Art just like anything else requires learning some simple moves and concepts.
The best Way To Get Started Is To RELAX.
This article is about loosening up the “artistic muscles” and getting some lines on paper.
If you can write your name you can learn to draw!
There is nothing mystical about producing quality drawings and paintings. All drawings are made up of lines, shapes, and values. Letters in the alphabet are made up of lines that are formed into shapes.
Those letters are put together to form words. And those words are put together to form sentences.
Then sentences are formed into paragraphs which are then made into stories. We call this language.
Drawing is a sort of language as well and artists call it visual communication.
Paintings, drawings, sculptures are trying to convey a meaning to the viewer using shapes and forms.
What kind of shapes do you see in the letters A, B, C, D, etc? (Curvy lines, straight lines, semi-circles, etc.)
If you can write these letters down on paper you are drawing! You’ve been drawing every time you write something. Pretty cool right? Do you think that you can draw familiar objects with these letters?
For example, the letter B could be made into a pair of eyeglasses. Or two letter O’s could make wheels on a car. The same thing with numbers. They are just basic shapes that represent numeric values.
Even the pros start drawing some indiscernible lines before their drawings become recognizable. They call it “blocking in the drawing.” Which means, they are drawing in the basic geometric shapes and planes of the subject. They are not worried about placement and proportion. Instead, they are just getting the basic forms on paper, and later they will fill the details.
Here’s a little lesson to get the artistic muscles warmed up.
Warm-up Drills
Before you start any type of drawing it’s best to some warm-up drills.
Open your sketchbooks, or get a piece of paper and pencil. Ready?
- Draw some squiggly lines, circular lines, dotted lines small circles, large circles. Draw some dots. Big ones and small ones. Draw some figure 8’s forwards and backward Switch hands and do the drill again.
- Use only your wrist to draw with. Now draw with your forearm. Finally, draw with your shoulder. Draw right off the paper.
- Pay attention to the range of motion you have with each body part.
- Try drawing some straight lines from one point to another. Draw it on an angle. Don’t try to be exact! Just draw the line from one point to another and see if you can connect the dots.
- Draw the line from left to right then draw it from right to left.
- Draw it from top to bottom and bottom to top.
Finally, use the side of the pencil and draw some thick lines, thin lines. Are those drawing muscles loosened up?
Here’s your first Lesson:
Learn how to see objects, lines, shapes, and values in the world around you. For example, look at a tree. What do you see? Lots of branches, twigs, bark, green leaves, flowers, etc. Now, focus on the shapes that make up a tree: Cylinders, lines, circles, etc.
Take a look at a building, house, car, animal, etc. Pick out those shapes: rectangles, squares and triangles etc. In other words don’t get caught up with the details that make up the objects, (leaves, doorknobs, windows, patterns, etc.) Focus on the general shapes that make up the structure.
Walk around your neighborhood or look at familiar objects around the house. What kind of shapes do you see in a stove or a refrigerator? What shapes do you see in outside in the park or street? How about a blender? Do you think you could draw those shapes? Don’t worry about making them 3D we’ll cover that in another lesson. I just want to look at shapes that make up everyday objects around the world.
Pick out the shapes in these pictures and try to draw them out.
How did this lesson go for you? Let me know in the comments below.
Here’s the next lesson. The Cube
