11/18/10

Learn to Draw By Tracing

What is this item of garbage?
Leave a comment to make your guess.

Did you know that the reason it is harder to draw some things is because you know too much about them? You are letting your knowledge of the real world get in your way and scare you. When hearing that I am an artist, people ask me what things I draw and paint. I tell them everything. Everyone and everything inspires me. The whole world can be put down on a piece of paper in a series of shapes.

Exercise:
Get yourself some tracing paper and trace items from your photos, magazines and books. You will be surprised to see the simple shape of complicated things. Do some tracings where you only draw the outline of the object and no inner details. Get used to mapping out your drawings this way.

 All 2 dimensional art is abstract. You are not creating a human when you draw a person, you are making some shapes on a piece of paper that look like a human. Train your eye to see people as a series of shapes by tracing models from clothing mail order catalogs. And most importantly, do not forget the negative space, the area around the figure.

After you trace from photos, practice your real life drawing of garbage, things that just don't matter.

Yes, the dreaded topic of drawing "The Figure," the human, has arrived. Stay tuned for more.

Meanwhile, here is an interesting quote which I came across in one of my old drawing journals:
"At one time I thought that art was something of beauty. Over the years I've learned that it's really something that creates emotion, something you haven't seen or thought about before."
ELI BROAD

2 comments:

bborzell said...

Toilet Paper roll?

Susan Sorensen said...

Hooray! You are right. You are only the second person to get it right. I am surprised it has stumped so many people.
Welcome Bob and thanks for checking out my blog.