Introduction

Starting Out

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

—PABLO PICASSO

Do you want to learn to draw? You may have a feeling that you’re meant to draw, that it could be fun, and that it might even become a significant part of your life. Your desire may even be a passionate one, as though you’re being led to it by an invisible force. Our ancestors drew on cave walls, so there’s a shared family history behind your impulse to draw!

Now you’re ready to translate your desire to draw into reality. You may be a parent who is stimulated by your child’s love of art and now wants some of that creative joy for yourself. Or perhaps you’re a teacher who wants to help budding artists in the classroom. Or a retiree looking for a rewarding way to spend free time. You may want to learn drawing fundamentals as a way to open the door to other art forms, like painting. There are many paths to art; however, we all turn to this visual language to express what can’t fully be conveyed in words.

Drawing is a learnable skill, accessible to anyone who decides to activate his or her potential. You’ve already made a significant step in that direction simply by picking up a book on learning to draw. Being receptive to the possibility of drawing is the first important step toward acquiring the skill.

After taking that first step, you need a working method created to meet your needs as a beginner. Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner is designed for people who want to explore their artistic side but who have no previous experience with making art. You’ll start at the very beginning, where you don’t have to know anything at all about art or how to draw, and acquire technical skills and an understanding of how and when to use them in a logical, step-by-step manner.

Although I developed this material expressly for people with no artistic experience, it has also been useful for not-quite beginners—seasoned painters and graphic designers who may have missed a foundation in drawing, or photographers who want to express with their hand on paper what they’ve used a camera to record previously. Other not-quite beginners may have once been aspiring artists who began to develop their artistic potential but were dissuaded from its pursuit or were interrupted midstream. For all those people, drawing remains much like a lost language, awaiting rediscovery.

Drawing is to our experience of the visual world what handwriting is to our spoken language. If you can read this book and write your name, you can learn to draw.

I’d retired, and I didn’t want to just sit around (and I don’t like bridge). Then my family gave me this drawing course. After the first class, I was so excited that I had drawn something, that I called everyone with the news!

—STUDENT ANN PORFILIO (drawing above)

If drawing is a universal human capacity, why is it that so few adults can draw? We were all artists in elementary school; remember crayons and glue, scissors and paint? Yet, by adolescence, there are few artists left among us.

The young child’s expressive, symbolic art evolves naturally into the adolescent’s desire to portray a more accurate representation of the world. Basic drawing instruction can form the technical bridge between these two artistic stages. If such information isn’t available, artistic progress can come to a halt. As adults, our lack of artistic development reflects this gap. However, the drawing techniques presented in this book can provide the necessary bridge that allows you to make a transition from the artistic representations of childhood to a more accurate, three-dimensional view of the world as you experience it in adulthood.

Beginners are often concerned with the talent quest. They have a desire to develop their artistic potential but fear they’re destined to be a person with no talent who can never learn to draw. But my decades of experience working with beginners has continually reaffirmed my belief that each of us has the ability to activate these skills; drawing is a capacity that is developed, not something that springs fully formed from one’s hands. In fact, the best way to learn how to draw is to forget about the talent quest and even any long-term drawing goal that you might have. Instead, focus only on the next step in each step-by-step sequence—a learning process designed to give you the understanding and skills needed to begin drawing with confidence.

I had always thought you can either draw or you can’t draw. Now I’ve learned that if you practice drawing, you can get better at it.

—STUDENT HELEN LOBRANO

I learned that others often find something beautiful in what we self-judge as less than perfect. So it’s more than learning the art of drawing. It’s also about the art of self-acceptance.

—STUDENT ANITA ST. MARIE (drawing above)

I was doing volunteer work at the Whitney Museum and thought it would be so wonderful if I myself could do something in art!

—STUDENT BARBARA KOPS (drawing above)

How to Use This Book

Following this book’s methods, a beginner with no previous art experience can quickly gain enough understanding of the basics to draw recognizable subjects and give them the illusion of dimension. It’s important to start at the very beginning of this learn-to-draw process to build a solid foundation in basic concepts and techniques, and also to acquire the confidence that comes from understanding the fundamentals.

The book is designed as a cumulative learning experience. Each chapter builds on skills acquired in the previous; projects become increasingly challenging while staying within reach. The book maintains a linear sequence from chapters 1 through 4, which provide the necessary preparation to take on exercises in subsequent chapters; you can then pursue the remaining chapters according to your personal interests.

Along with basic drawing techniques, I’ve also included instruction in another important skill: the ability to evaluate your drawings constructively. This will allow you to accelerate your drawing progress, learn more about yourself and your art, and challenge obstacles to learning like performance anxiety and harsh self-judgment.

I have a space where I can leave my supplies. I draw more if it’s ready to go.

—STUDENT SHERRY ARTEMENKO

THE BEGINNERS SPEAK

I’ve illustrated this book with drawings from beginners who completed the same assignments on which you’ll be working. It has been fascinating to see that beginners show an innate preference for certain shapes, visual contrasts, and rhythms that show up immediately in their drawings. This personal style appears without conscious effort, and is integral to each person’s approach to drawing. You too will learn how to express your own unique style in the most fulfilling way as your technical skills develop.

Approach drawing as a magical activity to do, to learn, and to see—profound, mysterious, and gratifying. Guided by the sequence of instruction and wise words from fellow beginners, you’ll have an art adventure—full of challenges, yes, but discoveries and rewards as well.

GETTING ORGANIZED

Set aside time on a regular basis to exercise your artistic capacity. It doesn’t have to involve a relentless, rigid schedule, where you’ll feel guilty if you don’t abide by it. But recognize that this new part of you needs time to flourish, whenever you can find the opportunity to engage it.

Do you have a place to draw? Since the practice of art is new to you, it’s likely you’ve borrowed space in the kitchen or in a bedroom. However, to ensure that the people you live with respect your space, it’s a good idea to let them know what you’re up to and where, especially if the apple on the kitchen counter they want to eat is part of your still life!

Keep your drawings and art supplies within reach, and in one place. To protect your work, I suggest you buy an inexpensive portfolio, large enough to hold your largest sheets of paper. That way you can save your work easily for later review. If you assemble your supplies in a toolbox or even a cardboard shoe box, you can keep all of your pencils, pens, and other supplies out of sight. A card table and chair can provide you with a mobile temporary studio. Searching for the perfect work conditions can be a form of procrastination, so just remember: a drawing can begin with only a piece of paper and a pencil.

My place used to be so neat until I started doing art. Now there are piles of stuff everywhere!

—STUDENT PAT PIZZO

Supply List

The following materials are those that students have used with success in my classes. Most of these are widely available at art-supply stores. Under Miscellaneous, there are items you’ll find at the supermarket, office-supply stores, and hardware stores. The supplies that are needed for the specific exercises that follow are selected from the lists that follow here.

PAPER

○ 14 × 17 drawing pad, 80 lb., for dry media and light washes (Strathmore 400 series)

○ 6 × 8 or 8 × 10 sketch pad, 80 lb. (Strathmore 400 series)

○ 6 x 8 or 9x 12 mixed media pad, 90 lb. (Strathmore 400 series)

○ 18 x 24 or 12 x 18 newsprint pad, rough surface (not smooth)

○ 19 × 25 light gray pastel paper

○ Scrap paper (copier/computer/white craft)

DRAWING MEDIA

○ 2H, 2B, 6H, and 6B drawing pencils

○ Black waterproof drawing pens (such as Uni-ball Vision, micro and fine nibs)

○ Black and white Conté crayons, 2B

○ Vine charcoal (package of 12), soft or extra soft (these look like twigs, not chalk)

○ Black and white charcoal pencils, 2B

WET MEDIA

○ Small (.27-ounce) tubes black and white watercolor paint (any brand)

○ #6 soft, round brush with a point (a less expensive brand is fine); see this page for more information on brushes)

ERASERS AND BLENDERS

○ Kneaded eraser

○ Pink Pearl eraser

○ 2B wooden school pencils with erasers (such as Ticonderoga)

○ Q-tips

MISCELLANEOUS

○ 1 small roll 22-gauge galvanized steel wire (available in hardware stores)

○ Fixative spray (workable) for charcoal

○ Paper towels and facial tissues

○ Water jar

○ Disposable paper painter’s palette (or plastic-coated paper plates or polyvinyl freezer paper, available in supermarkets)

○ Artist’s masking tape

OPTIONAL

○ Inexpensive portfolio

○ 23 x 27 drawing board or foam core

○ Clip-on metal light shade, with a maximum 300-watt bulb (available 
in hardware stores)

○ Glassine paper

What pulled me into this drawing course was looking at young children and loving their freedom of expression and thinking, I want to do what they do!

—STUDENT T. HAFFNER (drawing above)

Homework

You’ll find a homework assignment at the end of each chapter, suggesting follow-up drawing projects related to material covered in that chapter. Your first assignment: assemble your supplies, find a place to work, and figure out a drawing schedule that suits you!

Once you’ve done that, you’re prepared to use your dedicated space and scheduled time to draw—and to do your homework to reinforce what you’ve learned about drawing, because mastery of any skill requires practice.

I’m still trying to find a place that’s comfortable enough to work. I’m working on the dining room table, but then people come over and I keep putting everything away. So then I took it all to the basement, but it’s dark and depressing there. I carry stuff up, and I carry stuff down. So now I’m all over.

—STUDENT ANN PORFILIO

1.

Seeing to Draw

What I put down in a moment of ardor, I must then critically examine.

—PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY

The exercises in this chapter were designed especially for you, the aspiring artist with no previous art experience. Take an adventurous let’s-see-what-happens attitude in completing them. Here, at the very beginning, you aren’t expected to know anything at all about how to draw—and so you can’t fail. There’s no competition involved, no talent search in your way. And your first exercise is goof proof!

Supplies

for this chapter

□ 14 × 17 drawing pad

□ 22–gauge wire

□ Scissors

□ Scrap paper

□ 2B pencil

□ Black drawing pen

The greatest enjoyment lies in the artistic journey rather than the final destination.

Making the Lines

Let’s get started by getting comfortable drawing lines on paper. Your goal will be to observe the wire shape you make carefully, and then slowly record what you see.

When we drew the wire, I felt good. I felt like the wire had character and I had captured that in my drawing. I was surprised by that and thought, Maybe this will work for me!

—STUDENT RITA WALKER COPPING

EXERCISE


WIRE DRAWING

Read these directions through before you begin to draw. After that, don’t read and draw at the same time; refer to the following summary to remind yourself of the exercise sequence:

○ Use pencil for drawing #1.

○ Use pen for drawings #2, #3, and onward.

○ Slow down and observe carefully.

○ Use one, slowly executed, continuous dark line.

○ Record every twist and turn in the wire.

○ Change the shape of your wire after each drawing.

1 Place your open pad of paper in front of you. Remove a piece of drawing paper and put it on the table next to your pad (to the left for righties, to the right for lefties).

2 With scissors, cut a 15" piece of wire from the roll, and bend it into a shape that appeals to you, leaving the ends loose. Don’t create a recognizable shape, like a flower. If you’ve made a shape that sticks way up, flatten it a little.

3 Put your wire on the loose piece of scrap paper next to your pad to see the wire more clearly. Move the wire around until you find a view that you like. You’re going to draw on the pad. Tilt the pad if it feels more comfortable that way.

4 Look at your wire. You don’t have to memorize the shape; just begin the process of observation, taking in the wire’s bends and bumps from one end to the other.

5 Hold your pencil as you would when writing. Put your pencil point on the paper at a spot that will correspond to one end of your wire. Once your pencil point touches the paper, don’t lift it until you’ve recorded the entire wire, from end to end.

6 Slowly, very slowly , begin to record what you see—every change, every bend in the wire—with one dark, continuous line. If you’re a speed demon who charges through intersections, you’ll have a challenge here. The slower you go, the more you’ll benefit.

7 Look back and forth between your pencil line and the wire as you work, keeping your pencil point