# Anybody took drawing lessons?



## Darner (Apr 20, 2010)

I decided to sign in a drawing class. I have difficulties deciding between two courses: portraits and basics of drawing. I like drawing but I have a very narrow span of motives, so the basics sound like a good idea because you practice with a lot of different styles and techniques (pencil, waterpaint-pencils, charcoal, ink, chalks, and paint; size-reduction, enlargement, twisting, turning, sliding, mirroring, depth, importance, and transfer - I'm not sure what all of this is). But I'm also seriously considering portraits because it bothers me that I can draw anything as long as it's not faces. I seriously cannot draw a face and I would like to know it (because it's quite frustrating always drawing people in their back or with just an empty circle instead of a head).

So if anyone here took drawing lessons - do you know whether portraits are a regular part of the "basics"? And if they are, do teachers but enough "pressure" on it? Do you usually fly by the topics or you try to master them?


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

I learned portraiture as part of my figure drawing classes. I think some basic classes might cover it briefly, but it generally wouldn't be one of the main focuses. They usually cover how to draw faces, but not necessarily specific faces, or likenesses. If you want to learn portraiture, I recommend a beginner level figure drawing class. There are probably online tutorials that would help, just in case you want to practice a bit before doing it in front of people.


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## Scruffy (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm currently taking a very simple drawing course "Drawing 1", it's along the same lines as yours. 

How are you with sighting, proportions, shading, gestures, etc? If you are totally comfortable with those, go with portraits, or like Snail said, life drawing.


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## Darner (Apr 20, 2010)

I took an architecture course a few years ago so I can do sighting, proportions and shading, not gestures. These things you learn in basic drawing?

About figure drawing? I haven't considered that one; it's also one of the options in the place I'm looking but I've never felt like drawing naked people - I was either going to expand my current motive selection (I guess in general drawing you do more different stuff) or learning faces. Snail, can you tell me more about figure drawing? Do you do more varieties of stuff? Do you also use different techniques (charcoal, graphite, pastel chalks ...?)


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

The figure drawing classes I was in involved using all kinds of media, including oil paints, watercolor, colored pencils, pastels, charcoal, and graphite sticks. We had homework that involved drawing our hands, our feet, self-portraits, portraits of our friends, a caricature of the teacher, and yeah, you have to draw naked people in class. It really is the best way to get a good grasp on the human form. It's not pervy or anything. After the first five minutes or so, it stops being awkward, and you start seeing the body as a series of shapes. If you can draw naked people, with all of the muscles and joints in the right place, you will never again struggle to draw them fully clothed. It becomes very natural.


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## Darner (Apr 20, 2010)

I don't think the naked part makes me uncomfortable ... it was just that living creatures were never something that interested me enough to draw them (or photograph them while we're at it). I'm beginning to think that joining this class could improve my social skills and becoming more people-oriented  So yeah, thanks for the description! I think I will go with this one.


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## RocketMikari (Feb 14, 2011)

just the basic school art classes... I did well in class and quite good with those step by step shapes to drawings exercises but those were easy anyway. I do love art, I just need an immense amount of improvement.


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