Tips for a beginner artist. Where to begin? Drawing is a useful activity

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Parents are touched by our first children's naive drawings. Growing up, we - yesterday's authors of ridiculous scribbles, feel a desire to display fabulous beauty world, a small part of which we managed to comprehend without using such technical means as video and photographic equipment, wondering how to learn how to draw certain objects.

The most accessible painting technique for an amateur artist is pencil drawings. At the same time, the process of drawing is a kind of stimulator of brain activity. And art therapy itself is recognized as an effective preventive and rehabilitative tool for relieving stress and overcoming emotional emptiness.

To create the first full-fledged drawing from life, a sheet of paper, a clean eraser and simple pencil. It is best to start learning to draw with the implementation of small, static objects. For example, you can choose some household appliance or something from kitchen utensils.

The first step is to create a rough sketch of the object being displayed, a view or pose. With the help of a sketch, you fix the first impression, what you are trying to convey in the drawing. To create a full-fledged image of an object in your imagination, you need to examine it well from all sides, paying attention to the shape, the material from which it is made, and also the shadow it casts.

After that, the composition of the picture is determined. Simply put, you decide where on an impromptu canvas - a sheet of paper the object will be displayed, from what angle it will be written, and at what scale. Having finished the sketch, the artist begins to draw the details. On final stage shading should be done.

Basic pencil drawing techniques

How to quickly learn to draw with a pencil? To do this, you will have to master the special technique of pencil drawings. Most often, when creating pencil drawings, techniques such as shading and hatching are used. It is easiest for beginners to master shading. It should be noted that in art schools the emphasis is on teaching hatching techniques, considering shading to be less complete.

Hatching

How to learn to draw with a pencil using hatching? It is performed by sequentially drawing with a pencil on the surface to be painted short, shallow parallel lines, placing them at a short distance. At the same time, when finishing the line, it is important to tear the pencil off the paper, and not to zigzag its pointed tip to the beginning of the next line, leaving a visible mark. The area of the drawing is hatched strictly in one selected direction.

Hatching helps to achieve a change in the saturation of the tone of the picture. To do this, the artist changes the frequency of the strokes and the direction of the hatching, choosing between vertical, horizontal and diagonal strokes. To increase the depth of color, they resort to applying cross strokes of different directions. If necessary, to convey the relief of the surface, you can use strokes from indirect lines - arcuate or broken.

Hatching is ideal for displaying tones and shadows, surface textures. However, it is considered relatively difficult for beginners and takes a long time to master. Therefore, it is preferable to first master the shading technique. It is also used when it is necessary to hide hatching errors.

shading

How to learn to draw with a pencil using shading? It allows you to achieve great naturalness of the image, as there is a smooth gradation of tone. Feathering is carried out as follows: initial strokes are applied to the area of the drawing, which are then rubbed with feathering or its substitutes - cotton swabs, a suede cloth, a piece of paper. Some people blend the drawing with their fingers, but this practice can lead to grease stains on the work, which will not add to its aesthetics.

If you decide to use shading, then preliminary hatching should be done with cross broken strokes. Rub strokes in only one direction - from top to bottom. The main thing is to achieve a visible uniformity of shading. If necessary, those areas that came out lighter are re-shaded with a pencil, and darker areas are lightened with an eraser.

Basic drawing rules

The main principle is the movement from simple to complex, from general to details. How to learn how to draw with a pencil? So in order to achieve good results in drawing, you have to be patient. Before decent drawings begin to turn out, you need to draw the simplest objects many times. And in order to understand how to learn how to draw "in an adult way", you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of drawing. When creating a drawing, take into account the fundamental rules of drawing, namely:

Perspective - objects that are closer to the observer appear larger than those that are far away.
Location - an object displayed at the bottom of the sheet is perceived closer to the rest.
Size - a larger object is perceived closer to a smaller one.
Penumbra - if part of the object is on the opposite side of the light source, it must be drawn darker.
Shadow - to create the illusion of volume, on the opposite side of the light source, draw a shadow cast from the object.
Contour - the boundaries of rounded objects need to be drawn more carefully. This will give them depth and volume.
Horizon - with its help, the artist creates the illusion of finding objects in the picture at different distances from the viewer.
Density - distant objects in the picture are not drawn in as much detail as near ones and are performed in lighter colors.

Drawing simple objects

Some of the easiest objects to transfer to a drawing are buildings and vehicles. How to learn to draw the simplest house, most of those who have already graduated from the elementary know art school. The contours of the building almost always form straight lines. A simple combination of two geometric shapes- rectangle and triangle - already creates a primitive sketch of a classic one-story building.

To obtain a drawing of a car, you need to perform a simple algorithm: draw the outer contours of the car, separating them with a line of symmetry. Then the body is drawn. After that, the wheels should be displayed. The next step will be drawing the details of the near part of the car. In the final, mirrors, glazing and doors are drawn. A more difficult level of drawing is the creation of drawings of animals. Drawing animals from nature is quite difficult, as they are never static, and strive to change their posture.

Before starting to draw large animals, such as a horse, its individual features are determined - the characteristic shape of the muzzle, the density of the mane, the development of the muscles of the legs.

Creating a drawing of a person

After the animals, you can move on to drawing portraits of people. But how to learn to draw people with a pencil? To begin with, the composition is determined. The drawing of a person begins with the outline of the head, then the outlines of the rest of the body are drawn from top to bottom. In order for the resulting image of a particular person to be recognizable, it is necessary most attention focus on drawing the face. And to draw it correctly, you should act in stages.

First of all, determine how it will be located on the sheet. Draw an axis of symmetry in the center of the canvas. Draw the outlines of the face in the form of an inverted chicken egg. Then you should carefully recreate the shape of the face, starting from the chin and moving up to the widest part - the cheekbones. Having formed their outline, the artist continues his upward movement towards the narrow, temporal area. The resulting lines are aligned by correcting with an eraser.

Having received an oval, it is divided into three layers with thin longitudinal lines. The first, near the chin, is the marker for the tip of the nose. The nose must be drawn from the tip. This item may have the most different shape. The most common are round or square shapes. But how to learn to draw a mouth? The contours of the mouth are drawn from the central curve of the upper lip.

Then comes the stage of drawing the eyes. In the drawings of a person's face they play leading role because they grab the viewer's eye. That is why the eyes are drawn with special care. To begin with, they indicate the lines of the eyebrows, focusing on the bridge of the nose. The type of character of a person that the artist seeks to convey depends on the shape of the eyebrows. Having displayed the contours of the eyes, you need to carefully draw their shape. Then the pupil is drawn, the eyelid lines are fixed and eyelashes are drawn.

Manga

For inexperienced artists, the easiest way to transition to portraying people is through drawing manga. How to learn this style? Create drawings of Japanese characters animated films relatively easier than painting portraits from nature. In the manga, the emphasis is on the image of the head, eyes and hair of the hero.

Manga drawing goes according to the following scheme: an oval outline of the head is applied. It is divided in half by a straight line and two parallel lines drawn across the oval divide the character's head into three parts. Points of the eyes, nose and mouth are marked. Manga eyes are large and are drawn starting from the arch of the upper eyelid. The eyes are wide apart. When drawing the pupil, the artist must pay special attention to the creation of highlights.

The manga nose is disproportionately small, usually indicated by a tick. Lips are also unaccented - two parallel lines. Hair is depicted in the form of falling triangles, which run a little over large eyes.

The main thing is to draw a lot and often, so that this activity becomes a pleasant pastime.

Pencil. The simplest and most understandable drawing tool you will need in any case. Even if you want to learn how to draw with paints, you will need a simple pencil to create a sketch. Not all pencils are the same. Some are designed for drawings, others for drawing, others for everyday tasks. Too much hard pencils(3H, 4H and more) it is better not to choose: they are easy to scratch and tear the paper.

Watercolor. Water-based paint is known for its lightness, transparency and a wide palette of shades. However, painting with watercolor is quite difficult: you need to learn how to use its properties and have a good idea of \u200b\u200bhow the paint will behave on paper. On the other hand, if you put in enough effort, you will learn to draw in one of the most impressive techniques.

Gouache. This is a dense matte paint that is diluted with water. It is perfect for the first steps in drawing. Due to the dense texture of gouache, dark tones can be easily covered with darker ones. This is very important, because then all the flaws and shortcomings can be corrected. Another one good news: gouache is inexpensive.

Pastel (dry). These crayons are used to create drawings in soft colors. Due to its texture, the pastel is very easy to blend, which allows you to create beautiful transitions between shades. You should immediately prepare for the fact that your fingers and the table (at least) will be stained with dust and pastel crumbs. The finished pastel drawing is easy to smear, so the pigments on paper will need to be fixed with varnish or a fixative.

Markers ("copies"). We asked illustrator and teacher Anna Rastorguyeva to tell us about this relatively unknown instrument. Because she draws with the help of markers and does it superbly. We are not talking about highlighters and not about simple felt-tip pens, but about alcohol markers, which, due to their basis, do not deform the paper and allow you to achieve smooth transitions between shades.

Kolidzei / Shutterstock.com

There are many manufacturers of such instruments, including Japanese, German, Chinese, Korean, and Russian brands. The price also varies - from 160 to 600 rubles apiece, so even a novice author can pick up a small kit to start.

The palettes of this type of markers are unusually wide, on average 300 colors each, so in order not to get confused, you can buy a ready-made set, usually selected for a specific topic: architecture, nature, manga.

What if I don't know what to draw?

If you don't know what to draw, but really want to - copy, draw and repeat after others. There is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it is a normal process. Take a picture that you like, put it in front of you and start.

Video instructions are helpful. Unlike advice in the style of "draw a circle, draw sticks, add details - you get a great canvas," these posts do not lie. You will see exactly how the drawing is created.

Remember: creativity is an international thing. Don't be afraid to check out the YouTube channels of English-speaking bloggers, even if you don't understand what they're saying.

Try starting with these channels:

Proko. An absolute must-have for anyone who wants to learn how to draw. The artist clearly, simply, clearly explains the most difficult thing - how to draw a person. This is the base and the foundation, so the channel will certainly live in your bookmarks.

Mark Crilley. The artist works in a cartoon style, so those who want to learn how to draw cute, cute drawings will find everything they need here. The artist shows different techniques and in detail, frame by frame, demonstrates the simplest techniques for creating a spectacular picture.

Sycra. The channel will appeal to everyone who loves Japanese cartoons and wants to learn how to draw anime. Video lessons reveal the topic inside and out: body structure, facial features, costumes and everything.

Bob Ross. Bob Ross is an American television legend. Perhaps the most inspiring program in the world was created by this man, who spent 11 years teaching people to create miracles on canvas. You may not understand what Bob is saying in a soft voice, but you can not resist the talent of the artist penetrating into you right from the screen.

In general, the choice of topic is the second fundamental issue after the choice of material. And it doesn't have to be limited traditional genres: portrait, still life or landscape. Nowadays, everyday household sketches are gaining more and more popularity. Like photos on Instagram, artists quickly capture exciting topics in their notebooks, publish them in in social networks learning and communicating together. Absolutely any object can become a subject of interest - from macro sketches of insects to detailed travel diaries.
Anna Rastorgueva, illustrator, teacher

"You can paint in 30 days" by Mark Kistler. One of the most famous books about drawing. As long-term observations show, after reading it and, importantly, following the instructions, everyone learned to draw.

"Discover the artist in you" by Betty Edwards. Those who doubt can immediately be informed: about 2 million of those who considered themselves "armless" have already learned to draw from this book. For those who do not believe in their own strength at all and think that all artists know some secret beautiful pictures, we say: yes, the mystery exists. It is hidden in this book.

"A sketchbook that will teach you how to draw!", Robin Landa. As a teacher himself, Robin knows that students draw best on the pages of textbooks. This is where fantasy comes into play! So he created a book in which you can (and should) draw. And learn along the way.

I want to draw, but I don't have the time or extra money

Eugenio Marongiu/Shutterstock.com

The first step can be taken without much investment and effort. Download creative apps and get started now.

Tayasui Sketches. One of the most beautiful and simple applications with numerous tools will teach you how to draw in different techniques.

Bamboo paper. Drawing tablet company Wacom has developed an app for artists. Sketches, sketches and full-fledged drawings - this program will be needed at every stage of learning.

Zen brush. This application will not help in learning, but will set you in the right creative way. With a brush, you can draw characteristic strokes, and the finished drawing looks like a work of art from some distant eastern country.

We figured out the materials, the sources of inspiration too, the books were studied, and there are applications for the laziest. Your move - it's time to get down to business.

The main thing is to find what you really like. Dare!
Anna Rastorgueva, illustrator, teacher

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David Revoie, illustrator and concept artist, shared with aspiring artists a list of knowledge that needs to be acquired to make their work realistic. It doesn't matter what you draw with - with a pencil, brush, crayons or on a tablet - these laws remain unshakable.

website I have in store for you an article that clearly and clearly outlines the action plan for an aspiring artist who decided to study on his own.

“It is difficult to choose what to study for those who are going to take up drawing ... I receive many letters on this subject; beginners usually feel lost, lost in the middle of it all. Therefore, I decided to make a kind of table of contents - a list of what you need to learn and what you need to practice in order to create quality work and learn to draw better. Each item is provided with my simple comments, answering the questions "what", "why", "how". This way it will be easier to find necessary material with the help of your beloved search engine. Also, this material can be useful for those who want to improve the quality of their work. I will use these starting points in my exercises and when looking for errors in my work. If you are just starting to draw, here is my advice: be erudite, learn the basics and focus on individual elements in turn.

1. Perspective

What is this: The art of rendering three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
What is the purpose: Do not draw flat, depict depth on two-dimensional paper.
What you need to know about it: Perspective grid like simple shapes(cubes, balls, etc.) behave in perspective and how to maintain proportions.

Work based on two vanishing points (green and red).

2. Proportions

What is this: The ratio of the sizes of all objects in your drawing.
What is the purpose: Draw recognizable objects through stereotyped representations of proportions.
What you need to know about it: Learn to memorize proportions, find a way to easily memorize the ratio of parts of an object, make a "dictionary" of proportions.

The orange lines show the main proportions and relationships in the drawing (left) and sketch (right).

3. Anatomy

What is this: The study of the structure.
What is the purpose: Draw objects realistically (people, animals, plants, vehicles, etc.).
What you need to know about it: Joints, bones, muscles, how they work, how they behave, how parts connect, etc.

Exercise for drawing hands (left), drawing a skeleton (center), studying muscles (right).

4. Composition

Various sketches before starting work; composition search.

5. Lighting

What is this: Light and shadow rendered in color.
What is the purpose: Create the illusion of light, display the right shadows, achieve volume and convey mood.
What you need to know about it: Color values, shadow casting, influence of surface materials, light reflection, light characteristics (refraction, diffusing materials, etc.).

Left: The light shows the difference in material. Right: Using light to show a second character (cast shadow).

6. Edges

What is this: A way to highlight the silhouettes of objects in your drawing.
What is the purpose: Make work easier to read, separate objects and background, enhance depth effect.
What you need to know about it: Edge style (hard/soft/fading) in drawing, line styles (weight, speed, softness) for outlines.

Left and center: the edges in the figure, right: the thickness of the contours.

7. Colors

What is this: The art of choosing the right shades (midtones, shadows, highlights).
What is the purpose: Add more movement, mood and emotion to your work.
What you need to know about it: Color systems (monochromatic, complementary, etc.), features of the influence of colors on mood, stereotypes.

Top left: 3 color circles representing the palettes for this work; three additional colors.

8. Poses

What is this: The art of capturing active movement on a static sheet.
What is the purpose: Add life, energy, movement and show dynamics.
What you need to know about it: Emotional strokes, sketches, quick drawings, learning everything moving, frequent “warm-up” exercises.

Left: penguin poses at the zoo, center: learning poses while moving, right: warm-up sketches of the figure.

9. Style

What is this: Aesthetics, sense of style. Often depends on fundamental standards (ethical, historical, social, symbolic), art cultural groups, art market.
What is the purpose: Pave the way for the work to the audience.
What you need to know about it: Your own taste, culture, creative team as an audience and creators at the same time.

Left: classic black and white portrait, center: highly stylized (and weird) character and drawing style, right: my comic book style.

10. Idea

What is this: Drawing abstract concepts, ideological associations, invention and proposal of a new design. This for the most part development process.
What is the purpose: Suggest new images of objects, characters and creatures to entertain or inform the public.
What you need to know about it: How things work, how to create something new, associations of ideas, fun situations, the creative process.

A new type of vehicle (left), the new kind a dragon (center) and a medieval house that no one has seen before this drawing (right).

11. Communications

What is this A: An image can convey a large amount of complex information quickly. The proverb “A picture is worth a thousand words” explains this well.
What is the purpose: The artist can communicate (internationally or not) with the audience.
What you need to know about it: Reading images (deciphering sent messages, non-verbal signs), conveying meaning, history, information.

The drawing of the leaf does not convey much information (left), but the complex of details and facial expressions can already tell a story (center). A symbol like the vulture from newspapers (on the right) can make you think more deeply about the problem of unethical journalism.

Conclusion: Meaningful Illusion

If you can correctly combine all of the above, you will achieve a sense of volume, depth, texture, light, movement and life on a static surface. This will immerse your viewers in your world and you can easily convey your ideas, messages or story to them. And finally, how I see the result: the art of creating meaningful illusions. This whole palette of skills will serve your intellectual (memory, control, determination) as well as emotional development (feelings, emotions, subconscious). This is a complex exercise that requires knowledge, observation, imagination but first of all you need PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE. Drawing is like a muscle (and you certainly won't get stronger just by reading a weight lifting book or watching a video), so good luck with your drawing and painting, build your unique experience".

Question " How much do you need to draw every day in order to learn how to draw well”, as well as its variations, torment so many visitors to search engines and the latter, as always, are ready to answer, prompt and help, but they cannot do the main thing - draw instead of the questioner.

Why do we make life difficult for ourselves?

I think that for someone who is interested in our main question today, the statement: “You need to draw every day” is an indisputable fact! And now let's think for a second, why is it so, who said that this is a fact, maybe it's just that everyone had the wrong impression in their heads, what do you think?

“How much do you need to draw every day in order to ...”, here I can trace some kind of mistake, we not only ask how much time exactly is needed to learn how to draw “this” or “that”, and we set a condition in advance that makes it difficult for us to achieve the goal - “every day”, but we also give ourselves the wrong message, “why” do we do this.

First about the first. Most likely, this comes out of the general belief that in order to master any skill you need to practice it every day, because everyone sees how artists draw for hours every day, a blacksmith forges every day, and athletes go in for sports every day.

Everything seems to be true, but this way of thinking is dangerous. For many, this manifests itself in elementary discomfort from the fact that now you are “obliged” to draw every day, and if you miss one day, then that’s it, life is over, you failed, etc.

Let's be honest, such questions are asked not by those who like to draw, but by those who want to have the same result as those who know how to do it, they don't want to draw. And here comes our second problem.

Why those who want to learn how to draw make mistakes in the beginning.

Good comics, beautiful art and fanart, oil paintings, watercolors and everything else - this is what we want to see for real, and not learn to draw. It is already our logical mind that “If I want to do the same, then I need to learn how to draw” and we perceive this as “discomfort”, “necessity”, “obligation” and it seems to me that this is where the laying of the wrong foundation begins for those who in the future will torment the search engines with similar questions.

Many perceive drawing solely as a hobby, a pleasant experience and do not think about why you need to draw. This is true, but drawing lessons have many more positive consequences, which I will briefly discuss. Moreover, drawing everything, even incomprehensible figures, blunders and strokes, brings its positive consequences. And if you learn to draw in an intuitive technique, then you will significantly develop many of your other abilities.

Why draw: 5 important benefits

1. Drawing is just fun. But only if this is not an academic construction of perspectives and other purely geometric patterns of drawing construction. When drawing is intuitive, when it reflects your view of the world, allows any of your amendments, even if they do not fit into the canons of standard beauty, then such drawing becomes a real pleasure.

That is why I believe that everyone should try right-brain intuitive drawing in order to immerse themselves in this process of creating beauty. At least try.

2. Drawing gives real rest and relief to our restless mind., which in modern conditions often overloaded. Such switching allows you to work productively and with pleasure after drawing. After all, the result is not so important to you, you are not an artist, you do not need to be afraid whether the client will like the portrait or whether it will be possible to sell the painting. You have the advantage of pure enjoyment of the process.

3. Drawing naturally forms our aesthetic taste. You are more able to distinguish between beautiful and not beautiful. All this is transferred to any of your activities, in which you gradually improve what you are working on.

4. You reveal your creative talents. If you draw regularly, you want more and more to transfer creativity to other areas: in everyday life, in relationships, in work. Everywhere it becomes easier for you to create, invent something new, find an original way out of difficult situations.

5. You are starting to develop your right brain. Along with this, your efficiency of intellectual work is growing. But this item only works if you have enough left hemisphere activity. Just an artist can be talented, but not quick-witted, but one who is engaged in the most complex science and at the same time draws or plays musical instrument, that one usually gets to the heights.

Thanks to all of the above, drawing develops the brain. It is not for nothing that drawing is present in kindergartens and in all educational activities for young children. Often we do not understand why we need to draw, but we want it. We intuitively desire this. For me now, even posing the question “why you need to draw” is very surprising. It's natural, it goes without saying!

And drawing is a wonderful way to create gifts for your friends and family, unique handmade gifts!

Below are mine last works made recently. Draw for fun!