So what is a “Portrait”? Portraits are a very popular subject for a drawing. By definition it is a drawing, painting, photograph, sculpture, or engraving of a particular person. It is predominately only of the face, head, and shoulders. And it is usually desirable to capture their personality, mood and likeness through the […]
Now that we’ve talked about drawing in proportion, I want to take you through several exercises of drawing different animals using the tips and techniques we’ve looked at. Today I’m working with one of my favorite subjects, my tabby cat Eddy, mostly because he won’t leave me alone and is constantly posing for a picture. […]
In my last post I explained there were several ways of composing an image on the paper. We talked about Contour Line drawing last week as one of them, and how it follows the outside edge of the object. Looking at your practice contour drawings you may notice how clearly out of PROPORTION […]
I hope you tried several contour line drawings. Here’s the exercise I mentioned where we will be exploring a new medium, Charcoal pencils. Charcoal, whether in a pencil, square, or vine stick, is a very soft, dark, messy drawing medium. But those are also its appealing qualities. Position your hand in […]
Hands make a great subject for drawing. There is so much more possible than the Turkey handprint you did in Kindergarten. First, you always have your hands with you. But more important, they are so expressive, and can make their meaning known with just a gesture. They are beautifully different as we age, […]
What is a “Still Life”? “A drawing or painting that features an arrangement of inanimate objects as its subject.” Classic examples would be a bowl of fruit or flowers in a vase. Making your own Still Life arrangement is wonderful practice for drawing from life. And, thank goodness, the objects don’t move. […]
What are “Complex Shapes”? When you combine several simple shapes you will have created a more complex and detailed image. You are drawing and “seeing” at a more advanced level when you can analyze an object down to its simple shapes. Every child discovers when you combine a large square, a triangle, […]
Designing a Mandala, or Kaleidoscope, is a perfect culmination exercise to practice all your skills with lines, shapes, and patterns. You’ll need a paper, pencil, compass, and ruler for this. 1. Start by finding the center point on your paper. Using the compass, draw a circle in pencil to nearly fill the page. […]
Do you love coloring books? Adult coloring books are very popular right now. And I admit there is a wonderful meditative calmness that comes with coloring. But… there is nothing in those images and designs that you can’t draw yourself! And there is so much more enjoyment and satisfaction in a design that’s […]
Here’s a warm-up exercise to practice drawing all the different ways to make a line look and feel. On a piece of 80 lb paper, draw several shapes. Make them different sizes, overlap them, and have at least one go off the page. Next, with a fine tip Sharpie, fill in each of the shapes […]