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.