10. Drawing people in panels
A magical format for breaking down the page
In the early 1900’s, all the best flute players had magnificent mustaches. Isn’t it wild what a drawing practice can teach us? I found so many that it was impossible to choose one, so…
I made panels and put mustachioed men inside.
You know who uses panels beautifully? The incredible sketchbook artist Katie Moody! So I asked her for her take on drawing in this format. Here’s what she said:
Panels really help break down the fear of a blank page! It feels much easier to fill smaller spaces than one big one, and they’re so versatile too. You can use one image split into different views, or use totally different images and make them work cohesively in a panel layout! If you’re short on time, it’s also a great way to break up art into more manageable chunks by filling just a panel at a time!
Katie shares endless creative gems on her Patreon and YouTube channels, and has an exciting new book coming out soon Check them out!
I loved Katie’s approach to panels so much that I made you a whole printable page of them to try.
Download and print them, draw mustachioed flutists in them, then let us know how it went in the chat! You can also draw your own!
Prompt & ideas:
Set a timer for 3 - 5 minutes on each portrait.
Limit your palette - I used multiple markers above, but only in orange/pink
Limit materials - You could use only graphite or only paint, but in multiple colors.
I started a chat thread, so everyone can share their magical mustachioed panels!