Online drawing lessons for beginners. Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Free Videos for Home Study

If you want to learn how to draw beautifully in a matter of days, then you have come to the right place. Since this article will help even the most inexperienced beginner master drawing techniques and learn how to draw with a pencil yourself.

The main thing in the article

Basic rules for drawing with a pencil

To learn how to draw, you need to master this art step by step. As with any creation (work), in drawing there are certain rules, without knowing which, it will be very difficult to study this science. Let's get acquainted with the basic six rules of pencil drawing:

How to quickly learn to draw a person with a pencil?

Before you get started, you need to do some math. For the proportional appearance of a drawn person, the head is taken as a basis. Next, the remaining parts of the body are calculated. For a realistic picture, men take:

• from head to hips - size 2.5 heads;
• from hips to knee – 1.5 heads;
• from knees to heels - 2 heads.

For the image of a woman, the calculation changes slightly:

• from head to hips - size 2 heads;
• from hips to knee – 2 heads;
• from knees to heels – 2–2.5 heads.

The greatest attention is paid to the face, since there are many lines that need to be conveyed with the greatest accuracy. You should draw a face step by step, more detailed instructions for drawing you will find below.

How to learn to draw landscapes with a pencil?

Landscape is artistic genre fine art, the main subject of which is the depiction of the nature around us.

Let's take an example, How to draw landscapes with a pencil.


To get such a picture, you need to prepare a pencil and a white sheet of paper. Now we perform the following steps:

How to draw anime with a pencil?

Anime is a popular modern cartoon trend that not only teenagers, but also young artists have become hooked on. When drawing anime, you don't need to adhere to the classic rules of drawing a person. And this greatly simplifies the drawing process. The main elements in this drawing are the head, eyes and hair. And cartoon anime are drawn like this:

1. Initially, an oval of the head is drawn. It is divided in half with an even line, then the same oval is divided crosswise into three parts.
2. Now you need to mark where the nose, mouth and most importantly – large eyes will be.
3. Outline the eyes. There should be a distance of one eye between them. Start to draw big eyes from the arch of the upper eyelid. A peculiarity of the eyes of anime characters is the glare in the pupils, which is given a lot of attention.
4. There is only one requirement for an anime nose - it must be small. Mostly artists perform it in the form of a tick.
5. Eyebrows should be drawn above the large eyes. They are made in the classical style, in other words, these are two even arcs.
6. Lips on a cartoon face are drawn with two small lines connecting to each other.
7. As for the hair, it is drawn in triangular plates that fall chaotically and slightly cover the eyes.

How to learn to draw beautifully at home with a pencil?

The basic rule for drawing a house is use of straight lines. Thanks to them, the structure comes out stately and beautiful. Also, when drawing a house, you should maintain a certain technique:

• D They draw in the same way as they build - from the bottom up.
• The basis of the future house is an ordinary rectangle. It is done in straight lines.
• Mark the foundation, drawing it across the entire width of the house.
• Doors, windows, corners and other elements are outlined in straight lines.
• According to the standard, the roof is drawn in the form of a triangle. If desired, it can be modified. The roof is decorated with tiles, since this particular covering in the picture looks very impressive.
• Now pay attention to the details of the house. You need to draw windows, shutters, doorway, steps, porch, etc.
• Shade the drawing, remembering the basic rules of drawing.
• Place trees, flowers, and bushes around the house.

How to learn to easily draw animals with a simple pencil?

Drawing animals can be done not only with children. Lovely representatives of the fauna look great on canvas and are pleasing to the eye. So pick up a pencil and start drawing our amazing little friends.

How to draw a dog with a pencil?

Drawing a dog on paper is quite simple. The basis is:

• a circle that will act as a muzzle;
• oval - the body of a dog.

Afterwards the muzzle and paws are formed. All the details are applied and the dog is ready.

How to draw a horse with a pencil?

To draw a horse, the artist must have certain skills, since not everyone will be able to convey on paper all the power and pride of this animal. Below is step-by-step instruction which will help you cope with this task.



You can try to draw a simpler version, for example, a cartoon horse.

How to draw a cat with a pencil?

The cat is a favorite pet in many families, so it is not surprising that artists often depict this animal. Cats in different styles look equally beautiful, and they are drawn quite simply, and the diagrams below once again prove this.

How to learn to draw people's faces with a pencil: basic principles.

Let's return to the topic of drawing a person, or to be more precise, consider the basic principles and stages of drawing:

1. Initially draw an oval . It is divided into 4 parts by the axes of symmetry. The axes should converge in the center of the oval.
2. Now give an oval contour to the face. You should start from the chin, moving upward, drawing the cheekbone area and the temporal area. The lines need to be shaded with a piece of leaf. This will make the outline less heavy.
3. Using barely noticeable lines, divide the face into three identical parts across. The tip of the nose should be located on the bottom line.
4. The nose is drawn from the tip. Depending on the type, it can be round, square or pointed. Then we finish drawing the wings of the nose and the bridge of the nose.
5. Mouth start draw from a bend upper lip , located opposite the edge of the nose.
6. Since in a portrait the soul is conveyed through the eyes, we will dwell on this element of the portrait in more detail below.

How to learn to draw eyes well with a pencil?

Since the eyes in the portrait are given vital role, then maximum attention should be paid to drawing them. When drawing this part of the face, consider the following:

How to learn to draw cars with a pencil?

The car is drawn with a pencil according to the following plan:

• The external outlines of the car are indicated depending on the brand.
• The resulting template is divided in half.
• The body is indicated by bold lines.
• Then the wheels are drawn.
• Next, windows, doors, mirrors.
• The car parts are distributed (headlights, bumper, etc.).

How to draw clothing sketches beautifully with a pencil?

Many girls dream of becoming famous clothing designers since childhood. But without the skills of drawing clothing sketches, this is simply impossible.

A sketch is a vague drawing of a model that focuses on clothing, shoes, and accessories, leaving the silhouette of the person in the background.

Let's look at the basic rules for drawing clothes on models:

1. Attention to detail. For the integrity of the image, you need to pay attention to all the little things, not forgetting to draw accessories, ruffles, patterns on the fabric.
2. You should also take into account the density of the fabric, since it depends on how the item will fit on the model’s figure. Thick fabrics in the sketch look a little baggy, but light fabrics will flow around the figure.
3. Thoroughly draw folds on the fabric, curves of the figure, to convey the realism of the clothing as much as possible. Folds on clothes are also depicted in different ways. On thin fabrics they are intermittent and small, but on dense fabrics the folds are more wavy.
4. When coloring a picture pay special attention to the depicted print. Take into account the folds, how it can break.

It is difficult to see the nuances of the cut in sketches, so each model should be accompanied by a flat model of the item, so that by examining it, all the nuances for creating the model can be identified.

How to learn to draw flowers with a pencil?

Each flower is unique, and conveying all its beauty on canvas is not so easy. We suggest you consider below step by step diagrams drawing flowers.

Video: How to teach children to draw with a pencil

Pencil drawing lessons for beginners: video

Right-hemisphere pencil drawing lessons for adults

Mila Naumova
Author of the project,
professional teacher drawing,
painting and composition.
Author of books:
"About scribbles, or How to Become an Artist?"
"Learning to draw with a pencil" (PITER publishing house)
"A Drop of Courage"

Do your family and friends think you're doing crap?

B basic drawing course for adults X

those who want to quickly learn how to draw

(result in 2-3 weeks)

Course No. 1 "LEARNING TO SEE AND DRAW LIKE AN ARTIST"

If you want to quickly learn how to draw, then so that your friends and acquaintances admire your drawings, then my course of 6 drawing lessons based on the method of one of the greatest draftsmen, Albrecht Durer, who worked at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, will definitely help you.

Even if you don't know how to draw at all!

And if you are already a good drawer, then thanks to the course you will improve your technique and realize that you can draw anything from life - any still life, landscape, and even a portrait.
If you did not have a good artistic foundation, then you will discover a lot of new things for yourself, because I am talking about the basic fundamentals of drawing that are needed by both graphic draftsmen and painters.

The most important thing for an artist is to learn to see like an artist, and then capture what you see on canvas or paper.

.
ARTISTIC VISION

First of all, we will deal with the disclosure of artistic vision in the course, as well as we will learn to draw not objects and forms, but lines and spots.

Teaching a person to draw without developing his artistic vision is a pointless exercise.

Because when an ordinary person looks at a landscape, he sees a street, houses, trees, people. And when the Artist looks at this landscape, he sees lines and spots. If the Artist draws with a pencil at this moment, he sees dark and light spots; if he paints with paints, he sees colored dark and colored light spots.

The artist sees lines and spots, transfers them to the canvas, and the viewer distinguishes on the canvas - streets, houses, trees, people. This is such a magical transformation, and you can’t go anywhere without it. If you wish learn to draw from life
.
.

anything, regardless of shape and material, try to see not objects and objects, but lines and spots.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEE SPOTS AND LINES?

In proper drawing training, they teach general principles (formulas), thanks to which a novice Artist can draw all similar objects from life and imagination.

For example?

For example, if you watched the lessons on the site, you may have seen the following lesson: “SHADOWS ARE DIFFERENT, HOW TO CONVEY VOLUME.” In that lesson, I talked about how to make objects look three-dimensional by placing light and dark spots correctly: a highlight, light around the highlight, halftones (penumbra) around the light and shadow (the darkest places). This is a general formula for adding volume to any shape, from a ball to a person's face.

And it doesn’t even matter whether you know how to hatch or not! The main thing is to correctly find the place of dark and light spots.
I'll try to show with an example that it's as if I don't know how to hatch.

It looks something like this:

But if the object is at least a little transparent, then in our formula the light and shadow change places.

That is, there will always be a dark place around the highlight, and where opaque objects usually have the darkest shadow, transparent ones will have light.

Something like this:

Let's check this formula on grapes:

On an average bottle, everything is the same: there are dark spots around the highlights, halftones around the dark spots, and light spots in the shadow itself, only the shape of the spots changes:

And even the iris of the eye is drawn according to the principle (formula) of transparent objects:

So, just by swapping the shadow and light in places when drawing any object, you can create the illusion of transparency! I hope you noticed that the principle of drawing and the stages of drawing different objects were the same. It is called.

general principles

There is an even more general principle for drawing from life, and even more so from a photo, thanks to which you can learn to draw ANYTHING from life in a couple of weeks! The main thing is that all this can pose for you for a while

I talk about this general principle in my already famous course.

"LET'S LEARN TO SEE AND DRAW LIKE AN ARTIST!"
basic course No. 1

BEFORE the training begins, I ask you to make test drawings so that after training the person can see for himself what he has learned during the course.
During the course we don’t learn to draw one picture, hand or landscape, but we learn to draw ANYTHING.

A total of 6 training tasksand you can draw like this!

R drawings and student reviews from basic course №1 Vladimir Pritchenko (Servo-s): Hurray! Yesterday I had to drive the happy smile off my face all day - otherwise I might have thought something wrong at work! The first, introductory hand, painted out of fear in 20 minutes, was given a large advance in the form of praise. Now we had to prove that it was not in vain that Mila had been fussing with us for two weeks (well, we know for sure that it was not in vain)... I hoped that maybe they wouldn’t criticize me too much, maybe even praise me, but to be suspected of being an artist in disguise, pretending to be a teapot - I never even dreamed of that!
Mila, thank you for the wonderful course, it simply reveals something in us that we ourselves did not suspect.	BEFORE the course
AFTER the course Tamara Sh: The two week course has ended pencil drawing ! Thank you, Mila, very much! I learned so many new things, learned so many new things! I really can't believe it!. ... A little sad! I will now master the technique watercolor painting
Sweetie! I bow my head before your teaching talent and am captivated by your dedication and desire to pass on all your knowledge to everyone.	Thank you again.
BEFORE the course AFTER the course Julia: Well, the course “Learning to see and draw like an Artist” has come to an end! !!! Sad!!!
Sweetie! I bow my head before your teaching talent and am captivated by your dedication and desire to pass on all your knowledge to everyone.	Thank you again.
I'm posting my last assignment and I'm really looking forward to your opinion)) I myself can say for sure that you, Mila, have revealed my potential (I think I have it). Dear Mila, thank you very much for the course!!! Thank you for your help and guidance in making my first childhood dream come true - to draw beautifully! Therefore, I am now in the period of my second childhood - yay! I probably understood what and how, “enlightenment has come in the mind”! Now the skill needs practice. And for this - time, neck and eyes! AND good tools , and then I seem to understand that I need to fix it, I wipe it, and the paper shrinks, and it doesn’t look the same at all. Mila, I wish you good luck in all your endeavors,
Sweetie! I bow my head before your teaching talent and am captivated by your dedication and desire to pass on all your knowledge to everyone.	BEFORE the course
interesting finds
	BEFORE the course
	BEFORE the course
	BEFORE the course
Mila, thank you for the wonderful course, it simply reveals something in us that we ourselves did not suspect.	and pleasant purchases, joy and health!!!
	Thank you again.
	Thank you again.
	Thank you again.
	More drawings :)
And this baby was drawn in the third lesson	Sixth task
And this baby was drawn in the third lesson	BEFORE the course
And this baby was drawn in the third lesson	BEFORE the course
AFTER the course	BEFORE the course

AFTER the course

album sheet

simple pencils and a soft eraser (preferably a kneaded eraser).
ATTENTION!

I'm updating the course and it's not working yet.

You can take my book from the publishing house "PETER" as a gift.

"Learning to draw with a pencil" The book contains all the lessons of the basic course + shading options. Each of us made our first sketches as children. During the drawing lessons, not everyone tried to do the work well and did not think about acquiring skills. As adults, many people feel the need to create something beautiful, but how to learn to draw with a pencil? After all, any drawing technique is based on the ability to hold the stylus correctly, make basic sketches, and create images. In this article you will find

useful tips

for learning to draw, both in art school and independently.

• Pencil Drawing Basics
• Experts say that anyone, regardless of age, can learn how to draw correctly with a pencil. Learning to paint always begins with getting to know the materials that a beginning artist needs:
• a sheet of white paper, any format;

eraser, also known as a rubber grater; simple pencils. The first steps in drawing begin with pencil sketch. With the help of meager lines, the general outlines of the object being copied, various poses, and moments of movement are conveyed. The sketch is the most

quick way

Scientific psychologists have proven that during the process of creating a drawing, both hemispheres of the brain are actively working in a person, and the imagination is activated. It’s not for nothing that there is a technique for calming nerves called art therapy - this is drawing for adults and children. Many people want to be able to, but do not know how to learn to draw with a pencil. Learning to draw from scratch is not at all difficult, because the technique of drawing with a pencil is accessible to children and adults.

Art school

How can a child learn to draw with a pencil? The most The best decision- give it to art school. It is designed for teaching children school age from 6 to 17 years old. Upon admission to this institution, the level of knowledge and skills in fine arts. Depending on the child’s skills, they are assigned to the appropriate group of students.

Education at the art school is free and government funded. I visit this place after main school lessons three times a week. The course of study ranges from two to seven years. After graduating from school, the graduate receives a diploma, which opens the door to an artistic future: admission to a college or higher institution in his specialty.

Courses

How can adults learn to draw with a pencil? You can learn the art of drawing with the help of art courses. They are paid. The course of study ranges from several weeks to four years. During this time, the art studio will teach you the following skills:

• How to draw correctly using a step-by-step technique.
• Learn to use a pencil and brush. Teachers in art studio They teach not only the ability to hold tools correctly, but also to choose and distinguish high-quality from low-grade ones.
• Learn how to draw children with a pencil.
• Learn many drawing techniques.
• Learn how to learn to draw various objects.
• Learn to draw from life, landscapes, still lifes, people, animals, etc.
• Learn coloristics - choosing and combining colors correctly.
• Learn how to draw a cat with a pencil and other animals.
• They will tell you how to learn to draw portraits.

Online lessons

If you don’t have free time and you don’t know how to learn to draw with a pencil, then take advantage of online courses. They are suitable for those who are unable to attend a stationary studio. An approximate plan for completing classes in this format for beginning artists:

• The teacher provides basic knowledge of drawing in the form of examples of work and pictures.
• The selected topic of the drawing lesson is discussed in detail.
• At the end of the lesson the teacher gives homework, which you complete and mail to your teacher for review.
• At the next lesson, the student, together with the teacher, analyzes the homework in detail, and together they correct errors in the drawing, if any.

Online lessons, as an option, in order to learn how to draw professionally, are not the only way out. If you do not have the financial and territorial capabilities, but have a great and irresistible desire to learn how to draw well, then you can do it yourself with the help of:

• textbooks and drawing aids;
• tutorials;
• drawing instructions;
• training videos.

Step-by-step drawing technique

A beginner needs to practice drawing by creating sketches. In order for the drawing to be meaningful, the sketch must be created according to the rules that form the plan:

1. First, choose an object that you will draw, such as a teapot or vase.
2. Examine it from all sides, determine its shape, its texture, how the shadows fall on this object.
3. Determine the composition of the drawing, i.e. how it will be placed on paper, in what format.
4. After the contours are drawn, draw the details and apply shadows.

Human

In order to draw a person, you need to decide on the composition. This means that you need to analyze the boundaries of the location from head to toe. Once you have a figure in your mind, start composing the body parts. You need to draw a person from a sketch of the contours of the head, going lower. In the image of a person, it is very important to immediately find the image; you should determine the number of details necessary for the finished drawing.

Face

When drawing a person, much attention is paid to the face. To draw it correctly, you need to follow the steps:

1. Decide how the face will be positioned on the paper. To do this, mentally draw an axis of symmetry; it should pass through the center of the sheet.
2. Draw with a pencil on paper the outline of the face in the form of an oval (shape chicken egg).
3. Build the shape of the face, starting from the jawline, moving to the most convex part - the cheekbone area, then to the narrowest - the temporal area.
4. Align the drawn lines with an eraser; this will noticeably “lighten” the outline of the oval.
5. Divide the resulting oval into three equal parts using light, barely noticeable lines. The very first line, located closer to the chin, marks the tip of the nose.
6. Draw the nose, starting from the tip. It always protrudes forward, so it has a round, square, or pointed shape. Then we draw the wings of the nose and the bridge of the nose.
7. We draw the mouth, starting from the upper bend of the lip, which is located in the middle of the nostrils of the nose.

Eyes

In a portrait of a person, the eyes occupy the most important place; they attract attention, so they need to be given special attention. To draw them using a step-by-step technique, you must adhere to the following plan:

1. Before drawing the eyes, it is necessary to outline the eyebrows, which are located at the level of the bridge of the nose. Their shape depends on the character that the artist wants to convey in the portrait.
2. Having outlined the approximate location of the eyes, we draw out their shape in the form of an oval.
3. Draw the pupil in the shape of a circle.
4. We line the eyelids and shape the eyelashes.

Anime and Manga

Many young artists begin learning to draw with anime and manga, because... portray people in style bright characters Japanese cartoons are much simpler than classic ones. The greatest emphasis in such cartoon characters falls on the head, eyes and hair. Let's sort it out step-by-step scheme drawing, with the help of which a novice artist will learn how to learn to draw anime:

1. We start drawing the anime with an oval, which will be the head.
2. Divide the circle in half lengthwise using straight line.
3. Divide the head crosswise into three parts using light lines.
4. Next, you need to note the location of the eyes, nose and mouth.
5. We draw the large eyes, starting from the arch of the upper eyelid. The distance between them should be equal to one eye. When drawing pupils, much attention is paid to applying highlights. Eyebrows are drawn on these characters classic style: two even arcs.
6. The nose in anime and manga is drawn small, expressed with a tick.
7. Lips are drawn with two small lines.
8. Anime and manga hair should be drawn in flowing triangles that slightly cover the eyes.
9. Anime girls are depicted in bright clothes, mostly dresses.

3D drawings

Volumetric drawings fascinate with their realism, thanks to correct construction shape, applying shadows and highlights in the right places. You should learn to draw such pictures from simple geometric shapes: cylinder, rhombus, square. To recreate the 3D illusion of an object, you need to draw it in isometry, when the angles between the coordinate axes are 45 degrees. The volume of the drawing is added by auxiliary lines that are drawn inside easy shapes pressing, and draw the outline in bold, more dark color.

Portraits

Portraits can be drawn both from life and from photographs. Before creating an image, carefully consider what message it will convey. future drawing. Learn to draw a portrait of a person correctly, not only in terms of proportionality and symmetry, but also to display real emotions. Another task of drawing an image of a person is to convey the maximum similarity of the person being copied. To achieve this, before you start drawing, consider all the details, highlight those features, “highlights” that you will focus on.

Graffiti on paper

Nowadays, graffiti painting is a fashionable movement that is gaining momentum. Many buildings are full of incomprehensible voluminous inscriptions, but you can often find beautiful, professional drawings on the walls. To ensure that your paintings do not disfigure city buildings, but expensive paints not wasted, you need to practice on paper for a long time. First, try drawing the letters of the alphabet using a pencil. To give them volume, use auxiliary lines.

House

The ability to draw buildings is useful not only for children, but also for people of all ages. age groups, to easily compose pictures, for example, a house with a landscape. Buildings are very easy to draw using lines. You should start with a rectangle, adding a triangle, you will get the image of a house, this is how children draw it. With the help of simple techniques and additional lines the house becomes voluminous.

Cars

To draw a car with a pencil, you must adhere to step by step plan:

1. Mark the outer outline of the car, dividing it in half with a line.
2. We draw the body with thicker lines.
3. Then we draw the wheels.
4. We draw out the details of the front part of the car: headlights, Windshield, bumper
5. We draw windows, doors, mirrors.

Animals

It is much more difficult to draw animals than objects, especially from life, because they constantly change their pose and are in motion. To draw an animal, for example, a horse, you need to decide on its characteristic features: thick mane, elongated muzzle, slender muscular legs. See detailed instructions. You may not be able to correctly portray your favorite cat or dog on the first try, but after several practices you will definitely succeed.

Video tutorials on drawing with a simple pencil for beginners

Video tutorials are a great way to learn how to draw on your own. Below is a selection of educational videos in which experienced artists clearly show how to create easy pencil drawings for beginners. After watching the video, you will learn how to draw Japanese cartoon characters - anime girls, and learn how to draw flowers. If you like landscapes, then watch the third video to the end, in which the artist paints nature, focusing special attention on the trees.

Drawing girls

How to draw flowers

Beautiful landscapes

How to Draw the Human Body

We all drew at some point in our childhood. Then it was easy, regardless of what we drew with - colored pencils, a stick or a finger on foggy glass. But even then, you may have noticed that some children drew better than you. It's not like you knew what "better" meant - all you understood was the joy of praise. When you heard someone being praised while your work was completely ignored, you felt worse and worse. Eventually, you gave up drawing. After all, why continue if no one cares?

Now, no matter what the reason, you want to take up drawing again, but it scares you. Those children who never gave up drawing have now become professionals, and their work looks almost magical. How can you bridge this gap? Will you ever catch up with them?

The answer is that no one knows. But not their you have to try to catch up. After all, this yours dream - to draw what you want, in the style you want, without constant criticism for mistakes. This “future you” should be your ideal because whether you become as good as him or her is up to you and not the abilities/opinions of others.

Once you make your future self your example, you will continually grow. Your goal is to be better than yesterday. Doesn't that sound more realistic than becoming as good an artist as anyone else overnight? If you agree with me, join me in this great task. I won't show you how to draw - you wouldn't even want to! Instead I'll show you how study paint. I'll take you through four big stages that you'll gradually master.

This is the first level. If you were wondering how to start drawing after a long break, here is your answer. I will present a set of exercises for beginners - some of them will seem obvious to you, but this will only mean that your level is slightly higher than you thought. Ready?

Tune in

When you decide to learn something, the right attitude matters much more than all the books in the world. I have already given you one little piece of advice - compare your present self to your future self, not to others. There are more tips ahead, so read this part carefully before starting the exercises.

There is no ideal

Once you have set a goal, it can seem very realistic and achievable. “This is me today, and this is me when I achieve my goal,” that’s what you imagine. There is a certain path between these two points, and it seems to you that you can completely walk this path. However, you are missing one important detail- your needs change with you.

Today, the ability to draw a stick figure may seem amazing, but only because you don’t know how to do it yet. Once you reach your goal, it loses its power and you look for something else, something stronger. You can't want what you already have. This is why you can complain about not being able to draw a stick figure as if it were some valuable skill, but someone who can draw one complains about not being able to draw a real person.

There is no such moment when you are good enough. This is how we are made, so just accept it. You will never think about your abilities like this: “I great artist, and I don't have to learn anything anymore, now I'm just doing it for fun." This won't happen! There will always be something you can't do, something that would make you perfect...and once you achieve it, that something will open up a whole new world things to be learned before your eyes.

When you think you know 99% of something, the remaining 1% will show you how wrong you were.

If there's a way to be perfect, it's simple. stop trying. You must understand that no matter how good you are at drawing, it will not make you better or more significant than this moment. This is also true on the other hand - no matter how bad you are at drawing, it doesn't make you any less valuable. This leads us to the next step:

Do it for yourself

If you want to draw beautifully just to feel the joy of praise, get ready for a lot of suffering. Do you remember that feeling of pride in your work before someone started criticizing you? Why is your satisfaction so easily dissipated just because a random stranger voices his opinion?

If your satisfaction depends on the opinions of others, you will never be completely satisfied. Moreover, you will allow your mood to be controlled by people who don’t even care! Even if it makes you good artist, in the end you will be constantly stressed that you are not good enough. And what would you choose - to be a wonderful artist in constant tension, or to be a bad but satisfied artist?

I covered the topic of criticism in my other article, so if this is a burning topic for you, be sure to read it. Remember: you don't want to become a great artist. You just want to be happy with your work, and sometimes you think you need to be at the professional level to do that. This is wrong! Stop comparing yourself to them, and instead consider whether you can be better than you were yesterday - that's all you need to feel satisfied.

You set your own goals, so don’t make them unattainable. Your goal should be " good enough" You. Do it for fun, with ease, and don't be too hard on yourself for not being as good as someone who's been training for years. You are doing this for yourself and yourself only. Learn to enjoy small successes, regardless of what others think about it. After all, what do they understand?

There's only one goal

You may have many reasons to start learning to draw, but you have only one goal. This study, how to draw! “Learn” is the key word here, because learning how to draw once and for all is actually impossible. This is a constant, never-ending process. Therefore, if your goal is “to be able to draw anything 100% realistic,” you will be disappointed, because this goal depends on the fact that you want to see, not from what you can draw. And what you want to see changes as your abilities develop, along with your vision of 100% realism.

The feeling that there is an end point somewhere is just an illusion.

It is important to understand that this journey never ends. As long as it seems to you that there is a goal that needs to be achieved in order to be satisfied with your drawings, you will never be satisfied! Learn to appreciate every little bit of progress and just enjoy the journey. Learning is the only thing you will do constantly, and it is the only goal that will no longer move.

If you really need more specific goals, please set them. However, don't make any of them the reason for your happiness and confidence - it's pointless. And even when pursuing these small goals, don’t forget that it’s all just for the sake of the process, and it doesn’t really matter when you achieve them.

Basic Skills

The simpler the drawing looks to you, the weaker your abilities are likely to be. It may sound funny, but there is a rule for this, and it is called the Dunning-Kruger effect. In short, the less you know about something, the more you think you know. This is because knowledge of what you Not you know - also knowledge!

You might say, “I know drawing isn’t easy—if it were easy, I could do it!” But at the same time, you almost cry when your drawing doesn’t turn out the way you would like. If you really knew how difficult it is to draw something correctly, you would not be so upset - it would be obvious to you that this difficult!

When you look at a skilled artist painting his masterpiece and cannot understand how he does it, you are tempted to blame talent. This a clear sign that you are a beginner. If you were a level higher, even just a little bit, if only you tried learn how to draw - you would understand what it's all about Not only in abilities.

When you are a complete newbie to drawing, you think... draw- that's all it takes

Stage 1: Draw What You Want

This relates to the main definition of drawing: to leave marks on something. This is about training your hands to draw almost automatically, with any material you want to use. Beginners usually see this as the one and only drawing skill needed, but it's actually just the basics. Keyword: physical exercise.

Stage 2: Draw What You Want

This is about using the tool intentionally, avoiding guessing. If after drawing something beautiful you're afraid you won't be able to replicate it, this may be the stage you need to work on. This also applies to you if you cannot copy well from a source until you have outlined it. Keyword: accuracy.

Stage 3: Draw What You Want

This part is less about drawing and more about memory. I described the basic idea in another article, but there are also other exercises that will make the process easier for you. While the previous level was about drawing from the imagination, this one is about putting things in place. Keyword: visual database.

Stage 4: Draw What You Want

This is the hardest, most blurry part. How can you draw something exactly the way you want it, regardless of what others might expect? How can you draw something that is unrealistic but still praiseworthy? Notice that it comes after how you master realism! Keyword: style.

How to study

Of course, today we are working on the first stage, hence the long introduction. You need to understand that this is not a lesson in the literal sense of the word - these are exercises that will help you move to the next level, but how to use them is up to you.

I'm assuming you'll be using a pencil and a piece of paper for this tutorial. Beginners often wonder whether they should start with a pencil or a graphics tablet, but the latter will complicate the task. Chances are good that you're already familiar with the pencil—there's no need to add a new tool that you'll have to learn from scratch.

However, if you are quite experienced in traditional drawing and want to start your adventure with electronic drawing, these exercises will help you get used to the special movements of the stylus. If you want to draw with your other hand (perhaps due to an injury, or just for fun), these will also be useful!

Now there is only you and good pencil. Start with the one you write with, and then if it's not clear/usable enough, choose one that works better. All exercises are yours playground, don't put pressure on yourself, test your abilities, and don't compare them to any abilities you imagine.

• Practice short time periods(from 5 to 15 minutes), but regularly - at least once a day.
• Don't cause discomfort to your hand- she may get tired, and even more so - in this case, find a more comfortable version of the movements.
• Let yours hand always will be relaxed- do not press the pencil/pen with all your force. Your job is to leave traces, nothing more.
• Do not use any special paper or notepad. You can draw on the back of printed sheets that you were planning to throw away, or on the cheapest printer paper.
• Turn on good music, or even an audiobook - there is no need to completely focus on what you are doing. Our goal here is to make the movements automatic for your hand.
• Never forget why you are doing it. Don't treat it like a responsibility- you can stop at any time if you don’t want to anymore!

Enough talk, let's get to work!

1. Draw Doodles

Let's start freely - just draw something. Believe it or not, you have already you can draw, you just want to have more control over it. Let yourself have fun and just draw as if you were sitting in a boring lecture with nothing to do. Don't draw anything specific, and don't judge yourself harshly!

This exercise:

• warms up your hand;
• relaxes your hand;
• reminds you what drawing is;
• allows you to free your thoughts.

This is a warm-up exercise, so don't push yourself!

All examples in the illustration above were drawn with my left hand (I'm right-handed). The hand you write with is probably more skilled because it is the hand you use (at least sometimes) to write. However, the untrained hand of an experienced artist clearly shows us the mechanical part of the drawing process.

2. Control the direction

Draw a bunch of dots, or a starry sky. Then play Snake! Try to move smoothly and not make sharp turns. If you want to make it more difficult, use more dots and connect them diagonally first.

This exercise:

• will teach you to smoothly change direction;
• allows you to gain control over the direction of the line - this is the first step in achieving accuracy;
• adapts your hand to multiple positions;
• allows you to check whether the pencil/pen is comfortable in all positions.

This is a fun exercise that you should treat like a game.

3. Draw any lines

Drawing straight lines can be difficult for an untrained hand, so it is very important to practice drawing them. Don't strive for perfect straightness - draw lines quickly, easily, using various directions. Some of them you will be more comfortable drawing than others, and that's okay. For this reason, I draw my creatures facing left!

This exercise:

• trains a stable position of the pencil/pen in the hand;
• is an extension of the previous exercise;
• allows you to find the "rhythm" of your hand - the most comfortable direction for your lines.

Don't worry if the lines come out uneven - that's normal to begin with.

When you find that perfect direction, use it in the future. Rotate the paper if necessary, but still continue to work in this favorite rhythm - this will be your first step towards ease of drawing.

4. Draw ovals

I specifically didn't say circles because circles are just as scary as straight lines. Draw ovals, and not even perfect ones. Draw them big and small, fast and slow, and don't worry about getting them perfect. The goal here is to continue the turn and finish the line where you started.

This exercise:

• practices hand rotation in large and small ranges;
• teaches you how to handle a pencil/pen while rotating;
• this is the next step in gaining directional control.

Forget about perfect circles for a moment - they are rarely needed in drawing

5. Practice shading

Shading is a technique that is used for shading, but it also relies on the very important movement of the hand. Draw a series of quick, short lines in one direction and then criss-cross with another series of lines. You can also try the hairball technique, or any other shading techniques. If you find this difficult, start a little slower, but never focus on one line!

This exercise:

• allows you to recreate the movement you just used;
• trains your hand to move quickly but deliberately;
• trains movement “quickly and clearly”;
• forces you to look for ways to repeat that won't bore you;
• teaches you to think in terms of “space” instead of “line”;

This technique will always be a little tedious, but try to find a method that doesn't require more effort than necessary

6. Fill closed spaces

Let's combine two exercises. Draw ovals and then quickly fill them with shading. Your goal here is to avoid crossing the contour, which can be very difficult if you work fast enough. Don't try to fill in the gaps - instead try to make sure they don't appear.

This exercise:

• expands the exercise “drawing lines” - trains the stable position of the pencil/pen in the hand;
• increases your confidence regarding control;
• includes several different exercises;
• trains your accuracy both at the beginning and at the end of the line.

It's harder than you think!

7. Master pressure levels

For a perfectionist just learning to draw, letting go of the situation can be very difficult. It was as if it was imprinted in them that every line should be perfect the first time, without corrections. This exercise is the first step towards breaking this “rule”. Draw lines and doodles using different levels pressure. Change them up and see if you can do it gradually. You can even make a gradient out of lines!

This exercise:

• gives you freedom!
• teaches you the very important vertical movement, and how to combine it with the more familiar horizontal movement;
• teaches you to “feel” a pencil/pen;
• the most important of all.

Soft pencils (B) have more pressure levels than hard pencils (H) - check them out and choose the ones that suit you.

8. Repeat Lines

Let's continue with the previous exercise. Now you will learn a very important trick, a trick that not all beginners know about.

Draw a short line with low pressure. Then draw over it again and again. As finishing touch, you can press harder. Do the same with different lines, quickly, and don’t worry if you don’t succeed at first. This is a difficult exercise, but it works wonders!

This exercise:

• trains your accuracy;
• gives you complete control over the line;
• gives you more high level accuracy;
• gives you confidence that you can draw - the lines begin to come out the way you intended, and not just “turn out.”

Don't do this exercise too slowly or it won't have any effect.

9. Draw soft shapes

All of these exercises should prepare you for this final exercise. Circles or long lines are almost impossible to draw in one go, without any additional adjustments. The truth is that artists rarely draw anything with long lines - short lines are much easier to control.

Learn this and you are free to draw different shapes by constantly lifting and moving the pencil/pen. Do this quickly, and don't strain your arm too much.

This exercise:

• will allow you to get rid of the most limiting beginner habit
• will truly allow you to plan how to direct your line, rather than letting your hand decide it
• prepares you for the next level

With this technique you can draw anything - see for yourself how it can change.

Like this!

Use these exercises to train your mechanical skills every day. The progress they will give you depends entirely on your diligence and discipline. Do them until they become child's play before moving on to the next stage. Order is very important here - without a good base, it will be more difficult for you to learn something new in the future.

This may all be boring, but remember why you're doing it - you're teaching your hand movements that are the basis for the most complex drawings. It's like buying ingredients for a new, amazing recipe. You can invest more money, and get delicious dish, which you really want, or try to save money and get a sad result. Nothing valuable comes easy!

Remember: repetition is the key here. What you train is called muscle memory, and like “ordinary” memory, it requires constant, regular practice in order for anything to remain in it for a long time. So, keep practicing and wait for the lesson about the next step - intention and precision.

You can print this image to help you remember all the exercises.

I am pleased to present to you an improved and expanded manual abouthow to learn to draw. I hope that it will cover most of the questions that I am regularly asked in the VKontakte group. For example, such as:

• • where should I start learning to draw if I have never drawn?

• • How can I learn to draw people?

• • how to learn to draw on a computer?

• • What drawing books are worth studying?

• How can I learn to paint with acrylic, oil, pastel, and other materials?

I have collected the most useful tips from artists from the site www.quora.com , and it turned out great step by step guide , thanks to which no one will be able to hide behind excuses like “I don’t know where to start, I can’t do it, I’m mediocrity, etc.”, believe me,
you will finally find out how to learn to drawb!

Just follow this manual step by step and dedicate enough time to practice, and you can come from this drawing level

to that

Some lyrics

Drawingis a skill that develops with practice. You're not alone when you think you're terrible at drawing! All great artists started by drawing stick figures like this:

The reason they moved on from these so-called "stick figures"to something much greater, is that they had insatiable desire to draw getting better and better with every new touch of pencil to paper. This desire separated them from the rest, and this the only reason which is why they became successful.

First of all, the fact that you decided to dedicate your time to improving your drawing skills is already a great achievement. Why you ask? This is really important because in art and creativity there must be passion, interest, curiosity and dedication, without which the learning process will not be as effective.

So in your case, the biggest obstacle is already behind you and you can start drawing by observing the things around you! That's how simple it is!

The following steps that I am going to suggest should help you gain the drawing skills you want and will also show you the path that you will have to go through to become an artist.

But before you blindly follow the path below, always remember that you are free to choose your own unique path—the path that is right for you. The real challenge is to practice regularly with the intention of learning., so it doesn’t matter where you start your drawing journey.

note that each step mentioned below may take weeks, months or even years to achieve perfection in it. It all depends on how much you really want to improve your skills and how much effort you are willing to put in.

There is plenty of material available online for each step below, including YouTube. I recommend checking various sources, studying different styles and practice the style that suits you best.

Let's start!

Step 1. Learning simple shapes

First, take a paper and pencil (or pen), sit in a comfortable position, clear your mind of thoughts and just focus on the task at hand.

Now try creating a simple form. For example, draw a circle and then continue to practice it.

Try to draw a perfect circle every time. If you really take this task seriously, it could take us several days or even months. Draw smooth circle using only your hands is more difficult than you imagine.

Just start drawing circles and keep practicing these circles until you reach a stage where you can draw a perfect circle without using any assistive tools.

Your attempts will start with something like this:

After regular practice, your hand-eye coordination will improve and you will begin to draw better:

It's pretty good result. Now move on!

The same way, start working with other basic shapes, such as triangle, square, cube, octagon, etc.

This should keep you busy for a while again. Remember, this is a herculean task if your first drawing was the circle from this tutorial.

But after you devote some amount of time (say 6 months or one year), once you go through this rigorous exercise, and once you become a champion in drawing any of simple figures if desired, another interesting facet will appear.

At this point there are two approaches you can follow:

Approach 1 - self-learning

You can learn to draw on your own using free online articles, YouTube videos, books and tutorials.

Easiest to digest drawing lessons for beginners I'm reading Mark Kistler's lessons from the book.

After completing all the lessons, you will achieve significant success. However, although the author stated a period of 1 month, I would advise you to take your time and devote at least 1-2 hours to each lesson, completing all the practical exercises.

Approach 2 - Enroll in an art school or online course

If you don’t like self-study, then I advise you to sign up for paid courses, where they will tell you everything in detail and show you, and also force you to work practically.

The highest quality and most interesting I consider courses and master classes at Veronica Kalacheva’s drawing school.

This school offers both in-studio and online training. There are also useful free materials, which .

This school often hosts free webinars or lessons are opened for study for a while.

Register so you don't miss them!

Another site with paid but cheaper drawing courses that I like is arttsapko.ru. You can also take some courses for free on this site. There are one-time classes that take place in Moscow.

Further advice will be more suitable for those who chose the first approach and decided to study visual arts on one's own. But yours creative path may contain both approaches.

Step 2: Shadows and Shades

Now that you know how to draw simple shapes perfectly, let's Let's start shading these shapes.

I'll continue with the example of a circle.

So, yours first attempt at circle shading, without understanding how to do it correctly, would look something like this:

Notice that even though your image didn't turn out very realistic, you were already subconsciously aware of the imaginary light source and placed it in the upper left corner and, given this source, you drew a shadow on the opposite side in the lower right corner.

That is, in order to shade objects you need common sense and nothing more.

Now continue practicing shading. It may take several months before you get something like this:

Now this circle looks like a volumetric sphere.

Next, you need to show that the sphere is not dangling in the air, but is on some surface, and you will begin to depict the shadows that the object casts on other surfaces. In this case, the drawing should already look something like this:

Always remember one simple rule, which has been demonstrated in the figure below:

Also, continue to practice shading and other shapes you've learned.

As you practice, notice how the shades vary depending on the availability of light. Look at the tonal scale with shading from light to dark below. You can use it as a guide when you draw a figure.

Keep practicing. It's an endless process!

Step 3: Perspective

The basic law of perspective says:when an object is closer it looks larger and if it needs to be shown further away it will need to be drawn smaller. If you understand this, you understand the basic law of perspective.

Now let's look at the so-calledvanishing point.

I will explain this concept using the example of a cube.

When we draw a cube, why do the length and width of that cube taper towards the end or slope inwards on the paper? Look at this picture below for reference and ask yourself why is this happening?

As you can see, the ribs taper both to the right and to the left, as if they are going into the inside of a sheet of paper. This is what gives the cube the illusion of “3D” on two-dimensional paper. And this is possible, based on the basics of perspective and such a concept asvanishing point.

Now let's look at the same cube again.

In the cube, we took the vanishing point somewhere far from our eyes to the right and left of the cube. That's why the sides narrowed to inside papers on the right and left. The figure below clearly shows how the edges of a cube, if extended, will converge at one point on both sides. These two points are called vanishing points:

Now look at the green dot in the following cube drawing:

This green dot is alsovanishing point.

Imagine what a cube would look like without this vanishing point concept. It will look more like a square in 2-D.When we draw a cube, we should always remember the vanishing point, since it is this that gives us the opportunity to depict a three-dimensional figure.

So, I hope that the concept of a vanishing point has become more clear to you, because for anyone good drawing, which is drawn taking into account the space and distance between each object, the vanishing point concept should be followed by default.

Here are some more examples of the vanishing point concept for your understanding.

• Top view (or bird's eye view):

• Linear perspective (landscape):

• View with many vanishing points (any real scene):

Thus, as depicted in the third example, in real scenes there are usually several vanishing points, and these points give the drawing the desired depth or 3-D effect, and a sense of space that separates it from 2-D.

Too difficult? Just don't panic now, okay? At this stage, it is enough just to understand the concept of a vanishing point. Just try to show the vanishing point in your drawings without any drawings or measurements.

This "step 3" was just a prerequisite for learning the laws of perspective, just to make you aware of its importance in drawing. Mark Kistler's "Learn to Draw in 30 Days" course has several step by step lessons to build perspective, you can start with them.

Step 4. Draw complex shapes

Now using your confidence in drawing and shading simple shapes, as well as knowledge of the shadow effect and vanishing point, move on to the next level, that is, drawing various complex shapes.

The rules of the game remain the same:

1. 1. Keep practicing.

1. 1. Observe the nuances.

1. Try to surpass yourself every time and not repeat previous mistakes.

So first, how about an egg? It's not that different from a circle, right?

Let's just get started. Practice until you get it perfect!

Okay, it looks like an egg. Now try different fruits. For example, strawberries.

Great! These are really good strawberries. And look at this detail.The strawberry in the last picture looks quite difficult to draw, but we already have experience with shading from “step 3”. This is the same thing, only at the micro level. Believe in yourself and everything will work out!

The same way, continue drawing different random shapes with shading. Place shadows on these drawings, taking into account effects such as reflection, refraction, transparency, etc. And just keep practicing.

There are many around various items. Learn to draw what you see. This is one of the most important steps to becoming a professional artist. Don't worry if you don't do it very well at first. Sometimes when you start drawing what you see, the beginning of the sketch can look pretty terrible, but the end result can be amazing. So start doing it!

Try drawing two random objects a day. The drawing must be complete: drawing + shading + drop shadow + any other special effect.

Something like below:

Just repeat this process every day. You are on the right track!

Step 5. Draw living creatures

Since we now know how to draw and shade various objects with relative accuracy, it's time to draw moving objects and living organisms. Now it is necessary to include the movement of objects, their pose and facial expressions in the drawing, this is a real challenge!

The most important advice is to keep your eyes and mind wide open. You have to watch everything around you.

So observe all the nuances - people walking, a bird flying, a dog's posture, etc. And, when possible, create a quick sketch this specific position, movement, expression, etc. And work on the details later in your own free time.

You should end up with something like this:

This is a quick sketch that can be completed in minutes. Go to a park or cafe and just sketch the people you come across. In this case, the main thing is not quality, but quantity. You need to see and convey the subject's pose.

Study anatomy.Yes, anatomy is the same as in biology class. You need to study the bones of the skeleton and the location of the muscles. This may seem weird and creepy, but on the other hand, it means you can draw a skeleton and skull for Halloween decorations :) This will also help in learning about human proportions and body movements. The same goes for animals - read books on animal anatomy. Almost all art books on drawing animals will have an anatomy section.

Try starting with my article:

Then try to quickly draw a few different expressions faces:

Observe and remember the differences between facial lines. Later, keep adding shadows and make them look even more realistic, like this:

Do the same with trees, flowers, animals, birds, etc.

Now that you know quite a bit, using your acquired skills you should be able to draw something like this:

Persistence, difficulty and pain will then lead you here:

And in the case of people (a little better or worse):

Now it's time to pause and take a look at the image below, this beautiful woman. She really looks very beautiful, doesn't she?

And if you ask yourself, can you be confident enough to draw her as beautiful as she is? Chances are the answer is a big “No,” right? If so, then you still have some way to go!

So your drawing is still in its infancy and there is a lot of room for improvement.For example, you will have to work on detail human eye and his movements, human hair, its shine, etc. I think you understand what I'm trying to say, don't you?

So basically, at this stage, you have to surround yourself with these challenges all the time in order to move forward and not get stuck in the middle.No one will help you with this except yourself!

Step 6. Trying different tools and materials

It's great if you can draw with a pencil, but it will be much more interesting and useful if you also learn how to use ink, paint, markers, pastels, etc. You should try different materials, if only because you may come across something that you especially like. Add color to your sketches!

Of course, art supplies are not cheap now, so you shouldn’t buy them right away professional materials, what if you don’t like them and want something else? For starters, tools from the mid-price category will be enough. Now it's very big choice inexpensive art materials can be found at AliExpress.

Don't use fancy art boards or moleskines. Buy a large notebook or album with white sheets. Your goal is to do as much as possible and faster than sketches without having to worry about wasting expensive paper.

Also, if you decide to try yourself in digital art, you don’t have to immediately take up licensed Photoshop, when you can start with free editors, for example MyPaint, SAI, GIMP.

Step 7. Landscapes

Now put everything together. You must start drawing landscapes with people, plants and many animals. In this step you will have an excellent opportunity to practice your knowledge laws of perspective.

To start, you can try drawing panoramas, such as the view from your window.Try to first draw landscapes more “roughly”, for example like this:

After that, detail the objects.

After extensive training, your drawings will look something like this:

Step 8. Draw from imagination

Start with something simple, like an apple. Simply move your pencil onto the paper, only imagining that you are drawing an apple before you draw it. Then do a quick preliminary sketch to get its shape and the shape of its shadow in proportion to the page. Then start shading and detailing.

Then try to draw something more complex, for example, flowers, trees, a glass, a pen, etc. Each time try to choose more difficult objects. At this point I can give no further advice other than Practice regularly.

Step 9. Forming your own style

Now you know everything. At least enough to start developing your own artistic style.Your style should be unique, and you should continue to develop it with intense practice.

Please note that I can't add anything more to this step because I don't know what your own unique style will be. I can only advise

The internet is full of resources to help you with inspiration and ideas, such as Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube. I recommend checking these sources regularly, learning about different styles, and practicing the style that suits you best.

Step 10. Getting better

This step is about refining to the point where your drawing is indistinguishable from a photograph or real image. Of course, it is optional. But if you still If you want to develop your skills to drawing in the style of hyperrealism, this will also require a lot of practice.

While drawings that are indistinguishable from photographs are signs of the amazing skill of the artists who put in a lot of effort, there are equal examples of stunning work that Not look like the photos. So you should also keep this in mind.

Here is an example of a hyperrealistic drawing:

Step 11. Practice, practice, practice.

Artistic skills don't come with fancy sketches and pencils. This comes with practice. It is believed that in order to become a professional in your field, you need to devote a certain amount of time to it - from 2000 to 10,000 hours!

Every time, when you have free time, sit down and draw something, or practice your shading, tone, etc. There are so many things to master - you always need to practice. Draw easy objects and complex ones. Draw people in detail or rough lines. Master everything as much as you can, constantly improve your skills.

Moreover, it is desirable that the practice be accompanied feedback. It’s just imperative that these viewers tell you the truth, so mom and dad are not suitable for this role.Alternatively, you can post your work in some art community or forum. Ours could serve as such a place.