Study of Rocks
Graphite on drawing paper
11″ × 14″ (28cm × 36cm)
Drawing Subjects Are Everywhere
Be on the lookout for drawing subjects such as these rocks. This drawing was done from a photograph taken by one of my students, Jackie Chunko.
You will find certain subjects easier to draw than others. For instance, you may have a knack for drawing faces but feel you can't draw a building in perspective to save your life. When you don't feel comfortable with a certain subject, you will probably try to avoid it, but then you will not gain experience working with that subject. Challenge yourself—give some of the lessons you may deem more difficult a chance. You might even try some lessons more than once, then compare the results from your first attempt with your last. I predict that you will be amazed at the improvement in your drawing skills. You can draw all of these examples with your 4H, HB and 4B pencils. Use the 4H and HB pencils for the light and medium values and the 4B pencil for the darkest values.
Graphite on drawing paper
11″ × 14″ (28cm × 36cm)
Be on the lookout for drawing subjects such as these rocks. This drawing was done from a photograph taken by one of my students, Jackie Chunko.
The world around us offers an infinite number of subjects to draw. Commonplace items such as clouds and grass can be interesting by themselves or as complements to other elements in a picture.
When drawing clouds, start by sketching the outline, but use subtle value changes to show the shape and depth of their forms. You can achieve value changes by varying the type or pressure of your pencil strokes. Be particularly conscious of the location of your light source. Stormy days while the sun is still out are especially good for drawing clouds because there are so many sharp contrasts between the lights and darks of the sky.
With the light source above, the tops of the clouds appear lighter, while the undersides appear darker and shadowed. One way to learn how to draw clouds in sunlight is to study the effects of light on something more solid, such as cotton balls.
Clouds can be both translucent and opaque. When the light source is behind the clouds, the cloud in front of the sun will appear bright white around the thin, translucent edges where the light shines through it. The thicker parts of the cloud will appear darker because they are more opaque, blocking more of the light.
Line strokes can imply individual blades of grass. Use darker strokes to indicate shading and depth.
The background grass is shown as a dark silhouette, whereas the foreground grass is suggested with light pencil strokes. Vary the direction and spacing of the lines to make the grass look more interesting.
Trees may be the center of interest in a scene or just a background element. Each tree has a character all its own.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Start with the basic overall shape of the tree. Place the trunk toward the bottom of the page.
Sketch in some of the branches. Even if the branches are not visible in the final drawing, sketching them will help you understand both the structure of the tree and the placement of the leaves. Add more definition to the outer form of the tree by outlining the edges of the leaves.
Erase any unnecessary lines. Use a variety of back-and-forth lines to suggest the leaves. Make some lines darker than others to create shadows. Notice that the direction of the lines adds a sense of liveliness to an otherwise static subject. Remove your initial outline with an eraser.
Exposed branches can add interest to an otherwise ordinary tree. First sketch the branches of the tree, then erase the lines that are going to be covered by the leaves. Finally, shade in the leaves.
Use the same basic steps to draw evergreens as you would use to draw leafy trees. When drawing a tree, examine the subject closely to capture its uniqueness.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Start with the basic overall shape and trunk.
Sketch in the branches, noticing their direction. The branches angle downward the farther down you place them on the tree. Many trees are structured like this, not only evergreens.
Erase any unnecessary lines. Use a variety of staggered back-and-forth lines to suggest the needles of the tree. Apply some lines more heavily than others to create shading and depth.
Be on the lookout for interesting trees that you can photograph and use as references for future drawings.
Knowing how to draw different building materials such as brick, stone and wood comes in handy when you want to draw a house. These elements add a range of textures that make your drawing more interesting. Besides, they're fun to draw.
The really great thing about drawing is that once you have the necessary materials, you can draw anywhere, anytime. Draw while you're waiting in line! Draw on the bus! Draw on your lunch break!
A subject viewed up close will display more texture than when viewed from a distance, so it should be drawn differently to show that detail. To emphasize their worn appearance, draw old bricks with multidirectional lines of varied degrees of thickness.
A distant view of bricks is drawn with minimal detail. Use back-and-forth line strokes to add values to the bricks. Add shadows under the individual bricks with heavy dark lines for a subtle sense of depth. Also create depth through the use of one-point perspective.
Draw the massive fitted stones of an ancient Roman building with shading lines going in different directions to show texture. Make the joints of the stones dark to imply shadow and depth.
Use irregular shapes and sizes, varied line strokes and shading to create a wall of rough stones. Add heavy, dark lines under the stones to imply shadow and depth. Notice the left end of the wall is set against a background made of dark vertical line strokes to suggest a corner.
Draw wood grain using differing values and line strokes. Make the places where the wood was chipped out darker to suggest shadow and depth. Use semicircular lines to create the knots in the boards.
Draw weathered wood boards with coarse pencil strokes flowing in similar directions to show the grain. The spaces underneath and between the boards are dark to suggest depth.
Apply the same drawing principles and techniques that are used when drawing complex subjects to relatively simple subjects such as rocks. You can make the drawing more interesting by varying the shapes and sizes of the rocks.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch the outer shapes of the rocks, varying the sizes and shapes for interest.
Add lines to map out the lights and darks on the rocks. In this case, the light comes from the upper right, so draw lines on the upper right areas of the rocks for the highlights and on the lower left areas for the darkest portions of the rocks.
Use consistent up-and-down pencil strokes so that the surface of the rocks will look smooth. Make the pencil strokes darker on the left side of the rocks to create shading and depth.
You may think that if you've seen one rock you've seen them all, but that just isn't true. Rocks offer a variety of shapes, sizes and textures.
The rough shaping of these rocks makes each one unique. This appears to be a simple drawing, but its subtle value changes make it challenging The outer shape of some of the background rocks is defined by the shading behind them.
These rocks jut upward, their top edges appearing light in value. Use back-and-forth lines to fill in the values, altering the pressure of some of the strokes to add shading and depth.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
First sketch the wings as a long box, using two-point perspective as if looking down on the subject.
Add lines for the basic structure of the fuselage and where the rudder and tail stop. These lines share the same perspective as the wings.
and Begin to Refine the Shape Add boxes to indicate the placement of the wheels and engine area. Draw lines to better define the shapes of the rudder. Chisel out the fuselage and shorten the lower wing tips.
Smooth out the lines of the wings and body and add details, including the ellipses of the wheels, engine compartment and propeller.
Erase any unnecessary lines, and shade in the overall form. Make sure the lines shading the wings follow the same direction as the wings' perspective. Add the darkest areas last, such as the shadow under the wings.
First draw the basic shapes in perspective to carve out the shape of the plane. Add highlights, shadows and details.
This type of steam engine is a Norfolk and Western 4-8-4. The structural elements of this scene are drawn using one-point perspective. Make use of the principles of atmospheric perspective as you apply the lights and darks. When you want to shade subjects like these, friskets and erasing shields may be handy tools to use.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Draw the horizon line, with the vanishing point on the left side. Start with the basic shape in one-point perspective. Notice that all the vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon at this stage.
Fill the previously drawn square with a circle. Add other lines to indicate the basic shaping of the front of the engine.
Add the more obvious lines, including the vertical lines that define the individual cars. Add a cross in the upper middle of the circle, to mark the placement of the engine lights.
Add the tracks, wheels, engine light and smaller details such as the handrail and the steps. Also add trim to the tops of the cars.
Erase any unnecessary lines, and finish with shading. Use uniform up-and-down pencil strokes to make a smooth appearance. Create atmospheric perspective by drawing the closer portion of the train with more contrasts and details than the more distant portion.
Sketch the basic shapes, chisel out the shape of the train, and add feature lines. Next add the shading, paying close attention to subtle value changes.
This is a Facel Vega, a French sports car built in the 1950s and 1960s. This is a fun lesson to practice dissecting your subjects by first looking for the basic shapes, remembering the rules of perspective.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch a basic box shape in two-point perspective. Take the time to get this right so the rest of the drawing will work out accurately.
Add the top of the car to the basic shape. Draw squares in perspective to indicate the wheels' placement. This will help you draw the ellipses for the tires accurately. Like all the elements, the squares share the same perspective as the basic box shape.
Chisel out the shape of the car, and sketch in ellipses for the wheels. Add lines to mark the placement of the front elements such as the grill and headlights.
Add details such as the headlights, grill, windows and interior. Keep in mind that the cutouts for the wheel are shaped differently from the wheels themselves. Add some shading to the wheels and shadow under the car.
Add more details to complete the car, such as wheel covers and chrome trim. Erase obsolete lines. Shade the form, using uniform line work to create a smooth appearance. Add another layer of darks to the wheels and shadows, giving them more contrast against the lighter values of the car.
Rich darks and graduated values give this Jaguar a shiny metallic appearance. It is important to make uniform pencil lines to create the smooth, metallic look for the car's surface.
The graceful lines of boats and shimmering water reflections inspire great compositions. For this demonstration, we'll start with a simple side view.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Start with the lines of the hull, which tilt slightly upward on the left side.
and Indicate the Cabin Connect the ends to complete the basic shape of the hull. Add lines to indicate the placement of the cabin.
Draw the side of the cabin and the curve of the top of the hull. The boat is viewed from the side and at a distance, making it look flat.
Sketch in details, including windows, trim and the man.
Add values to the elements. Use long, straight pencil strokes on the hull. Make the inside of the cabin dark.
Sketch the basic shapes in perspective, then add details and shading.
For those of you who are cat lovers, this demo will be lots of fun. For those of you who prefer dogs (we know everyone falls under one of the two categories), go ahead and try this exercise, then give the finished art to one of your cat-loving friends. This demo offers a great way to develop your shading skills.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
To draw the feline face, start with the basic outer oval, two lines for the top and bottom of the eyes, and an oval for the snout.
Add more lines for the eyes, mouth and the top of the ears, as well as a triangle for the nose.
Add lines to indicate the ears and neck.
Refine the structural lines, rounding and curving where necessary. Add details, including the pupils, nose and muzzle.
Erase any obsolete lines. Add shading with pencil strokes that follow the direction of the fur. Apply darker values for the stripes and shadows.
Cats are as varied as people, and it is fun to capture their unique qualities in your drawings. In addition to helping you create shape and texture, this demo will give you an opportunity to work on developing your proportioning skills. To sketch the legs and body in the correct proportions, first sketch a baseline. A baseline is used to establish the placement of your subject and to help work out proportions of a drawing.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Draw a rectangle to suggest the basic body structure. Take the vertical lines all the way down to the baseline.
Sketch an oval for the head. Position it so it just overlaps the top horizontal line.
Add lines for the neck that connect the head to the body. Sketch angled lines for the legs. See Measuring Angles for instructions on how to transfer angles.
Draw the outline of the tail, and complete the legs. Lightly indicate the legs on the other side of the cat's body. Add the outline of the ears and position the eye and mouth. Erase any obsolete lines.
Use back-and-forth strokes to suggest the cat's fur, varying the lights and darks to imply form. Add details to the eye, mouth, nose, ear and paws.
Use the steps you practiced on the cat's body to draw a dachshund. Start with the basic overall structure and then add more features as your drawing progresses. While observing dachshunds for this drawing, I became aware of how short dachshunds really are!
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch lines to form the basic body and head structure, including a baseline to establish where the feet will rest.
Add circles for the head, chest and rear. This will help you shape the dog's overall form.
Connect the circles to form the shape of the body and neck. Sketch lines that will indicate the muzzle and the foreground legs.
Refine the line work to further shape the dog's body. Add the eye, tail, ears and legs. Place the background legs so they are staggered in comparison to the foreground legs.
Erase any obsolete lines. Shade the dog's glossy coat with short, uniform pencil strokes that follow the fur's direction. Add details to the eye, nose, mouth and paws.
Use long pencil strokes that follow the direction of the fur to shade in the coat for a longhaired dog. Make these pencil strokes less uniform than those used for a shorthaired dog. This will make the long fur look more textured.
Cows are incredible creatures. Besides giving us milk, cheese and meat, cows do amazing tricks, but no one knows about it because they pull these stunts only when no one is looking.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch the basic shapes: a rectangle for the body and a triangle for the head. Add a baseline to establish the length of the legs.
Add lines for the neck and legs. Pay attention to the placement and angles of these lines. Use a small circle to indicate the joint of the front knee.
Refine the line work to further shape the cow's body. Add the eye, ears, tail and udders.
Erase any extra lines. Add light shading to imply form, using darker shading in the more shadowed places. Make the coat's dark patches with semi-uniform back-and-forth pencil strokes.
The elegant lines of this swan makes it an interesting subject. Enjoy practicing your skills with this mini demo and then consider using your drawing as a greeting card.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch the basic shapes of the head and body. Be conscious of their proportions and placement.
Add curved lines for the neck, then add the beak, paying attention to the distance between the neck lines.
Indicate the feather placement on the swan's back, and add the eye to the head.
Add the shading with short pencil strokes. Start with the lighter values, then add another layer of pencil strokes for the darker areas.
People make fascinating subjects to draw. While at a mall, just look at all the different sizes, shapes and proportions of the people around you. Though you may observe that people come in many different “varieties,” there are basic principles that apply to all humans.
Though men are generally taller than women, they are shown as the same height here for comparison. For both sexes, almost half the height is made up of the legs, with the tips of the hands falling to the mid-thigh region. The waist is lower in men than in women. Another difference is that men are generally bulkier and wider than women.
Children are proportioned differently from adults, more noticeably in younger children. Their bodies are smaller in relation to their heads, and their legs are shorter, with the tops of their legs well below the middle line.
For most adults, their height is equal to the width of their outstretched arms.
This sketch has its structural elements blocked in.
Once you become familiar with basic body structure and proportions, you can draw more confidently, using a minimum of structural guidelines.
As you draw the human figure, remember that almost half the height of the body is the legs. Establish the middle line first, then mark the top of the inseam. Pay attention to the head size, which takes up a little more than one-eighth of the overall height. A common mistake in figure drawing is to make the head too large and the legs too short.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Start with lines to indicate the placement and proportions. Because the weight of the body in this example rests over the man's right leg, include a vertical line that goes from the head to the right foot.
Add top, bottom and middle horizontal lines. Then sketch a line halfway between the middle and top lines, then sketch another line between the last line drawn and the top line.
Most adults are about 71⁄2 heads high. The distance from the top line to the next lower line is one-eighth of the overall height. Make a line slightly lower and sketch an egg shape for the head, which should work out to about 71⁄2 units of the overall height. You can use dividers if you want to check your proportions. Sketch in the legs, placing the top of the inseam just below the middle line.
Sketch the basic shape of the torso along with the waistline.
Add the arms, with the wrists falling at about the middle line and the fingertips reaching mid-thigh. Sketch a line for the placement of the eyes. Sketch in the feet along the baseline.
Sketch in the details, including facial features and clothes.
Add shading and details.
General Face Proportions
To draw faces correctly, it's important to understand their basic structures and proportions. One way to do this is to use the width of the eye as a unit of measurement. These examples show generic proportions of an adult male of European origin. The features of individuals vary according to age, gender and ethnicity, if only in subtle ways.
Start with the basic shape egg-shape of the head. It should be five eye-widths wide by seven eye-widths high.
Sketch a horizontal line in the middle of the face to place the eyes. Sketch a vertical line to establish the center of the face.
Sketch the eyes, leaving one eye-width between them. Add a line for the nose a little less than half the distance from the eyes to the chin. Sketch a line for the mouth a little less than halfway between the line for the nose and chin.
Add a horizontal line above the eyes for the eyebrows and sketch them in. Add the top and bottom lips.
Add the base of the nose. The width of the nose aligns with the inside corners of the eyes. Add the ears, with the tops of the ears aligned with the eyebrows and the bottoms aligned with the base of the nose.
Add details to the eyes and nose, along with the hair and neck.
A three-quarters view of the face shows most of the face and part of the side of the head. Keep in mind that the proportions and the placement of the elements are similar to the front view.
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch an egg-shape for the three-quarters view with the chin slightly off-center toward the right.
Add a slightly off-center horizontal line for the eyes. Sketch a vertical line through the middle of the eye line to establish the center of the face.
Sketch the shapes of the eyes with one eye-width between them. Add a line for the nose a little less than half the distance from the eyes to the chin. Sketch a line for the mouth a little less than half the distance between the line for the nose and the chin.
Add a line to place the eyebrows, then sketch in the eyebrows. The curve of the brows should follow the curve of the eyes. Add the top and bottom lips.
Add the nose. Working down, the nose bridge should angle in toward the center of the eyes and then angle out from the center to the base of the nose. Add the ear, with the top aligning with the eyebrows and the bottom aligning with the nose's base.
Add details to the eyes and nose, along with the hair and neck.
Placing the elements for a side view of a face is similar to that for the front and three-quarters view. As with all drawings, look for proportions and places where the elements align. You may want to examine the proportions with a tool such as a pencil, dividers or a sewing gauge (see Gauging Proportions).
Graphite pencil
Drawing board
Drawing paper
Kneaded eraser
Sketch a circle for the top and middle portion of the head. Sketch a vertical line down from the right side of the circle for the front of the face. Add a short horizontal line at the end of the vertical line, slightly lower than the circle, as the base of the chin.
Sketch a horizontal line, halfway between the top of the chin, the circle and the base of the chin, for the placement of the eye. Sketch a vertical line to the right of the circle to help with the placement of the nose. Another vertical line, coming from the center of the circle, will help with the placement of the ear.
Sketch a triangle for the eye, placing it about a third of the distance from the right edge of the circle to the vertical line for the ear. Sketch a horizontal line a little less than half the distance from the eye line to the chin line for the base of the ear. Add a short horizontal line a little less than half the distance from the previously established nose line to the chin line to help place the mouth.
Add a horizontal line for the eyebrow. Sketch the eyebrow, making it slightly curved. Add lines for the lips, connecting them to the vertical line in the front of the face.
Sketch the ear shape, placing it slightly left of the central vertical line and from the brow line to the nose baseline. Form the profile of the face and complete the jawline, which ends near the lower right part of the ear.
Add details to the eyes, ears and nose. Add the hair and neck.
Most adult faces have similar overall proportions, with the differences being most noticeable in the features such as the eyes, nose, ears and lips.
The ethnicity of a person can be developed by changing the features while using the same basic structure.
For an elderly man or woman, draw the ears and nose larger, the chin longer and make noticeable wrinkles.
The proportions of a child's face are different from those of an adult. While the eyes of an adult are placed at the middle, a child's eyes are below the middle, creating a bigger forehead. The head itself is wide and the features small.
When drawing a woman's face, follow the same basic proportions and placement of features as used for the generic male. The ears, nose and jawline are usually smaller and more delicate, the lips larger and more noticeable. Details such as earrings, eyeliner and hairstyle can also express femininity.