Last week, I posted about why I think accuracy training is so useful for realist artists.
One of the comments on that post came from someone who was a little put out that I hadn’t actually added any accuracy training exercises. Well, this site is pretty thick with drawing, painting and composition exercises of various kinds and flavours. Perhaps I’m not making it easy enough to find them.
Nonetheless, I thought I’d post an actual exercise for this week’s blog post.
The video is a step by step guide to the approach I use myself for my own sight size block ins. This drawing practice is low pressure enough to make it possible to do often – I usually spend 30 minutes to an hour on each one – but demanding enough to stretch your ability to judge and replicate shape.
The set up is fairly simple, but you will need a decent easel that you can position vertically.
If you want to warm up before doing and exercise like this, I highly recommend the “Origin – Destination” exercise from the superb Language of Drawing program from Anthony Waichulis. This program is a series of gradually building exercises on DVD, carefully crafted to help you develop drawing skills. It’s based on the principles of deliberate practice and I can’t say enough good things about it.
Here’s a quick (fairly rough!) video of how I do that exercise:
The sight size block in exercise is from my own online drawing membership program, Creative Triggers. The main emphasis of this program is on developing a daily drawing practice habit in order to build your skills more effectively.
It includes a series of exercises designed to develop a regular practice habit, fluency with materials, accuracy and design. If you prefer to practice as part of a group, sharing your progress and helping and supporting others, you might like it. It’s very low cost and has helped a lot of people get their regular art practice established.
Find out more about Creative Triggers here.
And please do give that exercise a go. Work with it for a while and I guarantee that your ability to accurately replicate shape – and a lot of other drawing skills too – will develop significantly.
Best wishes and thanks for reading,
Paul
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Hi Paul, thanks ever so much for posting this exercise. I’ve been struggling a bit with measuring and rendering accurately and I can see now that I needed to begin with a more basic sight size exercise. You’ve made my day, Best regards, Diana
Hi Paul, what a great exercise to reinforce my drawing skills. Thank you so much for the video. I will definitely give it a try and continue improving. Have a great weekend!
Crisalida
Hi Paul,
Thank you for both videos. They were very interesting to watch, and you explained things so clearly in the sight-size video. I’m going to try that today with one of my cast statues that I have. Just a question about the second video where you’re just drawing and not talking. What is the function of the second piece of paper that you were shifting around as you were drawing? It looked like you were lining up the edge of that paper to coincide with your drawing direction from a certain point to the next. Is that what it is? Thanks again. Jocelyn
I thought the same thing at first, but after a few lines you notice the page isn’t lined up. It looks like the page is to prevent his hand from smearing the charcoal lines he’s already put down.
Yes it’s just to protect the drawing from smudging 🙂
Hello
I want to know which type of paints are best for beginners?
Thanks
That’s hard to say and depends on what you want to achieve. But Windsor and Newton are fine. Personally I’d go for the artist grade but student will be ok if money is tight.
I mean the types of paints like water color, Acrylic paint or oil paint.