Sketch/Draw - Beginners Series

Sketch/Draw - Beginners Series

Level - Beginner/Intermediate

Welcome to my Sketch/Draw - Beginners Series, three different courses focusing on easily approachable objects. I used objects that did not have any heavy surface texture so that you can focus on capturing the contour drawing and then rendering the value of the smooth surfaces. Each course in this series builds on top of the previous one, starting with the “Eggs and a Creamer” where all of the surfaces are smooth. “Teapot and a Creamer” introduces a multisided teapot, but it is still smooth and in “Eggs in a Cup” I do introduce some very basic surface texture in the cup. In all three of these courses, I walk you through every step of the drawing process, and you work along with me the entire time.

My Sketch/Draw courses have one sole purpose: to help train your brain to see like an artist. What does that exactly mean? Basically, to see through the “Curtain of details” and find the larger and simpler shapes that create the foundation of our sketches and drawings. Drawings are made up of points in space, the lines connecting those points, and the shapes that those lines inevitably create, both positive and negative. Once the shapes come together, we break those down into smaller and smaller shapes, creating a sketch or drawing known as the contour drawing. We can then add value, which describes the form, giving us the look of a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface.

In these courses, I use the compositional rectangle of the reference photos, a 5 x 7-inch rectangle, to help and add the plotting of points, lines, and shapes. I can show you where the points and lines are on the reference photos and then plot them out on our paper through my interactive references.

These Sketch/Draw courses are designed for beginner and intermediate students but are also great exercises to revisit the basics of starting a sketch or drawing. And although the sole purpose is to train yourself to see the larger shapes and not the details, we will finish up with three nice little drawings.