Harold Speed, The Practice and Science of Drawing, on how to draw curves: “The vivacity and brilliancy of a Greek moulding makes a Roman work look heavy and dull. And it will generally be found that the Romans used the curve of the circle in the sections of their mouldings, a curve possessing the least amount of variety…where the Greeks used the lines of conic sections, curves possessed of the greatest amount of variety.” Robert Beverly Hale, Master Class in Figure Drawing on blocking: “Simple conceptions of mass such as the block, the cylinder, the sphere, and the egg readily flit through the mind of the experienced artist. In dealing with a single part of the body, he may change these forms instantly to solve problems that occur.” And on values: “It is difficult for beginners to realize that you don't just copy values that you see on the body. You soon learn that these darks and lights are almost always moving incorrectly for the purposes of illusion, that for the most part you have to take the dominant source of light the movement and shapes of values out of your head.”
Ken Crocker Artist 