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Dear Glenn Vilppu, I have been purchasing an number of your DVD's lately and I feel Compelled to tell you why, although it is likely a story similar to many others you've heard. In art school, I was tought by drawing training. Mostly, they plopped us in front of the model, gave little instruction or focused on contour drawing. When I entered an MFA prgoram, I asked, "Who teaches anatomy?" and was told, "You'll need to do that on your own." So I did as best I could. I found tapes of Robert Beverly's Hale's lectures stuffed away in the library, but they were in a deteriorated condition and some were missing. I kept attending fugure drawing classes in which I wasn't enrolled, trying out different teachers and getting time with models. And I gradually acquired a library of books on the subject. Now I teach beginning figure drawing in a large art program at a University, one of 6 or 7 faculty who teach the same course. I'm well regarded, but to me, my student's work always seemed flat and lifeless. They developed accurate observation and measuring skills, we talked a lot about line variation, different rendering techniques and composition, but their work was rooted in drawing just what they saw and it consistently lacked a sense of movement, rhythm, and volume. I think you see where I'm headed... I found your web site by chance while surfing the net - it was link on an animation artist's page that one of my student's asked me to look at. I've been working with your techniques over the summer and started using them this fall with my classes. We have a special display area for freshman class work and, luck of the draw, I happened to get one of the earliest slots - 5 weeks into the semester. This is generally undersirable as the work has not had much time to develop. The response has been very gratifying, with accolades from many faculty. In fact, another instructor opted to not put up his class' work alongside mine (that was too bad). But here's the cherry on top: a couple of my former students were admiring the work when I came by. One said, "Boy, this doesnt look like what we did in class, ours didn't look nearly as good." So I asked, "Well, what is different about these drawings?" The student paused thoughtfully before replying, "They all move, and they feel real, they have volume." I could have kissed his perceptive forehead. So Thanks. The anatomy DVD's are the clearest reference I've found for understanding how the muscle and skeletal structures work when the body in action. The chapter by chapter DVD's are terrific. I see the results of them in my own drawing and in my students work as well.
— Jill Eberle, Vilppu Method Professional & Instructor, NC-
Articles
- Drawing Drapery: Action, Composition and Tone, Step by Step Demonstrations
- Drawing Drapery: The Inert or Dead Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Flag Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Zig-Zag Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Spiral Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Half-Lock Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Diaper Fold
- Drawing Drapery: The Pipe Fold
- Drawing Drapery: Analysis of Folds
- Drawing Drapery: Procedure
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Author Archives: Vilppu
Drawing Drapery: Action, Composition and Tone, Step by Step Demonstrations
The next step in drawing drapery is the application of the folds in showing the action of the figure. It is very easy to lose sight of
Drawing Drapery: The Inert or Dead Fold
The inert, or dead, fold is just the opposite of the f lag fold. It has no potential or clear form. It is a jumble of shapes and masses piled on top of each other. You may find all kinds … Continue reading
Drawing Drapery: The Flag Fold
The flag fold is a moving fold such as you would find in a flag moving with the wind. The same feeling
Drawing Drapery: The Zig-Zag Fold
The compression of the material is the main element of the zig-zag fold. It does not show the form underneath very well and generally appears when you have excess material
Drawing Drapery: The Spiral Fold
Spiral folds are exactly what the name implies, folds that spiral and wrap around the form. This is a very useful fold for
Drawing Drapery: The Half-Lock Fold
The next fold is probably the most useful fold, and at the same time the most confusing for many students. The essence of the fold is
Drawing Drapery: The Diaper Fold
The next fold is characterized by having two points of origin. It is called the diaper fold because it has the look of a diaper hanging on a clothes line. The image below clearly shows
Drawing Drapery: The Pipe Fold
Every fold has a point of origin. In a previous lesson I discussed how a fold originates as it leaves the surface of the form underlying it. This point of origin is also a point of tension. Our first fold … Continue reading
Drawing Drapery: Analysis of Folds
Before you can take the next step you must learn some basic essentials in drawing folds. In general, I have found that the natural tendency of students is to
Drawing Drapery: Procedure
In a previous lesson we discussed the general approach to using drapery as a descriptive element: the underlying form is the actual subject of the drawing, rather than the drapery itself. The next step is
Drawing Drapery: Underlying Form
One of the primary artistic uses of drapery is to define the form that is underneath it. The other is to
Drapery Drawing: The Nature of Drapery
Throughout Art History, the use of drapery has been a fundamental expressive tool of the artist. Many periods can clearly be delineated by how the artists handled drapery, or the clothed figure. This series of lessons is designed to give … Continue reading
Drapery Drawing: Introduction
As art students, we all spent most of our time drawing the nude figure. As professional artists, we rarely draw the nude figure. In drawing the draped figure, what we call the figure with clothes on, the natural tendency is to
Head Drawing: Construction Variations
A basic theme that I have tried to emphasize is that we are all very similar in fundamental construction, though quite varied in the details. As your drawing develops, you will focus more on the
Head Drawing: Drawing the Ears
The simplest way to look at the shape of the ear is to view it as a
Head Drawing: Drawing the Mouth
The difficulty most students have in drawing the mouth is that they lose sight of the fact that the mouth is essentially like half of a
Head Drawing: Drawing the Eyes
The eyes are where most beginners start. The eye first must be placed into the bony architecture of the eye socket where it is
Head Drawing: Drawing the Nose
The nose, of course, starts at the forehead. As already introduced, the Glabella is the transition between the plane of the eye socket and the nose. This form can be thought of as a
Head Drawing: Planes of the Head
In the last chapter, we developed the basic large planes of the head as a means of getting a general sense of the three-dimensional qualities of the head. The surface of any curved form can be created by a series … Continue reading
Drawing the Head: The Mouth
The next major mass we need to look at is the mouth. The mouth in general gives the beginner difficulty. First, you will see in the drawing below that the overall plane of the lower front of the head, which the mouth sits … Continue reading
Drawing the Head: The Eye Socket
The next step in our understanding of the structure of the head is adding the corners of the eye socket. They also play an important part in our initial indication of the position of the head. The head drawing … Continue reading
Head Drawing: Basic Construction
More than any other part of the body, drawing the head depends upon a solid understanding of the bony structure and basic three-dimensional planes representing it. The following illustrations represent the basic planes and their relationship to the skull. It … Continue reading
Head Drawing: Proportions
Humans are amazingly similar in their diversity. The first step in being able to show the variations and individuality of each person is to have a clear basis for comparison. You will find as you study the head that the … Continue reading
Drawing Feet: Proportions
When drawing feet, remember that they have to fit into shoes:) In general the biggest difficulty is in simplifying the forms. Simplifying the forms does not mean ignoring the basic anatomy. In Illustration No. 1 notice how the
Drawing Hands: Anatomy and Construction
As I draw, I am actually always focused on the anatomy. The drawing is a progression, starting with the gesture through construction, but always in relation to the anatomy. In the following drawings and diagrams you will see that there … Continue reading
