Anyone can learn how to draw.
In fact, anyone can learn how to draw exceptionally well.
If you have the desire to draw well, then you can go for it.
Because drawing is a skill, anyone can learn it.
Many people want to be able to draw but never pursue it because they make excuses.
They may say, "I don't have talent".
Talent is a myth, and saying that you don't have talent is an excuse.
You will not be able to draw well overnight.
Having the ability to draw well comes after a lot of practice.
It's just like playing an instrument.
You must practice anything that you want to become good at.
In this article, I want to share with you three secrets to drawing well.
These are really not secrets, but are basic principles to drawing that successful artists apply.
#1- Drawing is at least 50% observation- Drawing realistically is actually more about seeing than it is about anything else.
In order to draw an object representationally, you must look at it.
I see a lot of artists that try to draw something realistically without looking at the subject.
Most of the time, they become frustrated that their drawings do not look like what they were trying to draw.
This is simply because they failed to look at the object.
Learning to look is a skill in itself.
Pay attention to the lines, the values, and the form of what you are trying to draw.
You cannot take a photo of an object without pointing the camera at it.
Therefore, you cannot draw an object accurately without looking at it.
#2- You can draw anything by breaking it down into shapes- Every object can be broken down into basic shapes.
Circles, rectangles, and triangles can be found in every object.
By noticing these basic shapes and putting them together, you can actually build the structure of the object you are drawing.
Instead of drawing the outlines of the object, try drawing the shapes lightly to define the form of your object first.
Try not to think about what you are drawing, instead focus only on the shapes that you are seeing.
Approaching a drawing in this way, will increase both your speed and accuracy.
#3- Make sure you have a full range of value- Value is one of the seven elements of art.
Value is defined as the darkness or lightness of a color.
Value is actually how we see objects.
Light hits an object and creates highlights and shadows.
This tells us where the light is originating from and defines the form of the object.
We see because of light.
Value defines the light in a drawing.
I often see students draw with a weak range of value.
In other words, they may only use midtones to create their drawings or they make their drawings too light.
In order to accurately represent the objects that you draw, you must create a full range of value.
To help you make sure that you have a full range of value, create a value scale.
Begin by making seven boxes.
In the first box, color it in as dark as you can make it.
In the next box, color it in very dark, but not as dark as the first box.
Keep repeating this across the rest of the boxes, getting progressively lighter as you go.
The last box should be completely white.
Use your value scale to evaluate your use of value in your drawing.
Look at drawings that are successful and compare your value scale to them.
I bet they have a full range of value.