Drawing/Sketching Techniques with Kimmy Nguyen: S2: We're Finally Getting Into Anatomy But I'm Not Posting Half-Naked People

Hi!
Welcome to Session 2 of Drawing/Sketching Techniques with Kimmy Nguyen!

For session 2, I focused more on the torso of human anatomy. After several days of simplifying the skeleton and referencing anatomy images, I free-handed some drawings of people (with clothes on).

During this time, I practiced shading techniques. I mainly focused on regular / hatching lines and crosshatching lines as methods of shading.
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Regular / Hatching Lines:

According to my chosen book, hatching lines are basically lines that "are placed parallel to each other" (3dtotal Publishing 31). So, I did that.

The method is quite simple to understand, so I don't think I need to delve further. All that should really stick to you is:

1) They are parallel lines.
2) The sets of parallel lines never intersect.
3) The more you layer on the lines, the darker the layered section gets.

This method of shading can be classified as "simple shading". By what the book says on page 31, it's a common technique that can be used in multiple kinds of drawings.

Crosshatching Lines:

Crosshatching is like hatching lines, except the sets of parallel lines are "crossing over another set". It "creates volume" and is typically one of the quickest and more effective ways to create more density and values in drawings (3dtotal Publishing 32).

Here, I simply shaded the base layer. All of the clothes are black, so I had to create a layer that had the same value.

Please note that the lines are all going in the same direction. There is simply no volume as of right now.

Now, I lined the outline so it would be easier to see the shape of the image rather than have it as one gray mass.

If you look, there are some sections that are darker than most. On those parts, each of the sets is in different directions. The lines should be "in a perpendicular or near-perpendicular direction to the first set" (32). Now, there is more volume and different values.

It is also important to note that when the set of lines are closer or farther apart from each other, the area is usually darker or lighter respectively.

What the book fails to convey is crosshatching isn't just a set of lines. Crosshatching is an umbrella term, meaning that crosshatching is a term that encompasses many other techniques. There can be squiggles or lines that go in other directions in the same set. Crosshatching is so much more than just straight lines.


Throughout this session, as I attempted to follow what the directions say in my selected book, I've learned that in crosshatching it's a lot harder to show dimension in a drawing and that, one simple session isn't going to make the technique great. Compared to regular hatching, crosshatching is a technique that should have more practice put into it.

That's the end of session 2! Session 3 will focus on the arm!

Last, but not least, here's my question: If you truly enjoy the hobby that you're doing, how much work and practice should you put into it?

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3DTotal Publishing. Beginner's Guide to Sketching: Characters, Creatures & Concepts. Worcestershire: 3DTotal, 2015. Print.