You have no idea, dear critics, how difficult drawing is. Even with the help of brain tools like this, talent, and your own developed skills, education, and hard-earned wisdom,.you will still spend a lifetime learning how to draw. I personally think it takes two lifetimes. LOL I learned this tool in college, but Mr. Hillberry has helped expand on it. It's a tool, not his entire oeuvre. If you don't like it, I suggest you try it for yourself, then maybe a little humility and understanding will sink into your spirit. I've used this technique to enlarge my own drawings. Is that cheating? This is a tool, and a good one.
@@pauljames9869 dude be nice did he say anything bad man is it because artist play too many video games that's why they are short tempered go outside for a walk man and get a job it will teach you time management and be a nice guy it's not that hatf
I personally use the grid method a lot to help nail the proportions easier and sometimes I do feel a bit bad that it’s not as impressive as freehand because I do consider it a crutch and a more pure form of tracing, but it’s a really good tool to support you in proportions and you can start using larger squared grids and developing your freehand.
Wow! Some of the comments people have made are so narrow minded. Just because this guy shows a technique on how to get proportions correctly does not mean that he can't draw or that it's cheating. If you know anything about drawing portraits you'd know that proportions are very important and everything must line up correctly in order to capture the photo accurately. SMH.
Those comments are just people that dont know how drawing is done and has always been done and suddenly they learn how people draw realistically, they think its cheating, id like to see them try this technique and then say its easy, im sure they wont get the same result. Its Technique + years of practice, there are no shortcuts. what most people can only think of is a simple sketching/life drawing technique which is great if you want to do things quickly but if you want to make a masterpiece you need to take more time with things like proportions.
I’m studying art and didn’t realise great artists such as JD used techniques such as this still good to know even amazing artist have their own shortcuts or ways to make they’re work less stressful to create not to mention save time good to know I had been thinking of trying a grid technique for a while but was unsure wether people would judge me for doing so this is really great to see and has already made me feel more comfortable using it
I've been using the grid for years, I don't alway use it, but if you want a project to just wow for people, its great to use works great to resize an image of choice, change a 4x6 pictures to 11x18 an look amazing. The gridlines, if your like me they'll mostly be erased or shaded away during the process of drawing the rest of the picture. It's just a tool some people use rules/ straight edges others different methods such as the grid. Anyway you want to draw is fine, its your work do it the way you want an feel will produce the best piece to you, tools, grid,or nothing do it for you
Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man was made using a type of grid. Are all of the "Art Critics" here saying that he was not a "real artist" or someone who could not draw from "real life" or that his paintings were dead? Why does TH-cam attract so many negative people who seem to feel that their existence on this earth is to criticize everyone around them as if anybody really cared about their opinions of feelings?
This is the climate that social media has created. Now everyone who has an opinion blurts it out, informed or not, right or not, intelligent or not. It really has created a cesspool of communication and is devolving etiquette
probably a bunch of weebs trying and failing to draw anime that think da vinci isnt an artist if he supposedly didnt draw from imagination without the help of tools lol
Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci failed a drawing exam because his teachers said he cheated when drawing a freehand circle they said he must have used a compass because nobody could draw a perfect circle freehand,so he drew a perfect circle in front of them!
These critics or Trolls as we call them have nothing better to do but make themselves feel superior to those they’re criticizing. We just laugh at them not with them.
There are few aspects to portraits more frustrating than going through a whole painting (especially one to share with friends and family) and finding there's something wrong with the underlying drawing. These methods are simply great! There are times when you want to freehand sketch, and there are times when you want to practice painting. The ability to quickly and accurately duplicate reference material onto your canvas or watercolor paper is unbelievably useful when you want to focus on slinging paint for the sake of practice, or even a nice end result... Bravo, thanks JD Hillberry.
@@sunriseboy4837 I believe it was Leonardo who said to one of his students, "Draw, draw, draw!" Great advice from the master! I am learning the basics of drawing through an online course at the moment as I know I have been lacking in this skill.
Having used the graph method (then transferring with tracing paper to clean paper rather than erasing) for some 35 years I thought I would try this 8 line method. I think I just drew the best portrait I ever have....this will now be the only way I reproduce from a photo...excellent lesson, thank you so much.
I've used it and it's not so bad. You normally don't need to erase them if you draw them lightly with an h or 2h pencil. If you have a blank background they will be visible, but they are very easily erased.
Thanks a million! I'm from Poland and I've been searching for such tips, but polish videos are not that descriptive. I ended up with nothing, so I thought: "Why not to seek in english?". And there you are, I subscribe! :) For those who have given the thumb down - I believe y'all are so perfect and able to draw with closed eyes? :)
OH MY GOD!!! I must admit I was getting really bored with the grid method, but then you started the diagonal method and MY MIND JUST BLOWN. I want to do that to every single photograph I have and try some realism right now. Thanks for sharing.
This is wonderful! :-) You just demonstrated what an artist is doing with their eye after they have become expert with the proportions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Well darn. Sixteen stubborn years of trying to figure everything out on my own and I never thought to try this. Proportions are what I struggle with the most. I'm so excited to test it out and see my drawings improve! Thank you so much!
I use a variation of the grid technique. I draw a normal gird on the reference photo but instead of drawing lines on the drawing paper, I make little dots at the points where the lines would intersect. It works very well for me as it minimizes erasing and it's less likely to leave a visual impression unlike the lines.
Je viens tout juste de regarder 2 vidéos de cet artiste. Wow, les explications et démonstrations sont tellement justes! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and knowledge. I will certainly use those tips.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I have been doing pencil portraits for years, but this video has taught me a lot. I've never even heard of the proportional divider, but now I even know how to use one. I am looking forward to seeing your other videos! Many thanks again!
I'm just getting back into drawing daily after a 10 year hiatus. Free-handing proportions has been a huge obstacle but these techniques will help tremendously! Thank you!!!
This a great video. As a beginning artist it's nice to know that seasoned or professional artists like yourself also have to use mechanical techniques to get their proportions and measurements correct. Thanks.
Thank you! Every video of yours that I have watched, has really taught me something new. I ve been stuck in the same obstacles for at least 6months. After watching a video on values that u discuss. Waalaa my 1st drawing after that , which I had drawn before, looked soo much better. Now I can keep practicing. Thank u again.
WoW! Thank you so much for the good technique on this VDO. I'm just a beginner so this VDO is very useful for me. You're a great teacher. Thank you TH-cam as well !
This is brilliant JD, I just can't understand all the negative comments about the approach. I am a novice drawer, but absolutely love it. It gives me the head space I need after a long hard day at work. I have started using a proportional divider in some of my more recent work and I'm really pleased with the results, and like some have said, even if all the proportions are correct, the real artistry is in the lines and shading. Keep up the awesome tutorials
Chris Chapman I just got a Derwent proportional divider, it is taking me awhile to get used to it, but immediately my general drawing looks 100% better than any portrait I have done. It is the tiny nuances that are giving me a problem, there is a slight problem that I can’t envision the perfect likeness I am sure with more practice I will overcome and get it all right. The proportional divider is a wonderful tool ,and for all you that think this is cheating, just remember that the masters used thins like compasses, set squares, t squares, protractors and magnifying glasses, much more. Are these tools cheating? I don’t think so.
@@uncledooley Albrecht Durer used the method 'a lot' of the time. And the boy da Vinci wasn't shy on using the same method either. Those who criticise this are simply being self-righteous, and conceited. And when those 'details' refuse to cooperate, use a hand held mirror, turn your back to the work, and look at it with the mirror held out and focused on the drawing. You'll see it!
Wow Thankyou so much sir! :) I will totally try this!.. my real art teacher is gone for a year & we have another extra teacher, but he really have no idea how to draw. I'm not learning anything so this youtube videos totally helps me!
thank u....just bought a proportional divider, and, ur tutorial helped explain a lot on how to use it......also noticed this tutorial is 5 years old.....glad it is still up and running.
Just stumbled on this video!! Hallelujah!! I have had a p-divider for a few years and gave up trying to find a good use for it. (I'm kinda slow I guess) I have used the grid system for lets say 65 years. It has served me well. However I have gotten tired of erasing lines. (imagine that) Seeing the combination of the modified grid ( which I have tried with unsatisfactory results for me) and the proportional divider in combination, the light has come on!!🤪 THANK YOU!!!!
hello I just received my divider this very morning from jd I have been looking for one for ages I believe the old masters used one so I am very glad to get one ,looking foreword to using it ron mcknight in Ireland .
I've aways drawn without guidelines, but someone has asked me to draw different bird species and to make them realistic, all proportions and angles are critical. I was spending a lot of time making slight corrections. I tried dropping a see through grid over my reference photo, but drawing grid lines was just too tedious. I've just ordered some proportion/scale dividers and am going to have a go with cross and diagonal guidelines. Many thanks.
Carbon transfer paper is direct and will save you a lot of time. If you need the image scaled print it on a computer printer at the desired size. This method is just a highly inefficient and time consuming way to trace reference points. A carbon transfer can do the same thing in seconds.
@@jratcliff63367 thank you. You're right. The dividers were to fiddly. Now I tend to trace from my tablet onto thin paper and then rub graphite on the back for DiY carbon transfer
I think you just changed my life teaching how to use a compass to draw. Some people are good at naturally drawing proportions, but I am NOT AT ALL. Lol thank you for this video to help us 😊
Just stumbled upon your videos and wanted to say thanks for the very informative and constructive content!
8 ปีที่แล้ว +1
Thanks so very much, I feel like I'm on my way to improved proportions in my drawings now! I'm very excited by what I learned here. You were clear and very precise. I will definitely purchase those items from you, Thanks again.
Hi Tina, I'm glad you found the video helpful. BTW, I'm having a Sale on my full length video tutorials until midnight tonight. Here's a link for more info about those: www.jdhillberrytutorials.com/tutorials.html
hello, I am actually able to draw stuff like this free hand without taking any measurements at all, but I am a bit of trouble drawing 3 dimensional, how do you get the shading to look so 3D? I can show some of my drawings if you`d like to see what I've done so far. Oh and please don`t ignore, I WOULD REALLY LIEK IT IF YOU WOULD REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
I am so glad I found your videos. The measuring of objects I have a problem with. Especially when I measure with a pencil & then try to draw them on paper etc in correct proportion to fit the paper. Wonderful tutorials. Thanks for sharing
I've always used the grid method. It can be tedious drawing and erasing the squares but I don't think about it much now. Just draw them very lightly. Rather than draw on the photo, I scan it and use gimp or a paint program to overlay the grid. You can also zoom in for those difficult to see areas. The compass method worries me as one lapse in concentration and you could end up putting a hole in your work. Great vid as always, JD.
This is an older video, but the information is priceless. I use the grid system, but using this in conjunction with it really gets the details spot on. I can't imagine working without it.
I like your ways of enlarging without the whole grid, I'm going to put them to use on a picture I've been working on occasionally, it's my first rendering of a human face in all my years, with the skills I didn't just shit can when I was young, I draw a flat track motorcycle with and once in a very long while, I will turn out a pretty fair drawing & lately, that stretches out over a couple years before I'm alright with it, the rest I screw up being too impatient. My little brother has the skill of any professional artist I've ever seen, but he works with computer tech stuff and has forgotten more than I ever could learn at this late stage in life. It makes me wonder how much I really did throw away, it was the 70's, so, you might have an idea where my head was back then, but in an effort to try and reclaim some of that, I'll use this video to help me & who knows? I might turn out one more anyway! thanks
when i was a kid, 80's/90's my step dad had this weird tool, i don't where he got it or even what it's called, but ive never seen one since. its gonna be an ass to describe mind. ok. so it was for resizing. on one end was a fake pencil, and the other was where you put a real pencil. now what you'd do is you would draw round the photograph with the fake pencil, basically getting your outlines etc, and what would happen is the real pencil, which you had touching paper, would copy your movements on the paper sketching in the lines you were "drawing" but in a different size depending where you had it set. sounds like witchcraft i know. the shape of the tool, if i remember correctly, was like a zig zaggy thing, thats about the best i can describe it. kinda like two diamonds side by side with extra bits on one end for the real pencil. now when i thought about that just now, i realised there must have been more to it cuz otherwise it would draw a mirror image. but im sure this was done in a way where it didn't, i'm sure there was an extra arm on the drawing end that faced back towards the centre so it could draw the same way round as the picture you traced with the other end, but i could be wrong on that and it probably did mirror the image. EDIT actually thinking about the mechanics of it, i think you had the pic you traced over upside down,and it drew a bigger version right side up, that seems like the best way something like that would work, i mean this was back over a good few years ago so its been a while since ive seen it. END OF EDIT anyway, i don't know what it was called, i remember it was blue and plastic, and you kinda pinned the middle of it down so it wouldn't slide all over the place. but if anyone has ever seen one of these things, and knows what the eff they are called, i just really wanna see one again...mostly so i know it wasn't a dream. naa, it was defo real, but yeah, anyone knows what the hell im on about from my god awful description, would be doing these terrible memory of mine a huge favour.
@@JDHillberry1 thats the thing, thats it! holy crap, thankyou. i honestly haven't seen one since i was a kid. and i never knew what it was called, thank you so much. a 30 odd year mystery now put to rest.
The best tutorial on using the proportional divider and compass. thank you.....you are also very easy to listen to. I enjoy your work and am, myself a portrait artist. Never liked the grid method, but yours is nice. I teach drawing on the right side of the brain...and will instruct my students with this grid method. thank you so much.
+April Thompson Thanks. BTW, I tell all my beginning students to at least check out the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" book. It really helps them learn to draw what they see and not what they think they see. But... you already know that. My realistic drawing techniques only work after a student learns to see like an artist. Since you are teaching, perhaps you could pass on my website for students that want to take their drawings to the next level - www.jdhillberrytutorials.com
JD Hillberry, excellent tutorial. Just the tips I needed to get my proportions right on. I used the grid method before and like you said it's very time consuming. Your box diagonal short cut is great. Also thanks for the proportional divider tools. Wow,, this will take my skills to the next level. I am a good artist starting to experiment with charcoal. I have always had the talent to be able to draw what ever I see. However portrait drawing has been a challenge for me. I would draw a portrait and come close but not get that mastery level result. Your insight will definitely help. I am hyped to begin to draw from an accurate proportional prospective. I have your website saved as a favorite. I plan to view your lessons and grow as an artist. Thanks again............... Wayne G.
i have been using the first method for all my drawing. but from now i will try the other one, it seems easier and i will save time by not drawing a lot of squares! Thank you this is amazinggg
Wouldn't it be easier instead of tracing the grid on your portrait paper to rather trace it in another paper and place it behind your portrait paper on a lightbox? therefore you have the grid but no erasing?
Sure. That will work if your drawing paper is thin enough to see the lines through it. I like to use Arches 300lbs or 150lbs hot press watercolor paper and it is too thick to see lines through it - even with a light box. But if you have a paper you like that is thin enough, its a great idea.
Terrifically helpful. Getting portrait major dimensions just right under watercolor is important, as one wants to minimize erasure. Thank you. I've been drawing and painting people for 50 years and find this video very helpful in helping me to minimize distracting mistakes.
This is beginning to look more and more like drafting rather than drawing!!! What about drawing from still life.. can you get the proportions with compass there!??
Yes. Of course you can! You hold the compass or proportional divider at arms length, close one eye, take your measurement and make your reference marks on your paper. Artists have been drawing from life this way for hundreds of years. Google "sight size method" to learn more.
Why couldn't you get the proportions with a compas or a proportional divider for a still life? I don't understand how people can have enough knowledge to criticise drawing methods that involve compasses and proportional dividers, but don't know something as basic as using these tools for still life drawings. Even free-hand artists use them to keep their work in check, weather drawing from life or using a photo reference. Serious free-hand artists. Not someone drawing pictures of Batman on notebook paper.
I love this method of a Square with diagonals because the other method I find are tedious for me. Thanks so much and already ordered the compass and divider!
I'm a beginner, should I start doing this?? Or should I wait and practice freehand first?? Cause I've seen some artist who use this methods, but they can also draw without them and still get the same results, they just do it to save time...
I suggest you practice both ways. You can draw "freehand" and use a compass or proportional divider to check your accuracy. Measuring tools like this can help you learn to see sizes shapes and angles much better so your free hand drawing will improve as well.
thank you thank you I have both of the tools you demonstrate,i am not mathematical but I understand the way you demonstrate,i get it now.Many thanks Toni from Australia.
:55 -- When using my imagination this diagonal sketch reminds me of, DaVinci's outstretched, "Vitruvian Man" portrait. Can anyone else 'see' that? Thumbs up if you do.
Thank you so much sir JD Hillberry! You don't know how much you helped a little beginner here finally accomplish their dream of finally drawing an accurate portrait. Your videos have been great help, Keep up the great work :)
I'm an artist that like to draw portraits with pencils, I've never used any of those methods, I also struggle alot with the proportions and many drawings of mine turns out to be incorrect and not entirely identical. I want to try those methods but in some way it feels like cheating. Do many proffesional artists use these methods for their realistic drawings?
+מאור חזון (mh294m) For those of you that think using any measuring tools or a grid is "cheating" below is a link to web page that may change your mind. Grids have been used for centuries by very famous and well respected artists like Da Vinci, Dürer, Vermeer, and Van Gogh. Also many more contemporary artists link M.C. Escher and Chuck Close. Here's the link: www.howtodrawjourney.com/vincent-van-gogh-drawing.html
Don't use them drawing must be a thing that you make out of nothing what's the point in it if you use those things , well at least it's what spots to be called "a drawing" more over drawing is to put down on the paper what you saw , it's not photographing you don't have to make all these details to draw simple light and shade to create the form and the feeling of the life in portrait.
it's not cheating . if you don't use measurement and calculate the distance between you'll end up will incorrect forms it's just a method to get it right you still have to draw after so it's really just a step everyone need to improve
Don't give up and keep going . Appreciate and don't compare yourself . Art is your best friend and speak to it and yourself nicely. There is room for everyone to do what they do in this world . Our passion and commitment will pay off . Keep at it and I bet your work is not bad like you think . Keep doing you!! 🙏🏼😊
This is excellent method to copy objects, be they human faces, a building, anything already reduced to 2D. If your efforts are not just for hobby; studying anatomy, and live figure drawing is quite satisfying. Enjoyed presentation.
Thank you, I'm not an artist of your caliber, however propel ask me all the time how to make there art better. Mind you I am an artist who enjoys abstract art. Point is I just tell them the shading isn't the problem. It's you anatomical positioning. And it just throws them through a loop. Thank you I'm going to have people watch your video just for the opening statements. I mean for the rest as well, I'm new to your work but I love it. XD
The thing about being an artist, is that we don't care if it takes time, in fact, all the better that it takes time, because I would rather be doing art than say cleaning, for example. If you want to learn how to draw, using a proportional divider is a good way to learn about proportions, you can enlarge things, or shrink things down with it, but you don't have to, and it doesn't distort pictures like a projector does.
I have a much easier technique. Print out your reference on a paper making sure that your reference is the right size you want. Just shade the back of the paper print out with a pencil and trace your reference. No grid and no measurements.
I liked your tutorial very good, I liked the measuring tool it is a fantastic tool to ensure you have the right proportions. I just start drawing but though I have trained my eyes to see the proportions you must ensure that you are not off, specially the spaces between the eyes and tip of the nose.
Not really cheating at all. The conventional way to measure is to use your pencil/ paint brush if you were drawing/ painting something from real life. This is no different. Especially when trying to increase the scale from an image. at the end of the day. If you're not able to draw or shade it won't be much use to you.
Sophia Elisa, you said, "people who learn this kind of techniques like Hillberry are completely unable to draw from real life." That is a strong statement to make, and it is not entirely true. I draw from real life and use the grid, and am very successful at both. Also, the grid is useless when it is time to render, and requires skill. On another note, Hillberry drew his gridlines too dark. If you make the gird lines with light strokes with your 3H-5H pencil, the lines get lost in the rendering process and there will be no need to erase but from stark white highlghts.
i personally don't like this. i think it is more important to establish the sense of being able to grasp the likeness free hand. this sense is really hard to get. then of course that is just personal.
No. You use your pencil, brush, or proportional divider like artists have been doing for hundreds of years. BTW, many of my still life and trompe l'Oeil drawings are drawn from life.
Thank you for this informative tutorial. I was interested to see other methods than the Grid. I look forward to using my proportional divider more. Love your work..
Very informative video. Thank you it helps a lot! I was drawing just from looking (only way I knew) then when I painted I could see that the proportions were out in places and after all that work it was very frustrating. This is very helpful!!
You have no idea, dear critics, how difficult drawing is. Even with the help of brain tools like this, talent, and your own developed skills, education, and hard-earned wisdom,.you will still spend a lifetime learning how to draw. I personally think it takes two lifetimes. LOL I learned this tool in college, but Mr. Hillberry has helped expand on it. It's a tool, not his entire oeuvre. If you don't like it, I suggest you try it for yourself, then maybe a little humility and understanding will sink into your spirit. I've used this technique to enlarge my own drawings. Is that cheating? This is a tool, and a good one.
Who’s criticising? I’m just here watching the vid you self indulgent douche bag
@@pauljames9869 dude be nice did he say anything bad man is it because artist play too many video games that's why they are short tempered go outside for a walk man and get a job it will teach you time management and be a nice guy it's not that hatf
@@princealmighty5391 Don’t you know there happens to be a lockdown? it’s fools like you that are spreading this virus.
I personally use the grid method a lot to help nail the proportions easier and sometimes I do feel a bit bad that it’s not as impressive as freehand because I do consider it a crutch and a more pure form of tracing, but it’s a really good tool to support you in proportions and you can start using larger squared grids and developing your freehand.
@@pauljames9869 you’re one crazy fool 😂 chill
Wow! Some of the comments people have made are so narrow minded. Just because this guy shows a technique on how to get proportions correctly does not mean that he
can't draw or that it's cheating. If you know anything about drawing portraits you'd know that proportions are very important and everything must line up correctly in order to capture the photo accurately. SMH.
Totally agree.
Those comments are just people that dont know how drawing is done and has always been done and suddenly they learn how people draw realistically, they think its cheating, id like to see them try this technique and then say its easy, im sure they wont get the same result. Its Technique + years of practice, there are no shortcuts.
what most people can only think of is a simple sketching/life drawing technique which is great if you want to do things quickly but if you want to make a masterpiece you need to take more time with things like proportions.
I’m studying art and didn’t realise great artists such as JD used techniques such as this still good to know even amazing artist have their own shortcuts or ways to make they’re work less stressful to create not to mention save time good to know I had been thinking of trying a grid technique for a while but was unsure wether people would judge me for doing so this is really great to see and has already made me feel more comfortable using it
I've been using the grid for years, I don't alway use it, but if you want a project to just wow for people, its great to use works great to resize an image of choice, change a 4x6 pictures to 11x18 an look amazing. The gridlines, if your like me they'll mostly be erased or shaded away during the process of drawing the rest of the picture. It's just a tool some people use rules/ straight edges others different methods such as the grid. Anyway you want to draw is fine, its your work do it the way you want an feel will produce the best piece to you, tools, grid,or nothing do it for you
Terrance i watched a video recently where the guy said a proportional divider goes back to the leonado da vinci days or maybe even before that.
Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man was made using a type of grid. Are all of the "Art Critics" here saying that he was not a "real artist" or someone who could not draw from "real life" or that his paintings were dead? Why does TH-cam attract so many negative people who seem to feel that their existence on this earth is to criticize everyone around them as if anybody really cared about their opinions of feelings?
Wonderful!!!
This is the climate that social media has created. Now everyone who has an opinion blurts it out, informed or not, right or not, intelligent or not. It really has created a cesspool of communication and is devolving etiquette
probably a bunch of weebs trying and failing to draw anime that think da vinci isnt an artist if he supposedly didnt draw from imagination without the help of tools lol
Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci failed a drawing exam because his teachers said he cheated when drawing a freehand circle they said he must have used a compass because nobody could draw a perfect circle freehand,so he drew a perfect circle in front of them!
These critics or Trolls as we call them have nothing better to do but make themselves feel superior to those they’re criticizing. We just laugh at them not with them.
There are few aspects to portraits more frustrating than going through a whole painting (especially one to share with friends and family) and finding there's something wrong with the underlying drawing. These methods are simply great! There are times when you want to freehand sketch, and there are times when you want to practice painting. The ability to quickly and accurately duplicate reference material onto your canvas or watercolor paper is unbelievably useful when you want to focus on slinging paint for the sake of practice, or even a nice end result... Bravo, thanks JD Hillberry.
Yes, good call. A 'lot' of people paint, but very, very few can draw.
@@sunriseboy4837 I believe it was Leonardo who said to one of his students, "Draw, draw, draw!" Great advice from the master! I am learning the basics of drawing through an online course at the moment as I know I have been lacking in this skill.
Having used the graph method (then transferring with tracing paper to clean paper rather than erasing) for some 35 years I thought I would try this 8 line method. I think I just drew the best portrait I ever have....this will now be the only way I reproduce from a photo...excellent lesson, thank you so much.
I've been using the grid method since high school I'm almost 29 so I'm addicted to it so to speak but this is very helpful thanks
th-cam.com/video/YVbABak0-6o/w-d-xo.html
I've used it and it's not so bad. You normally don't need to erase them if you draw them lightly with an h or 2h pencil. If you have a blank background they will be visible, but they are very easily erased.
WOW! I'm way too impatient to draw... Much respect to people who can sit still for HOURS and draw like this, and be so specific about it!
Drawing is a way to fix that stress/insecurity.
Thanks a million! I'm from Poland and I've been searching for such tips, but polish videos are not that descriptive. I ended up with nothing, so I thought: "Why not to seek in english?". And there you are, I subscribe! :) For those who have given the thumb down - I believe y'all are so perfect and able to draw with closed eyes? :)
OH MY GOD!!! I must admit I was getting really bored with the grid method, but then you started the diagonal method and MY MIND JUST BLOWN. I want to do that to every single photograph I have and try some realism right now. Thanks for sharing.
This is wonderful! :-) You just demonstrated what an artist is doing with their eye after they have become expert with the proportions. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Brilliant explanatory lesson!!
Well darn. Sixteen stubborn years of trying to figure everything out on my own and I never thought to try this. Proportions are what I struggle with the most. I'm so excited to test it out and see my drawings improve! Thank you so much!
1 year on how did it go? I’m just starting out.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge to us Sir! I salute your kindness and generosity. May you be even blessed!
you are amazing… thank you so much for your help
I use a variation of the grid technique. I draw a normal gird on the reference photo but instead of drawing lines on the drawing paper, I make little dots at the points where the lines would intersect. It works very well for me as it minimizes erasing and it's less likely to leave a visual impression unlike the lines.
That's actually the first time I've ever heard of that, that's Way better eraser-wise 🤯 speaking of which, I have to buy as new eraser tomorrow, lol
@@drew9687 Excellent tip. Thank you.
@drew9687 I realize you posted some time ago, but I have a few dozen erasers if you wanna borrow one ;p
Je viens tout juste de regarder 2 vidéos de cet artiste. Wow, les explications et démonstrations sont tellement justes! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and knowledge. I will certainly use those tips.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I have been doing pencil portraits for years, but this video has taught me a lot. I've never even heard of the proportional divider, but now I even know how to use one. I am looking forward to seeing your other videos! Many thanks again!
I'm just getting back into drawing daily after a 10 year hiatus. Free-handing proportions has been a huge obstacle but these techniques will help tremendously! Thank you!!!
This a great video. As a beginning artist it's nice to know that seasoned or professional artists like yourself also have to use mechanical techniques to get their proportions and measurements correct. Thanks.
i’m now just watching this trying to find videos that will help with measurements and by far this is the most understandable walk thru by far!
I'm so glad you found it helpful. Make sure you check out my site for more info about improving your drawing ability. jdhillberrytutorials.com
all of these tutorials are great, you're really helping people follow their dreams by them gaining confidence through your teaching.
Yeah, I get that too. The confidence angle is a foundation stone of drawing, and JD's tutes are real confidence developers.
Thank you so much! This is very helpful as I'm just a beginner
It's hysterical how good that drawing is. I mean, it's impeccable.
th-cam.com/video/YVbABak0-6o/w-d-xo.html
Thank you! Every video of yours that I have watched, has really taught me something new. I ve been stuck in the same obstacles for at least 6months. After watching a video on values that u discuss. Waalaa my 1st drawing after that , which I had drawn before, looked soo much better. Now I can keep practicing. Thank u again.
WoW! Thank you so much for the good technique on this VDO. I'm just a beginner so this VDO is very useful for me. You're a great teacher. Thank you TH-cam as well !
This is without a doubt the best tutorial on using a modified grid method, but more importantly the proportional divider. Thank you❤❤❤
Thanks so much, Karen. Make sure you check out my other YT Videos and my website jdhillberrytutorials.com
Thank you for the wonderful instruction!
thank you
This is brilliant JD, I just can't understand all the negative comments about the approach.
I am a novice drawer, but absolutely love it. It gives me the head space I need after a long hard day at work.
I have started using a proportional divider in some of my more recent work and I'm really pleased with the results, and like some have said, even if all the proportions are correct, the real artistry is in the lines and shading.
Keep up the awesome tutorials
Chris Chapman I just got a Derwent proportional divider, it is taking me awhile to get used to it, but immediately my general drawing looks 100% better than any portrait I have done. It is the tiny nuances that are giving me a problem, there is a slight problem that I can’t envision the perfect likeness I am sure with more practice I will overcome and get it all right. The proportional divider is a wonderful tool ,and for all you that think this is cheating, just remember that the masters used thins like compasses, set squares, t squares, protractors and magnifying glasses, much more. Are these tools cheating? I don’t think so.
@@uncledooley Albrecht Durer used the method 'a lot' of the time. And the boy da Vinci wasn't shy on using the same method either.
Those who criticise this are simply being self-righteous, and conceited.
And when those 'details' refuse to cooperate, use a hand held mirror, turn your back to the work, and look at it with the mirror held out and focused on the drawing. You'll see it!
finally someone shows me how to do a simple way of proportional drawing... great tutorial
EXCELLENT Tutorial, well thought of and in layman terms,
It was a nice learning process. thanks for sharing.
Wow Thankyou so much sir! :) I will totally try this!.. my real art teacher is gone for a year & we have another extra teacher, but he really have no idea how to draw. I'm not learning anything so this youtube videos totally helps me!
Amazing! Much better than the grid and that proportional divider is magic!
LOVE this method. I think this will help tremendously. Thanks!
thank u....just bought a proportional divider, and, ur tutorial helped explain a lot on how to use it......also noticed this tutorial is 5 years old.....glad it is still up and running.
Very very VERY clever technique
what measure ment he use the one is compas what is the 2nd one he use to measure the face to be big? thks for this very helpful
Terrific video JD, I learn more by watching it again! I have taken two of your classes and recently won an honorable Mention in a local art show.
I'm so glad my drawing techniques have helped you improve so much! Hopefully I'll see you in another workshop!
@@vallgrl2 Congratulations!!
Just stumbled on this video!! Hallelujah!! I have had a p-divider for a few years and gave up trying to find a good use for it. (I'm kinda slow I guess) I have used the grid system for lets say 65 years. It has served me well. However I have gotten tired of erasing lines. (imagine that) Seeing the combination of the modified grid ( which I have tried with unsatisfactory results for me) and the proportional divider in combination, the light has come on!!🤪 THANK YOU!!!!
hello I just received my divider this very morning from jd I have been looking for one for ages I believe the old masters used one so I am very glad to get one ,looking foreword to using it ron mcknight in Ireland .
This is the first time I hear about using this kind of tool to do proportioned drawing. This is very clever idea! Thank you for sharing this video.
I've aways drawn without guidelines, but someone has asked me to draw different bird species and to make them realistic, all proportions and angles are critical. I was spending a lot of time making slight corrections. I tried dropping a see through grid over my reference photo, but drawing grid lines was just too tedious. I've just ordered some proportion/scale dividers and am going to have a go with cross and diagonal guidelines. Many thanks.
Carbon transfer paper is direct and will save you a lot of time. If you need the image scaled print it on a computer printer at the desired size. This method is just a highly inefficient and time consuming way to trace reference points. A carbon transfer can do the same thing in seconds.
th-cam.com/video/YVbABak0-6o/w-d-xo.html
@@jratcliff63367 thank you. You're right. The dividers were to fiddly. Now I tend to trace from my tablet onto thin paper and then rub graphite on the back for DiY carbon transfer
@@dshe8637 I'm actually now using a better technique than that. If you buy an inexpensive projector you can easily scale and get reference points
@@jratcliff63367 That's interesting. I have looked at a few projectors, but still undecided.
I think you just changed my life teaching how to use a compass to draw. Some people are good at naturally drawing proportions, but I am NOT AT ALL. Lol thank you for this video to help us 😊
I'm glad you found this video helpful. I have many more tips and techniques you may like on my site here: www.jdhillberrytutorials.com
Just stumbled upon your videos and wanted to say thanks for the very informative and constructive content!
Thanks so very much, I feel like I'm on my way to improved proportions in my drawings now! I'm very excited by what I learned here. You were clear and very precise. I will definitely purchase those items from you, Thanks again.
Hi Tina,
I'm glad you found the video helpful. BTW, I'm having a Sale on my full length video tutorials until midnight tonight. Here's a link for more info about those: www.jdhillberrytutorials.com/tutorials.html
Wow, this is so very helpful for getting proportions correct. Looking forward to your workshop in Westminster in late June.
Betsy Conway See you in a fee weeks!
hello, I am actually able to draw stuff like this free hand without taking any measurements at all, but I am a bit of trouble drawing 3 dimensional, how do you get the shading to look so 3D? I can show some of my drawings if you`d like to see what I've done so far. Oh and please don`t ignore, I WOULD REALLY LIEK IT IF YOU WOULD REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
I am so glad I found your videos.
The measuring of objects I have a problem with. Especially when I measure with a pencil & then try to draw them on paper etc in correct proportion to fit the paper.
Wonderful tutorials.
Thanks for sharing
I've always used the grid method. It can be tedious drawing and erasing the squares but I don't think about it much now. Just draw them very lightly. Rather than draw on the photo, I scan it and use gimp or a paint program to overlay the grid. You can also zoom in for those difficult to see areas.
The compass method worries me as one lapse in concentration and you could end up putting a hole in your work. Great vid as always, JD.
In addition to showcasing my own art, I just love to see other people’s creativity as well, and this artist is very impressive! Great job!
YES! I'm glad that I'm not the only one who uses the compass as a measuring tool
This is an older video, but the information is priceless. I use the grid system, but using this in conjunction with it really gets the details spot on. I can't imagine working without it.
I like your ways of enlarging without the whole grid, I'm going to put them to use on a picture I've been working on occasionally, it's my first rendering of a human face in all my years, with the skills I didn't just shit can when I was young, I draw a flat track motorcycle with and once in a very long while, I will turn out a pretty fair drawing & lately, that stretches out over a couple years before I'm alright with it, the rest I screw up being too impatient. My little brother has the skill of any professional artist I've ever seen, but he works with computer tech stuff and has forgotten more than I ever could learn at this late stage in life. It makes me wonder how much I really did throw away, it was the 70's, so, you might have an idea where my head was back then, but in an effort to try and reclaim some of that, I'll use this video to help me & who knows? I might turn out one more anyway! thanks
EXCELLENT VIDEO, YOU HAVE CHANGED MY DRAWING LIFE, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FROM MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA XO
When he showed the old man's finished drawing I was like, WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!?????
jajaja me too.. It's a pity because he doesn't show all process..
!
Cheater
PeopleCanFly23 u= o
Me toooooo!!! I bet he has other videos that show how the drawing takes place, but awesome!
hahahaha me too!
i love that he is using a compass like we used in grade school and office depot ruler, no fancy expensive tools (the divider can be bought for
this is genius how have I never thought of using a compass like that I'm offended by my own self dammit brain 😂
lmao same
Hahahahah same 😂 I was like 🤯
God blessed you for helping us.
when i was a kid, 80's/90's my step dad had this weird tool, i don't where he got it or even what it's called, but ive never seen one since. its gonna be an ass to describe mind. ok. so it was for resizing. on one end was a fake pencil, and the other was where you put a real pencil. now what you'd do is you would draw round the photograph with the fake pencil, basically getting your outlines etc, and what would happen is the real pencil, which you had touching paper, would copy your movements on the paper sketching in the lines you were "drawing" but in a different size depending where you had it set. sounds like witchcraft i know. the shape of the tool, if i remember correctly, was like a zig zaggy thing, thats about the best i can describe it. kinda like two diamonds side by side with extra bits on one end for the real pencil. now when i thought about that just now, i realised there must have been more to it cuz otherwise it would draw a mirror image. but im sure this was done in a way where it didn't, i'm sure there was an extra arm on the drawing end that faced back towards the centre so it could draw the same way round as the picture you traced with the other end, but i could be wrong on that and it probably did mirror the image. EDIT actually thinking about the mechanics of it, i think you had the pic you traced over upside down,and it drew a bigger version right side up, that seems like the best way something like that would work, i mean this was back over a good few years ago so its been a while since ive seen it. END OF EDIT anyway, i don't know what it was called, i remember it was blue and plastic, and you kinda pinned the middle of it down so it wouldn't slide all over the place. but if anyone has ever seen one of these things, and knows what the eff they are called, i just really wanna see one again...mostly so i know it wasn't a dream. naa, it was defo real, but yeah, anyone knows what the hell im on about from my god awful description, would be doing these terrible memory of mine a huge favour.
I believe you are describing a Pentograph:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph
@@JDHillberry1 thats the thing, thats it! holy crap, thankyou. i honestly haven't seen one since i was a kid. and i never knew what it was called, thank you so much. a 30 odd year mystery now put to rest.
The best tutorial on using the proportional divider and compass. thank you.....you are also very easy to listen to. I enjoy your work and am, myself a portrait artist. Never liked the grid method, but yours is nice. I teach drawing on the right side of the brain...and will instruct my students with this grid method. thank you so much.
+April Thompson Thanks. BTW, I tell all my beginning students to at least check out the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" book. It really helps them learn to draw what they see and not what they think they see. But... you already know that. My realistic drawing techniques only work after a student learns to see like an artist. Since you are teaching, perhaps you could pass on my website for students that want to take their drawings to the next level - www.jdhillberrytutorials.com
+JD Hillberry Thanks, I will be happy to do that. I have always admired your work.
aaah now that was exactly what i needed
JD Hillberry, excellent tutorial. Just the tips I needed to get my proportions right on. I used the grid method before and like you said it's very time consuming. Your box diagonal short cut is great. Also thanks for the proportional divider tools. Wow,, this will take my skills to the next level. I am a good artist starting to experiment with charcoal.
I have always had the talent to be able to draw what ever I see. However portrait drawing has been a challenge for me. I would draw a portrait and come close but not get that mastery level result. Your insight will definitely help.
I am hyped to begin to draw from an accurate proportional prospective. I have your website saved as a favorite. I plan to view your lessons and grow as an artist. Thanks again............... Wayne G.
You are such a great teacher and artist, thank you so much i can’t wait to try this
i don't normally grid my stuff before starting, I really should do that.
i have been using the first method for all my drawing. but from now i will try the other one, it seems easier and i will save time by not drawing a lot of squares!
Thank you this is amazinggg
Wouldn't it be easier instead of tracing the grid on your portrait paper to rather trace it in another paper and place it behind your portrait paper on a lightbox? therefore you have the grid but no erasing?
Sure. That will work if your drawing paper is thin enough to see the lines through it. I like to use Arches 300lbs or 150lbs hot press watercolor paper and it is too thick to see lines through it - even with a light box. But if you have a paper you like that is thin enough, its a great idea.
Such a revelation! Thank you! So much more accurate and soooo much quicker! Fab!
i cant watch thisss , your too good for me !!!
Just what I need. I ordered these tools and I really look forward to using them. Thank you so much for showing us these skills and tools.
OMG i never knew these techniques! thank you for sharing.
i always just did free hand
MoonlitAngel1 u can learn form me +918950045355
Terrifically helpful. Getting portrait major dimensions just right under watercolor is important, as one wants to minimize erasure. Thank you. I've been drawing and painting people for 50 years and find this video very helpful in helping me to minimize distracting mistakes.
This is beginning to look more and more like drafting rather than drawing!!! What about drawing from still life.. can you get the proportions with compass there!??
Yes. Of course you can! You hold the compass or proportional divider at arms length, close one eye, take your measurement and make your reference marks on your paper. Artists have been drawing from life this way for hundreds of years. Google "sight size method" to learn more.
Why couldn't you get the proportions with a compas or a proportional divider for a still life? I don't understand how people can have enough knowledge to criticise drawing methods that involve compasses and proportional dividers, but don't know something as basic as using these tools for still life drawings. Even free-hand artists use them to keep their work in check, weather drawing from life or using a photo reference. Serious free-hand artists. Not someone drawing pictures of Batman on notebook paper.
Sight size method, check out Proko he has a entire video on using that method.
I love this method of a Square with diagonals because the other method I find are tedious for me. Thanks so much and already ordered the compass and divider!
I'm a beginner, should I start doing this?? Or should I wait and practice freehand first?? Cause I've seen some artist who use this methods, but they can also draw without them and still get the same results, they just do it to save time...
I suggest you practice both ways. You can draw "freehand" and use a compass or proportional divider to check your accuracy. Measuring tools like this can help you learn to see sizes shapes and angles much better so your free hand drawing will improve as well.
JD Hillberry makes sense, Thank you!😀😁
this guy is amazing, perfect realistic drawings
What if the reference photo is not printed out? Mine's on my tablet.
You can overlay a grid on it using software
chia-en Li
I am a little late to answer but im sure with a good waterproof pencil you should be able to draw on the display
fucking trace it
chia-en Li
I printed mine out. It was on my iPad.
thank you thank you I have both of the tools you demonstrate,i am not mathematical but I understand the way you demonstrate,i get it now.Many thanks Toni from Australia.
:55 -- When using my imagination this diagonal sketch reminds me of, DaVinci's outstretched, "Vitruvian Man" portrait.
Can anyone else 'see' that? Thumbs up if you do.
Thank you, Mr. Hillberry, for this amazing tutorial, very helpful.
Thanks. I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Dang, I just realized that I used the grid method without knowing that it’s a thing. Life is great
You're a smart man.
The grid method is the worst. Just use graphite transfer paper. Problem solved.✌🏻
TridKP It's means you're a natural, you have passion for drawing and really intelligent
Thank you so much sir JD Hillberry! You don't know how much you helped a little beginner here finally accomplish their dream of finally drawing an accurate portrait. Your videos have been great help, Keep up the great work :)
Hi Sophia, Thank you so much. It makes me extremely happy to know that my instruction has helped you with your dream of drawing portraits!
I'm an artist that like to draw portraits with pencils, I've never used any of those methods, I also struggle alot with the proportions and many drawings of mine turns out to be incorrect and not entirely identical. I want to try those methods but in some way it feels like cheating. Do many proffesional artists use these methods for their realistic drawings?
+מאור חזון (mh294m) For those of you that think using any measuring tools or a grid is "cheating" below is a link to web page that may change your mind. Grids have been used for centuries by very famous and well respected artists like Da Vinci, Dürer, Vermeer, and Van Gogh. Also many more contemporary artists link M.C. Escher and Chuck Close. Here's the link: www.howtodrawjourney.com/vincent-van-gogh-drawing.html
TooleyPeter s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/85/ed/89/85ed8914293b9107846e36935c8494bc.jpg
They don't use them.
eddieartstudio.webs.com
Don't use them drawing must be a thing that you make out of nothing what's the point in it if you use those things , well at least it's what spots to be called "a drawing" more over drawing is to put down on the paper what you saw , it's not photographing you don't have to make all these details to draw simple light and shade to create the form and the feeling of the life in portrait.
it's not cheating . if you don't use measurement and calculate the distance between you'll end up will incorrect forms it's just a method to get it right you still have to draw after so it's really just a step everyone need to improve
I think This is the best method . Thanks alot
seeing this realised I suck at drawing :p
SAME SIS.
😕
Don't give up and keep going . Appreciate and don't compare yourself . Art is your best friend and speak to it and yourself nicely. There is room for everyone to do what they do in this world . Our passion and commitment will pay off . Keep at it and I bet your work is not bad like you think . Keep doing you!! 🙏🏼😊
th-cam.com/video/YVbABak0-6o/w-d-xo.html
This is excellent method to copy objects, be they human faces, a building, anything already reduced to 2D. If your efforts are not just for hobby; studying anatomy, and live figure drawing is quite satisfying. Enjoyed presentation.
Your new subscriber 🔔🔔
Very good introduction to these two methods. Enjoyed the process.
12:27 that was a jumpscare! WOW!
Thank you, I'm not an artist of your caliber, however propel ask me all the time how to make there art better. Mind you I am an artist who enjoys abstract art. Point is I just tell them the shading isn't the problem. It's you anatomical positioning. And it just throws them through a loop. Thank you I'm going to have people watch your video just for the opening statements. I mean for the rest as well, I'm new to your work but I love it. XD
That is how Spongebob draws a perfect circle
Oh my gosh! Thank you sooo much for sharing. I'm excited again about drawing. Heading to your website right now!
just use a projector. saves a lot of time.
Caesar Kakuru projectors distort . all lenses do.
a proportional divider is best
I use a projector that distorts the proprtions often. The best method so far is the method shown here using a proportional divider
Caesar Kakuru
.
The thing about being an artist, is that we don't care if it takes time, in fact, all the better that it takes time, because I would rather be doing art than say cleaning, for example. If you want to learn how to draw, using a proportional divider is a good way to learn about proportions, you can enlarge things, or shrink things down with it, but you don't have to, and it doesn't distort pictures like a projector does.
This is great stuff for beginners such as myself. Thank you Sir!
hph081000 : And for well seasoned veterans . I've used it for 47 years !
I have a much easier technique. Print out your reference on a paper making sure that your reference is the right size you want. Just shade the back of the paper print out with a pencil and trace your reference. No grid and no measurements.
Yeah
If u don’t wanna learn drawing, that’s a gud way
No grid and no measurements. Only a printer!
I liked your tutorial very good, I liked the measuring tool it is a fantastic tool to ensure you have the right proportions. I just start drawing but though I have trained my eyes to see the proportions you must ensure that you are not off, specially the spaces between the eyes and tip of the nose.
This feels like cheating
me too! I was always taught to free hand. Cause one day you may be asked to draw on the spot without any tools
Not really cheating at all. The conventional way to measure is to use your pencil/ paint brush if you were drawing/ painting something from real life. This is no different. Especially when trying to increase the scale from an image. at the end of the day. If you're not able to draw or shade it won't be much use to you.
Sophia Elisa, you said, "people who learn this kind of techniques like Hillberry are completely unable to draw from real life."
That is a strong statement to make, and it is not entirely true. I draw from real life and use the grid, and am very successful at both. Also, the grid is useless when it is time to render, and requires skill.
On another note, Hillberry drew his gridlines too dark. If you make the gird lines with light strokes with your 3H-5H pencil, the lines get lost in the rendering process and there will be no need to erase but from stark white highlghts.
i personally don't like this. i think it is more important to establish the sense of being able to grasp the likeness free hand. this sense is really hard to get. then of course that is just personal.
No. You use your pencil, brush, or proportional divider like artists have been doing for hundreds of years. BTW, many of my still life and trompe l'Oeil drawings are drawn from life.
Thank you for this informative tutorial. I was interested to see other methods than the Grid. I look forward to using my proportional divider more. Love your work..
Very informative video. Thank you it helps a lot! I was drawing just from looking (only way I knew) then when I painted I could see that the proportions were out in places and after all that work it was very frustrating. This is very helpful!!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I have just ordered my proportional divider ( and will buy a compass too). I can barely wait to try it.
Thank you very much, you're a great teacher!
This is awesome. Thank you very much!❤️🌞
I'll incorporate this into my learning and use this one day, thanks!
Thanks. I'm watching in 2020. You sir are amazing.