How to Draw Pt. 2

Introduction

Hey again, you know the drill:

Find any flat surface and a utensil that you can manipulate pigment with; I’m using a pencil and paper, but you can use practically anything. 

This article covers texture detail and is a related sequel to what we learned in How to Draw Part 1, which is also posted here on Parker Press. I would recommend that tutorial first, but that is also the beauty of free will.

I want you to look around at your environment right now. Zero in on all of the discrepancies and interactions on the surfaces around you. Look at how complicated the light is. It is overwhelming, then, to consider copying all of the details onto paper. I have some advice that will yield a better-looking effect, is somewhat simple, and is kind of fun.

That’s enough intro, now I will teach you how to draw…MORE.

How to Draw (2)

Firstly, think about your favorite surfaces. Mine are scales, stones and moss. Create some small patches where you will mimic these textures. Do light outlines of the shapes that make them up. Then, “add the shadows” under the protruding discrepancies to make them pop. Smooth out the mid-tones around the shapes to express their three-dimensionality. This is a taste of the agony that hyper-realist artists go through hour after hour, day after day (though some of them enjoy it, the masochists). I am making you try texture swatches now, in the slight chance you actually like it. Now on to the hacking:

In order to build some comfort in free-styling, I recommend practicing some conventionally attractive linework that makes this kind of busy work go by faster while building confidence in your hand-eye coordination and looking good. Nature is extremely diverse and pretty, and it’s often mimicked in man-made designs, so that is the theme of the shapes I am displaying here. You can practice wallpaper patterns you like, or whatever else, and that’s helpful too. 

Now we get to the magic! Get ready for a lot of flighty words like “suggest,” “indicate,” and “imply.” Follow along as I draw this lioness. Start with blocky shapes like you definitely practiced from How To Draw Part 1, because you’re so dedicated to learning from me. 

This lion is somewhat thin, so connect the blocks with fine, inward-sloping lines. 

Once it looks like vaguely animal-shaped blobs, move on to the next step.

4th image:

This lion is a little bit hairy. If one tries to draw each hair, one will go insane, and even if one draws them really fast, it will look bad. Instead, I am teaching you to lie with shapes. Find all of the “angles” that swerve out. Think fur and make some squiggles close to the main form, springing outward. This works because, though fur points with the form, it is not fully attached and so does not obey the body as it curves. We are granted these gaps between tufts, and by targeting them, we imply the compact fur on the rest of the body.

Use thicker lines on the undersides of the shape to express gravity and shadow more confidently.

For ANY SHAPE, once you’ve decided on the combination of textures, make the outline of that shape look like the extended edges of your combination. Use thicker lines on the undersides of things (or just opposite your light source). And for a final touch, you can include shading around the object to further hold the hand of your audience, guiding them to the notion that this might be three-dimensional.

If you are enjoying these tutorials, you can look forward to more in the future. Next will likely be

• How to Draw Versatility - drawing from memory, imagination, and real life; followed by

• Stylization and the Fundamentals of Conceptual Art

• Perspective and Scene-Setting;

• The Value of Color and Theory

• How to Draw Humans; parts 1 through…many.

Thank you!