Chapters
Admit it: you've always harboured a touch of jealousy for the colleague who can whip out a pen and ink drawing without so much as sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, haven't you?
Don't worry, we won't tell anyone.
Wasn't it you, standing gaped-jawed at the sidewalk artist who was covering the pavement with chalk drawings of rainbows and butterflies?
Don't you generally have an affinity for things of beauty?
In spite of the hours spent lingering at the fine art museum, you've never quite dared to pick up a charcoal or a colored pencil – at least not to draw more than a doodle or frieze.
Why not? It is never too late to learn how to draw!
Besides the feeling of satisfaction in knowing that you can render beauty with a few strokes of a pencil or paint brush, learning how to draw offers amazing health benefits.
The only negative quality of art is negative space, so stop being so negative about your artistic abilities! There are many reasons for learning to draw, and all will help you advance as a person.
After just a few art lessons, you too could draw more than stick figures and awkward cartoons.
It is of no use to say that you don't have the talent for it. We know that drawing is not everyone's innate talent.
On the other hand, the technical aspects of art can be learned very quickly. Once you have technique, artistic license won't be far behind!
We do warn that you may not be satisfied with your first sketches.
Conversely, you may surprise yourself with the deftness of your strokes and you ability to contour; the end result being that you have found a new brand of happiness!
Are you ready to stock up on Derwent pencils now?
Let us discover together how entrancing and downright addicting drawing can be, and how it can contribute to your well-being as well as your joie de vivre.
Looking for a drawing class London? You can hire a private tutor to help you improve your drawing skills.
Drawing Your Disconnect
Technology is a double-edged sword: who could live without the Internet or computer applications?
To say nothing of the new level of safety in having a mobile, to call someone when you're in a pinch.
Unfortunately, people spend so much time glued to their screen: social media, streaming video, chatting with friends...
and we haven't even mentioned what this hyper-connectedness does to our professional selves.
Are you one who answers client emails at all hours?
Check out these statistics:
- Sales of video games have far outstripped DVDs and music CDs. That would be something to think about with the holiday season right around the corner
- The average person consults his smartphone more than 200 times a day
- Britons use their household computers an average of 4 hours per day
- the same study revealed that nearly every business in the UK uses computers, even at entry level
- The average British person spends approximately 3 hours per day in front of the telly.
What do you think of those numbers?
Are you an explorer of the virtual world? In other words: do you like gaming?
Are you wondering: with virtual conquests to be had by pushing a few buttons, why would anyone want to learn how to draw?
How to you think those graphics have come into being?
Why not ponder that question while enjoying the stimulating, productive atmosphere of an art class, where you might learn to produce such scenery.
Lose Yourself in the Moment by Capturing it
While we are not going to get back on the Smartphone bashing bandwagon; this segment's header is not meant to encourage taking more selfies.
We will, however, enjoin that, when not focused on your hand-held's screen, you will start to notice the world around you.
The colours that splash across the canvas of your life: reds of buses contrast against the black of pavement.
And the eye-catching adverts on the sides of said buses!
The child in a pink coat, animatedly discussing her cat with her mum.
Wouldn't you like to draw a cat? Or draw a child?
Any scene can fit into your sketchbook: the multitude of expressions the human face can convey, the variegated dappling of sun on leaves, flowers, sparkling glass...
Everyone at the bus stop is inadvertently striking a pose.
Wouldn't you like to learn figure drawing, so that you can draw people in the course of their everyday life?
By partaking of art instruction, you could then render any scene, any way:
- landscapes in watercolor
- still lifes in acrylics
- a pencil portrait in charcoal
- caricatures and cartoons in Conté crayons
The possibilities are endless!
All you would need to do is keep your sketch pad handy and, when something catches your eye, you could sketch it using simple lines and geometric forms by applying math to drawing; then flesh out your drawing with light and shadow later.
How many times can you sketch your baby's sleeping form before it would be considered obsessive?
Read on to find out what you can do, drawing and painting the same subject, over time.
Discover the available drawing lessons online here.
Your Sketchbook is an Album
When you first learn how to draw a human figure, your pencil strokes might be tentative, marred a lot of erasing.
Possibly with a lot of lines gouged into the paper from using the wrong type of pencil; lines that fill in darker than the shadows around it...
We, and your art teacher urge you: do not discard those early efforts!
Keeping your every drawing and painting reveals the evolution of your drawing techniques, from your first, hesitant outline through more complex pencil drawings, onto three point perspectives.
Retaining testimony of your progression in drawing skills will serve as inspiration when you inevitably plateau – when your drawing lessons don't seem to yield much progress in achieving proper light and shadow effects.
Perhaps the best part of recording your life in sketches is that it shows your personal development, the more art classes you take.
Your choice of colours and medium: what drawing tools have you selected, over time?
How realistic is your drawing, and will you ever learn how to draw a rose realistically?
What about the most pervasive aspect of art that few people mention: what was your mood when you drew that caricature of your boss?
We could go on and on about the many facets of creating art – from drawing materials to mood, and it would all serve to encourage you to seek out drawing tutorials or learn drawing online.
Speaking of online, have you ever thought of becoming a graphic artist?
Develop Creativity Through Realistic Drawing
Sounds oxymoronic, doesn't it?
The philosophy might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. Although you are drawing real things – for example, if you love to draw animals, you can make them fantastic by endowing them with unusual features.
A blue heron, suddenly turned flaming pink? A Hereford cow, dappled green, munching on purple grass?
Those are extraordinary examples of how you can benefit from the absurd by expressing it in art.
This idea begs the question: was Picasso expressing the absurd with his Cubist movement, or did he really see the world that way?
Why not emulate that great master by:
- letting your imagination run wild
- developing your creativity
- opening your spirit up to artistic adventure
- building your confidence as an artist
By going to art school, you will invariably learn to let go of inhibitions and see the world around you as nothing but poses to draw and paint.
The first step in achieving this level of artistic freedom is to focus inward.
Creativity is not learned, but cultivated. Everyone has the potential to be creative.
The difference between artists and those who do not routinely wield a drawing pencil is their approach to art, their perception of reality, their sensibility, and their mindset.
The advantage of drawing instruction for pleasure is that it removes any obstacle to creativity.
Creativity comes from creating.
We started this segment with an oxymoron; why not close it with a seeming paradox?
In fact, drawing works the right side of the brain, stimulating creativity.
The more your engagement in creative endeavours, the more limitless your possibilities for creation are.
How Else can a Drawing Tutorial Help You?
At the very least, learning basic drawing is a good way to develop your feel for art.
What other benefit can you derive from sketching, shading and understanding proportion in the human form?
Believe it or not, plying art in any form but especially by drawing, is good for your (physical and mental) health.
Check out Alain de Botton's book: Art as Therapy!
Here is a brief look at some of the ways the artist benefits from drawing art:
Enhanced Fine Motor Skills
Drawing is recommended for young children as well as the elderly, to stimulate their motor skills and cognitive functions.
In general, drawing helps cultivate hand-eye coordination. Specifically, step by step drawing teaches coordination and attention to detail.
No need to worry if your tot doesn't get proportion just right. It is perfectly acceptable that the heads in the family portrait he draws are larger than the bodies.
It is all a part of learning to draw, and it is best to start young!
Improved Concentration
If you have an elderly person whose occasional fogginess troubles you, s/he might well be able to increase focus during drawing classes.
Furthermore, art therapy is often used to help people who are autistic or children diagnosed with hyperactivity to develop their ability to concentrate.
Learning How to Draw can Lift Your Mood
By its very nature, drawing helps to reduce the stress and anxiety of everyday life.
Doodling alone serves to clear negative thoughts that could otherwise ruin your day.
Maybe that is why sales of adult coloring books and other art materials have been skyrocketing in recent years!
Are you ready to claim these benefits for yourself?
All you need to do is take an art lesson or even painting lessons, if you already know how to sketch.
Practice your shading techniques with charcoal pencils, or blending with your colored pencils. Learn how to draw eyes, how to draw hands... how to draw anything!
Have pencil and paper, will draw!
This is your license to go beyond the basics: learn how to become the illustrator you have always wanted to be.
Find great courses on drawing here on Superprof.
The platform that connects tutors and students
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