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Author: Todd_"coyote"_Cooper, Contributing Editor
| For the past year I have been the art editor, writing "The Art Page" for our local monthly newspaper, "The Mountain Yodeler". I generally do a story about a local artist, print a drawing in the "Young Artist Corner" by a kid under 18, and write a basic how-to-draw column called "Draw What You See".
My deadline for the art page is the 15th of each month, so I usually start thinking about what I’m going to write on the 14th, frantically calling local artists trying to put together an interview, and by 11PM on the 15th I’m wracking my brain for some little drawing tip to write about, scribbling out a simple sketch to illustrate my point. These scribbles and scraps of knowledge are what I present here. I certainly do not consider myself a great artist, but I have managed to make a decent living with my art for about 30 years. I have picked up a few tips along the way from teachers, books, observation, research, and interaction with other artists...not the least of which are here on WetCanvas! I was reluctant to publish reprints of “Draw what you see” on a website full of artists because these articles are very short and rudimentary; but I think that if they are taken in the spirit in which they were intended, they may be of some help to folks just beginning their artistic journey, and you never know where you might pick up a tip you can use. These articles are short and have little or no continuity from one month to the next. I'll place a topic heading before each one, so you don’t think “Hey, that has nothing to do with what you were just saying!” If any of these concepts pique your interest, be sure to do a search of the topic either here at WC! or elsewhere, and explore it in greater depth. |
| Basic Shapes
One of the main goals and challenges of drawing is to give the illusion of three dimensions, using a two dimensional medium. The dimensions we have to work with are height and width. What we need to simulate is depth. If we take the basic two-dimensional shapes the circle, rectangle and triangle and extend them into three dimensions, we have the shapes that make up all elements of the objects we want to draw. These building blocks of drawing are the sphere, the cube, the cylinder and the cone. It may not be readily apparent that these shapes are present when we look at natural objects, because there is usually a blending of one shape into another, even in a simple object. |
 | For example, this bucket shape can be seen as a cylinder or a cone...it doesn’t really matter what you call it as long as you’re aware of the basic shapes involved and how those shapes can be rendered effectively. |
| We simulate depth through the understanding and use of visual principles such as perspective, tonal quality, and shading. Let’s start with shading.
Shading is a result of light hitting an object, so the first thing to do is determine where the light is coming from. Once the direction of light is established, it is important to keep the source and direction consistent throughout the drawing. In this example, we will use a sphere and establish the light source as being from the upper right. The point where the light actually hits the sphere is called the highlight. The direct opposite of the highlight is the core shadow. In this case, the sphere is resting on a surface, so there will be light reflected from that surface back onto the sphere. The area where the sphere blocks light from hitting the surface is the cast shadow. Put it all together, and it looks like the illustration to the right. Notice that the core shadow follows the contour of the object and the cast shadow follows the contour of the surface that it falls on. The most important concept I can try to impart is this: Draw what you SEE...not what you think you should see. |  |
| Gesture
Drawing what you see. It seems like an obvious and simple thing to do, but all too often we draw what we think we see. The logical side of the brain always wants to be in charge, and can hinder the eye and hand from their creative purpose. Even when drawing from the imagination, rather than from a model or reference picture, it is important to have a reliable memory of what something looks like, drawing what you see in your mind’s eye. Having this reliable memory of images can only happen through much practice at drawing from real life, years of practice, a lifetime of practice. The importance of sketching is essential to artists of all levels. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will concentrate on the human figure. The best thing to draw from is a live model. Friends and family are good for this, if you can get them to sit still. You could use a mirror and draw yourself, or use a reference photo, which is usually most convenient as it is always available and does not move or change. Our drawing will progress in a logical sequence, each step building on and refining the previous step. The first step is the gesture. |
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