All About Learning To Draw
Many people believe that you must possess some unique “talent” in order to draw well. Don’t buy it! The fact is, everyone has the ability to draw. It is true that some people are born with great talent, and others simply pick up artistic skills very quickly. However, everyone has some artistic skill – therefore everyone can draw. So when learning how to draw, the main thing is to develop what skill you do possess to the best level possible.
Here are some useful tips which might help in your quest to improve your drawing skills. Try some of these:
• Keep a sketch book with you at all times. Jot down interesting things to draw, or even ideas that spring to mind. This way you can return later and it is not forgotten.
• Get inspiration by browsing other people’s drawings at places like art.com. Other people’s work can often spark your own ideas.
• “Draw exactly what you see” is one of the most common drawing tips. Sounds easy doesn’t it? But it’s not as easy as you think! Drawing things upside down awakens the right side of your brain, and is a good method for forcing you to draw what you see.
• Avoid continually looking at your drawing. Focus mainly on the subject and draw what you see, with only occasional glances at your drawing. This stops you constantly judging and being over-critical view of your drawing.
• Keep a tidy portfolio of everything you draw and don’t throw any drawings away.. This is good for monitoring your drawing progress over time
• “Negative drawing” teaches you how to clearly see the “white” (or “negative”) space in your drawing. You subject is the “positive” space, and the area surrounding your subject is the “negative” space. With negative drawing you draw in the shapes that surround the positive part of your drawing, instead of drawing out the positive space with line.
• Get a new perspective on your drawing by turning your back and holding up a mirror. Viewing your drawing through the mirror in this way can highlight structural mistakes more easily.
• Try not to make your finished drawing too mechanical. Avoid keeping inside the basic lines of your initial sketch. Try to put life into your drawing by not restricting the boundaries of your finished drawing to those basic first lines.
• You can create depth in your drawings by using thin lines for objects far away and on the horizon, and thicker lines for objects that are closer or in the foreground.
• Don’t forget to warm up, just like an athlete warms up before a race. Begin to draw with your elbow raised, drawing from the shoulder. Draw some fast circles, ovals and straight lines. Draw some arcs, using your wrist as a pivot point like a compass.
• Get some movement in your drawings. In real life, you can’t see air flowing – it is invisible. However, there are plenty of other indicators. Movement can be created by drawing such things such as trees moving, gravel spraying, hair blowing, and air movement lines on cartoon.
There is really only one thing that determines how well you can learn to draw. Practice, practice……and more practice! Again, don’t regard drawing as a talent you’re born with, but a technical skill you can acquire by working and gradually improving it, just like any other skill.
Good luck – we are sure you will find learning how to draw and most enjoyable pastime!
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