Lessons Archive

This exercise will introduce you to the proper terminology used when explaining locations on the human form. Get this down and even your orthopedic surgeon will be impressed.

In this lesson Jeff kicks of the phase by doing a lay-in of a pose viewed from the front. He will demonstrate using the abstraction and comparative measurement to maintain accuracy.

This video brings the final painting up to a glorious finish. Jeff will finish logically covering the surface, and then move onto the finesse phase.

Now that we have completed our under-painting we can start our color passages. Jeff begins with the head, as he often does, and then walks his way down the figure.

In this segment Jeff will show you again how to bring up this under-painting. Underpainting is where all the drawing skills you've fought for can be brought to bear on your paintings. Everything you can solve at this stage will make the next stages easier.

This stage may be your favorite, as it is a bit like the icing on the cake. Sit back and enjoy as Jeff strives to finesse the edges, values, and shapes.

Jeff continues to use the underpainting as a guide as he works up this painting of the female figure.

This is where it really gets engaging. Watch as Jeff slowly brings this painting up to a nice finish. This is a lot tighter than his normal style, but very nice for educating yourself. Remember, we can’t do loose well if we can’t do tight.

In this video continuation, watch as Jeff begins bringing up the back musculature. He also shows how to handle the subtle dual lighting scenario present in this setup.

As with the others, Jeff will again be bringing this under-painting up to a finish. This is such great value and edge control practice. You will notice the difference this makes not just when painting, but in your next drawing as well.

This video will be similar in nature to other Part I's of this phase. Redundant as it may seem, it is strongly recommended that you watch (and hopefully try) all of them. Repetitive training is the most important factor in gaining mastery of any subject. You never know when a concept you have watched a dozen times will suddenly spark that "a-ha!" moment in your mind.

In this last stage of this painting Jeff shows how to handle a darker skin tone, and shares some handy tricks for dealing with your highlights.

Let the color begin! Take note of how Jeff uses various juxtapositions of warm and cool color passages to add interest.

The lesson continues with a demonstration on how to finesse the underpainting. The lay-in phase of a drawing or painting can seem monotonous, but every minute you spend doing a good job here saves ten minutes of headache later.

In this video we are back to the burnt umber pick-out, or "under painting". Mastering these techniques involves going through them again and again, in a variety of situations.

In this session Jeff shows how to bring up the subtle mid-tones, and then strategically blend, until the desired result is achieved.

Now that the under-painting is complete and dry, watch as Jeff starts lay-ing the top layer of color using the Zorn Palette. For those of you who are mixing it for the first time, go to the supplemental tutorial video on how to mix the Zorn Palette.

The lesson continues with Jeff bringing up the under-painting using various tools, until the desired finish is reached.

In this video Jeff reviews the burnt umber pick-out process, and will walk you through the first stages of using this process on a male figure.

In this lesson we will again venture into a front pose using the Blue/Black and White palette, but this time we are using the Asaro head to break down the planes of the face. Make sure to get that drawing locked down before starting to apply the opaque layers.