Basic Drawing Made Amazingly Easy - Hart Christopher

Here is a complete drawing book for the beginning artist thatfocuses on getting you drawing right away, while giving you all thetools you need to build a solid foundation in art. In working throughthis book, you will learn how to “see” like an artist, in terms of form,line, and shadow. Each chapter gradually builds upon earlier lessonsso that the experience of learning to draw is never too challenging.Confidence will replace your earlier doubt as you learn techniquesthat work, such as how to combine basic geometric and organicshapes to create almost anything, how to add depth and shading toyour drawing, and how to handle composition, form, and perspective.Finally, you’ll learn to draw the human body as a graceful andexpressive figure, perhaps the most fulfilling accomplishment for thebeginning artist.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill Publications, an

im print of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House,Inc., New York

Cover design by Jess Morphew

Interior design by veést design

Front cover art by Christopher Hart

v3.1

also, to my old classmate and animation buddy, Michael Horowitz

STARTING TO DRAW

Furniture

Vehicles

Houses

The Still Life

Practice: Indoor/Outdoor Still Life

DRAWING THE HUMAN FIG URE The Head

The Features of the Face

The Proportions of the Face Shading the Head

Portrait Variations

Simplified Anatomy

Figure Drawing

learning to draw can be intim idating Naturally, a beginning artistneeds a solid foundation in artistic principles, but why can’t thoseprinciples be clearly explained and illustrated?

Here is a com plete drawing book for the beginning artist thatfocuses on getting y ou drawing right away, while giving y ou all thetools y ou need to build a solid foundation in art In working throughthis book, y ou will learn how to “see” like an artist, in term s of form ,line, and shadow Each chapter gradually builds upon earlier lessons

so that the experience of learning to draw is never too challenging.Confidence will replace y our earlier doubt as y ou learn techniquesthat work, such as how to com bine basic geom etric and organicshapes to create alm ost any thing, how to add depth and shading to

y our drawing, and how to handle com position, form , and perspective.Finally, y ou’ll learn to draw the hum an body as a graceful andexpressive figure, perhaps the m ost fulfilling accom plishm ent for thebeginning artist

Before reading this book, y ou m ay have shied away from , orperhaps never even considered, drawing certain subj ects; however, Ihope that as y ou go through these chapters y ou discover som ethingwonderful—that in addition to im proving technically, y ou’re alsobecom ing m ore creative How is that possible? Good technique gives

y ou the freedom to draw whatever is in y our im agination It gives

y ou the tools to create Before, y our creativity was lim ited by y ouraccess to good inform ation about technique But now, in effect, we’reabout to unleash y our creative spirit

sure y ou have all the supplies y ou’re going to need As an artist, it’s

im portant to have y our m aterials at the ready —y ou don’t want to bestruck suddenly with inspiration, only to find that y ou’re out of paper

or lack the right drawing instrum ent

Once y ou’ve got y our supplies, y ou’ll learn to see the hiddengeom etric shapes that m ake up j ust about any form y ou wish todraw Seeing these basic shapes, and how they com e together to buildobj ects, is the first secret to easier, better drawing

inexpensive and m ess-free Whether y ou’re a beginner or a m oreexperienced artist, we all use the sam e basic list of drawing supplies.You can get these at alm ost any art supply store, or y ou can orderthem online.

Drawing pencils com e in a variety of leads The hardest ones m akethe lightest lines, and the softest ones m ake the darkest lines Thedarkest pencils draw the sm oothest, but they sm udge like crazy andare all but im possible to erase The lightest draw without any “give”and are so hard that they chisel into the paper, causing a groove that’svisible even after y ou’ve erased it

A pencil grade represents two things: the darkness of the lead andits softness The softer the lead, the sm oother the pencil is to drawwith B and HB grade pencils are excellent for sketching and drawing.The HB is a popular sketching pencil and right in the m iddle of thepack Next are the F pencils, also excellent, though they m ay require

a little extra pressure on the pencil to produce a dark, black tone It’srecom m ended to stay in the m iddle of the spectrum I recom m endpicking up a few B, HB, and F pencils to see which y ou prefer

are absent from professional artist’s pencils.

2H: Light tone Good for initial sketching but will usually have to be drawn over in a darker tone once the drawing is completed Also a good tone for light shading.

easy to create very dark tone with this grade, but it can be done Can create black when pressed hard.

be effectively erased, albeit with a few minor shadows.

when drawing images with long, flowing lines It is harder to erase and may leave significant shadow lines Creates solid black areas for shading, but smudging can be a problem.

sharpener as m uch as or m ore than any other tool at y our disposal Ahand-twist sharpener will end up driving y ou insane I also don’trecom m end the light, battery -operated m odels You’ll wantsom ething heavy that sits on y our desk and doesn’t m ove every tim e

y ou push a pencil into it

You will use these for sm all corrections in y our prelim inary sketches.

A bigger, handheld eraser is ideal for erasing larger sections

y ourself a ream of 8.5 × 11–inch copy paper It’s what I use It’seasy to find and ridiculously inexpensive—usually 500 sheets, for alittle over a penny a sheet.

Because the paper is lightweight, it becom es translucent when thelight from a light box shines through it This is helpful when y ou arepolishing up rough sketches

Art paper from art stores com es in a variety of m easurem ents andthicknesses The problem with thick, heavy paper is that y ou cannotsee though it on a light box Ty pically, it’s also expensive, and y oudon’t get m any sheets per pad I would also steer away from paperwith tooth or grain, which is m ore frequently used for charcoal andpastel

When y ou open them , they lie flat, which m akes them a m uch easiersurface for drawing.

called a triangle ruler, which will allow y ou to draw straight lines Iprefer the triangle to a traditional ruler It’s less cum bersom e and can

be rotated quickly into place, whereas a ruler’s length gets a bitunwieldy when drawing short, straight lines in tight spaces

“wish list.” This is the only tool that could be considered a realexpense—but even this is not outrageous Light boxes run from $50 toover $100 It’s essentially a box with lights inside that shine through atranslucent plastic cover, which the artist draws on Here’s how itworks:

An artist places a rough sketch on top of the light box and thenplaces a clean sheet of paper on top of the rough sketch Light shinesthrough the transluscent plastic top of the light box, allowing the artist

to clearly see the im age of the rough sketch through the clean sheet

of paper The artist traces over the rough sketch onto the clean sheet

of paper, being careful to om it the unwanted sketchy lines The finalresult is a tight, clean, finished drawing

If y ou do purchase a light box, m ake sure it’s large enough so that itallows y ou a com fortable am ount of space for drawing You don’twant to feel cram ped into a tiny area with sm all dim ensions

slightly different tone By vary ing the pressure y ou apply to thepencil, y ou can get a variety of gray s All of the shades presented onthis tone wheel were m ade by the sam e HB pencil sim ply bypressing lighter or harder.

Artists use shading for several reasons: It softens an im age’sappearance, it m akes an im age look solid, and it adds variety

1 White obj ects tend to look as if they were com ing forward in thepicture Darker obj ects, on the other hand, tend to appear to bereceding

2 A slight gray tone around the edges softens an im age This is alsoused to give edges a rounded look

3 Light gray, or “soft gray,” is used to depict any thing from skin tothe sky It’s versatile but also subtle Not a good choice if y ou need to

m ake an im pact

4 This is y our standard gray tone

5 Dark gray is som etim es used instead of black; it’s excellent for darkshadows

6 True black is a great look, but it is also a total com m itm ent And

all the way to black.

drawing, avoid visual m onotony, and create a greater degree ofrealism

BANANA

bring a drawing to life.

EDG E OF SCOOP

A dark tone with noticeable shine creates a liquid effect.

CHOCOLATE SCOOP

CHERRY

WHIPPED CREAM

A thin line with a light pencil can create a fluffy effect This is a good technique for adding clouds to a background.

beginning artist The truth is, alm ost all subj ects are m ade up ofshapes as basic as a square or an oval Som etim es these foundationsare called “hidden shapes,” because the viewer doesn’t even realizethat the entire im age is built upon them Once y ou learn to recognizethe basic shapes that are hidden in sim ple and m ore com plex im ages,drawing becom es m uch, m uch easier The key is to build onto thosesim ple shapes in an orderly, step-by -step m anner Why is it easier todraw a subj ect if we first base it on a sim ple shape? Because basicshapes are easy to draw—therefore, even our com plicated drawingswill have sim ple foundations.

Oval

Rectangle

Cylinder

shapes constitute the foundations of each form Using the hidden,basic shapes as y our starting point is m uch easier than starting withthe details.

Hidden shapes are not alway s readily apparent, hence “hidden.”

In fact, som etim es, y ou m ay have to invent a shape in order to give

y ourself a workable starting point for y our drawing In those cases,perhaps a lopsided oval will fit the subj ect m atter better than aperfectly form ed one, or a rounded square or a figure eight

WOMAN’S HAT

This obj ect is based on two ovals of differing sizes Starting with ovalssim plifies the artist’s j ob and m akes it easier to keep the hat

sy m m etrical

This is a set of ovals within ovals, connected by vertical lines If y oukeep the ovals evenly spaced between each other, y ou will end upwith a coffee m ug that looks accurate.

The hidden shape in this loaf of bread is a rectangle.

Getting the three-dim ensionality of this obj ect m ight seem difficult atfirst, but the trick is drawing the foundation rectangles at an angle.Then j ust add a triangle at the top, adj oined by a square within asquare.

This looks like a com plicated obj ect, but the foundation is still a basicshape The circle is the nexus of the form , with a cy linder andelongated pear shape attached.

Starting with a sim ple cy linder, add a bowl shape to each end.Visualizing each com ponent of a com plex obj ect as sim ple shapeswill help y ou when y ou begin drawing.

shapes, y ou’re ready to m ove on to subj ects that require custom

-m ade shapes for their foundations Often what works best is a shapebased on an approxim ation of the obj ect itself, onto which m oredetails are added

Organic shapes are round and curved, instead of clear-cutgeom etric shapes When drawing obj ects based on organic shapes,allow y ourself the freedom to redraw and to use y our eraser Check

y our critical voice at the door This is the tim e to learn, not to

self-j udge

WOMAN’S SHOE

A wom an’s shoe ty pically features subtly curved lines j uxtaposedagainst straight lines A side view presents the easiest angle fromwhich to begin With the side view, y our concern isn’t to create theillusion of depth but instead to create a dy nam ic outline with flowinglines

im portant, they are parallel to each other.

1 Pay careful attention to getting the “fold-over” line correct Roundoff the end; don’t leave a square corner

2 Draw the fold-over line as a narrow double line, which will conveythe thickness of the sides

the purse the appearance of a solid form

2 Indent where the stitched pattern intersects with the outline of thepurse

3 Once y ou have the basic shape of the clutch, y ou can add detailslike a decorative clasp and a diagonal stitch pattern

FASHIONABLE PURSE

Som e shapes are iconic An iconic shape is one that the viewerinstantly recognizes as a particular obj ect Your goal is to establishthe concept shape as early as possible, before adding in the details.This unique shape is quickly identified as a wom an’s purse, evenwithout any details filled in

Keep the flap rounded, not pointed.

2 The base of the purse is drawn at a diagonal

along the edges Rem em ber to reflect this thickness in the cover, aswell.

2 Draw two straps down the front of the purse Be sure the straps aredrawn parallel to the sides of the purse (the vertical lines on eitherend)

one, rather than starting and stopping It helps with placem ent and ishow professional artists sketch.

2 To add decorative buckles, y ou first need to add guidelines to m akesure that they line up evenly Draw two even sketch lines, parallel to

leopard spots, or whatever stylish accents you wish.

decorative containers, like vases and pitchers Draw horizontal ovals,parallel to the bottom of the page These ovals should be wide enough

to m ake contact with the outline of the vase on both sides Using thissim ple technique keeps both sides even and also helps y ou envisionthe depth and roundness of the obj ect y ou’re drawing To practicethis concept, y ou’ll start by drawing a sim ple vase

2 First oval at narrow point of body

3 Second oval at widest point of body

4 Third oval at base of vase

5 Stand

The ovals must be perfectly horizontal to keep the bulges on both sides

of the object at an even level.

contour of the vase Since the form is curved, the paint will travel in a rounded trajectory, as indicated by the arrows This effect will have the added benefit of reinforcing the illusion of your drawing having three dimensions.

direction, the result is sweeping, elegant lines This technique is called

reverse curves, and it is used to create m any graceful subj ects, from

still life subj ects to hum an figures

Here, the reverse curves mirror each other, creating a symmetrical look.

rather than sticking it on abruptly Note how the handle thickens as it descends.

few different ty pes of containers You can re-create these exam plesexactly or use them as a springboard for y our own designs.

—and even sm aller obj ects such as books, fram es, or j ewelry boxes

—y ou need to have a basic understanding of how perspective works.Otherwise, obj ects tend to look unconvincing and prim itive Thereality is that perspective affects m ost things we draw It’s only a

m atter of degree Even the hum an figure is affected by perspective

So y ou really can’t avoid it But once y ou see how perspectiveenhances y our ability to draw, why would y ou want to?

The ovals are still at work here to keep our drawing sy m m etrical—used as guidelines to create the top and bottom of the lam pshade andthe top and bottom of the base However, perspective will now force

us to alter the way we draw the ovals

The body of the lam p is based on a cone that’s been chopped off

on the top The lam pshade and the base are both fashioned aftercones, too