Learning to draw from scratch. Learning to draw from scratch

Through drawing, a person can learn to express his thoughts on paper and fully unleash his creative potential. Naturally, an unconditional artistic gift is a rare phenomenon. Much more often, in order to learn to draw, you only need to have the ability to do this activity, which you can easily develop in yourself. We will talk further about how to learn to draw from scratch.

How to learn to draw from scratch: stages of self-development

In order to learn how to draw from scratch, it is extremely important to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of fine art, as well as begin learning in stages: from easy to complex. The tips below will help beginning artists competently organize the self-learning process. So, in order to learn how to draw, you should:

Read a drawing textbook that explains in an accessible form what composition, perspective, contrast, reflex, etc. are. The textbook should be intended specifically for beginners in drawing, and not for experts, since, in the second case, it may miss the main points. It is advisable that this be a self-teaching textbook containing exercises.
Practice constantly. To achieve any visible results in the art of drawing, constant practice is necessary. You need to draw often, at any time convenient for this. To do this, you need to carry a small notebook with you, allowing you to make quick sketches in any conditions.
Make drawings using various techniques: lines of different thicknesses, filled in silhouettes, drawing the main details. When making sketches, you should remember that they are done quickly - you should not work on them for a long time, carefully correcting the shortcomings. The purpose of sketches is to “capture” the most important things in nature. Unsuccessful works should not be erased; it is better to save them for later comparison with other sketches and evaluate your success.
Learn to sketch. Copying someone else's work is good practice for drawing skills. For copying, it is best to choose the work of a real artist, but not too difficult to copy.
Develop your imagination. To do this, you need to learn to create images mentally, for example, learn to draw from memory, or try to draw something based on a verbal description (for example, draw a portrait based on a description of a person’s appearance from a book). You can read more about how to draw portraits in the article. It is equally important to simply draw what you want: be it an illustration for a literary work you’ve read, a decorative pattern, or simply an abstraction expressing your mood.
Draw, observing the rules of perspective, shading, correct display of light, shadow, penumbra, and highlights in the drawing. In this case, there is no need to rush. Detailed drawing of an educational still life can take more than one day.
Consult professional artists. It is very useful to show your work to a person with professional art education and listen to his advice.

Naturally, it’s not enough to know how to learn to draw from scratch. In order to do this, you must have a great desire to learn how to draw and hard work.

Do you like indoor flowers? Then watch short videos of blooming anthuriums, hibiscus and other house flowers.

Learn to draw cartoon characters

Animal drawing lessons

Pet drawing lessons

Pencil drawing lessons for birds

Nature drawing lessons

Let's draw the mushroom step by step, first with a simple pencil. At the last step, you can color the picture of the mushroom with paints or colored pencils, and if you draw leaves and grass next to it, the picture of the mushroom will be very beautiful and attractive.

To begin with, remember that a rose consists of petals adjacent to each other. This is the biggest difficulty in drawing this flower. To make the rose flower look more realistic, also draw a rose stem with leaves.

It is better to draw flowers with paints; a black and white drawing of flowers cannot convey all the beauty of flowers. In this lesson we will learn how to draw flowers in a bouquet step by step with a simple pencil.

To draw a picture of a snowflake, in addition to a pencil, you definitely need a ruler. Any snowflake drawing has the correct geometric shape and therefore it is better to draw with a ruler.

It is better to paint a butterfly, just like flowers. But first, draw a butterfly step by step with a simple pencil.

Many beginners don’t know where to start learning to draw. The Internet is full of open source materials that are confusing. People also tend to have a fear of failure and doubt about their talent. Today, based on my own experience, I will tell you how to learn to draw from scratch.

First of all, I must say that it is never too late to start drawing; there are many successful and talented artists who first picked up a brush in adulthood. Of course, it is easier to teach children anything, including drawing. But, if in your childhood your acquaintance with painting was limited to art lessons in the third grade, then it doesn’t matter! You can start in your 20s, 30s or 50s.

But where to start?

Drawing is a creative and quite labor-intensive process, so don’t expect masterpieces from yourself in the second lesson, but be patient.

First step- drawing from pictures, photos, video lessons. Yes, this is not exactly what they do in art schools, and yes, you will not study the basics of academic drawing, since doing it yourself without the help of professional teachers is almost impossible, and it is not necessary. Your hand is completely unaccustomed to a pencil; you do not yet know the proportions and shapes of objects. Sketching various objects from a photo will help you get better and understand the construction of objects.

To successfully pass this stage, you need to forget what exactly you are drawing. If there is a chair in front of you in the picture, do not think that you are drawing a chair, but simply copy the lines and shadows. Thus, your right hemisphere will turn on, which you now need much more than the left. And also, don’t try to finish the painting in one sitting; take breaks while working. When your drawings have become more or less “edible”, you can move on to drawing by, where you draw in parallel with the video.

Second phase- sketches from life. You are not yet ready for large-scale work with nature, but start sketching, drawing everything you see around you. Pay attention to the proportions of the object and its location in space. Yes, you are not doing very well yet, but look at your first works. You will definitely see progress! In parallel with sketches, continue drawing from pictures, photos and video lessons. In principle, this is the beginning, nothing complicated, just work and patience.

Now let's look at it 6 main mistakes, which beginners often make.

Buying too expensive materials. This is how psychology works: on paper, for 3,000 rubles, you are supposedly obligated to do something worthwhile and you have no right to make a mistake. This completely natural attitude creates a fear of drawing, so we don’t buy the entire assortment of the art store.
Painful perception of criticism. Most likely, you will post your work on social media. network, where you will find a million evil critics, but don’t take anyone’s words to heart. Pay attention only to constructive criticism on the matter, and ignore insults and unpleasant statements about your work.
The desire to embrace the immensity. Yes, I understand that you already want to draw views of your native village or a portrait of your beloved brother, but don’t rush. By taking on things that are too difficult for you, you will only become frustrated and disappointed in your capabilities. Everything has its time.
Reading books on drawing. It seems like what bad things can books contain? If you have just started learning to draw, then you do not yet have the knowledge base for all these books on color perception or anatomy to help you. These books are intended for students of art academies, and not for beginners.
Rare or irregular drawing. Everything here is the same as in sports, in 10 minutes a day you will not achieve anything, draw at least 1-2 hours a day. And if you stop drawing for a week or a month, you will lose your shape and feel how unruly your fingers have become.
Fear of new materials. In the initial stages of drawing, your main material will be a simple pencil, but do not be afraid to draw with pens, paints, markers, etc. If the opportunity to work with any new material is presented, do not pass it up.

Create, work hard and everything will definitely work out.

About a year ago I set out to find a hobby for my soul. It all started with the theater, but it lasted me exactly three months. Then I signed up for a one-month introductory drawing course. And away we go, I quickly remembered why, as a child, I drew princesses until the night.

True, my hook hands didn’t want to draw what I needed, so I decided to take a more serious course in oil painting. Just in time for its completion, I discovered the watercolor works of Veronica Kalacheva and realized that... We must start with the basics and first learn how to construct a drawing correctly, and only then work with color.

Of course, you can always copy and color other people's work, but imagine how great it is to embody your fantasies or images on paper! In this matter, without knowledge of academic drawing, which I, of course, did not have, there is no way. To obtain them, the most effective way is to attend an art school, but what a blessing that there is the Internet! After rummaging around on the Internet for several nights, I found something that will help you become a real creator if you adhere to the main rule - practice a lot, a lot.

Although I'm not a fan of Anna's style of work, her lessons have everything you need to learn from scratch: what tools you'll need, how to attach paper to a tablet, how to do shading and toning a drawing. Anna also talks about how to correctly redraw objects and paint with the same watercolors.

Lessons based on the book of the same name, of course, will not work miracles - to learn how to draw professionally, it will take much more than a month or even a year. However, as already mentioned, the main thing is practice, so these lessons, which give a general idea of building a drawing, will not be superfluous. If you feel progress or desire to go into a specific style, on the same site you can find a guide to drawing with colored pencils, letters in 3D and zentangle.

In this group you will find step-by-step lessons on drawing various figures depending on your level of preparation. The most difficult lessons are suitable only for professional artists, but even beginners can master simpler figures.

Useful materials for beginners - from how to draw specific objects to basic shading training.

Drawing school website, where you can find a lot of good materials on basic topics: “How to hold a pencil”, “How to draw a ball”, “Possibilities of a simple pencil”, etc. Upon request, the author of the site will also share with you the secret of how to sell your work when you become awesome.

Just don’t be scared by the design of these sites; I also find it strange why artists have their “virtual face” made in such an unremarkable style. You can also use Youtube to learn, there are many detailed lessons on drawing specific objects, people, body parts and landscapes. In the meantime, here are a few works for inspiration, done in pencil. I think it's great!

First, a little theory. It may probably seem that theory is not very important, but studying theory is one of the main stages in the development of artists. To learn how to draw realistic sketches, you need to know the nine basic laws of drawing:

1. Perspective: those figures that are closer seem large, and those that are far away seem small.

2. Position: those figures that are located lower on the sheet, they visually seem closer.

3. Dimensions: the larger the figure is drawn, the closer it will appear.

4. Overlap: the object that is drawn in front of another object visually appears closer

5. Shadow: the plane on which the figure is located should be darker on the opposite side than the light source.

6. Fill: that part of the figure that will be located on the other side of the source from which the light will come, this part should be the darkest in order to produce the effect of depth.

7. Contour lines: in order to draw round shapes, you need to draw contour lines.

8. Horizon line: you need to draw a horizon line to draw a three-dimensional image.

9. Distance: to create an imitation of the distance between figures, distant figures need to be depicted a little lighter and drawn less clearly.

Without following these laws, you will not be able to draw a picture. Knowledge of the nine basic laws of drawing is the basis for successful learning to draw. The more often you draw and apply these laws, the sooner you will begin to remember them, and it will become increasingly easier to use them and apply them in practice.

Important Principles

The next step after learning the basic laws of drawing is to know the three tricks that you should always remember: attitude, detail and practice.

1. Mood: in order to tune in to positive work, you need to convince yourself that you are ready and say that everything is within your power! Only with positive thoughts can you learn and apply new artistic skills.

2. Details: adding different details makes the drawing more alive, and if you try to add something new, perhaps the drawing will turn out much more unusual.

3. Practice: in order to master perfectly the skills that you have learned, these skills must be used every day at work to consolidate them.

Training these principles is very important for developing artistic skills.

Tools

The next stage is the selection of the necessary drawing tools; they should be convenient and practical:

1. You will need a notebook or album. Although any paper can be used to start drawing, it can be plain white or it can be tinted, thin or thick. If you decide to use special paper, you will certainly be able to achieve much better results than with plain paper. It is important to know what raw materials the drawing paper is made from. Paper tester, test grain size has
greater value.

There are two types of paper, fine grain paper and coarse grain paper. If you take fine-grained paper, then this type of paper will be suitable for any type of drawing, but coarse-grained paper is suitable for writing on it with watercolors. The artist himself chooses to draw on coarse-grained or fine-grained paper. Premium grade paper is marked with a watermark in the corner.

2. School pencils, which have four degrees of hardness: No. 1 - 2B, No. 2-B, No. 3-H, and No. 4 - 2H, are perfect for drawing sketches. In order to get good drawings, it is better to use pencils numbered 2 and 3. If you are serious about learning, it would be better to buy a complete set of top quality drawing pencils. There are 19 degrees of hardness: H - hard, HB and F - medium hard, B - soft.

3. Calendar and planning – one of the most important stages. In order to achieve good results in the future, you need to draw for at least twenty minutes every day. So for this you will need to create an action plan and constantly monitor the implementation of the plan.

Drawing stages

First step

First, you will need to take your pencil and calendar - now you will need to create a schedule for the lessons that you will do throughout the week. Of course, you need to take into account that there are other activities besides drawing, so even these twenty minutes can be divided and made into two 10-minute classes.

To achieve success, you need to work hard every day, acquire new skills, learn techniques, and look at the works of famous artists for inspiration. After just a month of hard work, results will be visible.

Second step

The most important thing is to just sit down at the table and start drawing! When you sit down at the table, you will need to take a deep breath, and then you need to smile. Then take a piece of paper and put it in front of you and now try to draw.

Now you need to check yourself. First you will need to draw a few objects. You need to relax! You must also understand that you are doing this for yourself, and only you can draw this picture. It is necessary that you now draw just such a drawing, which will then help you improve your skills in the future. But even if you feel lazy or just don’t want to draw this part of the picture, you will definitely have to force yourself to draw this moment of the picture. Then, by the end of the month, you yourself will understand that this was not done in vain!

Third step

Don't forget to show your work to more experienced artists, ask them for advice and listen carefully to their criticism, and then correct your mistakes. If you don't know any artists, there are many sites on the Internet where you can post your work and ask for advice.

Fourth step

Try different drawing techniques and choose the one that suits you best. If something doesn’t work out for you, don’t despair and try again, because you’re just learning and the skill will come with time.