What are real life studies? Well, real life studies are when you study from examples in real life and focus on drawing what you see. Simple as that! Real life studies are incredibly important in being able to improve your art. If you draw characters or people, no matter what style of art you have, understanding anatomy is super important. So, I decided to start with a part of anatomy I have had trouble with, which is the eyes.
So, I took to royalty-free image sites and found some images of eyes. I drew what I saw, not what comes to my brain out of imagination, when it comes to eyes. I think I did pretty well and I definitely improved from when I try to draw eyes without a reference.
Here's the picture of my studies on the eye. I tried to draw different perspectives as well. Also, I tried to incorporate some eyebrows, which was difficult, but rewarding.
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So, this is the first eye I drew. I especially like this eye, because since it was the first one, I drew what I saw, but later in my studies, I started relying on some things that I thought I knew already.
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This eye is one of my favorite's. I redid the eyelashes, and I think they turned out much better. Also, this is the second eyebrow I drew. I think since I had more practice, I did better on this one. The eyebrow is more defined and blended better, in my opinion.
Overall, I really like how these turned out. Each eye took me about 10 minutes, I'd say. My drawings of eyes used to be really wonky-looking and they weren't anatomically correct at all. So, all in all, real life studies changed the way I draw, and it's extremely important. I'm going to be doing more studies on hands, lips, noses, and a bunch of other things, so stay tuned!
Hi, Jenny,
Thanks for this well-written and encouraging article.
I think you've discovered and stated one of the most important fundamentals of drawing. Conveying what you actually see is really the key to developing your artistic talent. Stylizing your work can always come later.
When I compare the eyes in these real-life studies with the eyes in your earlier sketches, the improvement is very clear. Nice work!
😄😇😄
Thank you very much! Very encouraging words and I really did try to take from the fundamentals and it really helped in the end.
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