Steve Huston Draws From Life

2025-02-13 - A Demo In Drawing Great Hands

In this lesson, I show you some of the ends and out around drawing and rendering hands.

Suggested homework:

Give the lesson ideas a test drive using the reference provided.

Have fun!

2025-02-06 How To Move From Lay-In To Finish

In this lesson, I show you how to lay-in a figure so that it sets you up for success in the rendering stage.

Suggested Homework

Using the reference provided and my instruction, practice laying-in the whole pose or, as I did, part of the pose for the best way I know to set a draftsman up for success.

If you feel you're far enough along in your journey, give the rendering steps a try.

I hope you enjoy this very important lesson.

Have fun!

2025-01-23 A Demo On The Beauty Of The Torso

Here's a little demo on how to render in charcoal and not let the little details destroy the bigger structures.

Using the reference below, give it a try.

You'll work through the inevitable mistakes quicker, if you just work on 1-3 body parts per drawing, rather than the whole figure every time.

Enjoy!

2025-01-16 - How to Draw with Great Line Quality

Although Line doesn't truly exist in nature, it's a major staple of drawing anything, let alone the figure.

In this lesson, I explain how I think of line and several techniques that have serve me and the old masters (who I stole them from) very, very well.

Hope you enjoy it.

Suggested homework:

Using the reference below, pick various body parts rather than the whole figure and try drawing that same part several times -- each time using one or two of the strategies outl...

2024-12-12 - A Demo On Atmospheric Perspective

In this lesson from DFL's client only archives, I show you how to use a very particular landscape painters' strategy for creating a more interesting atmosphere and environment.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference below, try your hand at applying the above techniques to your figure drawings.

2024-12-05 Drawing The Head In Profile Part 2

Continuing the lesson on drawing heads in profile, I take you through the key elements of creating a solid 3-dimensional drawing.

Suggested Homework:

Using the provided images, practice dialing in those contours, overlaps, and subtle tweaking of positions that go into a wonderful drawing

2024-11-21 Drawing The Head In Profile Part 1

Drawing the head in profile can be deceptively difficult. In this first of a two part lesson, I show you some of the challenge involved and a few of the solutions needed.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference portfolio provided, practice the above techniques.

Have fun!

2024-11-14 - A Demo On Drawing Great Calfs and Ankles

The Legs, and especially the lower calfs and ankles, are of critical importance to developing a convincing standing figure. They absolutely have to both support and propel the upper mass of the pose as needed.

In this lesson, I show you how.

Suggested homework:

Using the reference provided, practice drawing the fluid asymmetry of the lower legs as I've shown you.

Enjoy!

2024-11-07 Why Have All Spiritual Traditions Used Art To Further Their Teachings

In this lesson we talk about the connective strategies of Art that mirror the connective strategies of both mundane and spiritual life. And it's these emotional truth that make Art so important and so, potentially, purpose-filled.

No homework this week -- just enjoy and maybe contemplate!

Steve

2024-10-24 Demo On Drawing Beautiful Hands Part 1

A well drawn hand is possibly the most challenging body of all.

In this first of two lessons, I show a strategy to move you towards mastering the hand's beautiful forms.

Suggested Homework:

Use the reference below to practice constructing the forearm-wrist structure and then, attaching the back of the hand to it.

Have Fun!

2024-10-31 - A Demo On Drawing Beautiful Hands Part 2

This is Part 2 on how to simplify the process of drawing hands by a joint by joint construction method.

Suggested Homework:

Use the reference provided to construct the basics of a solid hand, simple shape by simple shape connected by either corners or curves.

Enjoy

2024-10-17 The Only Perspective A Figurative Artist Needs Part 2

In Part 2, I show you how there are actually two perspective tilts to consider:

1. The tilting position of the form itself

2. The eye level of the artist/viewer to the form

Suggested Homework:

Using the Reference provided, practice tilting just the ribcages at first in lesser, greater, and equals positions.

Have fun!

2024-10-10 - The Only Perspective A Figurative Artist Needs Part 1

Perspective is one of those how-to skills that so many of us dread because it's so much like math and science.

The good news is that there is a simple intuitive approach that we figurative artists can use and often never need anything more.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference images provided begin practicing the 3 dimensions in space that every form rests in (especially that tilting dimension).

That will set you up for success when we di...

2024-09-12-3 Things About Drawing The Eye In 3/4 View

Paying special attention to contour and overlap, practice constructing the eyes in 3/4 view.

Enjoy!

2024-09-05 How To Draw Action Poses

Building off the "How To Draw A Stabile Pose" lecture, in this training I show you how to draw action and balanced poses.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference provided, practice both types of poses using the various ways to base the figure off the triangle design.

Have fun!

2024-08-29 - Drawing A Stable Figure That Don't Fall Off The Page

Few things are more frustrating than making a nice drawing. And then, as you step away from it, you realize the figure you poured your heart and soul into feels like it is falling off the page.

In this training, I show you how to never let that happen again.

Suggested homework:

Using the Triangle strategy, practice making sure that center of gravity is in the correct position to the supporting structures of each particular pose.

Enjoy!

2024-09-26 - The Easiest Way To Render 3-D Form

In this training, I teach you how to use charcoal in a way that clearly "sells the idea" of form in your drawings.

Suggested homework:

Using the reference provided, use the shadow shapes to practice seeing and creating the shadows that will sell the idea of form on your flat paper.

Then graduate to the Fechin drawings and invent "selling" shadows that are not in the drawing.

Have fun!

2024-08-15_ 3 Things To Know About Feet

In this training, I show you how the feet have to ground our bodies into the world through their very particular structure.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference provided, work understanding the construction and connection of the 3 parts of a foot and how they connect to the lower leg.

Enjoy!

2024-08-08 Drawing The Figure In Deep Perspective

When drawing a figure in deep perspective, it creates all kinds of challenges. Not the least of which isdefying the tyranny of the flat paper or canvas.

In this lesson, I show you some of the strategies for overcoming those challenges.

Suggested homework:

Using the reference provided, practice getting the various body parts to brak that picture plane and getting the deep space you're aiming for.

Enjoy!

Becoming A Great Concept Artist: Part Two

Concept art is about designing worlds. And It takes a very particular set of skills to be able to excel at it.

Not only a great imagination and memory around the real world. But also , the following:

How To Become A Great Concept Artist: Part One

How many ways can you draw the same thing differently?

In this one, I unfortunately lost the first half of the lesson. My apologies.

In this lesson, I show you the first of three skills grat concept designers need to master:

How working from your imagination.

This is essential to building a massive library of real world visuals to work from. And Imagination start with training the mind to extend memory. So you can mix and match elements from ...

2024-06-27 - A Demo On Drawing The Back Shoulders

In this lesson I show you how to use the shoulder blades to attach the arms and, just as importantly, to give 3-D structure to torso.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference provided, practice drawing in the shoulder blades in a way that gives the torso those two corner planes as described.

Enjoy!

2024-06-20 - A Demo On Drawing The Head

In this lesson, I show you how to break down the greater structures so that when you render the features they have a place to call home.

Suggested homework:

Using the portfolio of reference I provided practice the major planes and structure of the head. and then, take the rendering as far as you want after that.

2024-06-13 - Mastering The Secret Rhythms Of Structure

The forms, the architecture of the body just looks stiff and lifeless without understanding that everyone of those forms has energy imbued in each of their fundamental designs.

I was taught how to imbue that energy into the architecture by developing a certain "rhythmic" approach.

That's what I show you how to do in this lesson.

Enjoy!

2024-06-06 -How Get Proportion Right In Your Figure Drawings

(I don't switch you to the right screen until a little over 7 minutes in. Sorry about that. But luckily, you didn't miss anything important)

There are so many moving parts to the human body. And that means they can constantly change position, which means they can often change proportion. So finding "right" is a target that's often on the move.

In this lesson a show you a couple of ways through!

Using the strategies above, practice getting a finer see for and execution...

2024-05-30_ A Simple Way To Draw A Head in 3/4 Back View

It all starts with the placement of the ear. Followed by where the side of the head meets the back of the skull. And finally paying careful attention to Contours and Overlaps.

Suggested Homework:

Using the reference provide, practice the above strategies for drawing great 3/4 back views of a solid variety of heads.

And enjoy!

Steve

2024-05-23 - The Simplest Way to Draw Great Heads From A 3/4 Back View

In this lesson, I show you how to use Contour, Overlap, and Proportion to get that tricky 3/4 back view of the head.

Suggested homework:

Use the reference portfolio provided to practice drawing 3/4 back views.

Enjoy!

2024-05-16 - The Simplest Way to Draw Lips

Using the often under appreciated power of contours and overlaps, I take you through a simple approach to drawing the lips.

Using the reference provided, practice the above two strategies for drawing lips.

Have fun!

2024-01-08 - Choosing The Best Connective Strategies For Constructing Your Figures

Here's a lesson from one of my client-only livestreams. Composition is all about bringing separate pieces together beautifully.

There's not that many things more difficult that bringin separate body parts together in one pose. In this lesson I show you how.

Suggested Homework:

Using the portfolio of reference provided practice with just 2-4 body parts at a time drawing in carful connections.

Enjoy!

2024-05-09 - The Simplest Way to Render A Great Eye

In this lesson, I break down the basics around constructing a solid and effective eye without getting sucked down the rabbit hole of complexity.

Suggested Homework:

From from the reference provided practice drawing simple, beautiful eyes from different positions.

And don't forget to set it well back into the socket!

Have fun,

Steve