at the robo beans. I plan to go back in a little more depth and check them against Stan's to see where I'm off. So far, when I look at his compared to mine, I think mine are coming out a little too stiff. All feedback is welcome.
I do have one specific question though. On the second image I attached, his drawings have a concave curve for the belly on one bean, but a convex curve for the other. These poses seem very similar. When I drew them, I made the curve concave for both. Is there a particular reason one would be convex or concave, other than it appears that way on the photo reference? Or maybe it's due to body type? Just trying to figure out if I were to make robo beans from imagination, how I would know when it's concave vs convex. Thanks.
Sascha P
2yr
Hello, Grant! There are probably a dozen different reasons why you would use concave vs. convex lines, anything from body type to artistic license, but I think in this example, we're dealing with the spirit of the pose or the gesture. On the female model, we can see she's pushing her chest up, while the male model is throwing his chest back, so concave and convex lines help distinguish this difference in the poses.
Attila B
2yr
Hello everyone. Thanks for a feedback on the robo bean. ( photos from Marcia poses serie)
I am a total beginner, so would love some guidance.
Thanks
Attila B
2yr
thanks a lot everyone :) appriciated
Diana Mata
2yr
Hi Attila. I agree with @Dylan Gabriel , you should give it a go with straight boxes only. I'm also a beginner and I've been switching from curved boxes to straight ones– the latter are the most helpful for understanding foreshortening and the skeletal structure. The curved boxes are great for gesture, but I would recommend sticking with straight ones at the start so it's easier to pinpoint landmarks, the underlying structure, and the motions Dylan pointed out.
Dylan Gabriel
2yr
Hi, nice start on these. Like @Jake Kruk said, you should make the boxes straight for now. It will help you focus on showing off the stretching, pinching and twisting motions.
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Michael Burge
2yr
Hi all,
Here are the last few robo-beans from this video. Like always I try myself, then copy and finally try again by myself.
I think I am getting better but I still have issues in knowing which plane is visible the bottom or the top. Any tricks or suggestions about this.
Also any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Jasper Connors
2yr
Hi,
I'm working on the robo bean lean and would really appreciate any critiques.
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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.
