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Knowing where to start
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Message
Posted
I began backwards. I purchased a lot of supplies, (particularly coloured pencils and watercolour paints), but soon realised that I could only 'copy' images that I downloaded or photographed myself. And not very well either.
It has just started to dawn on me that I am going to have to learn to draw to get a good foundation. Something I have never been good at.
I guess what I am asking is where do I start at the simplest point.
I would be grateful for any suggestions and am feeling quite excited about beginning this new journey.
Thank you.
Posted
Marcus - just scribble, scrabble, draw, scratch, sketch - get your pencils, graphite, charcoal, carbon, make mark, on whatever paper you choose.
Get yourself a Daler-Rowney A4 sketching pad, attack it with Mars Lumograph pencil, Wolff's carbon pencils, charcoal pencils, coloured pencils, crayons; remember when you were a kid. and someone gave you a sketch pad and coloured pencils? Get back to that feeling - just play with your materials. You might well ruin a few sketchbooks that way (or might not, of course) but then you can move on - add ink, chalk, conté crayon, charcoal, add water, wax, whatever the hell you like. Play with materials - you can get serious with them later: but do enjoy yourself first. Just don't take yourself at all seriously -- say I'm not important; this doesn't matter; I'm just mucking about - lose your fear!
Edited
by Robert Jones, NAPA
Posted
All of the above… You may find that a more structured drawing course will help you to get started.
There’s the more advanced courses but have a look at the basic courses for beginners… there are lots of books available and this one sounds interesting… probably not an actual course, but definitely worth a look!
It’s only a few quid from Amazon and will point you in the right direction… hopefully!
Hazel Harrison
The Encyclopedia of Drawing Techniques:
Edited
by Alan Bickley
Posted
Hi Marcus. The suggestions so far are good! I have had no formal drawing classes but I attended a very informal art class learning about watercolours and as part of that had advice on sketching. I was pretty rubbish at that time but I am reasonably competent now. My advice is to just sit down and just have a go with what you see and keep doing it every day. That was how I mastered it and I have had great fun along the way! We have a thread on the forum April sketch a day why not join in and if you want advice on what you are drawing then I am sure members would encourage you. So good luck and have fun!
Posted
Such good advice. One thing I might add is don't copy other people's photographs . Take your own and use them or better still sit in front of whatever you want to draw. Set up a still life... look,look and look again.
Then enjoy. Also there is a wealth of videos out there giving a whole lot of practical advice.
Giving excellent practical sdvice.
Edited
by Sylvia Evans
Posted
Hi Marcus. Buying unneeded art supplies is my secret vice, you are not alone!
There is a YouTube channel called draw awesome by Phil Davies which you may find helpful. I like the enveloping method but you need to find a method or a combination of methods that suits you. Sometimes it's the simplest things that help. I can't tell you how much difference it made when I first put the paper upright instead of flat. The commonest pitfall is adding detail too soon. Just use simple shapes to get things in the right place first.
Posted
I began backwards. I purchased a lot of supplies, (particularly coloured pencils and watercolour paints), but soon realised that I could only 'copy' images that I downloaded or photographed myself. And not very well either. It has just started to dawn on me that I am going to have to learn to draw to get a good foundation. Something I have never been good at. I guess what I am asking is where do I start at the simplest point. I would be grateful for any suggestions and am feeling quite excited about beginning this new journey. Thank you.Drawing is the foundation of (nearly) all art. Practice drawing squares, cubes, triangles, circles, etc, especially circles. Practice shading the circle to make it look like a sphere. Try different kinds of shading - full shading, straight lines, cross hatching, etc. Once you can do reasonably well at that progress to mountains, trees, faces, etc. I'm self taught but drew a lot as a boy (dinosaurs, mainly) and it has stood me in good stead. Art is for everyone, so take heart and practice.