How to fix weak areas...

Over the years I have been drawing lots of different things, people, places, superheroes (not so much anymore),  flowers, pretty much anything and everything. I do have to say drawing from life is one of the best ways to get better at drawing what you see. You learn to observe color, and texture through “observation”. One thing I 

noticed is that no matter how many times I drew a specific thing, I always tended to not quite get it right. 

Specifically noses, hands and female anatomy are some problem areas that I always seem to fall flat on. 

Although I don’t have any concrete solutions for getting past these areas, here are some tips you can try.

Hopefully they will help get results and in getting past the rough spots.

Here are some of my rough spots and how I try to overcome them:

Noses:

Use reference:

As many times as I try, I can’t seem to get the nose shape right from head. So the only solution here is to of course use reference. Drawing objects from reference is of course one of the best ways to get around a problem area.

Also…….

Make a nose (insert body part) page:

Additionally you can make a “nose” page. What I mean by this is make a page in a sketch book where you only draw one thing. In this case for me it would be noses. Shoot for drawing 100 noses (or hands or other body part) on a page until you feel like you have the shape down. If you still feel like you need to get more practice, then keep drawing more pages of noses, eyes, hands, etc. Whatever the thing is that is giving you trouble. Just keep at it. Eventually you will feel like you start to get the general shape down. If not then you might need more practice. 

Over time you will find that you will start to get the general gist of what you are trying to capture and the shape will start to come more naturally.

Draw from life: AND/OR Go to a figure drawing class

The hard part about life drawing is that people don’t tend to hold very still for very long. 

People also get a little self conscious when they notice that you are subtly trying to sketch them in public. 

It tends to creep some people out. Once a guy got really mad at me and read me the riot act for drawing him in public without his permission. If that doesn’t work for you then you can always take a figure drawing class. 

Seeing a live model is a great way to get hands on practice in terms of drawing or painting the figure. 

You have the figure right in front of you, and you have a way to see the shape in real life. 

One of my favorite techniques is to use the figure drawing session, and pick an area to focus on. 

Ah Hah! The Nose again! The model will hold still for a specified time, and you can take your time getting some practice in. This in turn will get things set in your mind the next time you want to draw a nose or eye or hand.

Hopefully these tips help! Do you have any other suggestions for how to overcome weak areas? Feel free to comment and share below!