The Basics (Contd)

Last time I was talking about the importance of understanding basic drawing concepts. I know to some drawing comes easier than to others. I firmly believe anyone can draw if they are willing to put the hard work to practice, practice, practice.  I can't stress that enough.

Asides from the importance of Line, Shape and Light and Shadow. There are other drawing concepts to consider.

Perspective: In relation to art, perspective is the illusion of depth in your drawing. Linear perspective  refers to the size, shape and position of objects as determined by a converging point on the horizon. Perspective adds realism to your work. Drawing with this system reflects how the human eye sees the world. The vanishing point in Linear perspective is a point on the horizon to which all parallel lines converge.  This is achieved by drawing a horizontal line on you paper, or canvas, which represents the horizon, then a point is chosen that becomes your vanishing point.  One-point perspective is the simplest to draw, but other forms such as two and three-point perspective exist.


A simple diagram showing two-point perspective.
http://www.artistdaily.com/glossary/linear-perspective-drawing

Proportion: Proportion can have different meanings when it comes to drawing. Mainly it refers to size and scale between objects in your design. If we are referring to drawing the human body then it refers to proper anatomical proportion to avoid your subject appearing disproportionate and skewed. Proper proportions in your design also relates to principles of balance and harmony. A disproportionate drawing or unbalanced painting may subconsciously elicit feelings of reject and revulsion. In order for your work to be successful consideration of proper proportions is key. Remember that a 100% cookie cutter approach does not exist for all art and drawings. Sometimes disproportionate design may work extremely well depending on the mood you are going for.


M.C. Eschers' Sky and Water is a perfect example on using proportion to create a balanced composition.
http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/switzerland-belgium/sky-and-water-i/


Color: Probably the most visually striking element of your composition. Even though you can have proper perspective and proportions the right or wrong color can make or break your work. Color helps connect all the elements. Color enhances mood, atmosphere and and helps connect your audience emotionally with your artwork. Color sends a message about your work just as much as the other elements. Colour is broken down into different elements like primary, secondary and tertiary colours. You have warm vs cool colours. Tints are colours that become lighter b mixing white, while shades become darker by mixing black. Unfortunately many novice artists fail to understand the importance of color in their composition and stick to the basic ROYGBIV (red, blue, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) color scheme. A proper understanding of color theory is essential if you want success in your work.



Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" is an excellent example of how color is used to set the atmosphere of a composition.  The bright colors in the foreground contrasted against his dark background draw our attention and helps us understand that the two illuminated figures are men of importance amongst their peers. Likewise the dark colors convey a night time scene as the name suggests.

http://totallyhistory.com/art-history/famous-paintings/

Don't worry if it all seems overwhelming at first. In time all principles and elements of art and design begin to make sense. It's just a matter of putting it into practice. While the last two post concerning the basics are not meant as a comprehensive guide to drawing they are  a stepping stone. I enjoy art but it has taken me some time to learn what I have learned and I do believe that anyone can draw if they have the proper determination to succeed.

The Basics

Recently I was asked by someone how to draw eyes properly. I am not the best artist on earth, but I definitely know how to draw eyes. So grabbing the persons sketchbook (with permission of course) I drew the human eye and explained how to do it. I was surprised when they told me they were only interested in drawing anime eyes. Apparently this person wanted to draw anime style without having learned the basic of drawing. They had no prior training, nor did they sketch or doodle to practice any techniques. In their mind they figured I could magically explain to them what to do and in 10  minutes they could be an expert.

I explained to them that they need to practice sketching basic shapes first, before they attempt drawing eyes. Once they master that, they can move on to more advanced techniques. So what are the basics and where do we begin?

LINE: This is the most basic element of a drawing. Your main types of lines are curved and straight. Variations of these lines can develop into many things. There is much to consider when creating your drawings, for example length, width, thickness, thins, shape, lightness or darkness and the number of lines available in your design will affect the overall look. Lines divide your paper into segments. Lines guide the viewer across your paper. It leads them to locations of visual interest. Lines accentuate your shading and texture technique as they block off some elements to make other elements more pronounced. Lines that outline shapes do not exist in the real world, but we use them in drawing to interpret the real world as 2D on paper.

 Gesture drawing involves quickly laying down the form/pose and movement of the figure. Gestures are drawn quickly with few lines.

http://www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/art-demos-techniques/the-art-of-scribbling

SHAPE: Everything is composed of shapes. The most basic shapes are squares, triangles and circles. Shapes are important because everything we see around us can be broken down into simple shapes. Visual Artist train themselves to see everything as shapes. Shapes are basically lines closed in on themselves and advanced shapes are just a mixture of the three basic shapes. Shapes are important to your art as they help you create your subject. When your shapes are grouped together they your subject becomes more dynamic as you build up your art from a simple to a more advanced composition.



Simple shapes can establish form and structure in your drawings.

http://www.joshuanava.biz/human-body/structuring-the-whole-from-simple-forms.html

LIGHT & SHADOWS:  To make your drawings more realistic and to add mood and character light and shadow are very important.  In your composition you have to consider the direction from whence the light is shinning and the shadow it will cast. In regards to your drawing, we are also talking about your shading technique. Understanding how your light source affect your object will help you to realistically portray your subject in 2D while implying 3D. Proper shading also implies depth which furthers the illusion that your object is 3D. Remember that everything in the real world has a shadow. Avoiding shadows or not drawing them properly will make your image appear flat and lifeless.
 Your light source creates highlights and shadows. proper shading of your subject gives it mood, character and depth.

http://www.artinstructionblog.com/drawing-lesson-a-theory-of-light-and-shade

Understanding some of these principles will help make you a better artist, but you need to understand that just understanding the principles is not enough. Asides from the textual knowledge you learn from reading about them you also need to practice them.

In conclusion take out your pencil and DRAW! We all want to be better artist, but wish-full thinking and actually achieving your goals are very different things.

Forgot how to draw... It happens.

Have you ever had days when you feel like drawing is not fun at all? No matter what you do it feels like you can’t draw that hand properly, or those eyes correctly, or that circle makes no sense. It’s almost like your hands have minds of their own and no matter how hard you try you can’t force them to do what you want (when drawing that is).

I think this happens to most artists at some point, but some artists are better at getting around that problem than others. When this happens what can you do to get back on track?  Now I’m not saying I have all the answers or that theres a cookie cuter approach for all artistic blocks, but I want to share a suggestion that helped me whenever this problem occurs. 

A few years ago I was taking a design course and one of the assignments was to create an anthropomorphic character. It wasn’t the best assignment and I was frustrated because I had never done character concepts before. The assignment had three parts; draw the animal, create a black and white silhouette using paper and finally create the actual character. The first two parts I was able to finish on time, but the third part had me confused. 

I didn’t know what to do. I went online to see you tube videos on character development. I went to websites to see how animators create their characters, bit nothing was helping. The day before the assignment was due I was sitting with a friend and she walked away from her sketchbook. I really admired her drawing talents and took the opportunity and sneak a peak inside her sketchbook. When I saw her sketches for her character it was as though the lights finally came on and I understood how to tackle the problem. All I needed was to see first hand and up close the process. Visualizing the process first hand from someone I respect ended up being more useful than online sources.  BTW she’s still mad about me taking a peak, but were good friends.

What I’m getting at is that you can read all the books in the world and see all drawing videos on you tube (and while this is helpful for inspiration)  seeing the process first hand in my opinion is better because then you can relate to the person doing it. It affects you and helps you to know that you can also do it to if you are sincere in developing your talents. 

Are you stuck on a project or having trouble overcoming artist block. Do you have friends that draw; draw together observe them and feed off their creativity. Discuss your strengths and drawing weaknesses and help each other to succeed.  As artists and designers we have a wealth of resources through our profession that we can access for help. Surround yourself with like minded creative individuals and it will rub off on you and you will become a better artist because of it.

BTW. Here are the drawings from the original project.

All pencils are created equal?

Not all pencils are created equal.  Sure they all look very similar, but have you ever really stopped to understand what the different numbers on your pencils mean? You have your H's in varying numbers. They then go down to F, HB and from there they change to higher B grades.

That little stick of wood with graphite in the middle (or plastic with retractable leads) is an amazing tool; you can do so much with it. But, you can do so much more if you use a range of pencils to create your artwork.  Some assume that the H on the pencil stands for hardness & the B stands for blackness. This makes sense from a logical standpoint and categorizing your pencils based on that would not affect their performance. History, however, tells us otherwise.

An excerpt from pencils.com says,

"Graphite came into widespread use following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564. Appreciated for leaving a darker mark than lead, the mineral proved so soft and brittle that it required a holder. Originally, graphite sticks were wrapped in string. Later, the graphite was inserted into hollowed-out wooden sticks and, thus, the wood-cased pencil was born!"  -  http://pencils.com/pencil-history/

Koh-i-Noor-Hardmuth is one of the worlds largest pencil manufacturers. They were created in Austria in 1790 and quickly acquired a reputation for their quality. Because of this many pencils across the world and many European manufacturers grade their pencils based on the H, B system. The H stands for "Hardmuth" as in Koh-i-Noor Hardmuth and B for "Budweis", Budweis Czech Republic being the headquarters of the Hardmuth company. F was chosen as a letter signifying the midpoint between H & B grades. However "hardness" and "blackness" is a lot easier to remember.

Now that we have that out of the way, how can using your pencil gradations help you as an artist?
We all have our favourite pencils; traditionally I use Staedler Pencils, occasionally I use some very special Hardmuth pencils that were given to me by a friend.
Whenever I start sketching i always use my H pencils. Usually 2-3h. One I have the initial drawing in place I move on to the B's for shading. What pencils you use all depend on the style, feel and effect of your drawing. The higher number B pencil you use the darker your drawing.

I have always noticed that some beginner artist are afraid of using their dark pencils. They're afraid that to much dark will ruin all their shading done with light pencils. An artist should not be afraid to use black if necessary. Using a range of pencils to imply your light and shadow will make your art more dynamic. If you are struggling to improve your drawings you need to practice with your dark pencils. There are plenty of exercises you can practice to improve. Arty factory.com has some excellent tutorials.

http://www.artyfactory.com/portraits/pencil-portraits/pencil-shading-techniques.html

 
Whatever your level of expertise, practicing shading with different pencil gradients will benefit your technique.


BTW - http://eshop.koh-i-noor.eu - Check out their Online store they have some really amazing products.