As mentioned in the previous post I've just started learning to draw with the "Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain" book by Betty Edwards (https://www.drawright.com/). I haven't done any "lesson" yet but the book asks to do a few pre-instruction drawings, so here they are!
I bought both the book (2012 "definitive" edition) and the associated workbook, the exercises are slightly different. So I did both :D I did the self portrait first because I looked at th workbook assuming that the order was the same, but here I'm presenting them in the order that the book required them (though I'm not sure here order matters a lot).
The homework
A person, drawn from memory
The book first asks to draw a person from memory (this one is not in the workbook). I decided to draw my grandma. I don't see her very often, but her image is quite clear in my head I think.
The drawing doesn't look at all like my grandma! But I think I captured a bit the "idea" of her: she's tiny, she's sweet, and she's a bit fatigued by all the work she did helping raise us (i might not have captured that well, but i kinda tried to raise her shoulders a bit to mean that).
Self-portrait
Then the book asks to do a self portrait in front of a mirror. This is also an exercise in the workbook, so I did it on the workbook.
This drawing isn't exactly how I look like either, but it's much closer. Being able to draw and look at the thing you are drawing at the same time is easier. I think this technically is called "drawing from reference".
My hand
Third drawing from the book, this one is also on the workbook too.
This is probably the drawing I'm least proud of, I couldn't get the proportions right! Even if faces are more complex, I guess we are used to look at them more than hands. Maybe I chose a pose that was too difficult as well. Anyway, the end result is the one above, a bit zombie-ish.
A corner of a room
This one wasn't on the book, only on the workbook.
I think I like this one. Proportions are not crazy off, and I feel like the corner is recognisable. The strange thing on the bottom right is a small "stair like" shelf, where there are a few fake plants, some tarots and a few small board games. In the bottom left there is a corner of a couch, and a little red IKEA cart we use that contains some useful stuff for the living room. I like the window, I think it's close.
Looking at the drawings
As mentioned, I'm a beginner and these are pre-instruction drawings. The book asks to look at the drawings closely. I've written a few notes above about the individual pieces, but in general obviously there is a lot of room for improvement, and definitely drawing from reference feels a lot easier than from memory, so I'm happy with the choice of this book, because I feel like this approach is a more manageable way to learn.
The book also explains that the reason for the memory drawing is to make you notice the "symbol system" that you learn since childhood: a nose looks like this, a mouth like this, etc. Even in the self portrait, sometimes the symbol system was stronger than the reference, and despite me erasing and redrawing it kind of forced itself on the piece. One of the things that the book promises to teach, is how to train perceptual skills that would make me able to set this symbol system aside. I'm really looking forward to that!
And with this, I finished my pre-instruction work. I won't deny this was fun to do, but I think the real fun will begin now!