Drawing Basics
Drawing is frustrating, isn’t it? If you’re like a lot of people, however you try and draw something, it always ends up being a right mess and looking nothing at all like what you intended.
That doesn’t have to be the case. As any good drawer knows, becoming proficient at sketching is all about observing first and getting a decent image down second.
The way I leanred how to do this was from one of Britains top interior designers, who had a knack for detail, but also the overall picture:
1) I’ll draw a square / oblong on the paper. Why? To make sure that everything I draw goes inside it. That way I know that I won’t make it too big.
2) Then I’ll just look at what I am sketching for a while. I’m not talking ages, just a couple of minutes, glancing down at the paper every few seconds and working out how I will begin.
3) I will then make some marks: one at the half-way point, horizontally, then one each for the top and bottom and on each side. Now I know roughly how big it is going to be, I can begin with sketching.
4) I look for shapes rather than details. So if it’s a small statue of a fisherman I will mark the rod out and make his head a simple circle, making sure it is about the right size. Once I’ve done that I mark out where his torso ends and his legs begin. Already I know that I won’t have to do all this again, because it looks right and in proportion.
5) Now I can start marking out the eyes and the mouth. No shading yet, that comes once I’m satisfied the shape is right. I should have said that I am looking at the drawing and the object all the time, one, then the other. That way I can make sure that I am happy.
6) All that careful preparation paid off, because now I know it’s the right size and shape I can start with the real drawing: adding in the details.
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