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Drawing and Sketching
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Drawing Projects and Sketching Ideas Visit our Drawing and Sketching Supply Store for Pencils, Pens, Kits, & more!
Do you read Postsecret? (Parental advisory: adult content.) As an artist and writer, interested in what drives people, and the common ground that we all share, I read Postsecret regularly. Many of the themes are about sexuality, relationships, religion and work. I don't recommend it for younger readers, as some of the the posts are quite troubling, about abuse and trauma. But there's often a postcard about art and creativity. Once, there was one that said "I always wished I could draw, but I can't be bothered learning how." and another, "I want to throw my ten thousand dollar cello down the stairs."
This week, I've been having a bit of a mini-crisis-of-faith about my art-making (as one does) so this week's art card struck a chord. I enjoyed art school, but I know many who blame it for a total loss of creative drive. I'm not surprised that it's getting many comments. The card is a picture of the Mona Lisa with the text Art school is making me HATE ART. The pity is, there are so many ways to approach art, and the one espoused at the student's school is only one of them. I wonder if it's the syllabus, the teaching style, the other students - ? How I wish I could have a chat with the writer of this card, to find out what is at the heart of the situation, and explore some ways to change. It could be that the writer is doing the wrong course - perhaps they'd be better suited to design or animation, or perhaps a classical Atelier which teaches realism. Perhaps they should be doing philosophy, sociology or literature to explore the ideas that inspire their art. Or perhaps they should be out working and traveling, gathering experiences. I guess we'll never know. 'Art School is Making Me Hate Art'. originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 16:26:23. With the economy still struggling and budgets tight, the market for art of any kind is very tough. So you need to find the 'angles' to get buyers to choose your work over some cheap stock art or a mass-produced poster. There's an upside to the downturn: people are looking to build community, looking locally and making greener, more ethical choices, as well as economizing. Here's five ideas to consider when promoting your work:
Oh and just as I wrote this, a twitter friend tweeted an excellent collection of articles on Promotion 101 For Artists at Illustration undo, with lots of useful ideas. Promoting Your Art in a Tough Economy originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 03:38:12.  Freehand sketching is a useful skill for any artist, and one that forms the backbone of many artist's technique. Sketching allows you to observe and expressively draw your subject, with a focus on structure and form rather than obsessing about small detail.
This week I'm really chuffed to share a new tutorial on Sketching Faces, created for Drawing/Sketching readers by cartoonist Ed Hall. Ed is a brilliant cartoonist whose work has featured in major publications including Time magazine and the Washington Post. Sketching plays an important role in his work. Image: Sketch in progress (c) Ed Hall, licensed to About.com, Inc. Sketching Faces originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 07:14:30.  We often think of charcoal as a medium for quick sketches or large figure drawings. But you can use it for detailed work too. Studies like this animal skull by Alberoni show the depth that can be achieved. Charcoal pencils are ideal for doing the detail in drawings like this, or you can use a stick, 'sharpened' on a piece of sandpaper or rough cardboard. Charcoal can be difficult to erase, so be careful to preserve highlights. Beginners sometimes make the mistake of making dark areas too flat, and can seem oddly featureless, as though part of the drawing is missing. Unless you've got a microscopic black hole in there absorbing all the light, you can still have some subtle modeling of form.
Charcoal Drawing Articles:
Photo: Skull (c) Alberoni, licensed to About.com, Inc. Detail in Charcoal originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 05:19:17. If you're going to go freelance, it's important to do your homework and have some idea of what you're in for. 'Seize the day' is a nice mantra for personal development gurus but 'fools rush in' to bankruptcy, especially in the current financial climate! By making a realistic assessment of your marketable skills, formulating a business plan, and preparing ahead for the ups and downs of freelance life, you stand a much better chance of success. There's plenty of good reading around on the topic. Look for up-to-date articles on art-specific business as well as general freelancing principles.
About.com's Guide to Web Design, Jennifer Kyrnin, has the answers for the question Should I Become a Freelance Web Designer?, while our desktop publishing expert Jacci Howard Bear asks Is Freelance Design and Publishing the Right Career for You?. Jennifer and Jacci both have a wealth of information if you'd like to explore their sites. You'll find most of the advice applicable to any sort of creative freelance work. Richard Greenwald of the Wall Street Journal writes How to Succeed in the Age of Going Solo. British web mag ComputerArts has a fantastic roundup of all their freelancing advice with the ambitious title of Everything You Need to Know About Going Freelance. Going Freelance - Look Before You Leap originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 05:26:14.  You don't need to be Irish to have fun with some St Patrick's crafts. Even beginners can draw this Leprechaun Cartoon in easy steps.
More St Patrick's Day Activities:
And when you're done, share your creation on our reader Cartoon Show and Tell St. Patrick's Day Activities - Drawing and Crafts originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 20:45:27. I was just thinking about how important composition is to the success of a drawing. Remember that the figure, object or scene that you are drawing isn't floating in space, or in the middle of your infinite field of view once you draw it - it's relating to the four sides of the page. Does it make sense, the way you've placed it on the paper?
Converting your image to grayscale on the computer, or scaling it up or down, or even playing with colors - sepia-toning or enhancing - can help you assess whether a composition 'works' or not. Viewing an image through a mirror isn't so much of a compositional tool, as the (western) eye 'reads' direction in sort of left-to-right fashion, but it can help identify issues like poor proportion and tonal balance. It also helps a to put a piece aside for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes, though of course this isn't always possible with a deadline. Finding a peer group in 'real life' or on a forum who understand art is really useful, too - not people who will just tell you how talented you are (though we love them too - hey, we all need a pat on the back) - but people who can make informed comments on your aesthetic choices can help you pick up problem areas. Checking Your Composition originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 00:27:59. I'm a printmaker, so the mention of 'prints' is sure to catch my attention. Add some beautiful paintings of British coastline, lush mixed-media pieces, and of course, sketchbook pages, and you've got my attention for a good hour or two. The work here is really good. It's easy for landscape to be a bit insipid and lazy, especially when abstracted, but Vivien Blackburn doesn't fall into that trap - her textures are authentic and robust, her compositions interesting. The artist shares her thoughts on inspiration and the process of making art in her lovely blog, Paintings Prints and Stuff.
Blogs Worth Reading: Paintings, Prints and Stuff originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 06:20:37.  If you can't get to a life class - or need a break from the intensity of drawing a full figure - there are a few ways to improve your figure drawing away from the Life Drawing studio. One is to do studies of small details, using a mirror. Work on hands, feet, head, ears, nose. Focus on simplified but accurate structures, observing proportion, and describing essential details with economical mark-making. Anatomy study is always worthwhile. Use anatomy reference images to sketch skeletal structure and muscle groups. Try copying a recently completed figure study, and drawing the muscles into it, so that you're thinking about how the musculature relates to the surface anatomy. Another option is to simply do some observational drawing - setting up a still-life or drawing something in your environment - to keep your observational skills and hand-eye co-ordination sharp. More on Figure Drawing and Anatomy:
Human Anatomy References originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 at 16:54:47.  Wolves are popular subjects. There's something magical about them, and they hold a special place in the mythology and legends of many peoples. Of course, werewolves have been popularized recently by the Twilight books and movies, particularly the recent New Moon; a couple of readers have sent in drawings of Jacob Black, but unfortunately due to copyright restrictions, I can't share them with you. So last year I asked artist Michael Hames to create a wolf drawing tutorial just for us. Michael is an amazing artist who begins by observing the underlying structure of the wolf head, then developing the textures. So you can learn to draw this wolf, but also any wolf or similar animal, by following the steps of this tutorial. Learn to Draw a Wolf.Learn to Draw a Wolf originally appeared on About.com Drawing / Sketching on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 02:03:12.
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