Thinking about taking the leap from “casual doodler” to “serious artist”? We know that this idea can sometimes feel overwhelming, as trying to put on paper something that seems so clear in your mind is not always easy. To help you make the connection between the page and your imagination, we’re offering three creative methods to help bring out the artiste in you.
1) Try Monotones
The art of drawing shapes and lines uses a different skill set than does colour choice and shading, so attempting to perfect both facets may be too much to take on at once. However, if you begin drawing in monotones, you can first work on perspective and finding your unique style before figuring out what sort of palette to apply. Using only one colour can also easily lead you into shading, as you’re forced to play around with light and dark in order to convey different aspects of an image that you might have otherwise relied on a colour change to represent. Once you’ve mastered the materials you’re working with, you can further experiment with other colours and mediums.
2) Connect the Dots
If freehand drawing a perfect circle or completely straight line seems impossible, that’s probably because it is. Without the help of a ruler, compass or computer program, it’s a pointless and frustrating endeavour to take on. This is where dots come in handy. The shorter the line, the easier it is for your hand to draw it without wavering. If you begin crafting a circle using a series of short arcs or even dots, you can work on expanding these into a longer, connected whole. For a great tutorial on this concept, check out Monika Zagrobelna’s blog posting “I Want to Draw: Simple Exercises for Complete Beginners.”
3) Get Down to Basics
If you break down any object or scene into some standard geometrical shapes, it’s much easier to build up from there. Find shapes that you do know, like circles, triangles and polyhedrons, and begin sketching them out. Once you’ve got the basic skeleton of your drawing, you can work on smoothing the outlines and adding shading and colour.
Of course, the most important thing is to keep practicing. Who cares if your initial efforts don’t turn out the way you’d hoped? Keep drawing, then draw some more, because the only real guarantee is that without practice you’ll certainly never improve.
About Paperblanks®: At Paperblanks®, we believe that art should have a place in all aspects of life. That’s why we follow the artist’s way in everything we do – creating, crafting and releasing designs we believe have the power to touch people. For more about Paperblanks®, go to our website at paperblanks.com.
