Three Rules For Sketching Outstanding Realistic Drawings by: Ruediger Schmidt Even expert artists occasionally struggle with crafting realistic three-dimensional pictures. Naturally they know the fundamental principles and produce naturalistic drawings intuitively. Only occasionally even the most experienced discover parts in their work that look distorted and unnatural. For novices it is even more difficult, they have to exercise hard to climb a steep learning curve. It's long-familiar that good drawing skills are the result of hard exercising. Instead learning the three most crucial rules of third-dimensional drawing will make things easier for you. They will be a shortcut to better drawing skills and help even experienced artists to pinpoint elements that need a makeover. So what makes a picture look naturalistic and three-dimensional? There are three rules that contribute to the realistic outlook of your pictures. Each of them has to be understood thoroughly. Collectively they guarantee outstanding outcomes: * Composition * Perspective * Lighting and Darknesses Composition Does composition actually contribute to the three-dimensional appearing of your drawings? Naturally! The three-dimensional outlook of any picture is strongly influenced by the relation between the different objects within the picture. You can produce an image consisting of objects that all follow the laws of perspective and have perfect lighting and shadows. But a bad composition will spoil most of the three-dimensional appearance. There is just one crucial composition rule: let your picture's objects intersect! Frequently I see beginners averting to let elements in their pictures intersect , because they're afraid to mess it up. Indisputable - if your picture has lots of overlapping parts it is more difficult to depict. There are more shadows and also perspective and proportions of the objects must be much more exact. That is demanding indeed. Tightly arranged elements in your picture will relentlessly uncover all weak points. On the other side when you manage to get the perspective, lighting and shades right, a closer composition will beef up the three-dimensional appearance. So have bravery to arrange your picture's elements nearer together. Let them intersect and demonstrate how good you are able to draw them following the rules of three-dimensional pictures. Perspective Creating a drawing employing correct perspective is the moment where a bit bit maths comes into play. No need to worry - no complicated know-how, simply drawing some additional lines. When producing a picture keeping the laws of perspective in mind you ensure that: * your drawing's elements have the proper proportions and size * your drawing's elements have the proper deformation according to the distance of the viewer * your drawing's elements are correlating properly to each other All this is accomplished by employing one simple rule: " Objects and parts of them get smaller the further they are away." This rule cannot be emphasized too much. Once you fail to apply it properly, your drawings will appear warped and awkwardly. So drawing some additional lines will help you to apply this rule properly. Light and Shadow The proper lighting and shading is the 3rd vital law for realistic appearing three-dimensional scenes. It's because of the lights in your drawings that shades emerge. And shades are necessary for a realistic appearing drawing - except you depict "gray rainy day" scenes only. To craft realistic shades there are some rules you have to consider: * you must recognize where exactly the illumination originates from * this enables you to find the right size of the shadow * the right bearing and direction for the shadow * and the proper silhouette of the shadow Unluckily realistic dark shades aren't that comfortable to create. But there are some helpful tricks. Just in this moment I'm writing on a tutorial revealing these methods stepwise. Painting as a Spiritual Expression by: Ernesto Apomayta Is a painting no more than a piece of paper with lines and color or is it more than that? In the hands of the master painter, who is painting in the spirit; the lifeless piece of paper with its lines and colors, is transformed into a creation that has life, just as the master creator gave life to his creation. The painter transmits the essence of his spirit to his creation, the “painting.” A painting is the expression of the heart and soul; it transmits cultural messages and the mysteries of the universe. It is born out of the desire of the artist to represent the forms of nature and man through the spirit of the artist as he perceives his world. An artist not only captures the forms of nature, the artist’s spirit interacts with the spirit of the animals or men he is painting. His painting captures both the spirit and the message of its subject. One can see it in the expression, the eyes, and the gestalt of the painting. All good paintings communicate an emotion or message to the observer. It might be a message of love, harmony or tranquility; or it might be a message of danger, fury, or sadness. It could be a lesson, or something that all of us as humans can identify with, such as a desire to be loved. The painting as art served ancient peoples as a medium to purify and refine the human spirit. The well studied and observant artist through his own meditation gives life to the animated states, feelings, and spiritual essence of the animals and humans he paints. The purification or refinement of the observer’s spirit occurs through the inspired artist’s ability to communicate the subject’s (man or animal): spirit, animation, feelings, thoughts, and the scene or stage of the subject, with all of its colors and form. Beginners Guide on Acrylic Painting - How to Set Out Your Equipment for Easy Acrylic Painting by: Catherine Calder OK you have all the things you need to begin acrylic painting, right? You have acrylic paints, brushes, painting surface, palette, and a container of water. Well, by taking a minute to set out your acrylic painting materials in an organized manner you will enjoy your painting session even more. Ideally when you begin acrylic painting you will have a work space that is level and in a good light. Artificial light can make the colors look different when compared to natural light. It is a good idea to get full spectrum light bulbs from an art store if you have to paint in artificial light. This is a worthwhile investment. Layout you palette, paints, brushes and water to the right hand side if you are right handed – or left if you are left handed. It is handy to have some paper towels too. Acrylic Painting Tip Try to get into the habit of placing the paints in the same position on the palette every time you paint. This will save you time – you wouldn’t be searching for a color if you always put it in the same position. I like to group colors, like having all the blues together. It is most important to always put the white in the same place. Tips on Placing Your Painting Materials I position the palette next to me – I am right handed so it is to the right. Then the tubes of acrylic paint to the rear of the palette. I use a reservoir palette that has a space for the brushes, but if I didn’t I would have the reservoir for the brushes to the right of the palette. I store the dry, clean brushes I’m not using in a jam jar – with the brush handle ends down so that the tips do not get bent out of shape. This is to the far right of all the other equipment. I place the water container(s) to the rear of the painting area but within easy reach. The paper towel is there too. Be sure to cover the work surface as any acrylic paint that dries on it will be difficult or impossible to remove. And my Top Tip is to put any drink on the opposite side - away from the palette and paint. Otherwise you will end up cleaning your brush in your drink – and believe me it won’t add to the flavor! Free Art Instruction - Portrait Painting Tips & Techniques by: Ralph Serpe Being able to capture the likeness of a human being on canvas, using paint, is certainly a sought after accomplishment for many new painters. It can also be somewhat challenging. This article will cover some of the more basic portrait painting tips & techniques and help lessen some of the confusion many beginners face. With practice, you will soon be painting portraits like the masters. If at all possible, I highly recommend you paint your portraits using a live model as opposed to a photograph. There is simply no substitution for painting from life. Painting a successful portrait is all about how you observe the subject. You want to study the subject as a whole. Study the bone structure and try to see shapes and planes. Do not try and paint every little detail exactly as you see it. For beginners, it is probably best to start out with a lighting effect where light and shadow are in high contrast. This will make for a much easier painting. Focus on one section at a time. Finish each section before moving on to the next. Keep the darks of your portrait at a thin consistency while your lights should be painted on thickly. Many beginners struggle with mixing flesh tones. I know I did when I first started painting. Remember that skin comes in a variety of colors & textures, so there is no specific formula for mixing flesh tones in portrait painting. You will have to experiment and practice, until you find the right color mixtures for any particular subject. Never purchase any pre-mixed flesh colors. When mixing your colors be careful not to over mix, which can deaden a color. Try and repeat the colors and values in your painting to create balance. When painting hair, don't try and paint every individual strand of hair. Look at the hair as one object and then paint the lights and darks. Paint the hair in the direction of the shape of the head. The muzzle area of the face (the space between the nose and mouth) is generally the same color as the flesh but cooler. When painting backgrounds, don't make them too detailed or busy. If you do, you will draw focus away from your portrait. Add bits of color where the shadow meets the light in your portraits. Fleshier parts of the face are generally warm and bonier parts of the face, like the chin for instance, are generally cool in color. The white in the eye is not white. To get an accurate color for the white in the eye you can take the subjects basic flesh color and then lighten it with a gray made from black and white. I hope these portrait painting tips & techniques have helped. Portrait painting can be difficult, possibly even frustrating in the beginning. Never give up and keep practicing. You will get the hang of it.