Michael Mentler—Figure Drawing in the Renaissance Tradition


Yep, I did it again! I bought ANOTHER drawing course!

Since I like Michael Mentler's drawings, have his Book of Bones and have studied some of his methods, I thought I'd drop the $167 on his "Michael Mentler: Figure Drawing in the Renaissance Tradition" lessons.

What appeals to me about Mentler is that his approach is time-tested. It's logical that if one wants to draw like the Old Masters that one should study their methods.

Here's what the program offers:
  • How to come up with your own drawing “game plan” so you can take clear steps to achieving a finished drawing you will be proud of
  • See a clear way to understanding the theory behind figure drawing
  • Learn to effortlessly work with FORMS — the building blocks of your drawing
  • Understanding the key to getting “in the Zone” and why THIS is *exactly* where your biggest breakthroughs will come from
  • The tools and tricks Mentler uses to SUBTRACT various elements from the drawing — and the strange reason this is so helpful in your work 
  • The CRITICAL mistakes artists make in the beginning — and how you can avoid them and make faster progress in your drawings
  • All the measurement systems you need to know to establish the correct proportions of the head, arms, torso, hips, and more 
  • Why using comparative measurements can make things 10 times easier on you
  • The secret to drawing the head from multiple angles and how to establish the right proportions for the eye sockets, cranium, cheekbones, mouth, nose, and more
  • How to use a “wireframe” to draw from multiple angles
  • What you probably don’t know about the KEY differences between drawing men and women
  • How to tap into your intuition, freeing yourself up to GROW and learn new and exciting things with each drawing you create
  • How to use the line of gravity, balance, and rhythm to make your figure drawings more lifelike
I've just started the first lesson called "Demonstration–LIFE" and will summarize it once I've completed it.

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Thanks for reading!

2 comments:

  1. Don’t believe this Hype. The video is deceptive. He spends more than half the time on these stupid Acronyms he dreamed up and then it turns into a interview. What a scam…By the way Mentler is critical of contour drawing. Research has proven that Neurons in the Primary Visual Cortex are tuned to the orientation of contours responding to edges.. The part of the cortex that analyzes visual info accounts to 30% or more of the cortex in primates! I am not saying to use Contour Drawing exclusively- study anatomy, geometry and construction deeply as well no disputes here. But for this guy to say contour drawing does nothing to help figurative artists is complete ignorance and stupid. Just like his ridiculous video- DON’T BUY IT! Total Scam in Sheep's Clothing!

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    1. Thank you for your perspective. It's understandable that you would be suspicious of an art instructor who dislikes contour drawing. I went through most of this course and I don't recall Mentler criticizing contour drawing but it's possible it was in a section I didn't do. As someone who's gone through a lot of drawing instruction, contour drawing has never been a priority. That's just my experience. I can say that this course has a lot of helpful information. I found Mentler's approach to figure proportions especially helpful. I have gotten some one thing from every drawing instructor I've encountered including Mentler. No one instructor can or will teach it all.

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