Is it difficult to draw? Why is it useful to draw? Is it possible to learn? What not to do

Drawing is, at the very least, a great hobby for creative people. Many people believe that for this you need to have some kind of special talent, when, in fact, anyone can learn to draw - with a certain persistence and systematic practice. We will help you figure out how to learn to draw with a pencil and what beginners need to know about this activity.

Drawing supplies

You should have a set of simple pencils. They are designated by the letters H (T in Russian markings) - hard pencil, B (M) - soft, and a number is placed in front of the letter, which indicates the degree of hardness or softness, for example, 2B.

Beginners should start with an HB (TM) pencil - this is a standard pencil, medium hard-soft. Once you get used to it, it will be easier to control the pressure when using other types of pencils.

Take white and thick paper, preferably grainy - pencil shades will be clearly visible on it. If possible, buy one sheet of paper for testing and rub it with an eraser - if it immediately becomes loose with pellets, then the quality of such paper leaves much to be desired.

Don't forget to take a good eraser to correct future marks. Choose a soft eraser so that you don’t damage the paper too much when erasing.

Where to begin

First of all, you need to become familiar with the basic principles of drawing: composition, volume, perspective, dynamics. These basics apply to any style, not just pencil drawings.

After this, you should decide what exactly you want to learn and how you want to draw, what style to choose. Even if you want to be able to do a little bit of everything, stop first on something specific and don’t try to embrace the immensity - master one style, and then move on to another.

If you want to learn how to draw portraits, you will have to learn the basics of anatomy, the proportions of the human face and body. To learn how to draw landscapes, you need to practice drawing natural objects - plants, mountain ranges, sea waves, etc. If you want to draw anime, then you need to know the features of drawing characters in this genre.

From simple to complex

You must learn to draw geometric shapes in two dimensions and then in three dimensions. This will become a very important stage in your practice, because, in fact, all objects and even we ourselves conditionally consist of different geometric shapes. And when you are just learning to draw objects and people, and even after gaining experience, you will still sketch circles, ovals, squares on paper, indicating the proportions of the objects being drawn.

Draw a lot of simple objects and animals in a simplified form. Don't shy away from drawing objects that seem boring at first glance, like a cup, an alarm clock, or an apple on a table - even a simple two-dimensional outline drawing will require some skill on your part.

Let's try to practice a little right now and draw a cute mouse.

1. Take a soft pencil and draw two ovals next to each other, with a slight intersection. One of them will be smaller - this is the future mouse’s head, and the second will become the body.


2. Draw circles for the ears, outline the paws and outline the curving tail.


3. Now let’s draw a muzzle for the mouse - an eye in the shape of an inverted drop, a nose like a ball, a smile, and don’t forget to draw the ears.


4. Erase the inner contours of the muzzle and make a more saturated stroke. Color the pupil and nose black, with a white highlight in the middle.


5. Draw the mouse’s paws and shape the tail, erasing the auxiliary contours along the body. Trace the rest of the mouse.


After two-dimensional images, start mastering three-dimensional ones, with the transfer of volume. When studying black and white drawing, start with the classic task - draw a ball with a falling shadow. If you don't have a suitable ball at home, use a chicken egg as an object. You can see how to perform such a drawing in the following video.

At first, it is very important to learn how to draw from life - you must develop a sense of form on real objects, observe shadows and light, see volume.

The main principle in drawing is the movement from simple to complex, from the general to the details.

Don't rush and don't expect that after a couple of drawing lessons you will be able to create brilliant paintings. Be patient: sometimes you will have to learn to draw the same figure over and over again until you get it right before moving on to more complex tasks, such as drawing people.

Basic pencil drawing techniques

The main techniques for drawing with a pencil include shading and shading.

In the initial stages, it will be easier for you to master shading. Although sometimes art school students, for example, use exclusively shading, and shading is considered the wrong technique. In any case, it will be useful to master both techniques, as they help achieve different results in the drawing.

Hatching

Hatching is done by drawing short, thin lines with a pencil on an area of ​​paper. The lines are placed at the same distance from each other. At the same time, the pencil comes off the sheet: having drawn one line, you do not pull it along the paper in a zigzag to its original position, but return it back without leaving marks. It is important to hatch the drawing in one direction.

The degree of tone saturation is controlled by different frequencies of strokes and their direction - strokes can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal. Increasing the depth of color is achieved using cross strokes in different directions, for example, diagonal strokes are superimposed on top of vertical strokes.

There are also relief strokes - they are used to convey the relief and are made with curved, arched, broken strokes, but not straight.

Pencil shading conveys both light and shade and tones, as well as various textures: backgrounds, surfaces, materials, etc.

The shading technique is quite complex for beginners and requires a lot of training. It will likely take a long time before you can develop your own shading style. Therefore, for beginners, the shading technique is suitable, which will help correct defects in shading if necessary.

It is with the help of shading that a realistic image is achieved with a smooth gradation of tone.

It is performed as follows: hatch lines are applied to the paper with a pencil, and then rubbed using a special tool - a feather brush, or with a cotton swab, a piece of soft paper, fabric or suede. Do not shade the lines with your finger in order to avoid the appearance of greasy spots in the drawing.

In fact, shading is an optional stage after shading, but with its own peculiarity: shading before shading is better with cross zigzag lines. Do not do horizontal shading - rub pencil lines only from top to bottom.

It is important that the shading is uniform. As a last resort, you can carefully highlight the light areas with a pencil again, and weaken the dark areas with an eraser.

In this video you can see how to perform different types of shading and shading.

When the basics have been studied and pencil techniques have been mastered, all that remains is to practice drawing more often. Remember that practice is the key to your success.

There are a lot of manuals for beginning artists, where you will see special lessons on drawing individual objects or paintings with a pencil. You can either buy these publications in a specialized store or take lessons from the Internet. The main thing is to practice as much and often as possible. Let drawing become, first of all, a pleasant leisure time for you.

Once again receiving a question from students “Is it possible to draw from photographs?”, I decided to write an article on this matter to reveal my position.

When I see somewhere on art forums how experienced artists teach beginners that drawing from a photo is bad manners, that this should never be done, I understand that such an artist is either only an art theorist, or is simply disingenuous.

It is assumed that it is possible draw only from life and en plein air? And everything else is a pathetic imitation of nature?

But let's remember that plein air entered the history of painting not so long ago. Artists began to paint in nature only in the 19th century! Yes, and there were no photographs then; they drew from memory. But has art lost so much by replacing the artist’s memory with photography? After all, memory is a selective thing; it does not capture all the details.

In addition, in some cases, working in the open air is not the best conditions for the writing technique itself. With watercolors, for example, you can’t paint in the cold in winter—the water freezes...

However, I do not want to say that drawing from a photograph is possible and necessary. In this matter, it seems to me, one cannot be categorical. As with many things, there are pros and cons. I'll try to reveal these points.

Draw from life or from a photo : "pros and cons".

A “one-eyed” photograph displays an object flatter than the eye sees.

Indeed, if you look at some close object, first with two eyes, and then with one, you will see that the object has become “less alive,” less voluminous.

By drawing from life, we can convey this impression of volume, but by drawing from a photo, we deprive the drawing of part of its “life”.

It is easier to draw from a photograph, the features of the volume are more visible.

For beginners, drawing from photos is a salvation. Here they clearly see the volume on a two-dimensional sheet of paper, can analyze what color they see in this or that area of ​​the picture and transfer these impressions without loss to a two-dimensional sheet of paper.

The transfer of visual sensations from a 3D object often causes a feeling of loss and powerlessness. As a result, many people give up drawing, despairing of figuring out how to convey a three-dimensional form on a flat sheet.

Photography is a great helper at the first stage of learning. But don't get stuck at this stage. It is better to draw from life and from a photograph at the same time in order to be able to understand how and what the eye sees in nature.

The photograph distorts the size of objects in the background.

I think you've noticed that when you try to photograph a landscape where there is depth of space, you simply lose the middle ground objects. They are greatly compressed in height. So, the high mountains that amazed you look like just hills in the photo. And the tropics in the field, which the eye sees, simply disappear in the photograph.

Photographs can be taken in conditions that are not suitable for plein air.

And this, I would say, is a huge plus. The camera allows us to capture those landscapes that an artist with his easel cannot see. Come on, try drawing on the top of Elbrus or in the middle of a busy highway, in severe frost or in the rain! Only the camera preserves these images for art.

The photograph is static.

A person perceives the world not only with his eyes, but also with all other senses. And he can convey this in a picture.

Photography has the power to capture fleeting nature.

There are times when nature simply will not pose for the artist. A flying bird, an animal in a jump, a flash of lightning, and even just quickly fading flowers - all this is preserved for us by photography.

The photo does not convey the subtle shades of colors.

Yes, photography changes color, makes it simpler, bringing the tones closer together. And in general, the colors in the photo are not at all the same. And the photo is overexposed against the light, you need to be a great photographer to take a high-quality photo that is close to reality...

Photography allows for experiments with color.

You can experiment with the photo, giving it different saturation, changing shades of color, while giving a different mood to the motif. So a gray, nondescript landscape can become mysterious, mystical or bright and festive.

Not a single photo will give as many impressions and adrenaline as working in the open air.

Yes, it’s wonderful to sit in a clearing, listen to the birds singing, merging with nature. At the same time, a special state occurs in the soul, for which artists go to the plein air again and again. And it doesn’t matter that plein air painting in 90% of cases is just auxiliary material that may never become a painting, but what a pleasant process it is!

Photography captures detail.

there are answers to all these questions. Here are the basics of where to start painting. Follow these tips, do the exercises and you will no longer be afraid of a blank slate. You will receive the necessary knowledge and basic skills. Painting will become closer, clearer and will bring a lot of pleasure.

Part 1. Preparatory

1. Find an inspiring subject to draw

It happens that you have already prepared everything, but you cannot find an object that would inspire you. This should be taken care of in advance. Something interesting is probably lying around in cabinets and desk drawers. Look for items at estate sales, consignment stores and grocery stores. Study paintings by your favorite artists.

The selection should include items that are pleasant to look at: this is important for creating successful work.

An interest in color and shape will motivate you as you work on your painting. There is a connection between feelings for an object and the ability to reveal your abilities. You can do more than you think.

For the first picture, a simple one-color symmetrical vessel, such as a regular coffee cup, will do. Illustration from the book

2. Get to know brushes and paints

Take a soft round brush and a bristle brush in your hands and compare their bristles. Squeeze some acrylic paint from the tube onto the palette. Try applying undiluted paint with different brushes to canvas or watercolor paper. The strokes should be bright and bold. Feel the differences in strokes with different brushes. Add a little water and apply the strokes again. Medium consistency paint has the same color intensity as undiluted paint, but its texture is smoothed out. And do this exercise again with a weak paint solution. Notice how quickly the paints dry the first, second, and third times.

Illustration from the book

Try applying paint with different brushes - soft oval, synthetic thin, bristly flat. Try each brush until you are confident that you know which brush to use to achieve the design you have in mind.

Illustration from the book

3. Useful techniques for working with the palette

The colors in the paintings we see are usually obtained through mixing: the pure color from the tube is usually too intense. These techniques will make it easier for you to get the color you want.

1. 1 Squeeze the paint from the tube onto the edge of the palette, leaving space between the colors. Use the center of the palette for mixing. Make batches farther apart to prevent unwanted mixing.
2. Apply pure color to the brush from the edge of the palette, and not from above or from the middle of the squeezed out “sausage”.
3. Intense dark colors such as black (although it is not scientifically considered a color) should be added with caution; even a small amount can significantly change the color being mixed.
4. You need to mix the colors together until the mixture becomes completely homogeneous.
5. Don't skimp on the paint. Squeeze out as much as you need - usually this is a circle the size of a ruble coin (for whitewash - the size of a five-ruble coin). Paint consumption is an integral part of the painting process. If you save too much, you will never learn how to use paint.

4. Learn to get neutral colors

In any picture there are neutral colors - “visually gray”. Due to their low intensity, they are invisible at first glance, but they are the most useful tool for creating a harmonious color composition. Let's see how to achieve this.

Mix blue and orange in any proportion. Now let's try to change the color temperature by proportionally warm and cool colors in the mixture. If the result is more purple, try making a rusty color by adding more orange paint and then whitewash for a lighter peach color. If the first step produces a rusty color, add blue to create a cool color, close to purple, and then white to create a light violet-gray.

Repeat the previous steps for another pair of complementary colors - yellow and purple, red and green.

Pairs of complementary colors are connected by short vertical strokes. The colors of each pair are mixed with each other to create two neutral colors, each of which was dominated by one of the parent colors - these are located to the right of the corresponding parent. Illustration from the book

5. Primary, secondary and tertiary colors

Draw a circle, then divide it into three equal sectors. Paint the upper sector with cadmium yellow medium, the lower right one with ultramarine blue, and then mix the main red from naphthol crimson and cadmium red light and paint the lower left sector with it.

On the color wheel of primary colors, draw semicircles with centers at the intersection of the sector boundaries with the outer contour of the color wheel. Fill these semicircles with secondary colors, placing them above the “parents”: cadmium red light above the border between red and yellow, dioxazine violet above the border between red and blue. Add yellow to the green FC and fill in the green semicircle above the border between yellow and blue.

The primary color, when mixed with the adjacent secondary color, produces a tertiary color. Add one triangle on each side of the semicircle, making a total of six. Color in each triangle based on the labels.

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors. Illustration from the book

Part 2. Drawing

6. Start with abstractions

Abstraction is an interesting and simple way to prepare for working on a realistic piece. It is important to choose 3-4 colors that you like in order to feel an emotional connection with the painting. Draw a continuous angular or rounded line over the entire surface of the sheet with a simple pencil. It may intersect several times.

Paint the shapes in the drawing with the colors and shades, paint consistency and brush that you like. Listen to your inner voice. The main task is to do it the way you like, forgetting about everything else.

Illustration from the book

7. Smear pattern

Beginners are often unsure how to apply strokes. The arrows in the figure show the direction that will help to achieve good depth in the depicted space using the example of a mug.

Smear diagram and result. Illustration from the book

8. How to apply eye shadow

Shadows play a key role in creating a three-dimensional image: first of all, you need to learn to see and write them. There are four types of shadows:

• Own shadows located on objects. These are areas of dark tone that contrast with the illuminated parts of the depicted form. They usually have a sharp edge at the outer edge and a smooth transition at the edge of the light-colored areas of the subject. They play the main role in creating volume.
• Halftone areas- narrow, with a soft contour, located on the border between its own shadow and the illuminated area of ​​the object. These shadows are the middle tone between the contrasting dark and light tones of the subject.
• Falling shadows- silhouettes of an object, “fallen” or thrown by it onto any surface other than itself. They give the impression that the object is on some surface.
• T Eni at the point of contact- the darkest area of ​​the falling shadow, lying next to the object. They are responsible for the “stability” and mass of the object. These shadows are also called the accent - the darkest area among the dark tones. An accent is the dark counterpart of a highlight, the lightest area among the highlights.

To paint a shadow, apply black paint or paint of a darker color than the base color. And in the second step, cover this darkened area with the main color. The halftone black should show through under the new coat of paint, creating a colored shadow. If you want to make the shadow darker, apply more black from the clear edge of the shadow and mix with the color in the midtone.

Shadow using a cylinder as an example. Illustration from the book

9. How to apply highlights

To create a realistic highlight, use a dry brush with white paint to paint the lightest area on the subject as many times as necessary to achieve sufficient brightness. In the middle of the highlight, place a small dab of thick paint for extra brightness.

Two examples of highlight overlay. Illustration from the book

10. Paint pictures in your imagination

While going about your daily activities, paint pictures in your imagination. Mentally look for correspondence between the surfaces and textures you see around you and the way you work with a brush and apply paint.

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Most likely, everyone periodically has the desire to draw something, and not just a doodle, but so that everyone likes it. Especially often, such a desire appears when looking at a beautiful and talented painting. It would seem that it’s so difficult? I want to learn how to draw coolly with a pencil, so I take paper and draw a masterpiece. But when it comes to implementation, then difficulties arise: either the center is shifted, the scale and aspect ratios are incorrect, or the details did not work out. How to quickly learn to draw with a simple pencil, if immediately, because of your own ineptitude, the desire to create masterpieces disappears?

Remember that even the most talented masters did not learn immediately: everyone has gone a long way in order to improve their skills and delight others with beauty. This is preceded by more than one year and more than one month of hard work - very little time will pass, and now we are already good at drawing simple pictures and people.

A pencil is considered the simplest drawing tool, so you should start learning with it.

It takes some getting used to carry a pencil and notepad with you in order to make sketches. Only hard work and perseverance will help you achieve your goal. But what to do if, apart from desire and some abilities, there is nothing?

Drawing: how to draw something beautiful and easy for beginners

So, to draw pictures, you need to know where to start. remember, that For beginners, a pencil is the most convenient tool. This is because it is easy to erase, and if the line is wrong, it can be changed. Moreover, there are different types of pencils, with the help of them you can easily create a beautiful drawing.

The main advice for future artists is never do not start drawing with complex and large paintings until you learn how to depict details. You are unlikely to succeed, and the desire to draw again will simply disappear.

First, learn to depict individual objects. To do this, highlight one element from the others with your eyes. Then visually evaluate the shape and size. Next, highlight where on the paper it is best to place it, taking into account the size and shape. Do not forget that tall elements are positioned along the length of the paper, and wide elements are positioned along the width.

In addition, keep in mind that a real object is usually larger than a piece of paper, so you need to draw it, taking into account aspect ratio and scale. This is not an easy task for a beginner. Therefore, to develop skills, below there will be simple exercises that will help allocate space for drawing.

Drawing exercises

In these drawing exercises, we draw objects as diagrams, without creating small details - this is something that a beginner can draw simply and beautifully. Here it is important to see how objects are created using simple figures and their dimensions are taken into account. By acquiring such skills, in the future you will be able to automatically find the location and size of the picture.

Exercise No. 1: so the first task is that you need to draw an object not from its natural size, but from a picture. This greatly simplifies the task, since there is no need to select an element and find a place to place it - everything has already been done. You need to reproduce the same thing, but in a different size, so that it does not become a copy.

Repeat similar exercises with other images, developing an understanding of proportions and space.

Let's draw a mountain. First, take a close look at the picture. Visualize it on your sheet. Now draw a straight line. This will be the foundation. Study the shape of the hill and its slopes. If the mountain has equal sides, then depict it as a regular cone, whose height is less than the width of the base. To understand how many times the parts differ in size, you can take a ruler, but the main thing is to be able to do this by eye. In this situation, the proportions of height and width are 1:3.

To get the aspect ratios right, create a vertex first. Find a place on the horizontal line where you will place it. Create 3 equal segments on the line. Next, find the middle and draw a perpendicular. Then mark the top of the mountain at a distance of 1 division from the base. If the image matches, everything was done correctly. Now try to create the same mountain, but in a different size.

Do not forget that to correctly determine the aspect ratio of an object, you need to start by dividing the base into equal parts, and then move on from there. A task like this will teach you to accurately determine ratio of various elements of objects. And this is the basis of drawing.

Exercise No. 2: another challenge is that it is required to depict a mountain with different proportions of width and height. Here they will be 1:4, and the top deviates to the right. The task is more difficult, but not impossible.

First, repeat the steps of the first exercise: draw a straight line, dividing it into equal parts (here 4). Then there is a peculiarity - the vertex will not be in the center of the segment. It seems to be above the third segment, so we draw a perpendicular line from it. Then the top is laid off. Usually, when creating a drawing, the base is divided by 2 or 3, rarely by 5.

Exercise No. 3: this exercise will require depicting on one sheet of paper profiles of different mountains, which have different vertices in location and height. Don't be afraid, the task is not too difficult. Imagine each hill separately, mentally draw a dotted line to the bases. And then you will understand that the first exercise is simply repeated several times.

Another skill - skills to draw straight lines without tools. This is not too easy, it will require training. First draw a vertical line using a ruler. Now practice, trying to create maximum parallel by hand. A similar exercise is repeated with the horizon.

Mastering shading

When creating masterpieces with a pencil, you will need to master shading skills for the volume of an object. It will show where the shadow falls and where the light falls. Start with simple shapes: cube, ball, cone, etc. In addition, if you look closely, you will notice that these figures have penumbra.

In order to obtain a smooth transition from light to dark, you will need pencils with different densities. After mastering this skill, you will easily learn how to draw three-dimensional details. For classes, you can choose interesting and stylish drawings for beginners - not very complex, but beautiful, they will delight you with the results and maintain confidence in your abilities.

How to draw a person correctly

If you have achieved success in previous tasks, then let’s figure it out now, how to draw a person. This is not the easiest task. Let's look at step-by-step drawing. First try creating people on paper who are standing - this is important for distinguishing between aspect ratios.

Draw a vertical line and build off of it to create a mesh, i.e. the main lines of the waist, shoulders, head, arms and legs. But how do you understand the size of these lines? When drawing from life It is important to use a pencil as a measuring tool. For example, you want to determine the distance from the waist to the head. Take a pencil, visually align its tip with the level of the crown, then mark on it where the waist is located. Transfer the size onto paper. This way you can measure all the items.

Drawing people is a difficult task. Start by creating the base, then draw in the details.

To test yourself, remember that the body is visually divided into 8 parts. One part is equal to the size of the head. In representatives of the stronger sex, the body length is 3 heads, and the border is located on the chest, chin, crotch and belt. The legs are 4 heads, and the center is near the knees. The width of the shoulders reaches 2 1/3 the size of the head. The length of the arms reaches 3.5 times the size of the head. Women's proportions are different - the body is more elongated, and the hips are considered the widest part.

If you have determined the proportions of a person, drawn marks, then give shape to the body. To do this, all elements are drawn in the form of cylinders and ovals. If you like everything, then draw the outline. Now all that remains is to create the details - fingers, hair, face, clothes.

How to draw a portrait

The greatest difficulty is creating portraits. The difficulty is that to obtain a similarity you will need to correctly draw all the details and features. So, let's figure out how to draw a portrait for beginners.

First tip: think about what can be easily drawn or copied from a photo with a pencil? Separate areas of the face: nose, eyes, lips from different angles, even ears. Then move on to creating the full image. For beginners, it will be easier to work from photos; gradually you can move on to personal observations, sketches and sketches from life.

Tip two: Start by creating an oval shape for the head. Then draw a vertical line down the center. She will divide the face into equal parts. Then divide it into 2 parts horizontally - this is the line where the eyes are located. The eyebrows are located in line with the upper edges of the ears.

Third tip: The length of the nose can be determined as follows: divide the gap between the eyes and chin by 2 - this is the location of the tip. Its width corresponds to the gap between the edges of the eyes. These relationships are not an axiom, but most often faces are drawn this way.

There is a certain concept of facial proportions that can be taken as a basis.

When positioning the parts of the face, you need to create the contour of the lips, nose, ears, and hair. If you are satisfied with the details, then start drawing. Now all that remains is to add the finishing touches.

Graffiti style

If you like lettering, then you should consider . There are different directions and stylistic exercises for drawing words, letters, phrases. And to understand in what specific direction you will create, you will need to study them all.

Practice on paper first. Create a word. The letters need to be placed at a distance corresponding to ½ the height of the letter, because they will need to be outlined. Now give each letter volume and convexity with shading.

Selecting Tools

The choice of tools and sheets plays a significant role in drawing. So, what devices to choose:

There are different types of pencils. A simple pencil happens with different levels of softness. They are often designated by Latin letters: B - the softest, H - the hardest, and HB - hard-soft pencils. Besides this, there are also numbers from 2 to 9. These show the tone;
a beginner will need different pencils with different hardness. In addition, when drawing you will need soft eraser;
paper plays an important role. It is better to use thick white sheets - they can withstand corrections. A grainy sheet is suitable for a pencil because the shades are visible on it.

We looked in detail at how to learn to work with a pencil and how to draw something beautiful at home, but now let’s sum it up. Let's look at some brief tips on how to get better at drawing - the list, of course, is far from complete, but it sums up the experience:

Create sketches.

This is the main point. Required to create per day at least 5 sketches. It's worth doing your best here. Take advantage of every chance to create drawings: on the road, in the office, at home. This improves your skills, develops imagination, and the ability to understand size relationships. Drawing storyboards and comics is useful.

Copy the works of masters.

Imitate the masters, it develops taste. Do 1 copy every 3 months. This should include originals by good artists. Try to get as close to the source as possible, study not only the techniques of the masters, but also the cultural features of that era.

Experiment, don’t be afraid of mistakes and don’t put off creativity until later. This way you will soon learn how to create masterpieces.

Draw from memory.

Even when drawing from life, you have to create an image from memory. Besides, it is important to draw small elements from memory- this will improve visual memory and imagination.

Repeat mistakes.

People often quit at the first problem: they are afraid of repeating the mistake. But you shouldn't do this. If it doesn't work, start again. Don’t avoid mistakes; they are worth taking a closer look at - perhaps this is where your individuality lies.

You shouldn't draw from a photo.

Yes, at first this is the only way to train, but then you shouldn’t do it. The lens is not able to convey the full depth of forms.

Take a break.

Don't concentrate on one thing it's important to be able to switch. If something doesn't work out, take breaks. Start different drawings, change points of view, technique.

Conclusion

Even if drawing with a pencil or paints (pastels, watercolors, oils, etc.) is a completely new area of ​​life for you, don't be afraid to set goals, both modest and global. It is important to remember why you decided to study drawing: will it become a future profession or hobby, do you want to please your friends or relatives with a landscape or portrait as a gift, have you simply decided to master a new creative niche?

Fears of your own inability do not give you peace, constantly buzzing in your ear, “You won’t succeed anyway”? Don’t put off ideas and plans for later, gradually purchasing boxes of pencils and paints or spending weekends looking for that “best paper” in stores. Make your wishes come true today- just take a notebook and pencil and start making, albeit not very skillful, but at least your own sketches.

23 January 2014, 15:22

No matter how old you are, it's never too late to learn something new. If you decide to master the art of drawing at any cost, then age will not be a hindrance. Many famous artists began to draw when they were already adults.

What materials will you need?

First of all, decide what you like best - drawing or painting. If you want to create black and white and expressive portraits, then purchase graphite pencils of varying degrees of softness. If you prefer color paintings, then it is better to buy gouache. It is better suited for a beginning artist than watercolor. If you are not afraid of difficulties, then you can start straight away with oil paints. You will also need brushes and paper. If you want to paint with oil, you can buy canvas. Nowadays there is a large selection of different art materials, so you can easily find what you need.

Where to start self-study

In order to achieve success in drawing, you need to follow the principle of gradualness. There is no need to immediately try to draw nudes. It's best to start with small objects like an apple and a glass. You need to draw from life. Just put an object in front of you and try to draw it on paper. The first experiments may be unsuccessful, but you need to keep drawing.

Buy or download a drawing tutorial - it will help you master different techniques. It would be better if it was an actual textbook on construction, perspective, or anatomy. Books like “Drawing 50 Cats” are designed to copy an image; they will not teach construction and will not be particularly useful.

Try not to draw from photographs, because a flat picture will not give you a sense of the volume of the subject. Draw from life every day. Get a small notebook and carry it with you so that you can sketch something interesting at any moment. The more often you practice, the sooner you will see progress from practice.

Show yours to your friends and family. From the outside you can always see mistakes better. While drawing, you may not notice that you have distorted the proportions. Your eye becomes blurred; you look at your painting for several hours while working, and it may seem like a masterpiece to you. However, after looking at it a month later, you may find that the work is not at all as ideal as it seemed before.

In any business, the main thing is not to give up what you started. It is quite possible to learn to create masterpieces without a teacher, the main thing is to draw regularly.