Hey, I get it, you think it is so great to see other people draw. But you know you could never be as good as they are ...well, YOU are WRONG. Everyone starts off life learning to talk and walk and drink out of a cup...but no one starts life drawing. Now don't get me wrong there are some of those talented people who are naturally gifted and drawing comes easily. But for the rest of us it’s simple. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE… Now, I can feel you rolling your eyes. But I guarantee if you just take 15 minutes a day to practice drawing, you will improve more than you can imagine. Will you become an expert and be able to draw anything at anytime and people around you will stand and applaud, ummm...Probably not. But, you will learn to draw and enjoy your new hobby.
So how do I begin …
Great question….
First, you will need some supplies. Get on amazon or go to the dollar store, it doesn't really matter.
Purchase a drawing notebook, that does not have lines for writing inside. A nice size for you to take places is a 5 x 7 book with a hard cover. I also like to have a giant rubber band or hair tie or even string that I use to keep the notebook closed, and the papers protected. My favorite notebooks to buy are “multimedia”, because the papers are really thick and ink won't show through on other pages.
The second item on your shopping list is a mechanical pencil. Yes, just an ordinary mechanical pencil. One that comes with refill lead is always nice. These types of pencils are perfect to draw with, because they always have a sharpened point. Along with having a small lead point for detail work.
The third thing is something you cannot skip. It's a “kneaded eraser”, you can get them all over, Walmart, Amazon etc...the reason these erasers are the only ones I will use is that they really work! A typical red eraser on top of a pencil works by rubbing away the paper that the pencil markings are on. These types of erasers literally ruin your paper and your artwork. Kneaded erasers actually pick up the lead from the paper. You will realize this because you will see your kneaded eraser become darker and darker gray as you use it. But it's all good, you just knead or stretch the eraser and fold it into itself until it looks cleaner.
Another great thing about these erasers is that they can be shaped into a little point and erase tiny little areas. I always keep my eraser in my left hand as I am drawing, that way the eraser is handy and it stays warm and pliable.
Now you have your notebook, pencil and eraser. Now what…? I like to keep my supplies where I will use them. I have a place I sit at night to relax . so I have all of my art supplies right next to me, easy access and no excuses that I can't find my stuff.
Now, what to draw...this question is a bit more tricky. But I just start drawing swirls until it starts to look like something. I doodle. I doodle every single day, for probably an hour at night while I listen/watch T.V. As long as your drawing it doesn't matter what it is. You aren't going to sit down and draw a masterpiece right off the bat. But you might, if you practice just getting used to putting your pencil on paper. Look at objects on the kitchen table, where is the light and the dark? Then try and copy what you see, and you will get better the more you do this. Put a shoe box on a table and try to draw it, think about the direction of the sides, are all the sides the same length? How do you give it perspective? Don't think about making the box look perfect, just practice how to make it look 3 dimentional.
My last suggestion is to read books and take classes about drawing, Read books that have illustrations and practical advice for beginners. Take classes that show the basics and are for beginning artists.
Don't become discouraged, stick to it and enjoy the process of learning something new.
Hope this helped, and don't forget to keep creating!
Marsallai Quick
2019
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