LEARNING TO FIND YOUR FORM

Jason explains how you can grasp the most important aspect of visual art…

“When I first started studying, I often felt frustration at how slowly things were moving. Then, about six months in, that changed. I learned two things: how to measure accurately with my eyes, and form.

I was annoyed that my studies from observation looked little like their subjects, so I started training myself to line up features and elements, measuring things with my eye, comparing the size, angle and shapes of those elements to others in the subject. With practice, I was able to more accurately capture my subject. I’d sketched Krillin from Dragon Ball Z and noticed that his forearm looked more like a real forearm! That was when I first realised that I had progressed.

Form was something I learned from Andrew Loomis, especially his book Drawing the Head & Hands. I focused on constructing planes that recede and advance through space, which made it so much easier to determine lighting, place features, foreshortening – everything. Krillin and the other drawing here are from between 2006 and 2008. Compare them to, say, The Bather [page 42], and you see that the most important aspect of visual art is an understanding of form.””

Two of Jason’s biggest breakthroughs were learning form and how to accurately measure with his eyes, the development of which can be seen in this early sketch. From Andrew’s book, Drawing the Head & Hands, Jason learned key composition skills such as...