Thanks!
Appreciate if you could give some crits on my next posts, but one question. With figure drawing, is it smart to just copy figures from the book, or just think of different poses in the head? Because I have some problems with drawing just from my imagination, rather than copying from the book.. Maybe wait with the imaginative drawing and do copying first, and the other will come soon enough?
The most important thing i think is to try to understand what you're seeing in the book. You should in time become able to mentally view the forms from all angles.
I like to focus on one thing at a time, and just do lots and lots of sketches of it, so it has time to sink in. And then try to do the drawings from the book out of my mind.
Once I've done a few pages of studies of a leg for instance, I start to practice it from memory, and gradually try more complex angles.
Generally I just try to switch between doing things from ref and from memory every few drawings. You do need to practice drawing from memory to get good at it I think.
Because you need to be able to draw 3 dimensionally it helps to draw from life, or have a sculpture to practice from etc... tough I think most people learn anatomy purely from a book, it's just slower.
I'dd say just draw as much as you can, both from ref and imagination, figure drawing from imagination is one of the toughest things to learn. Yet also one of the most beneficial.
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