Going back through old sketchbooks, I came upon a couple of drawings that I don't remember doing. I may forget names but rarely an image! I'll bet I put them aside because of fairly obvious problems of proportion, but still, there is something here that I like. In both of these drawings the heads are a bit too large but for me they work as drawings. Sometimes distortion is not just acceptable but desirable. In an illustration you may want to emphasize a particular aspect of the figure in order to communicate a strength, attitude, or even a weakness.
The inexperienced often draw figures with small or hidden hands, little flippers tucked in pockets or behind the back, simply because they find hands difficult. Those figures usually seem powerless! The converse is also true. The hands of the woman here above are somewhat overlarge but because of that emphasis she seems quite "capable". Though leaning back, standing still with weak shoulder and upper arm, she has potential! Likewise the other model with a large strong face seems quite self-confident. Even her left hand fingers a bit big peeking over her hip communicate that impression. Think of cartoon super-heros drawn with overly broad shoulders and huge square fists.
Beyond knowledge is intuition. We often do things in art with no specific reason yet they seem right. You may add weight to a line as you draw, - strengthen. elongate, thin, wiggle or whatever, - all on a hunch. It may look wrong in real terms but feel so right. You may not know why or what you are doing but it seems the only way to go. Follow that lead and build on it!
"Design is a combination of intelligence and intuition." Richard Glasser
"Logic and intellect can take the artist to the dance, but intuition and creativity are the dance itself;" Gregory Packard
Very interesting. I never thought about it in just that way. Wish I had when I was teaching.
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