The Basics

of
Drawing

Prepared by:
Junciel Melanie O. Arias
 VISUAL ARTS
What is visual art?
Visual arts are forms of art that you can see, such as drawing,
painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and filmmaking. Design
and working with textiles are also often referred to as visual art. Today
visual arts apply to many different forms.
Drawing
Drawing is creating a picture with a variety of tools, in most cases
pencils, crayons, pens or markers. Artists draw on different types
of surfaces, like paper or canvas.

Drawing of a lion by Rembrandt

Painting
Painting is often called the most important form of visual art. It is about
putting colours on a canvas or a wall. Painters express their ideas through
a mixture of colours and different brush strokes. Painting is also one of
the oldest forms of visual art. In old caves prehistoric people painted
hunting scenes onto walls.
 Painting by Vincent Van Gogh

Printmaking
Printmaking is art that is made by covering a plate with ink and pressing
it on the surface of another object. Today prints are mostly produced on
paper today but originally, they were pressed onto cloth or other objects.

Photography
Photography is making pictures by letting light through the lenses of a
camera onto a film. In analogue photography light was recorded onto a
film, which had to be chemically developed. Images could then be printed
onto special paper.
Today most photography is digital.

Filmmaking
Filmmakers make moving images that they turn into films. It is a very
expensive and complicated form of art, involving many tasks, for
example scriptwriting, casting, and editing film sequences before they
can be shown to an audience. A full-length feature film often takes many
weeks or months to produce.
Computer art
Today, art is no longer limited to brushes, paint and pencils. In the last
few decades artists have been working with computers to capture images
and change them. Computer art consists of a wide variety of different
forms, from capturing and changing sound to creating video games.

Sculpture
Sculptures are three-dimensional pieces of art that are created
by shaping various kinds of material. Among the most popular are
stone, steel, plastic, ceramics and wood. Sculpture is often referred to as
plastic arts.

Michelangelo’s Moses
 7 BASIC ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS

VisualElements are Line - Shape - Tone - Color - Pattern - T

exture - Form. They are the building blocks of composition in art.

Line is the foundation of all drawing. It is

the first and most versatile of the visual
elements of art. Line in an artwork can be
used in many different ways. It can be used
to suggest shape, pattern, form, structure,
growth, depth, distance, rhythm,
movement and a range of emotions.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Shape can be natural or man-made,

regular or irregular, flat (2-dimensional) or
solid (3-dimensional), representational or
abstract, geometric or organic, transparent
or opaque, positive or negative, decorative
or symbolic, colored, patterned or
textured.

The blue fan, 1922

Tone is the lightness or darkness of a

color. The tonal values of an artwork can
be adjusted to alter its expressive
character.

Girl with the Pearl Earring, 1665

 Color is the visual element that has
the strongest effect on our emotions.
We use color to create the mood or
atmosphere of an artwork.

Autumn Landscape with Boats, 1908

Pattern is made by repeating or

echoing the elements of an artwork to
communicate a sense of balance,
harmony, contrast, rhythm or
movement.

Dream City, 1921

Texture is the surface quality of an

artwork - the roughness or
smoothness of the material from
which it is made. We experience
texture in two
ways: optically (through sight)
and physically (through touch).

Detail of Bouquet of Flowers in an Urn, 1724

 Form is the physical volume of a shape
and the space that it occupies.

Tindaro Screpolato (Tyndareus Cracked), 1998

What elements are observed in the painting?

 INTRODUCTION TO DRAWING

Drawing is the simplest and most efficient way to communicate visual

ideas, and for centuries charcoal, chalk, graphite and paper have been
adequate enough tools to launch some of the most profound images in
art.
Types of drawing media
Dry Media includes charcoal, graphite, chalks and pastels.
Wet drawing media traditionally refers to ink but really includes any
substance that can be put into solution and applied to a drawing’s surface.

Essential Drawing Materials

1. Drawing Pencils

“B” stands for black.

“HB” stands for hard black.
“F” stands for Fine point.
 2. Sketchbook / Paper
3. Variety of erasers
Rubber Eraser – Your standard eraser for erasing graphite. This eraser
uses friction to remove any material from the surface.

Kneaded Eraser – This eraser lifts material from the surface, instead of
using friction to remove it. It can be pulled and fashioned into different
forms to create specific marks. This eraser gets dirty over time, but can
be cleaned by pulling and “kneading” it.

Vinyl or Plastic Erasers – This eraser is the toughest of the bunch. It

can erase almost anything. But be warned – this eraser can tear the
paper if you’re not careful.

4. Pencil Sharpener
5. Charcoal
Charcoal comes in both stick and pencil form. Sticks of charcoal are
usually either “vine” or “compressed”. Vine charcoal is softer and
 produces lighter marks, while compressed charcoal – which is
concentrated, produces darker marks. Charcoal pencils can be

sharpened like graphite pencils, making them great for details.

6. Drawing Pens or Ink

7. Color pencils
8. Art portfolio

LESSON 1: HOW TO SKETCH

Sketching is the process of roughly scribbling an idea on paper. It allows
you to bring your ideas to life quickly so you can save time in the long
run. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The good thing about sketching is
fades away as you build upon the concept of your drawing. Sketching is
about exploring!

How to Sketch
It’s best to use free flowing lines that are loosely and lightly drawn. To do
that, adjust your grip on the pencil so that your hand is relaxed instead
of tense.

There are 4 ways to hold a pencil when drawing:

1. Basic tripod grip

This grip allows tight control over the pencil, so is ideal for drawing
fine detail when precision is important. The upright position of
the pencil allows for accurate shading, utilizing the tip rather than
the side of the pencil. When using the tripod grip, use your fingers
and thumb to control the pencil's movement.

2. Extended tripod grip

Holding the pencil in the extended tripod grip allows small finger
movements to produce much larger movements of the pencil-tip --
an economical, efficient grip for sketching. It also keeps your hand
off the creation surface, reducing the chances of smudging your
work.

3. Overhand grip
The overhand grip is a popular way to hold a pencil for sketching.
It allows you to shade with the side of the pencil and is also a useful
pencil hold for vertical drawing surfaces, such as an easel.
4. Underhand pencil grip
The underhand pencil grip is a very loose, relaxed way of holding a
pencil. It is useful for casual, broad sketching and is a great way to
draw with charcoal.

When making an initial sketch, you’ll want to leave your

perfectionism behind and focus on general shapes. Think about the
size, shape, angle, etc. The last thing you want to think about is
detail!
 Let’s sketch something together!

Step1. Sketch a circle loosely

Don’t worry if your lines are going in weird directions. It’s likely that
you’re not going to draw something perfect the first time around. We are
going to work in layers.

Step 2. Refine the shape

After your initial sketch, find areas that need improvement and sketch
over it until you get closer to your desired result.

Step 3. Keep refining

Keep repeating that step until you get even closer to what you want.

Step 4. Define the shape

Use more confident lines to define the shape of your circle. You can erase
the scribbly lines or let them disappear naturally as you continue to work
on your drawing.
Examples
Activity #1
Find objects around and draw following the steps in the lesson.
Step 1: Sketch Loosely
Step 2: Refine the shape
Step 3: Refine it further
Step 4: Define the desired shape

LESSON 2: LEARN TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Breaking the world down into simple shapes
Everything we see around us can be broken down into a series of simple
shapes. Whether it be an individual object or an entire scene, you can
break it down in your mind with a little concentration.

Let’s have a quick example

What are the shapes that we see in the picture?
it’s 1 circle, 2 ovals, 2 rectangles and a trapezoid.

Let’s arrange these shapes into a pepper mill resembling the one above

The first rectangle provides a container for the rest of the shapes to fall
into, allowing you to create 1 solid object.
Step 1. Sketch the overall structure
This is where you look at your subject’s form and sketch a simple shape
that represents the overall structure. The simpler it is, the better!

Creating a boundary or outline of your object allows you to think about

the object as a whole instead of focusing on one specific spot at a time.

Step 2. Identify secondary shapes

These are the general shapes that make up the fly. In this example, I’ve
used 4 ovals. If you find that you made a mistake in stage 1, it’s okay to
revise it as you continue to work on the drawing.

Step 3. Define the subject

Continue sketching until you join all the shapes together into one solid
object, insect, person, etc. When you finish your drawing, the shapes you
drew in stage 1-2 shouldn’t be so obvious anymore.

More examples
Activity #2

Find objects around and draw following the steps in the lesson.
Step 1: Sketch the overall structure
Step 2: Identify secondary shapes
Step 3: Define the subject

LESSON 3: GOING FROM 2D TO 3D

What makes drawings look 3D?
Planes
The image below shows you 2D objects being transformed into 3D.

The reason why these objects look 3D is because it is additional faces.

Each face is called a plane and each plane is facing a different direction.
Multiple planes on one object give the illusion of depth. You can now
imagine each object having volume.
Contour lines
The first row of objects below appears completely flat. You could say they
each have one face.

In the second row, the objects have lines wrapped around them which
make you visualize their many sides. These lines are called contour
lines because they follow the form of the object. Contour lines can run in
any direction along the surface of an object to help you create the illusion
of form, giving the object a more meaningful shape.

How to draw in 3D?

Steps: Draw a simple shape with corners, duplicate that shape, draw lines
to connect the vertices together and then shade the object.
For shapes with round edges, draw your connecting lines at the outer-
most edges. If you size your shapes differently like the example below, it
will give your drawing an added layer of depth.

For cylindrical shapes like cups, jars, pop cans and vases, you can use the
method below: Draw your 2D object and then add ellipses to the top,
bottom and/or sides.

Drawing irregular objects

Contour lines help you turn irregular 2D shapes into 3D. You can influence
the way a viewer perceives your drawing by manipulating its contour lines.
However, this process comes with some practice. If your contour lines do
not accurately represent the shape you are drawing, for example, a
sphere, your viewer will not perceive a sphere.

Activity #3

Turn the objects below into a 3D sketch.

 LESSON 4: HOW TO DRAW ACCURATE PROPORTIONS

Proportion simply refers to the size relationships between objects. If you

want to draw a subject or scene with accurate proportions, you must
employ proper techniques and train your eyes over time.

How to draw with correct proportions?

1. Measure with your pencil.
To draw something accurate in relative size, you can use your pencil
and thumb as a measuring tool to measure the relationships
between body parts or objects in a scene.

Raise your pencil up directly in front of your eye without bending

your elbow. If you bend your elbow, it will be very difficult to
maintain consistent measurements. This could result
in compounding mistakes. Since your arm is pivoting from your
 shoulder, not from your eye, your measurements will not remain
accurate throughout the process. To combat this, lower your eye as
close to your shoulder as possible to get the most accurate
measurements from start to finish.

You can use this technique to measure all other parts of the body to get
a good idea of the size relationships between each. This is very useful
when you’re drawing several people in one scene.
Example:
The buttock is equal to 2 head units.
The right shoe is slightly smaller in total width
than the left shoe.
Etc…

2. Check Relationships Between Objects on the Vertical and

Horizontal Axis
In the examples below, I’m using vertical and horizontal lines to find
out where certain body parts are aligned.
3. Check angles
Angles are especially hard to eyeball. For this dilemma, I use a
sliding technique. What you want to do is hold your arm out
between your eye and the subject without bending your elbow and
then tilt your pencil at an angle until the edge of the pencil matches
the angle you’re checking. Then carefully slide your hand in front of
your drawing while holding the pencil as still as possible.
 Activity #4
Draw the picture below using what you have learned in lesson 4.

LESSON 5: INTRODUCTION TO LINE QUALITY

The power of lines
The weight (or thickness) of a line is referred to as line quality and can
suggest material, lighting, weight and more! Introduce a variety of line
weights into your artwork to enhance it further.

Texture and Material

Thin lines appear softer than thick ones when it comes to drawing
textures on clothing or even strands of hair:

The example on the left contains very faintly sketched lines because each
strand of silk is very thin. You can probably imagine how the fabric feels
just by looking at it. Burlap on the other hand is a very rough and thick
material, so each of the lines are bold and blunt.

Lighting
If you’re drawing a scene with high contrast, try using heavier lines for
shadowed areas. Any side facing the light should be thin. In certain places,
lines can even be non-existent – leading the viewer to fill in the gaps on
their own.

The sun and arrows illustrate the direction in which the light is shining.
For the wine glass example, there is a good mix of thin, medium and thick
lines. The thickest lines can also be interpreted as the thickest areas of
glass. While the thinnest parts show how delicately thin the mouth of the
glass can get.

Weight
Check out how a simple change in line weight can transform an object
from light to heavy!
More examples

Create Interest and Guide in the Viewer’s eyes

A drawing done using the same line weight from beginning to
end can look a little boring. Consistent line weight can confuse
people because they don’t quite know where to look.
 Vary the line weight to guide your viewer’s eyes where you’d like
them to go.

If you’re drawing a scene with various objects or people, you can

draw secondary subjects using medium to thin lines so they don’t
stick out as much as the main subject. This is very helpful,
especially in a busy scene.

Activity # 5
Go over your sketches and drawings from the previous lessons and
transform them using what you learned in this lesson.
 LESSON 6: INTRODUCTION TO SHADING TECHNIQUES
You can create a wide array of textures by applying different shading
techniques to your artwork. A simple change in the direction or shape of
a stroke can turn what looks like smooth skin into rough or dry skin.

Hatching

This is the most common shading technique as it is easy to learn and

allows you to cover more ground in a short period of time. It consists of
a series of lines that go in one general direction. You can use it to shade
just about anything. When hatching, angle your pencil down closer to the
paper so your strokes are nice and thick. This allows you to minimize gaps,
making it so much easier to blend.
Cross-hatching

Cross hatching is where you overlap lines at various angles. It’s great for
drawing fabrics like burlap, textured (wrinkly) skin and whatever else you
can think of that displays such a pattern. To shade light areas, lighten
your lines and space them further apart. In shadowed areas, darken them
and bring them closer together.

Circulism

As the name suggests, circulism consists of many overlapping circles. The

more circles you draw, the smoother the texture becomes! You can use it
to draw fuzzy fabrics, soft cottony fabrics, realistic skin textures and more.

Contour Shading

Contour shading is like hatching and cross-hatching. The difference is that

the lines are curved to follow the contours of the subject. So, these lines
can be drawn horizontally, vertically and even diagonally.
Combine Shading Technique
It’s perfectly normal to use several shading techniques in one drawing. All
of the above were used to draw the image below.
Circulism: Used to shade a base layer on the hand to give it a consistent
base texture.
Contour Shading: Used to shade stretched skin.
Hatching: Used to shade nails and stretched skin.
Cross Hatching: Used to create patterns in the skin and to emphasize
deep valleys/crevices.
The combination of these shading techniques helped me achieve various
textures commonly seen in wrinkled skin.
Other shading techniques

Scribbling

Scribbling or scumbling is a fun way to shade a drawing and it goes fast!

Strippling

Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity

or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and
these effects are frequently emulated by artists.
Activity #6
Draw and shade the subject below using the different shading techniques
that you have learned.

LESSON 8: LEARN HOW TO SHADE

Steps to start shading:
1.) Sketch your subject
2.) Add dark values
3.) Add a light value
4.) Add the midtones
5.) Draw cast shadows
6.) Define the highlights
7.) Final touchups
Step 1: Sketch the shape of your subject

Use a hard pencil such as an HB to lightly sketch your subject.

Step 2: Add the darkest values

Select a shading technique (or two) for the drawing. I’m using the
hatching technique because I think it’s the easiest and fastest way to
shade.
Along the darkest areas of your subject, shade a medium layer of
graphite. I’m using a 2B. Try to keep those edges fairly soft.

Step 3: Add a layer of lighter graphite

Since the subject is fairly light, I’m going to define the highlights at the
very end. If your subject is dark, use the shadow-lining technique to
outline your highlights now and then shade around it.
Use a light pencil such as an HB to shade a medium/light shade of grey
over the entire drawing. Since the highlights appear along the outer edge
of the subject, I shaded past the body so that later when we add the
highlights, there will be a higher contrast between the subject and the
background.

Step 4: Add the midtones

Shade a medium value in between the dark and light values to soften
out your shading.

Step 5: Add some cast shadows

Where is the light coming from? Draw cast shadows to give the piece
more contrast.
There are shadows on the ground around the feet. Define the boundaries
between the feet, belly and ground by drawing outlines where
appropriate. This will clean up the outer edges of the drawing.

Make the shadow darkest where the subject touches the ground and
lighter where the shadow stretches away and the edges soften out.

Step 6: Add the highlights

Use an eraser to add highlights to the lightest areas of the drawing to pull
the subject out and off of the sketchbook. I suggest using a kneaded
eraser for higher precision.
More example

The 2nd and 3rd step are switched: I shaded a base layer of graphite first
and then added the darkest values because unlike the sumo, which is
made up of a combination of basic geometries, the apple is made up of
one basic geometry.

LESSON 8: PUTTING ALL TOGETHER

Reference photo:

Step 1. Observe the reference photo

Get to know the scene, objects, proportions etc.
Step 2. Break everything down while checking proportions
Before you draw, you can trace the rectangle shape of the photo so you
have enough space to draw everything. If you don’t want to trace, just
eye it and then revise the rectangle along the way. The whole image can
be broken down into 3 main sections horizontally: the dock, the water and
the sky. The dock takes up about 1/3 of the photo width-wise while the
sky takes up about 1/4 of the remainder.

Next, pick out the main subjects within the scene and sketch them in one
after the other, roughly. You can break a subject down into a much
simpler shape and add details after you measure, compare and confirm
the proportions.

While adding details, make sure to constantly check if the proportions are
right. How much space is there from the top of the right shoe to the edge
of the water? What angle is the left foot rotated and how far is the heel
from the right foot? The more observations, comparisons and
measurements you make, the more accurate your drawing will be.
Step 3. Sketch more details
So far, it’s just a rough sketch. Not too much commitment has been made
to the drawing yet, so it’s the perfect time to check over proportions again.
I noticed that the second boat from the left was a little short, so I
extended that one slightly. Add a few details here and there…

Step 4. Line weight

Pay attention to each of the lines you make. The thicker your lines are,
the more attention you will bring to that particular area of the drawing.
In the picture below, I’ve added some waves using light pencil marks.
This makes them subtle.
The main focal point for this image are the shoes and the dock. You can
pull these things closer to the viewer by using a variety of thicker lines
where appropriate. If you look really close, you’ll notice that the squiggly
designs on each shoe are thicker the closer they are to the viewer.
Step 5. Shade everything and make it 3D

Take a look at the reference image and see if there’s any white. I didn’t
find any true white, so there shouldn’t be any white areas on my drawing.
The lightest color seems to be a light gray, so I went ahead and shaded
a base layer of light gray over the whole drawing.
It’s been shaded but it still looks flat. Observe where the light is coming
from or simply where the lightest/darkest areas are and then use the
shadow-lining technique to outline all the major shadows along the legs
and shoes.

Then shade those shadow areas using the appropriate values. It’s starting
to look more 3D.
Introduce more midtones to the shoes so the surface has more planes
Make sure your shading is gradual where it needs to be (gradual transition
around smooth edges, less gradual around hard edges).

Time to shade the water. To make the waves look calm, you can use the
contour shading technique. For rough waters, try a mix of hatching and
squiggling. If you don’t want the viewer to take their attention off the
main subject, avoid adding too much detail into the water.

Were you able to use what you have learned in the previous lessons?
Do not be afraid of mistakes, you have your eraser for a reason. Continue
to practice because practice will make you better.
Congratulations on finishing the basics of drawing!
References:
https://www.english-online.at/art-architecture/visual-arts/visual-art-
forms.htm
https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/visual-elements/visual-
elements.html
https://rapidfireart.com/how-to-draw-for-beginners/
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/learn-how-to-hold-a-pencil-1123296