This will help you get the feel for drawing and train your hand how to move. So take this sketch diary with you when you leave the house and when you have a free minute sketch something, anything that is on your mind or something you see or feel. Once you start drawing more you will begin to see the world through an artist’s eyes, and truly look at the detail of everyday objects that you may not have paid attention to before.
Drawing is a joy that you don’t want to pass up, it can be so rewarding. Drawing will allow you to give your personnel view or touch to any object or scene. You will find that drawing is relaxing, mentally challenging and emotionally stimulating. The more you practice the better you will get and you will see an improvement in your skills and as a result your art will improve. So read through the next few pages and get some tips and skills that will help you fine tune the sections you fell you need help on, and you may want to browse the sections you feel comfortable with too you may see something to learn from too.
How to Draw - Finding Your Niche
Once you start to sketch everything you see you will start to get a feel for one thing, object or theme. You will tend to draw in this field more and more often because you are comfortable there, this is called a niche. Now that you are comfortable with this you should start to fine tune these skills. Start to look at the movement, textures, and shadows. These elements will give your drawings depth. When there is movement in the object that you are drawing you should try and duplicate that. If it is wind blowing the leaves or a person’s hair, try to let your view know that there was wind on that day. The next step is to get the texture of the object you are drawing; the hair, the tree bark or the water. Now take a close look at what you are drawing, there are shadows whether they are large or small they are there.
Now that you have added more elements to your comfort are you do want to continue to draw other objects to help improve your skills. Once you find that you have taken a real liking to drawing you should invest in some drawing pencils. These pencils will make a huge difference in what you are capable of doing, you will see how much easier it is to achieve the effect you are looking for. If you are not sure how to buy these pencils go to an art or hobby store and ask fro some guidance. They can give you the details of all your choices and even help you choose the right pencils for what you want to draw.
How to Draw - A Baby's Face
Let’s take a look at how you can proportion the face correctly with the aid of some sections. Now keep in mind that these are guidelines and there will be some babies that will be exceptions to these rules. First let’s look at the horizontal sections, Figure 1-1:
The first line (A): this line is halfway between the top of the head and then bottom of the chin; it should touch the top of the ears and the top of the upper eye lid.
The second line (B): this line will touch the bottom of the ears and the bottom of the nose. To measure this line, go half way between the first line and the bottom of the chin.
The third line (C): this will be the bottom of the lower lip. This line is half way between the second line and the bottom of the chin.
The fourth line (D): this should be at the bottom of the chin bone, not the bottom of the baby’s “double chin” which is very common in young babies.
How to Draw - An Adult's Face
If you look at the human face everyone has the same proportions; two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth. Yet every one has their own characters that make them unique, even twins will have some differences in there facial features. If you look at the top of the head, the skull, and the bottom of the head, the face, you will notice that there are four main types to each feature. Look at Figure 2-1 for the different types the make you the adult head. These eight different shapes create so many variations so the next time you are out take a look at the different shapes that people have.
Another important feature to the adult face is the facial slope, this feature is viewed from the profile of a person, which refers to the angle from just below the nose up to the forehead. The first type of slope is almost a vertical line from under the nose to the forehead, and then the rest are at more of a slope, some at almost a 30 degree angle.
Let take a look at some of the differences between the female and male faces. The female head size and individual features are generally smaller. The female’s forehead is smother, rounder and more vertical then a male’s. Also the brow ridge (the projection of the bone just above the eye where the eye brow is located) on a male is a lot more pronounced then the brow ride on a woman, also the eye brows on a male are fuller and thicker then that of a female. The female jawbone tends to be more petite then that of a male with a larger more squared chin. The same goes for the ears the males are generally larger then the females. A female’s lips are usually a lot fuller then a male’s lips. The male neck is longer and more muscular with a pronounced Adam’s apple.
Let’s also take a quick look at some tips to help you proportion the face correctly. See Figure 2-2 for the image that we are referring to.
Line A: This will help you determine the horizontal position of the eyes and about the tops of the ears.
Line B: This will show where the bottom of the ears should be and also the lower part of the nose.
Line C: The bottom edge of the bottom lips will come to this line.
Between lines 2 and 3: This will be where the right eye is located.
Between lines 4 and 5: This will be where the left eye is located.
Here are some general tips to help you size the face features correctly. The ears of an adult should equal the length of the nose. The widest part of the face will be five eyes wide. The corners of the mouth should line up with vertically with the irises of the eye.
How to Draw - Drawing and Creating Shadows
Adding shadows to your drawings will give them depth and give your art the finishing touch. When using shadows you need to be able to identify the light source and use values to achieve both the light and the shadow to give your drawing a three dimensional effect. Values are the different shades of grey between white and black. To achieve these varies shades there are a few techniques you can use; hatching and crosshatching. Hatching is a series of lines, called sets, which you draw close together to create values.
Once you have the basics this is a very easy way to create different values in your art. There are three factors that you should understand;
A) The closer the lines are to each other the darker value you will get.
B) The harder you press and the tighter you hold the pencil the darker and wider your lines will be, so the opposite goes for if you hold your pencil lightly and do not press hard your lines will be softer so the value will be lighter.
C) The kind of pencil you are using can help you get the effect and value that you are looking for. The lightest pencil you could use would be the 6H, then a good medium range would be the 2B pencil and then for the darkest value you could chose the 8B.
Do a couple testes with all your pencils to see what each one creates and how you can use them to your advantage while drawing.
The other form of shading is the crosshatching where you will make one set of lines and then overlap them with another set going the opposite direction. Using this method you can create even more values then before with just the hatching.
Now that you have tested some of these shading techniques let’s talk about how to indentify light sources and shadows to make your drawing accurate and give them the depth they need. You need to be sure that you can identify the direction of the dominate light source. This light affects all aspect of your drawing. You need to recognize the areas that receive little or no light; these are the locations that will require the most shading. You also need to look for any cast shadowing, meaning any shadows that the object itself is casting or light is not reaching an area because the object is blocking the light. Using these skills you can create believable shadows, reflecting light and make objects appear as if they are floating and much more.
How to Draw - How to Create Textures in your Drawings
Think about everyday items that you see; a mirror, your cat’s fur, your baby’s hair, your carpet, all these textures can be related in a drawing. You need to image the objects and their textures in your mind, and then you can put in on paper. With textures you can add another level to your drawings. Textures will allow you to tell your viewer what the weather is like in your drawing or what the surface of an object is whether it is smooth or rough.
When creating a texture you are also dealing with patterns. The texture is the surface of an object that is relayed by shading techniques. Patterns are the many different values that are created by drawing lines and shading. A drawing can contain both these elements, think of a carpet that has square print, you will need to create both the pattern and the texture.
Let’s look at each type of texture and how they can differ from each other.
Smooth: A smooth service will have very little or even no texture at all. When you touch it it will be even and unevenness. The services can be polished and soft, dull and matte or wet and glossy.
Rough: When looking at a rough surface you can see how uneven it is and when touched it is very uneven, an irregular pattern and can be notched.
Matte: A dull objects that have no shin to there surface.
Shiny: A glossy surface that catches light and reflects it. These can also be polished objects.
Glistening: These surfaces have a lustrous reflection and give off a sparkle, they are often wet.
Furry, fuzzy, fluffy, or hairy: These can come in a variety of combinations like of a baby’s hair which is a “peace fuzz” feeling while an adults hair is more course and thick. Then you can thick of a man’s beard which is short and picky.
When you are ready to start your drawing you should look closely one more time and look for these subtle details to help you draw the object. Look for lines, these will give you a guide as to where your shadows should be and where your textures will crease, then you will need to decide what techniques to use to create these affects. Next look at the highlights to help you determine the values that you can incorporate and give your textures that extra lift. Now start your drawing and use the tips as a guide, you may find that you will use your own unique tricks once you get started.
