I love this idea. Thank you so much for pointing the importance of value masses in a composition. Details are overwhelming. Simplify...Will try it today!
Sometimes color in a cityscape or landscape can be a distraction in balancing values in a drawing or painting. Something I found useful and helpful is a viewer made of transparent red mylar/plastic. You can buy sheets of different colors from most art supply houses. I made a cardboard frame about 8" by 10" and taped a piece of the red film to the back of it. I hold it up between my eyes and the view of the scene I'm looking at. Red works very well to kill all the color of the scene, but it retains the true values of the scene. That way, the big value masses and shapes pop right out. Skies can be tricky in a drawing or painting and this helps a great deal to see the value in the sky in relation to the other elements.
Thanks again Ian! I found it really helpful the way you simplified the scene into a combination of shape and perspective, then I was able to understand the light and dark approach. I have done light and dark in abstracting scenes, but combining with shape and perspective has taken me one step further. From, an artist in the slow lane, ha ha.
Hi Sandi, that's sort the thing isn't it. Doing a good drawing or painting means keeping several ideas lively at the same time. Glad you found it helpful. Best, Ian
Hello from Montreal! It’s no longer winter (thank GOD!) and I just recently stumbled on your channel. Thank you for this tutorial. I am very interested in painting (pastels) cities and so far my drawing is difficult and does not look good. I will definitely try focussing on the light!
Hi Yvonne, ask you you shall receive. That is the topic of this week's video. I do a painting of the cityscape with an emphasis on warm and cool temperature. Let me know if you like it. Best, Ian.
Hi Jane, like so many subjects, if you paint it with strong lights and darks it takes over the detail rendering mode of painting. Good luck with the cityscapes.
Hi Ian. I really enjoy your drawings. How you simplify the shapes really takes the intimidation out of approaching complicated subjects. Thank you for this video. Stay well and safe. Gayle
Thank you Ian for another excellent video ,I am trying to do cityscapes so your demonstration was very helpful . I look forward to seeing how you paint it in the future .
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Will that be available on youtube, Ian, or do you have a Patreon page or....? Oh, also just a tiny question: what type of paper do you draw on. And, finally, I love your videos. Brilliant and so very helpful!!
Fascinating. I can see you chose as the brightest spot to bring the eye, another area than the actual brightest spot in the photo -- artistic license. :-)
Hi Ralph, I took a lot of license with how that was working out. But in the end I wanted the viewer to head down to the vanishing point of all the buildings. Just not quickly.
I suspect what you are referring to other than just the pencil and paper is the kneaded eraser. You can knead it to any shape and push it into an area of pencil and lightened it a bit. You can shape it and draw back into areas as you saw in this video. And you can just erase something like you do with a normal eraser. Let me know if there was anything else you saw that I didn't mention. Also Blackwing Matte pencils.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Thank you. It was the pencils. Had never seen those b4. Usually use a mechanical or chunk of willow charcoal. One's too hard; one's to messy; looking for just right.
Hi Sharon, someone else just asked me if I could paint this scene showing the warm and cool shadow idea. So stay tuned. In a week or two I'll paint it and do the video on that. All the best, Ian.
Do you think you could do a cityscape using this idea of the big simple value masses as the foundation?
thank you Ian! yes I think I can do a cityscape now applying this idea of value masses. :)
Thank you Ian. This was very helpful.
Once again: I'm impressed
I love this idea. Thank you so much for pointing the importance of value masses in a composition. Details are overwhelming. Simplify...Will try it today!
Value masses over detail. It makes life far more enjoyable. All the best, Ian.
Excellent 👍
Brilliant simplification, awesome...
Thanks a lot, Ian
Sometimes color in a cityscape or landscape can be a distraction in balancing values in a drawing or painting. Something I found useful and helpful is a viewer made of transparent red mylar/plastic. You can buy sheets of different colors from most art supply houses. I made a cardboard frame about 8" by 10" and taped a piece of the red film to the back of it. I hold it up between my eyes and the view of the scene I'm looking at. Red works very well to kill all the color of the scene, but it retains the true values of the scene. That way, the big value masses and shapes pop right out. Skies can be tricky in a drawing or painting and this helps a great deal to see the value in the sky in relation to the other elements.
I've got a viewer finder I've used for years that has red acetate. It simplify the masses for sure.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Yup. 'Acetate' is the term I couldn't remember. My 'Oldtimer's Disease' is acting up. =)
Thank you for the cityscape drawing lesson. Could you do a painting of the scene?
Hi Jim, I just sketched the scene out on a square 16 x 16 canvas. I'll do that in a week or so. Best. Ian.
Thanks again Ian! I found it really helpful the way you simplified the scene into a combination of shape and perspective, then I was able to understand the light and dark approach. I have done light and dark in abstracting scenes, but combining with shape and perspective has taken me one step further. From, an artist in the slow lane, ha ha.
Hi Sandi, that's sort the thing isn't it. Doing a good drawing or painting means keeping several ideas lively at the same time. Glad you found it helpful. Best, Ian
That was just incredible, i wish i could do that. I know you have years to perfect that but non the less it's awesome.
I got it bro you simplified that nicely. I think I get it.
Ty for the clarity
Thats surprisingly simple and useful
Thank you for simplfying this for me. I'll know what to do when facing a cityscape.
Any time!
Very helpful 👌 ☺
Glad you liked it Sukh.
Hello from Montreal! It’s no longer winter (thank GOD!) and I just recently stumbled on your channel. Thank you for this tutorial. I am very interested in painting (pastels) cities and so far my drawing is difficult and does not look good. I will definitely try focussing on the light!
wounderful ! masses, light and darkness ! Thank you again Ian
You are welcome Christine. All the best, Ian.
Soo helpful!!! THANK YOU!!
Absolutely!
I would love to see a paintING of this
Hi Yvonne, ask you you shall receive. That is the topic of this week's video. I do a painting of the cityscape with an emphasis on warm and cool temperature. Let me know if you like it. Best, Ian.
Ian, this will be extremely helpful for two cityscapes I'm working on. Thanks very much.
Hi Jane, like so many subjects, if you paint it with strong lights and darks it takes over the detail rendering mode of painting. Good luck with the cityscapes.
Great ! I enjoyed very much your approach. Thanks a lot !
You are welcome. Best wishes, Ian.
Hi Ian. I really enjoy your drawings. How you simplify the shapes really takes the intimidation out of approaching complicated subjects. Thank you for this video. Stay well and safe. Gayle
Hi Gayle, great to hear from you. Glad you liked it. All the best, Ian
Great lesson and thanks for painting my city!
Yeah, Montréal
Thank you, Ian. Looking forward to it.
Did the painting yesterday for this Tuesday's video.. Let me know what you think. Best, Ian.
Thank you Ian for another excellent video ,I am trying to do cityscapes so your demonstration was very helpful . I look forward to seeing how you paint it in the future .
Hi Judy, well the video of my painting it is this week. Both a short version and a long version. All the best, Ian.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Will that be available on youtube, Ian, or do you have a Patreon page or....? Oh, also just a tiny question: what type of paper do you draw on. And, finally, I love your videos. Brilliant and so very helpful!!
Love it❤❤❤
I'm delighted you found it helpful. Thanks so much.
Yes....and thank you....
You are so welcome
Fascinating. I can see you chose as the brightest spot to bring the eye, another area than the actual brightest spot in the photo -- artistic license. :-)
Hi Ralph, I took a lot of license with how that was working out. But in the end I wanted the viewer to head down to the vanishing point of all the buildings. Just not quickly.
Loved it! Great job!!!
Glad you liked it!!
Could you do a demo of? How do you sharpen your pencil? It’s an interesting shape!
I sharpen with a knife, then flatten the tip on a piece of fine sandpaper so I'm working with a wider mark and not a point.
Any resources and videos on drawing? Figure drawing, etc?
Yes. This was very helpful.
What are the tools that you are using for drawing, please? I'm not familiar with anything they look like.
Thank you.
I suspect what you are referring to other than just the pencil and paper is the kneaded eraser. You can knead it to any shape and push it into an area of pencil and lightened it a bit. You can shape it and draw back into areas as you saw in this video. And you can just erase something like you do with a normal eraser. Let me know if there was anything else you saw that I didn't mention. Also Blackwing Matte pencils.
@@IanRobertsMasteringComposition Thank you. It was the pencils. Had never seen those b4. Usually use a mechanical or chunk of willow charcoal. One's too hard; one's to messy; looking for just right.
Is the horizon line always at the bottom of the furthest building?
Ian, I have such a hard time with cool and warm shadows. Could you elaborate on that? Thank you! I always enjoy your lessons.
Hi Sharon, someone else just asked me if I could paint this scene showing the warm and cool shadow idea. So stay tuned. In a week or two I'll paint it and do the video on that. All the best, Ian.
Did you ever paint this? I would love to see that.
Ha ha ha 8t was the very next video in the playlist
Thank you!!!
First two minutes you taught me to see. This ain’t my first bar be q