is it wrong to draw the structures and proportions of bodies when im starting?

[tybalt_cake]

read title

someone told me this and i have been wondering if its wrong to do it.

i have barely started to draw seriously so just wondering.

 

[zeoli]

Can you show an example of what you mean?

 

[Tinkalila]

if by structures and proportions you mean basic shapes and lines and such, then no, absolutely not, it's a really good thing to do! that's how you learn to draw, it'll help you learn anatomy.

here's some references that may help you:
[link 1] [link 2]

 

[Milleram]

I don't think that's wrong at all! It's probably best to do that when you are still getting comfortable with anatomy, and if you personally find it helpful, then that's even better. When I first started drawing, I didn't really like doing that. I just kinda went for it without doing any sort of under-drawing. But now I do it a lot more. I think it's especially helpful when you start doing more dynamic poses and such.

 

[tybalt_cake]

Can you show an example of what you mean?

im talking about this , sorry if i didnt explained it correctly haha ^^"

 

[Polymathema]

Drawing without guidelines is actually going to hinder you if you end up tackling art on a professional or even advanced hobby level. That person was wrong.

Usually I will include two things in my preliminary sketches before laying pencils over a work. I will include the line of motion of the figure. This is a center line that follows the motion that figure is following/flowing.

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action/

The second thing I will include are the basic shapes of the body- hips, chest, legs, where the knees and elbows are, head, etc.

This is how professional artists usually work, how I saw my professors working in college, and what I've seen from the industry.

There is this uniformed opinion that art shouldn't need references, that imagination is most important, but as someone who was taught that way first and then methodically had to take apart that mentality to improve and better myself as an artist, let me tell you if you skip that part of your art journey you'll be so much better off. Use as many guidelines, references, and measuring tools as you need.

 

[zeoli]

Bit late as I've been busy with classes but I agree with Polymathema 100%
I used to believe using references/guidelines was wrong because the group of people I hung out with (irl and online) when I was younger believed that they were bad things to use. In all honesty, I did not improve my own art until I let go of that thinking and started using guidelines/references.

 

[himeki]

no offense but why the **** would it be wrong

 

[namiieco]

not at all
it helps a lot! keep going

 

[RedProductions]

Drawing structures can be incredibly helpful to nail down anatomy. However, if you're trying to go for a more fluid and dynamic drawing, I would definitely recommend being much looser with your drawings and sketches before putting down solid framework. From my own experience, that's helped me create much more fluid and anatomically correct art over the years. Basically, structure and anatormy is fantastic, but don't make it all structure and no fluidity or else your drawings will just be stiff. Not really 100% what the topic is about, but more so of an artist tip from me to you.

- - - Post Merge - - -

People quite often believe using reference is "cheating" and that everything should be drawn from your head. While for the best results with your own drawings and improvement, I would recommend not relying 100% on a reference drawing and instead trying to work some things out on your own, undermining how important references are and how much they actually help you improve as an artist is ridiculous.