Drawing Course Lesson 1st Drawing is the basic skill development of all other ar

ts. Usually considered an innate talent, hard to acquire, which is not quite tru
e. You can learn to draw realistically. The design requires a grasp of basic ski
lls that once mastered, are integrated into a whole. These are the following:
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Contours to perceive perceive perceive spaces perceive relations in hue And fina
lly, to perceive the whole
This drawing course will be structured in a variety of simple exercises, very si
mple, leading to the achievement of these goals, little by little. We should not
e that, although not expose each year more than once, it should be repeated (wit
h varying motives, objects, etc.). Until you are sure to master each step.
On the other hand, can not be stressed enough that the only way to learn to draw
is to practice, and that is much more useful to spend ten minutes each day draw
ing, constantly, to try to make great efforts on time.
In these introductory pages, I have chosen to place multi-master drawings that c
learly show the enormous variety of results, with the simple use of line and ton
e. Sometimes the drawing is the initial approach, the simple outline of what wou
ld later be developed with other techniques. Sometimes, as in these examples, th
e drawing is a work of art in its own right, perfectly finished.
The first drawing is by Leonardo da Vinci. Next, by Holbein. Radically different
in this page, free online Matisse, and Seurat's soft forms, collected only on t
he basis of shadow tones.
And could not miss an example of one of the greatest artists of all time, Pablo
Picasso, this time it is a preparatory study for a maternity hospital, which mak
es quality that transcends purely utilitarian role and become a masterpiece.
MATERIALS We will begin by detailing the materials, which are essential to get d
ifferent results. Paper is the most common support for drawing. Its texture, sur
face and grain, will have much to say in the outcome. To the right can see three
different types of paper, rougher to finer. In general, the hot-pressed paper i
s fine, smooth surface, suitable for detail work, and techniques such as ink. Th
e cold pressing has a light texture and is suitable for most of the techniques,
both wet and dry. To get interesting rough paper texture effects broken and disc
ontinuous, and will be suitable for techniques such as chalk, charcoal and paste
ls.
Apart from the basic types of white paper, you may find an infinite variety of c
ards, boxes, handmade paper with petals, leaves, etc. It is for the designer to
choose among the huge supply, and think about what kind of effect you want to ac
hieve.
DRAWING MEDIA: DRY MEDIA Graphite Pencil: This is the most usual.Consta of a bar
of material where graphite and clay are mixed, which is baked and then covered
with a sheath of wood. The more clay is a mixture, the harder the lápliz. The m
ore graphite, the softer. Are classified as different degrees of hardness. The e
xample on the left is drawn with a pencil of medium hardness, the number two.
The pencil: It can be very convenient to use, it frees us from the hassle of hav
ing to be making the instrument tip as it is spent. The line is monotonous, alwa
ys the same width. Mines can be achieved in different hardnesses.
Conte Pencil: With high quality graphite, soft, jet black. It is so obscure that
one should not push for the line is black, dark. Compare with the gray tones of
ordinary graphite pencils.
Wax Bar: soft and fat, wax is an interesting material to draw, if you want a tex
tured finish, coarse. It does not allow much detail
Watercolor pencil: Very flexible, allowing both ygrises soft tones as the deepes
t black. There is also the possibility of diluting it, to achieve more or less e
xtensive washes.
The Sanguine: There are different tones. Soft and ductile, very hard to erase. D
an's a great result on colored paper and in combination with white highlights, u
sing the tone of the paper as a medium tone.
Charcoal: Flexible, soft, very fragile. Easy to blend with a cloth, a blending s
tump. A variety of lines and tones, but if you keep your job, you need to fix it
. Especially suitable for preparatory drawings.
Cake: The cake is an intermediate between drawing and painting. They are almost
pure pigment sticks in every imaginable color. It is inappropriate to get detail
s.€You can fade, and mix with other colors.
Pen: Very useful notes. Hardy, cheap, easy to use. Exists in several colors, but
the range is very limited. There are different tip thicknesses. To make shady,
you must use frames, rays cross the closer one another, darker result.
Rotring: They produce a fluid line, are easy to handle. Available in many differ
ent thicknesses. A deep black ink
Marker: Provides a regular ink flow. There are a wide range of colors. They can
be water-soluble ink, which means they can be watery, or permanent ink.
Thick felt-tip: Produces broad strokes and expressive. Not suitable for details.
Can be drawn using the tip to get thinner lines or the broad side.
Pen: The pen drawing of metal flexible, so that by applying more or less pressur
e the line is more or less thick. The points can be exchanged, and the toothpick
should be removed for cleaning. Inks available in many colors.
Brush: The brush and ink get images of great strength.
Of course, results may vary depending on the width of the brush. Another possibi
lity is watery, gray to get a variety of subtle tones.
Exercise 1: BREAKING THE DRAWING Mindset REVERSED This exercise part of the theo
ry: The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, with different skills and c
ompetences and complementary. The left hemisphere is the logical addresses, stru
ctures, order, analysis. The right hemisphere is the intuitive, which receives a
ll the irrational. We must free ourselves to draw the control over our actions t
he left hemisphere, and be carried away by the free and intuitive.
There are exercises that require us to fail to perceive an image in terms of "fi
gure", "landscape", etc. and make us conceive it simply as a set of lines, axes
and relations of tones. One way to forget which represents a picture and conside
r it only as a series of lines, is placed upside down. Copy it in that position,
you will be surprised to see how the result is much better than if we had copie
d the drawing in the correct position. I have chosen for the year a Picasso draw
ing, will serve anyone with clean lines.
No matter the point where they start, but do not think what the picture represen
ts. Do not even arise. Try to see just rays, at an angle and a long established,
and copy just that, without considering anything else.
The simplest is to continue with the parties that are next to where you started,
comparing and linking with other lines, the angles to each other, this is more
or less long than I've drawn before, and so on.
Continue drawing. It is important to the whole exercise without interruption, fr
om beginning to end so as not to lose concentration.
When you reach the most recognizable, such as hands or faces, make the effort to
see them only as sets of lines. If necessary you may be filled by hand while dr
awing to not disperse.
Keep up the exercise, without desconcentrarte. Lines only, and not be afraid of
things like "do not look."
Once you're done, turn over the drawings.
The result is much better than if you had tried to copy knowing what you draw, b
ecause you concentrate on what really matters: relationships, distance, slope. Y
ou should repeat each exercise until you master it.
Exercise 2: Another outline drawing exercise to overcome the tendency of the lef
t hemisphere of the brain to take control. These drawings are to avoid schemes a
nd symbols, and be able to translate only what we have before our eyes. This yea
r the aim is, again, disconnect and focus. Since the left hemisphere loves order
, layout, the known and rational, they are faced with an absurd tangle of lines
that can not cover, and overcome, yield control to the right hemisphere, which i
s the attempt to "wake up" to become good designers. The position will take to c
omplete this exercise is more or less, you can see in the picture to the right
This is to draw all the lines of the hand, looking as wrinkled hand as possible.
It is best not to look at the paper while drawing. Try to concentrate solely on
the intricate pattern of lines that intersect.
Try to slide the eyes on the lines while you do the pencil on paper, changing di
rection at the same time. We must not turn his head to look at what we're drawin
g.€The exercise is performed in about five minutes. The result, of course, is n
ot nothing like a hand. This exercise, which should be repeated as much as possi
ble, be done with many other reasons: a crumpled paper, a leaf, a lock of hair,
and some disordered loops.
Exercise 3: CONTOURS AND SPACES To illustrate more clearly what I mean when I ta
lk about mindsets that stand in our perception of reality, I perform this exerci
se. It tries to draw a cat. If we think of a cat, surely come to mind an image s
imilar to what I have drawn on the right. An animal resting on four legs, long b
ody, wedge-shaped head and so on.
However, the appearance of a real cat is very different, and to begin with, the
position taken completely changes the shape of the animal.
For starters, the body of our cat can enroll in an oval, and I can only see thre
e legs.
So that's what I draw.
Top of the largest and most visible ways, without noticing details. Dimensions r
elate to each other, and I notice in both holes (for example, how the gap betwee
n the two front legs) and in-filled spaces.
Once it is firmly seated, I proceed to detail and shading. Note how very differe
nt it is this stereotypical image of the cat that I drew at the beginning, and h
ow this picture gives an impression of "reality" much higher.
Exercise 4: VIEW, HOLD, draw the next year returns to the ability to perceive co
ntours, lines connect with others, and treat the holes with the same attention g
iven to other parts of the figure. The reason, a simple shoe laces.
I will draw from a superior position. Try to address this drawing in the same wa
y that the lines of the hand. Do not think of these objects, as they are. Try to
see just lines and shapes.
It really does not matter where you start. Since any line, the others will be lo
cated. It is important to draw looking at the model, not the paper.
That is, to be fixed in the model, trying to retain what he has seen, and bring
to the role. Look, hold and drag.
The best thing is to start drawing the contours of the larger forms.
And then move on to "fill" so that if the proportions are correct, each item is
placed in a quite natural in place.
One must find the balance between the time when you draw "blind" by a few stroke
s more sensitive and varied, but less precise, and those who view the role and d
ominate the line with greater security.
It is better to go for the larger forms to detail, and always compare with other
measures. The internal dialogue that is set might be something like: "This line
has been discovered at the same height that ends this otherwise ...."
I'm adding more detail.
There is nothing mechanical in the drawing. Each line is unique. Do not worry if
it is necessary to reinforce or redraw when something is wrong. These layouts a
dd expressiveness to the result.
Year ended. In this exercise is not necessary to still worry about the shapes an
d shadows, only the contours and proportions.
It is good to repeat these exercises, the reason may be a piece of vegetable, an
y decorative object or piece of furniture. The important thing is to practice an
d go educate our eyes to see, without bias.
EXERCISE 5: VIEW AGAINST KNOWING Another exercise more to break our habits of th
ought, but think of objects as "know" that are to translate them as we are seein
g. It is in some way, to recover the innocence of our eyes.
In this exercise you'll draw a hand, but let's do it in a position that does not
look like a hand at all. The position is more or less the one shown in the draw
ing, and you will see is something like the photo on the left.
In our mind, a hand has five fingers elongated, in a manner similar to that of a
flower with long petals.
Seen from this angle, the hand does not "look" like a hand, and the challenge of
this exercise is that,. You can close one eye while drawing, to appreciate more
clearly the lines, not to confuse the images of either eye. Try to draw, as in
exercise of the shoes, without looking at the paper all the time, but the model.
Stick to what you see, even if it seems "weird."
EXERCISE 6: DRAWING THE SPACES This is an exercise that helps you learn the impo
rtance of the voids, empty forms between the objects. Again, e lhecho to focus o
n something that does not normally repair, helps us to forget the prejudices of
the left cerebral hemisphere, and achieve better results more objective and real
istic€if we tried to draw directly on the model. We will draw, then spaces "neg
ative" gaps that form between a group of objects, in this case, some African fig
ures and some brushes.
By drawing the gaps between the figures, they themselves will be "engaged" in th
ose spaces correctly, and properly drawn will, almost without intending it.
Draw the hollow, negative space, makes us forget about things like "I can not dr
aw this", "this figure is too complicated, I can not draw", and focus on the job
. Notes simply forms between the object and purpose, and they fit themselves.
The pattern of holes, making progress. (I could not avoid the temptation to poin
t out some details in the figures)
Pay special attention to the angles, the way in which the lines are lean, and al
ways try to relate with other proportions, taking continuous measures, comparing
the distances between them.
This is a very useful exercise, and I recommend you practice it regularly. You c
an draw negative space in a cabinet with long legs, a pattern of light and shado
w reflected on the ground, the branches of a tree, the gaps between the flowers
on a floral arrangement in a vase ... the possibilities are many as want to imag
ine.
EXERCISE 7: The viewfinder is not so much an exercise, the recommendation to be
made with this instrument. It's simply become a "framework" through which decide
the most appropriate composition, and it will also serve as reference for actio
n. You just need a piece of cardboard, a utility knife or scissors, and a ruler
to make us a viewer.
This is, say, the "basic model." However, we can make our display a tool for mak
ing much more precise measures, adding axles to easily find the midpoint of a sc
ene, and the angles from the vertical and horizontal.Otra possibility is to draw
on measures edges of the viewfinder, to monitor how far an object in the scene.
Suppose we are faced with a landscape. We are overwhelmed by the amount of infor
mation, possible topics for drawing. The display serves first to define, to focu
s our interest in a piece covered. In any composition (either a landscape, still
life, etc..) Is important to find a point of interest. Secondly, the display he
lps to choose the format, composition.
EXERCISE 8: TONE AND VALUES The values are different shades ranging from dark to
clear. In a drawing in black and white, gray are expressed with varying intensi
ty of the darkest to the most clear and soft. In addition to the values produced
by the light, its incidence and the shadows that project, there are other value
s, which we call local values produced by the color of the object itself. The fu
ll range of tones is called a "pattern of values", and is a combination of: _the
local values: in the example I've drawn, the fur of a white dog and spotted _th
e values that produces light to illuminate our object dark shadows projected: in
the example below you can see the figure shaded dog, with a focus on light from
the top right. The last drawing shows the result of combining local values and
light / shadow, ie, the pattern of values.
EXERCISE 9: Shadow The shadow values are what allows us to create on paper or ca
nvas the illusion of volume on a flat surface. The tones are based on relationsh
ips. A tone influences how we perceive others (a much darker tone seems, if we p
ut a lighter to his side, and vice versa).
The best way to shade is squinting, and so, with closed eyes, contemplating a si
mplified, without details. In this picture, try to reduce the variety of three e
ssential tones, dark, medium and clear. The white paper will be the fourth value
. For the year I chose a simple still life. Go from general to more specific. Ne
ver start with a detail provided by the most general. And compare with other val
ues ("this is clearer than that other "....)
Set where to find the whitest white and the darkest dark. Place then a couple of
tones. You can then start looking at the details more carefully build volume. K
now who has done well if, viewing the drawing with closed eyes, it gives the sam
e "impression" that the real reason referred to in the same way. As always, prac
tice the results are improving, and becomes an almost automatic to establish the
pattern of values. We leave here this first drawing course with this advice: re
peat the exercises until you feel comfortable with them, and try to practice a l
ittle every day.