Realism vs construction? Best way to learn

mix the two ?

>>2749517
you have acces to scott eatons portraiture class? nigger share that shit and all the reference pictures of the skulls too

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>>2749517
>Or study atelier method. Copying Bargue plates, sight size, gesture drawing?

Start with this. It teaches observation and control of proportion, measuring and value. You will need these to quickly copy the illustrations that teach simplification & construction. The more life drawing you have also, the more you will be able to 'feel' if something is off in your work.

If you start with construction, you will end up always drawing based on whatever proportions/ simplified shapes & forms you learned from the instructional illustartions. This will result in stiffness, sameface, and a poor grasp on light/shadow.

When you observe, you put the images you see in your brain. if you don't bother with lots of life drawing, all your brain will have are simplifications others made.

Consider that all the best (proko, villipu, bridgman) construction instruction (books, videos, etc) are materials made and sold by traditionally trained artists in order to increase their income. Certainly, it works, but it is only one tool among others: measuring, value, color, gradation, light/shadow, mark making, mental grasp of *complex and specific* form etc. Bargue course teaches all of these and lays groundwork for learning construction. Construction only teaches construction.

Consider also the history of the techniques: construction was developed after direct obseevation. We know this for certain, because without direct observation; literally the act of seeing, we would have no subjects to construct.

>>2749794
Said as a guy who has spent hundreds of hours on both, and started (and struggled with) construction.

To me it felt like this:
A guitar student may start with tabs for a solo, but when he plays, the song will sound hesitating and jilted. instead, he must learn the foundation of chords and rhythm. An expert may use the shortcut of tabs to a solo to successfully make the instrument sing only because he has spent so many hours on the foundation of chords and rhythm.

>>2749803

Rewrite that metaphor as to relate to drawing. Do you mean that, next to construction to fully understand the form of things, you also need stuff like copying Bargue plates to get fluent and understand values?

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>>2749517
>Bargue plates

How well do these really work? I've been doing them and can't help but notice that, when I draw from real life rather than a photo/example, I have difficulties translating 3D space to my 2D picture plane.

I found that closing one eye helps.

>>2749517
It really really depends what your goals are and what type of art you want to do.

>>2749981
you gotta do 'em sight-size. if you weren't closing one eye to start, ur doin it wrong.

>>2749971
nah I mean, construction is like tabs for a solo. bargues and cast drawing are fundamental to construction. like, after you do 'construction' you still gotta render and add in details and edges etc. also in reality, there's this insane range of complexity to form, you gotta be able to look at it and know how to reproduce it. You'll get a better conception of form and perspective from observing and measuring alone over and over than you will from doing perspective grids and construction alone over and over.

How the hell am i supposed to print out giant Bargue plates?

>>2749517
>I've been doing alot of stuff from Scott Robertson book and it boring.
If you think Robertson is boring, you're going to be bored to tears doing the other shit. Draftsmanship and construction heavy work is like the quickest of the ways to learn stuff.

Bargue plates bore me to tears. 20 hours of Chinese Render Monkeying your way through art per plate, oh boy.

>>2749517
Draw more skulls.

I don't know about the best way to learn but I know about the worst one. Going a little into the material you are learning and after a while giving up because you have no persistence, asking yourself "there needs to be a better way" and wasting time searching for better methods only to repeat the process over and over.

Why not both?

>>2749517
>Should you study from Scott Robertson, Peter Han and Feng Zhu to get better.

UMM LIKE ALL OF THEM

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU WE DON'T KNOW YOU

OP PLS

>>2749517
I attended a sight size atelier for a little bit, it's an important skill to have but overall your should focus on learning construction of you want to be able to draw from imagination.
Atelier method stuff will teach you to measure and see things accuractely, it will teach you value and edge control as well.
If you want to draw from imagination then you also need to learn construction (Scott robertson, loomis, hampton, etc).


Basically learn both but focus on construction. Sight size is a good place to start tho for beginners. Just don't stay there or do only that.