Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

Conveying movement in a drawing can always be tricky. And if you’re trying to depict racing cars, emulating a sense of speed is key to breathing life into the subject. German artist Ioann Zelenin has found a clever way to achieve this, imbuing his already detailed charcoal drawings with a cinematic quality. By working with a wood stick covered in rubber bits to cleverly blur the lines in his compositions, Zelenin creates the illusion of speed.

While it has become a reliable tool for Zelenin, the stick's origins are not that glamorous. “I just use a frame stick that I tore from my bed,” he explained in an Instagram comment. The rubber stick held the bed's wooden sheathing, but the artist found that it's great for erasing and smudging the charcoal. “There is rubber there to hold everything in place, this rubber lubricates the coal.”

With this, his car drawings have been elevated to dynamic speed art. Classic vehicles zoom past forests and desert landscapes, while racing cars aim for first place. “When you’re on the track, and your speedometer reads such a velocity that objects and items around you become a blur, everything passes by so swiftly that you feel the very essence of speed,” writes the artist. “In that moment, there’s nothing but you and the car, racing through space.”

Having mastered his unorthodox tool, Zelenin has taken his creative practice to the next level. He captured a picture of his drawing after every swipe, which he then later stitched together to create a stop-motion video. By detaching certain pieces of rubber, he creates the effect of the vehicle speeding as the wind blows around it while the wheels pick up dust.

To stay up to date with his vibrant car art, make sure to follow Zelenin on Instagram. You can also find prints and original sketches of his work on his website.

German artist Ioann Zelenin has found a clever way to imbue his car charcoal drawings with a cinematic quality.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

By working with a wood stick covered in rubber bits to cleverly blur the lines in his compositions, Zelenin creates the illusion of speed.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

“I just use a frame stick that I tore from my bed,” he explained. “There is rubber there to hold everything in place, this rubber lubricates the coal.”

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

With this, his car drawings have been elevated to dynamic speed art.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

Classic vehicles zoom past forests and desert landscapes, while racing cars aim for first place.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

Having mastered his unorthodox tool, Zelenin then took his creative practice to the next level.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por NISMO (@nismo)

He captured a picture of his drawing after every swipe, which he later stitched together to create a stop-motion video.

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por NISMO (@nismo)

“When you’re on the track, and your speedometer reads such a velocity that objects and items around you become a blur, everything passes by so swiftly that you feel the very essence of speed.”

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

Una publicación compartida por Ioann Zelenin (@zeleninart)

Ioann Zelenin: Website | Instagram

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Photo: Ben Rosser

For two decades, artist Zaria Forman has committed herself to creating art that speaks to Earth's changing climate. Specifically, her enormous pastel drawings of polar ice and the Arctic landscape highlight the urgency needed to counteract the warming of the planet. In her new exhibition Fellsfjara, Iceland, Forman looks closely at the polar ice that has accumulated on Iceland's black sand beaches.

Her large-scale drawings show this ice under a magnifying lens and render it in magnificent detail. The work is reminiscent of classic still-life art in that it honors an inanimate object and highlights its inherent characteristics. At the same time, it also addresses its fragility.

During her trips to Fellsfjara, which is located on Iceland's southeastern coast, Forman stumbled upon ancient, compressed ice. Enthralled by its complexity and clarity, she set about immortalizing all of the cracks, bubbles, and distortions that tell the story of its history.

“In close-up views of glacial ice set against the velvety richness of churning Arctic waters and black sand, these works add to Forman’s career-long contemplation of light and ice; of humanity and nature; of time spent and time left,” shares gallery Winston Wächter, which is hosting the show in its New York location. “Forman offers a nuanced clarion call, encouraging viewers to notice, appreciate, and protect the earth’s most vulnerable landscapes.”

The work, which was first previewed in Reykjavik last year, is a stunning evolution of Forman's art and a continued demonstration of how artists can work to effect change. Fellsfjara, Iceland, is currently on view in New York City at Winston Wächter Fine Art until May 4, 2024.

Fellsfjara, Iceland is a new set of large-scale pastel drawings by artist Zaria Forman.

Based on the polar ice she found washed up on Iceland's black sand beaches, the drawings show the ice's fragility.

This is the latest evolution of Forman's art, which has, for two decades, focused on climate change and the Arctic landscape.

Zaria Forman: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Winston Wächter Fine Art.

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Self-taught artist and illustrator Demi Lang teaches the most popular class at My Modern Met Academy, Architectural Illustration for Everyone. In it, she takes students along with her as she completes an illustration using colored pencils and ink. Now, she's revealing even more of her tips and tricks in her book, Drawing and Illustrating Architecture.

This step-by-step guide includes over 200 pages of instruction that will allow anyone to learn architectural illustration. Filled with informative illustrations and encouraging words, readers will discover how to organize their workspace, select the correct materials, and build a photo reference library.

From there, Lang dives into techniques for achieving realistic tone, value, texture, shadow, and light in drawings and how to add layer upon layer of color, lines, details, and highlights to create works that leap off the paper with exciting dimensionality and life. The second half of the book is dedicated to projects, with Lang demonstrating how to render textures and architectural elements like windows, doors, and chimneys. Everything then culminates in the final chapter, where Lang details her creative process for a full-color drawing with gold details.

This book is sure to become an important reference for anyone who is interested in drawing architecture and it's a wonderful complement to Lang's online course on My Modern Met Academy, which contains over three hours of lessons. Drawing and Illustrating Architecture is now available for pre-order and will be released on March 19, 2024.

Illustrator Demi Lang has written a step-by-step guide to architectural illustration.

Across more than 200 pages, she demonstrates how to create realistic architectural elements using colored pencil and ink.

The book is an excellent complement to her online architecture drawing class on My Modern Met Academy.

Drawing and Illustrating Architecture is now available for pre-sale.

Demi Lang: Website | Instagram | Facebook

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Rocky Nook.

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Photo: OlgaTropinina/Depositphotos

When creating a drawing, there are various methods one can use to create volume or light and shadow. This includes several different shading techniques outlined in My Modern Met Academy's beginner course, Drawing 101: Learn the Building Blocks of Sketching. In this online class, illustrator Margherita Cole equips students with everything they need to know to embark on their sketching journey. And this includes several different shading techniques.

These time-honored techniques—hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling—have been used for centuries by draughtsmen to give them work dimensions. From Albrecht Dürer to Rembrandt to Georges Seurat, all three of these methods are used by incredible artists. And though they seem simple, understanding how to use them, when to use them, and why to use them is the key to success.

Check out a short explanation of three essential shading techniques, and then enroll today to get all 2.5 hours of instruction. You'll be able to start the class at your leisure and watch each lesson as many times as you want, making it a lasting resource for improving your drawings.

Here are three essential shading techniques to help you enhance your drawings.

Hatching

Photo: Sentavio/Depositphotos

Hatching uses short, tight parallel lines to denote an area of darkness. Artists can stagger these lines or spread them further apart to create different lighting effects. You can do one show of hatches or several rows to build up larger areas of shadow.

Cross-Hatching

Photo: ClassyCatStudio/Depositphotos

Cross-hatching can create deeper, richer shadows due to its intersecting lines. The technique starts by creating hatched lines, which are then crossed over in a manner that creates a texture akin to a fabric on the page. By building up the cross-hatches in certain areas, gradations of light and shade can be obtained.

Stippling

Photo: naktisart/Depositphotos

Stippling may be the most time-consuming of the techniques, but the effect is well worth it. It involves placing tiny dots in an area to create shadow. These dots, which should not touch, can be spaced differently to show levels of darkness. The further away the dots, the lighter the area will appear, while dots close together will make an area darker.

In Drawing 101: Learn the Building Blocks of Sketching, illustrator Margherita Cole shares how to use three shading techniques effectively.

She'll go over how hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling can all be used to enhance your drawings.

My Modern Met Academy: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

There is a special kind of beauty that goes along with nature artwork. Many find harmony and peace in the magical symmetry of the natural world, with every petal and leaf mapped out flawlessly. The art created by the Instagram user Licosmoss, who goes by Anna, is no different. The artist fills page upon page with repeating natural patterns and designs.

“[My] main inspiration is nature, childhood memories [and] geometry,” Anna said. A quick glance at her account shows that the artist has a particular interest in flowers and mushrooms, as she regularly fills entire pages with them. Many of these repeating designs often fill in a silhouette of an unrelated object, including cats, lightbulbs, and celestial bodies, beautifully linking all of her work to the natural world.

Whether the focus of her piece is a furry feline or loveable ladybugs, they all radiate love. Many of her animals are drawn with smiles on their faces in a style reminiscent of what you might see in a children's storybook. She uses vibrant colors and vivid hues to make her pieces even more visually interesting, often placing bright colors next to one another in order to draw the viewer's attention.

To keep up with Anna's creative journey, follow her on Instagram. If you are interested in purchasing work from her, be sure to check out her Etsy.

Anna, who is known as Licosmoss on Instagram, is a Netherlands-based artist known for her doodle-filled silhouettes.

She is drawn to the natural world and many of her drawings are nature-themed.

By making the absolute most of her space, Anna is able to stack drawings to create a repeating pattern.

In addition to her repeating nature doodles, Anna also draws beautiful portraits of plants and greenery.

Licosmoss: Instagram | Etsy

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Licosmoss.

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There is nothing quite as magical as seeing a city come alive at night. This experience is precisely what Nikita Busyak captures in his ongoing glowing city sketch series.

Busyak draws beautiful cityscape scenes with Micron pens, using precise linework and shading techniques, before digitally modifying the drawings by filling them in with light. This effect makes the windows look like they are glowing, and golden light emanates from them onto the nearby sidewalks and balconies. His artwork is incredibly intimate, and it is hard to look at Busyak's drawings and not be reminded of the last great evening walk you had.

Busyak is Ukranian, and drawings are based on the sights around his native country. However, the longer his series has gone on, the more the artist has begun to experiment with lighting and setting. Some of the most recent pieces feature color-changing lights rather than strictly yellow ones. Another piece features an old sailing vessel illuminated by the lanterns on the deck.

Scroll down to see more of Busyak's art, and follow the artist on Instagram to keep up to date with his latest projects.

Artist Nikita Busyak is known for his glowing pen drawings of buildings.

The artist illuminates his drawings by digitally editing in glowing light, adding to the intimate feel of his work.

Busyak is Ukranian and often draws buildings from around his country.

As incredible as Busyak's architectural illustrations are, his talent is not limited to drawing buildings.

Nikita Busyak: Telegram | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Nikita Busyak.

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Artist Mark Powell’s talent with a ballpoint pen is unquestionable. When the Brighton-based creative picks up a Bic Biro pen—his chosen instrument—he breathes new life into anything he draws on. And as skilled as Powell is with a pen, one of the most striking things about his sketches are his canvases of choice—a variety of unconventional, vintage surfaces.

Powell has created his art on letters, maps, playing cards, paper money, and shopping bags, among other mediums. The oldest of his “canvases” dates back to 1756, long before the invention of the ballpoint pen that he used to sketch on it. Powell began drawing on various ephemera after finding an envelope that was sent from the trenches of World War I. After realizing that the soldier who wrote the letter likely never returned home, he felt inspired and sketched a drawing of the soldier as an old man. Since then, Powell has tried to save antique paper products to upcycle them for his art.

Powell's designs range from haunting to harmonious. Many of his sketches stare ahead with blank expressions and tilted heads, silently looking back at the viewer. Other pieces feature animals, from serene songbirds to a pair of elephants with entwined trunks. Visitors to Powell's site will also see close-up drawings of hands, machines, and instruments, all with striking attention to detail.

On his website, Powell states that he tends not to know the people he is sketching “to retain the mystery of travel of both the subject and ‘canvas.'” He doesn't stray away from including wrinkles, veins, and scars on the skin of his creations, with every feature carefully mapped out and displayed proudly. The people he draws are powerfully human, each with their own unique story to tell.

If you would like one of Powell's original sketches, they can be purchased on his website. You can also keep up with the artist's journey on his Instagram.

Brighton-based artist Mark Powell is known for his gripping pen drawings on vintage ephemera.

He draws on letters, maps, playing cards, shopping bags, and nearly everything in between.

He started sketching on antique paper after finding an envelope from World War I and drawing the soldier who sent it as an old man.

Powell's work is strikingly human, with every line, wrinkle, and vein carefully sketched out.

The artist isn't limited to human subjects, either. Much of his work features birds and other creatures.

Mark Powell: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Mark Powell.

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Do you know which species of animals are indigenous to your area? Artist Anton Thomas has created a pictorial map that is both educational and stunning to look at. Titled Wild World, this large-scale piece is hand-drawn in colored pencil and pen, requiring three years to complete from start to finish.

From American bison to the kangaroos of Australia, this map features 1,642 animals across all seven continents, and the oceans that separate them. “I wanted to display our world through a different lens than we're used to. A perspective that celebrates the majesty of nature, the wild animals we share this planet with, and the ecosystems that support such diversity of life,” Thomas tells My Modern Met. “I hoped that such a map, if done well, would help inspire curiosity and love for our planet and its nature. While also being an excellent educational resource.”

To ensure that the basic structure of the map was accurate, Thomas used a Natural Earth projection as a template. He traced over the basic outlines of the coastlines, rivers, and mountain ranges, before slowing building up his own artistic touch to the drawing. “I settled on three criteria that came to shape the philosophy of the map. All animals on Wild World are 1) wild, 2) native, and 3) extant—not extinct,” Thomas says. “Wild and native animals invoke natural biomes only—pristine habitats without domesticated or introduced species.”

Unlike many other maps, which emphasize national boundaries and city streets, this piece focuses on what makes our planet special: the beautiful diversity of nature. Thomas chose to only illustrate extant animals because he wanted Wild World to depict our world as it is now and that we need to care for. He says: “It may seem an idealistic view of Earth, but it shows nothing that isn’t there. I want this map to inspire hope and curiosity, to show just how wild our world still is, and how much is left to protect.”

You can purchase prints of Wild World via Thomas's online shop.

Artist Anton Thomas spent three years illustrating this massive pictorial map.

Titled Wild World, it features illustrations of 1,642 animals from every continent and ocean.

Every element is hand-drawn in colored pencil and pen.

Anton Thomas: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Anton Thomas.

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Today, when we come across a beautiful garden or field of flowers, our first instinct is to take out our phone and take a picture. However, before cameras, recording plant life was a much more intensive process. Botanical art—the practice of depicting the form, color, and details of plant life—can be traced back to 70 CE. However, it was a book published in the early 17th century that forever changed this art form.

Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt, famously had Germany's first botanical garden with numerous species of plants from around the world. Apothecary and botanist Basilius Besler was one of the people in charge of the garden, and was commissioned by the Prince-Bishop to commemorate the flora in an illustrated book, which would later be titled Hortus Eystettensis.

Over the course of 16 years, Besler worked alongside German draftsmen and engravers to carefully create art of every flower, herb, and vegetable in the garden. While plants had been illustrated for centuries, Besler's work was remarkably different in its lifelike detail and artistic rendering. “Now, suddenly plants were being portrayed as beautiful objects in their own right,” says David Marsh in The Gardens Trust. “Moreover, it was the first to systematically record all the plants actually growing in one specific place: the gardens of the Willibaldsburg palace, home of the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria.”

The complete Hortus Eystettensis was eventually published in 1613, and featured 367 full-page copper engravings, depicting a total of 1,084 species of plants. Besler's hard work paid off, as he was able to purchase a home with some of the earnings, and his exquisite, carefully rendered art made a lasting impact on future botanical illustrations.

You can browse the Hortus Eystettensis online for free via the Teylers Museum's website, and pick up your own copy of the stunning book through Bookshop.

In the 1600s, the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt Johann Konrad von Gemmingen commissioned botanist Basilius Besler to record the plants in his garden.

Besler spent 16 years working with engravers and illustrating every species of flower, herb, and vegetable.

It was the first time botanical illustrations were rendered in such exquisite detail.

Teylers Museum: Website
h/t: [Open Culture]

All images via Teylers Museum.

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Photo: Matheus Macedo

The ability to draw a convincingly real portrait may seem difficult to achieve, but the reality is that all it takes is an understanding of different techniques and a lot of practice. If you are willing to learn a few tricks, you can start your journey toward achieving realism in your drawings. Luckily, My Modern Met has a lot of resources to help you along the way.

To start off, we have a number of written drawing tutorials to help you grasp the basics of drawing people. This includes step-by-step instructions for drawing eyes, lips, noses, and hair, as well as faces and hands.

If you are just getting your feet wet with drawing portraits and want to get more comfortable with the basics before diving into realism, we can help with that, too. Our e-learning platform, My Modern Met Academy, has several drawing classes that revolve around portraiture and one is specifically geared toward beginners. Taught by artist Melissa de Nobrega, Portrait Drawing for Beginners: Learn How to Draw Anyone You'd Like, the online art class is the perfect way to get comfortable drawing people.

Over the course of several lessons, de Nobrega breaks down the anatomy of the face and provides insights on how to find facial landmarks. She also guides you on how to ensure that you get the proper proportions every time you start drawing a face. You can then follow along as she works on a digital tablet to create a stunning portrait. Whether you end up working digitally or on paper, the fundamentals that she teaches will set you up for success.

Once you feel comfortable with those skills, it's time to take the leap toward realism with our newest drawing course, Realistic Portrait Drawing Made Easy. Taught by Matheus Macedo, who specializes in creating hyperrealistic portraits, the class is a masterclass in realism. Macedo makes things easy by breaking down the face into its individual components, allowing you to work beside him every step of the way. He'll also show a few easy tricks on how to transfer your inspiration image onto paper in order to set yourself up for success.

So, as you can see, there are a lot of ways you can learn to draw realistic portraits; just be careful. Once you get started, it will be hard to stop!

Looking for more drawing tips? Subscribe to our Drawing Club newsletter.

While creating a realistic portrait may seem intimidating, there are a lot of ways to learn.

Photo: Matheus Macedo

Start by using these simple drawing tutorials to get you comfortable with sketching different people of the human body.

How to Draw Eyes

Photo and Art: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

How to Draw Lips

Photo and Art: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

How to Draw a Nose

Photo and Art: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

How to Draw Hair

Photo and Art: Margherita Cole / My Modern Met

How to Draw a Face

Photo and Art: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

How to Draw Hands

Photo and Art: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

Then, if you are a beginner, discover the basics of portraiture with our online drawing class, Portrait Drawing for Beginners.

Once you feel confident, enroll in Realistic Portrait Drawing Made Easy to learn all the tips and tricks on how to create realistic portraits.

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