Blind Contour Drawing... 8 Upside-Down Drawing Drawing what you see, not what you know Graphite... 13

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1 Table of Contents Click on any page number to be taken directly to that section. WHAT YOU LL LEARN IN THIS LESSON... 3 INTRODUCTION... 6 WARM-UP EXERCISES... 8 Blind Contour Drawing... 8 Upside-Down Drawing Drawing what you see, not what you know MATERIALS Graphite Graphite Pencils Other Graphite Pencils Graphite Stick Powdered Graphite Charcoal Compressed Charcoal Charcoal Pencils Conté Crayons Other Charcoal Willow Charcoal Vine Charcoal Compressed Charcoal Stick Powdered Charcoal Tortillon (Paper Stump) & Pad of Sandpaper Paper Tooths Paper Types Drawing Paper Toned Paper Copy/Printer Paper Newsprint Tracing Paper and Transparencies Other Materials Kneaded Eraser White Vinyl Eraser LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 1

2 Electric or battery-operated eraser Electric Pencil Sharpener Hand Mirror Rulers Drawing Board Easels Picture Plane Viewfinder PENCIL GRIPS DRAWING TECHNIQUES Tone Broad Stroke Prevent Banding In Your Pencilwork Hatching and Crosshatching Cross Hatching Development How to Hatch for Different Effects The Tortillon Effect Here s How Far You Can Take Hatching RECOGNIZE NEGATIVE SPACE MY TOP DRAWING SECRETS Secret #1 - Use an easel or drawing board Secret #2 - Use large, loose arm movements Secret #3 - Stand back and glance back and forth Secret #4 - Look at your subject at least half the time Secret #5 Get fresh eyes Secret #6 Squint at your subject CONCLUSION LESSON RECAP PRACTICE Practice #1: Create Tonal Scales Practice #2: Hatch and Cross Hatch Practice #3: The Before Picture LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 2

3 What You ll Learn in This Lesson This lesson gives you a treasure chest of materials, tips, techniques, and drawing secrets to get your drawing skills started off on a solid foundation. We start out with some warm-up exercises that I ve used myself and that my students have said really loosen them up and get them ready to draw. These exercises shake up your preconceived notions and set habits so you can approach drawing with a fresh mindset. I recommend doing these exercises frequently as you continue on your drawing journey. Then I go into drawing materials. There s far too much to contain in one lesson, but my objective with this lesson is to give you a great primer on some basic (and some not-so-basic) materials that I find personally helpful, and some outright irreplaceable. I go into detail about the qualities and differences of graphite and charcoal (information that s actually hard to come by), so you feel much more prepared to go into an art store and know where to go to get the materials you need for your LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 3

4 composition. I illustrate the differences in types of charcoal, the different effect you can get, and how different types of paper affect the marks you make. Then I ll address pencil grips - a concept that s so important to master because your pencil grip can be the difference between a successful drawing and one you can t do anything to adjust or correct. I share a few drawing techniques and concepts, including tone, the effect of a bevel pencil tip, hatching and cross hatching, and how to avoid banding in your pencil work. Then I finish that off with addressing negative space, a concept which will crop up several times throughout the course. I close the lesson with my Top Drawing Secrets, those techniques and tips I use every time I draw or paint. These are absolutely invaluable to getting started off right in your drawing journey and if you start incorporating these into your drawing sessions now, you will find your drawings improve by leaps and bounds! It s easy to think you can skip a lesson called getting started because you re ready to get right to it! But I am not exaggerating when I say this lesson provides you with such a great foundation that you will benefit from in every single subsequent lesson. I can t wait to show you all the great materials and techniques I have to share so you can start becoming the artist you ve always dreamed of being! LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 4

5 THIS LESSON WORKBOOK WILL GIVE YOU THE ESSENTIALS OF THE LESSON, LIKE THE IMAGES, WITH SPACE FOR YOUR OWN NOTES AS YOU WATCH THE VIDEO. THIS IS WHERE YOU SYNTHESIZE WHAT YOU LEARN IN THE VIDEO AND JOT DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS, INSIGHTS, AND REMINDERS TO REVISIT AS YOU RE LEARNING THE CONCEPTS. WHAT KIND OF NOTES WOULD YOU TAKE? WELL, ASK YOURSELF SOME OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: WHAT DID I LEARN? WHAT WAS A BIG A-HA! MOMENT? WHAT WAS PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING ABOUT THIS STEP OR EXERCISE? WHAT QUESTIONS DO I STILL HAVE? WHAT S SOMETHING I NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OR KEEP PRACTICING? WHAT ARE SOME GREAT IDEAS THIS GIVES ME? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 5

6 Introduction Despite what you may think, you don t need to be born with innate artistic talent to be able to draw. How is drawing like any discipline or skill? Anyone can learn to draw well with good instruction and lots of practice. What do you also need? That s what will motivate you to put in the time and practice to develop your drawing skills. The first step is to find art instruction. But not all instruction is created equal. Why is some art instruction not effective? CHATEAU TOWER 8½ X 11 GRAPHITE ON PAPER It s easy in these cases to think you just don t have the talent. But that artist may not have actually taught you, communicated to you the specific steps and techniques they were using. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 6

7 My course is equal parts teaching and art. My aim is to show you how to draw anything you see. How do I propose doing that? What will keep you from getting overwhelmed is the steady progression of techniques and concepts, each building on the previous, that I will explain clearly as I go along. What will keep you energized and excited is that each one of these techniques is one more tool in your back pocket the more you learn, the more variety and possibility you ll see in the realm of pencil work! Why is this course so essential if you re interested on moving on to color mediums like oil pain, watercolor, or acrylic? You must have your drawing skills in place before progressing to color in order to: Ø get your accurate, Ø correctly assess, Ø ensure all your and are right, and Ø make sure your subject is on the paper all things that have nothing to do with color but provide the foundation for any good painting. This lesson is a true getting started lesson. Go into any art store and you might feel that mix of excitement and overwhelm at all the materials and supplies available. I will of course introduce you to my favorite materials and tools, but I ll also be teaching you some important techniques and concepts that will figure in to your drawing no matter your subject or genre. What else will I also be sharing with you that I use every time I draw or paint? So let s get started! I want to introduce you first to a couple of warm-up exercises that my students have said time and again loosen them up and help them see like an artist. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 7

8 Warm-Up Exercises Get your innovative, out-of-the-box thinking going now! What are some examples of creative, non-linear thinking YOU VE experienced? Blind Contour Drawing Who came up with the idea of Blind Contour Drawing in 1941? What are the main elements and the purpose of Blind Contour Drawing? Why does this need to be blind? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 8

9 Step 1 Why is this setup necessary for Blind Contour Drawing? Step 2 What are some great options for blind contour drawing? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 9

10 Step 3 How do you go about creating a blind contour drawing? What s important to remember? How will this exercise help your creative, non-linear thinking? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 10

11 Upside-Down Drawing You can look at your paper and lift your pencil between marks, but turn your reference image upside down so you re drawing more abstract shapes and lines. Drawing what you see, not what you know How does this mannequin illustrate drawing what you see, not what you know? Procedure What are the main points of drawing an upside-down drawing? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 11

12 How will this exercise help your creative, non-linear thinking? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 12

13 Materials All you really need to draw is: Graphite GRAPHITE is one of the most common tools used by artists. It s a great medium to use when you re just beginning to explore drawing. Graphite Pencils What graphite pencils are good to use for lighter lines and tones, and which ones are good for darker, richer tones? What do you have to keep in mind with softer pencils? What is one of the drawbacks to graphite? How can you achieve this tonal scale to get familiar with your pencils? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 13

14 Other Graphite Pencils WOODLESS PENCILS What s one advantage to woodless pencils? What s one disadvantage? MECHANICAL PENCILS Why are mechanical pencils so useful? What s their main limitation? Graphite Stick What s the main advantage of a graphite stick? What s the hardness? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 14

15 Powdered Graphite What uses can you think of for powdered graphite? Charcoal Let s talk a bit about the types and features of various CHARCOAL materials. I present this information in a separate video, About Graphite and Charcoal, available on my Store page but I ve included that content in this lesson as it s also important to include it in a lesson called Getting Started. What s a frustrating trend I ve observed about a lot of the information out there about charcoal? Charcoal is a fun and fascinating medium largely because there is so much variety. But what do you have to keep in mind about charcoal? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 15

16 Why is graphite so much simpler to understand than charcoal? Compressed Charcoal What are the primary differences between different compressed charcoal, and what causes this? Charcoal Pencils What are good brands for charcoal pencils? What are charcoal pencils useful for? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 16

17 This pencil (Derwent, Ivory Black 6700 ) has a creamier charcoal core, so the marks are thicker and smoother. What are some characteristics and considerations of this kind of charcoal pencil? This pencil (Derwent, 4B-soft ) has a chalkier core from less binder, so the marks are dark but sketchy. What are some characteristics and considerations of this kind of charcoal pencil? WHITE CHARCOAL PENCIL What is a white charcoal pencil good for? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 17

18 Conté Crayons How did conté crayons come to be? Why are they unique among charcoal materials? What natural pigments do they typically come in? Ø Ø Ø THE SHAWL 11 X 14 CHARCOAL ON TONED PAPER LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 18

19 Other Charcoal Some charcoal materials don t have compressed charcoal that s held together with a binder. The charcoal in these materials is much looser. Charcoal in its base form is just. As one of the earliest drawing or writing implements, ancient people would simply pull from a fire pit small twigs that had burned down to sticks of carbon and ash. Before binders like are added to make it creamy and stronger, you have charcoal like willow and vine. Willow Charcoal Describe willow charcoal. Vine Charcoal Describe vine charcoal. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 19

20 Compressed Charcoal Stick How is a compressed charcoal stick similar to a graphite stick? Why is it a useful tool? Powdered Charcoal How is powdered charcoal like powdered graphite? What are ways you can make your own powdered charcoal? Tortillon (Paper Stump) & Pad of Sandpaper What is a tortillon and what is it used for? Why is pad of sandpaper useful? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 20

21 Paper Tooths What is a paper tooth? What do you have to remember if it s humid or rainy? Here you see two different tooths. What kind of tooth does the white paper have? What kind of tooth does the white paper have? What effect does this tooth have on the medium you use? What effect does this tooth have on the medium you use? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 21

22 Describe the drawing above with regard to paper tooth and medium used. Describe the drawing above with regard to paper tooth and medium used. Additional Notes on Paper Tooths: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 22

23 Paper Types Drawing Paper What are good brands of drawing paper? What s a good all-purpose size to begin with? Toned Paper Why is toned paper useful in place of white drawing paper? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 23

24 Copy/Printer Paper Why do I recommend copy paper for the exercises in this program? Newsprint Why is newsprint useful? What size do I recommend? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 24

25 Tracing Paper and Transparencies Why is tracing so helpful for learning artists? When do transparencies come in handy? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 25

26 Other Materials Kneaded Eraser Why is a kneaded eraser better than many other kinds of erasers? How do you keep a kneaded eraser clean? White Vinyl Eraser When can a white vinyl eraser be a better choice than a kneaded eraser? Your Notes: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 26

27 Electric or battery-operated eraser Why is an electric or battery-operated eraser so useful? Electric Pencil Sharpener Why is an electric pencil sharpener so helpful to have with your drawing supplies? Hand Mirror What does a hand mirror help you do? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 27

28 Rulers What are the four types of rulers I discuss, and why are they useful? Drawing Board Why are drawing boards so essential? Where can you buy some, or how can you make your own? Your Notes: Drawing boards are also knows as: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 28

29 Easels Why are standing easels so helpful? Why might they be even more useful than drawing boards? If you don t have a standing easel, I recommend ARTIST S LOFT S BOX TABLE EASEL. Why? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 29

30 Picture Plane What s the history of the picture plane? How can it be useful? Why are picture planes ideal for drawing from a photograph? PICTURE PLANE INSIDE DIMENSIONS 8 X 10 AND 4½ X 6½ Viewfinder What do viewfinders help you do? How can you make one? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 30

31 Pencil Grips There are several pencil grips to master to get the most out of your drawing experience. The first three are ideal for what and why? Give yourself an arm s length of space between you and your drawing board to allow for large arm movements. You ll use these three interchangeably depending on your subject and the size of your paper. By contrast, when is the last grip used? What is this grip? Describe it. What is this grip? Describe it. What is this grip? Describe it. What is this grip? Describe it. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 31

32 Drawing Techniques What are H pencils good for? What are B pencils better for? Remember, the higher the B number the darker the tone (or values). Graphite pencils work well on what size paper? What about charcoal? GRAPHITE CHARCOAL Tone Tone is also called what? What is tone? What are some ways to achieve tone in your drawing? How is this tonal scale different from the tonal scale shown in the Graphite Pencil section above? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 32

33 Broad Stroke Describe the broad-stroke technique (use the image to the right to help). Why do you want to keep the pencil from turning? When would you WANT to turn the pencil? What s a good tip to keep in mind when you re using your sandpaper pad (think back to the Powdered Graphite portion of the Materials section). Additional Notes: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 33

34 Prevent Banding In Your Pencilwork You may notice unwanted bands running through an area of shading, especially noticeable in large areas of shading like a sky or water. Why does this happen? How can you avoid this effect? BANDING Problem Solution Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 34

35 Let me show you an example of using this technique in a drawing. How did I achieve the smooth base across the boat hull? How did I lay in the very dark shadows? B OAT REFLECTION 8½ X 11 CHARCOAL ON PAPER How did I lift out these highlights? Additional Notes: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 35

36 Hatching and Crosshatching What is hatching? What is cross hatching? Hatching Examples Cross Hatching Examples Cross Hatching Development What are some things to consider when making various hatching and cross hatching marks? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 36

37 How to Hatch for Different Effects Although you ll be exploring more refined, thorough shading techniques in Lesson 4, hatching can give your drawing a vibrant, artistic vibe that imbues your work with energy. For a curved surface: Step 1 SHADOW BORDER Step 2 DARKEST AREAS Step 3 LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 37

38 For an angled surface: HARD PRESSURE LIGHT PRESSURE Step 1 MEDIUM PRESSURE Step 2 DARKER AREAS Step 3 The Tortillon Effect What s something to remember when working with a tortillon? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 38

39 Here s How Far You Can Take Hatching REACHING FOR THE LIGHT EMERSON E. GLASS U NTITLED (HEAD OF A MAN) CECILIA BEAUX S TUDY IN PROFILE 8½ X 11 GRAPHITE ON PAPER Where do you see examples of hatching? What about cross hatching? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 39

40 In Study in Profile, I used hatching and especially cross-hatching judiciously and with different pencil pressures to achieve a variation of shading effects. Why did I use such obvious hatching and cross hatching in the ponytail? What does hatching under the eye accomplish? What about on the forehead? You can see very light, broad cross hatching along the edge of the hairline at the temple, the shadow under the jaw, and the shadow down the neck. Why are the hatch marks kept spaced out and the pencil pressure light? Additional Notes: LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 40

41 Recognize Negative Space It s a common misconception that NEGATIVE SPACE must be the dark areas of a drawing or picture, and the light areas must be the positive space. Why is this not always the case? You can see from the simplified example here: you can have a dark pitcher on a light background, or a light pitcher on a dark background, and in both cases, the pitcher is the positive space. So why is the concept of negative space a useful one? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 41

42 This grove of trees is a good exercise for training your eyes to observe negative space. Why is it so easy to get caught up in the shapes of the positive space, the trees themselves? What does focusing on the negative space between the trees and the branches actually help you form your positive space accurately? What do you need to remember about negative space and color? See if you can find where these three negative shapes show up in the main composition. How does negative space affect your understanding of perspective, or does it? Why? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 42

43 My Top Drawing Secrets There is an abundance of information I provide to you in this course. Each lesson is chock-full of tips, techniques, strategies, and reminders. But if you asked me to condense all of that information into the most important drawing secrets, you would get the following tips. If you incorporate these into your practice from the start, your drawing will improve by leaps and bounds! Secret #1 - Use an easel or drawing board How is drawing different than writing? How is distance so essential to drawing accurately? What materials have I already covered that facilitate this arms-length distance? Why are they so crucial for this drawing secret? When do you need to sit at arms-length, and when can you get a little closer? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 43

44 Secret #2 - Use large, loose arm movements During what stage of drawing do you need large, loose arm movements? How can you keep your marks light and easy to erase? What are the two objectives large, loose arm movements help you to achieve? Secret #3 - Stand back and glance back and forth What does glancing back and forth mean? What does it help you to achieve? What can happen if you don t glance back and forth frequently throughout your drawing? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 44

45 Secret #4 - Look at your subject at least half the time This is a tough secret to remember. Why? What kind of problems can develop in your drawing if you don t look at your subject at least half the time? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 45

46 Secret #5 Get fresh eyes You can get the fresh eyes effect in several ways, particularly with a mirror. How would you use a standing mirror to achieve this? Where does this secret come from? What if you don t have a standing mirror? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 46

47 This secret is about dishabituating your eyes. Why is that so important? What are four ways you can dishabituate your eyes and get that fresh eyes effect? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 47

48 Secret #6 Squint at your subject BEFORE SQUINTING AFTER SQUINTING How does squinting help you as you draw? This drawing secret can also help you identify what in your drawing? How can this help your drawing? LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 48

49 Conclusion This lesson has given you a really solid start to building your drawing skills. We ll be going into much more detail in future lessons and I ll be incorporating what I covered here throughout my demonstrations and lessons in this course. The content in this lesson truly forms the bedrock of my entire course and my art career and is so important for you to practice before going on to other concepts. I hope you ve found this information helpful. Learning to draw is really learning to see, so I want to encourage you to start right now putting my Top Drawing Secrets into action and experiment freely with the materials, concepts, and techniques I ve just presented. It just gets better from here! Lesson Recap COVERED IN THIS LESSON: Get your drawing skills in place with good instruction and lots of practice before moving on to color media. Warm-up exercises like blind contour and upside-down drawing are extremely helpful in loosening you up and developing and reinforcing your divergent, creative thinking. Try to do these exercises regularly as you build your drawing skills. Get familiar with your materials by testing them out on scratch paper like copy paper so you can see how pressure, grip, and medium affect the marks you make. There are different uses for both graphite and charcoal and it will help you to experiment with both mediums. The extended tripod, overhand, and underhand grips are ideal for the beginning stages of a drawing (like blocking in your drawing). The basic tripod is only for detail work (like shading). LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 49

50 There are several different drawing techniques to help you achieve even tone, such as the broad-stroke technique. Prevent banding by varying your pencil, pencil pressure, and strokes. Hatching and cross hatching are versatile ways to achieve shading in your drawing. Recognizing negative space can be crucial in rendering a drawing realistically. Sometimes it s easier to shift your focus to the negative spaces of your drawing to help you draw the positive objects. Remember, positive space is the subject or main objects of your drawing. Negative space is the surrounding areas. They can be any color or tone. My top drawing secrets are key to incorporate from the start in your drawing. Using an easel (or a drawing board in the right way) reduces distortion in your drawing. Using a mirror, turning your drawing and photo upside down, leaving your drawing for a while and coming back, and standing back and glancing back and forth are all ways to achieve fresh eyes. Squinting helps you reduce details in your subject down to large value masses which helps you achieve the right tone. Using large, loose arm movements in the beginning of your drawing enables you to get your subject initially drafted and well-placed on your paper. Making sure to look at your subject at least half the time keeps you from getting lost in your drawing at the expense of proper proportion, perspective, and values. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 50

51 Practice DOING THE DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE LESSON WILL HELP YOU LEARN. BUT THE PRACTICE EXERCISE(S) HERE YOU WILL DO ON YOUR OWN. THE PRACTICE WILL HELP YOU APPLY THE CONCEPTS TO YOUR OWN COMPOSITIONS AND WILL BE A SELF-CHECK TO SEE HOW WELL YOU RE LEARNING THE CONCEPTS IN THE LESSON AND WHERE YOU MAY NEED TO TAKE SOME MORE TIME TO PRACTICE. Practice #1: Create Tonal Scales Recreate the tonal scales shown here with your own pencils. For the Individual Tonal Scale below, featured in the Graphite Pencils segment earlier, use equal pencil pressure with all the pencils to really see the differences accurately. For the Graduated Tonal Scale to the right, featured in the Drawing Techniques segment, do the opposite: use the same pencil and steadily increase (or decrease) your pressure. As simple as some of these practice exercises seem, it s important to do them to build muscle memory as you re learning different pencil techniques and to build hand-eye coordination as you see your subject and figure out how to render it on paper. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 51

52 Practice #2: Hatch and Cross Hatch Practice hatching and cross hatching by using the chart here for inspiration. Explore the subtlety or boldness you can get with a variety of pencils combined with different pencil pressure. LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 52

53 Practice #3: The Before Picture One of the best ways to chart your progress as an artist is with before and after drawings. As you go through the entire Drawing Secrets Revealed program and diligently practice the concepts presented, your abilities will improve significantly. So a great way to start the process is by attempting a rather complex portrait. Try drawing this photograph of classic Hollywood actress, Gene Tierney. Avoid using scaffolding techniques like tracing or gridding. Free handing is the best way to gauge the true progress of your abilities. Don t worry about trying to do it perfectly. Just do it to the best of your current abilities. You ll attempt it again at the end of the program and see just how far you ve come! LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED Page 53