Improve your drawing skills overnight.
Okay, maybe I embellished that statement a little but if you practice these 3 short simple steps you will surely jump start your skills in the right direction.
I'm going to tell you a secret that gets overlooked from time to time. A secrete so huge you will think it solves all your answers in drawing, and it probably does if you fully understand how to apply it. A secret so amazing that you would probably want to journal the day you discovered it. A secrete so awesome that.... Okay, okay, I'll just tell you instead of dragging this on. The secret to drawing is to find the most basic shape in the subject you are mimicking and then draw that shape, not as a flat object but as an object in prospective.
The best way to learn to draw is to... start drawing.
When doing these exercises do NOT bend your wrist. Draw moving only your elbow and shoulder. Remember, wrist straight!
So… “Why are shapes so important?” you may ask. Well, the human brain is pretty amazing, and one of those amazing things is that it will recognize shape way faster than details. Even if there’s a hint of a shape with missing parts, our brain is smart enough to try and complete the shape.
What does this mean for artist and how does it help? Great question! As an artist this simply means you should be drawing the best possible shapes you can, and then go to the next shape, and to the next shape, and the next shape, and the umm… next shape. If you are a new artist or you have not drawn for a while, always start with the biggest shapes first and work your way in to the next smaller shapes. As your skills improve it will not matter if you start with big or small shapes. At that point you will forget all the rules because they will be second nature to you. When that happens you will just draw what you see applying the rules if, and when, you want.
Now we know the goal, we should start working on drawing the best shapes first.
Let's get started…
1) Draw as many circles as you can next to each other. Fill the whole page. It doesn't matter how big or small. Just be consistent and try to make to most perfect circle on each drawing. Keep in mind you are drawing to improve your skills so don't be funny and make one circle the size of the page. I really encourage you to roll up your sleeves and try these steps.
As you draw each circle try to increase your speed while keeping the circles as round as possible. Do not keep drawing over the same circle to improve it. Just simply go to the next circle, and draw in one gesture per circle.
After you filled up a page from drawing the circles, take a break, come back and let's begin on drawing straight lines.
2)Draw straight lines the length of the page. Again, fill up the page placing each line parallel to one another. Do not draw over the same line multiple times. Try to improve you straightness on each new line. Straight lines come by drawing using only the elbow and shoulder. It may help to not allow your arm to rest on the table.
After you filled up a pages from drawing the straight lines, take a break, come back and let's begin to connect the dots. And no, it's not the kind of connect the dots you did when you were 5 years old.
3) Connect the dots! Yeah! Ok, it’s not as exciting as it sounds. First place a bunch of dots all over the paper. Make sure they are not the same distance from each other. Next let’s connect those dots using a straight line. Feel free to move and turn the paper to help you draw the straightest line possible.
Okay… how did you do? Were you circles perfectly round? How about those lines, straight? No? No worries, the point of these exercises is to loosen up and build your confidence in your line work.
Before you commit to drawing your next fun thing, character, or place, try these steps for a few minutes and I assure you the next drawing you make will look much better.
