So You Thought You Couldn't Draw

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(1)...For. People. Who Can Even Draw a Straight Line 't. You've always wanted to draw but you thought you had to be born with talent Here is. fabulous news.. It's. not true! After working. with thousands of people with "two. left. hands," Sandra Angelo has. developed a sure-fire four. method that will take you from drawing like an step. ama v. 131,. Qt u. >nj.. h. HT YOU ,. TcF all Angelo r.

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(3) SO YOU THOUGHT YOU COULDTVT DRAW™ By SANDRA McFALL,. DISCOVER ART PUBLICATIONS. /. ANGELO. SAN DIEGO/ CA.

(4) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw™ Copyright. ©. 1989 by Sandra Angelo. Drawing and photographs are copyrighted by. various artists where credited. Printed and bound in U.S.A. All rights reserved.. of this book. may be reproduced. in. No. part. any form including photocopying, or recording, or by. any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer,. who may. brief passages in a review.. Published by:. Discover Art, P.O. Box 262424, San Diego,. Call Toll Free:. 1. (888) 327-9278. Third edition.. Copyright ©1989, 1994, 1995, 1998 by Sandra Angelo First printing. 1. 994. Second edition 1995, revised. Third edition 1998, revised.. 1.. Drawing. 2.. Art. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 95-078792. ISBN 1-887823-24-7. $22.95 Softcover. UPC Code 03247 Printed in U.S. A.. Layout. & Design by Ken Cook. CIP 95-078792. CA 92196. quote.

(5) Illustrated by:. Sandra Angelo, Tiko Youngdale and Gre Hann.. Contributing students:. Thompson, Marilee Johnson, Peggy Palmer, Grace Igasaki, Nancy Kearin, Leslie Owens, Joan Endres, Bob Baker, Bob Estelle, Joe Breault, Gordon Kleim, Doris Mountjoy, Don Yinger, Rose Marie Barr and Maggie McHale. Orville. Design and Layout. by:. Ken Cook.

(6) This book taught. is. dedicated to the. me by example. memory. of Virginia and Ernest McFall. whose amazing lives. that there wasn't anything. I. couldn't do. if I. had. faith..

(7) How. To. Use This Book. book sequentially. Read and follow all the instructions carefully. This is especially key for rank beginners. These methods have been tried and proven on thousands of students so you would do well to follow this sequence carefully. If you skip portions and jump all around, you may not improve as dramatically as the artists you see in the beginning of this book. Begin. at the. When you. beginning and work your. get to Chapter Seven,. it is. way through. permissible to. the. work out of sequence. Those. drawings are presented in a loosely structured format, with the easiest subject first, gradually progressing toward the most difficult. While, it's always good idea to begin with easy objects and move toward the most challenging, by the time you reach this chapter, your skills may be strong enough that it wouldn't hurt to jump around a little. Generally, if you look at a drawing and think it's easy, it probably will be, especially if it's a subject you like.. Many. who can. draw by simply reading the book and practicing the exercises. Others are visual learners who need to watch the instructor's hand and see exactly how to shade. If you are having a problem with your shading techniques, you may want to purchase the four companion videos that demonstrate this book's lessons. Drawing Basics will walk you through the first half of the book and show you how to shade and more. The Easy Way to Draw Landscapes, Flowers and Water and The Easy Way To Draw Animals will demonstrate various drawings in this book. The video, 7 Common Drawing Mistakes and How to Correct Them, illustrates the mistakes beginners encounter most frequently as well as the ways to correct them. (See order form in the back of the book.) If. folks are reading learners. you choose. to use the videos,. fully grasp the shading techniques.. learn to. be sure to play them over and over again. Some. until. you. students have found they have to repeat the. lesson several times, drawing along with the instructor, watching the demonstrations. again and again before. it. finally sinks in.. Many folks ask me, 'How long will it take me to learn to draw?' My answer is, 'How many hours per day are you planning to practice?' There is no magic number of days for this process but as a general rule, students who draw for 45 minutes to one hour per day, usually finish the. book. in. 60-90 days.. 90 days. Read chapters one through three in the first day or two. Then practice the exercises for about 45 minutes to an hour daily. Mark off your calendar with the number of drawings you have completed that day. For those of you who are on a busy schedule, you can always find at least 45 minutes each day to relax. If you have more than 45 minutes to devote to drawing, that's great. As you begin to improve, drawing will become a retreat where you can enjoy quiet serenity. You won't believe how much fun it is to draw. So turn the pages and If. let's. you are looking. get started!. for structure, set a goal of learning to. draw. in.

(8) Contents. Introduction. 1. Materials Pencils. 5. Paper. 10. Accessories. 11. Chapter Five. 55. Learning To Shade. 55. Value Charts. 57. Shading Exercises. 59. Chapter Six. 67. Creating Texture. 67 67. Chapter One. 15. Gradation. Instruction For Getting Started. 15. Hatching. 68. The Magic Drawing System. 19. Texture Exercises. 68. Chapter Two. 25. Chapter Seven. 73. 25. Exercise Section. 78. Drawing With. A Grid. Chapter Three. 37. Seeing Shapes. 37. Instructions For All Exercises. 39. Shape Exercises. 42. Chapter Four. 49. Seeing Lines. 49. Contour Line Exercises. 50. Success Stories. 143. Acknowledgments Order Forms. 144 149.

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(11) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Introduction Transform your. skills from. Didn't you just hate that kid. your airplane looked blonde braids mutant rat on Well,. if. like a. who drew. amateur. who was over. to artist in. in the. a few easy lessons. .... corner drawing super sonic jets. goose egg with webbed feet?. horses from the Winner's Circle. when. Or that little girl with the when your horse looked like. a. stilts?. your. never. art. made. it. to the bulletin. board. at. school and not even to your. own. mother's refrigerator, here's your chance to avenge yourself and clear your besmirched Forget losing 30 pounds, tummy tucks, hair implants, or face lifts. After completing the lessons in this book, you will be able to draw a perfect mask to wear to the upcoming high school reunion! You'll show them! No more irreverent snickers or reputation.. giggles for you.. Now. that I've. promised you the. insert a disclaimer.. will feel. awkward. at first,. when. time you spend. it,. Fig. 1. —. draw the perfect body,. This foray into the world of. times and wonder at. ability to. you. it's. will spill things,. art will. I. really. not be unlike your. mess things up,. do need first. to. date.. You. you'll feel like a fool at. going to be over. But like any good friendship, the more. the better. it. gets.. These two drawings by Marilee Johnson were seven weeks apart.. ..

(12) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. What makes you. think. I. ™. by Sandra Angelo. <. 1989. can do this?. draw but you thought you had to be born with talent. I have fabulous news. It's not true! After working with thousands of people who can't draw a straight line, I have developed a sure fire four step method (described on page 43) that will take you from drawing like an amateur to drawing like an artist in a few easy lessons. You've always wanted. Figure. 2—. In eight weeks Joan Storms went from drawing with weak. drawing of her. One. to. little. skills to. rendering this superb. grandson.. of the biggest frustrations for rank beginners like yourself, has been the lack of. simple books:. art. many. books which assume you know. NOTHING.. Instead of starting you in. book written just for you! I'll tell you everything! Which side of the paper to use, which end of the pencil to sharpen, which eraser is best for which pencil, etc. I assume nothing. If you are already first. grade,. skip straight to the tough stuff. At last, there. past this stage, simply exclaim, 'Pshaw,. This. is. the first art. book designed. of information and data that. I. I. know. that!'. is. a. and move on.. who have no natural talent. It contains lots from many years of research while teaching. for people. have gathered. who showed up for class with no more than a desire to get revenge on that Esmerelda Fishback who walked away with all those art awards. I listened to these rank beginners as they watched me draw, and when they said things like,' Look she's pressing harder. people.

(13) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Fig. 3. — Aaron Gold dramatically improved. his. drawing. skills in just. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. a couple of months.. and she just turned her paper around,' the next time I taught I said, 'Now you press harder and turn your page a little.' (Pretty smart eh?) So now you're the lucky beneficiary ,. of their experience. They taught. me what you. Com 'on, have you seen me draw. More good news!. Talent. is. . .. need. to. know. in order to learn to draw.. ?. REALLY not necessary.. There are only four ingredients. required for drawing success.. Whenever one tackles a completely new skill, they often feel intimidated by unfamiliar new terms and the awkwardness of their first steps. A fervent desire to draw, patience, & a willingness to make mistakes will help get you through the times when your flowers turn out looking like mutant potatoes. First,. you must have a burning desire. Second, you must have fine motor write their. name. Most of the. has. this.. to learn.. skills. and adequate eyesight. Any adult. (More good news!. lines in art aren't straight.. If. you can't draw a. We artists. who can. straight line, that's great!. leave straight lines to machines and. rulers.). As with any endeavor, practice makes perfect. There is a your hand. The more you draw, the more time you accumulate. Third, you must practice.. time meter connected to. on the meter. After a certain amount of practice time, you automatically learn. to draw..

(14) ™. So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. There. is. by Sandra Angelo. <. 1989. actually a direct cause and effect relationship between practice and successful. drawing.. And. the last, and. most important ingredient. hare but the tortoise. Those in. twenty years of teaching,. who I. is. The. persistence.. don't give up, succeed.. You. race goes not to the. will be. happy. to. know. that. have never had a single student complete the course with-. out learning to draw, no matter. how weak. their start.. (Look. at the. before and after draw-. ings in this book!). — Look at the remarkable progress made by Cheryl Mclver when she studied the masters' drawing techniques. These drawings were done five weeks apart. Fig. 4.

(15) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. ©. by Sandra Angelo. 1989. •Materials Pencils. All the exercises in this. book. are. done with a graphite drawing. are available in varying degrees of hardness.. how. dark or light the mark will be,. how smoothly. your pencil will stay sharp. In the beginning graphite.. It's. enough. to learn all the. drawing media. In. my. I. is. down and how. the lead will lay. recommend. graphite,. that. you draw. you can begin. book, Exploring Colored Pencil,. of media. Trying various media. pencil will determine. drawing techniques without having. Once you master. to use different products.. The density of the. only fun after you. I. teach. know. These pencils. pencil.. strictly. long. with. to figure out. how. to explore other. how. combine a. to. variety. the basics of drawing.. The density chart below shows the varying degrees of hardness commonly available. Keep in mind that the performance of each pencil will vary greatly from brand to brand. The pencils I recommend on the order form in the back of this book are specifically selected to give. you the. maximum range. brand you use. They are not. all. of values (lights and darks).. equal. All the enclosed exercises. It. really matters. were done with. my. what. brand,. you are not getting the same results I do, you may want to switch to my Warning: If you use the wrong pencils, you can press down all day and your paper will get crushed but your values will never get darker. With a good quality pencil, you can get a very wide range of values. I have a philosophy that says, "Use junk, you get junk. Use good stuff, you blossom." Don't come whining to me if you use bad pencils. so. pencils.. if. Drawing Pencils. Drafting Pencils. 6H 5H 4H 3H 2H <- Harder On will. H. i.e.. 6H. will. make. a lighter. Because these pencils have a hard and give you more detail. The pencils on this side are mainly used for drafting,engineering, architectural rendering, and other a 2H.. lead they will stay sharp longer. detail. Although. is. some. a need for a sharp lead and fine artists. use them, most primarily. use the pencils on the other side.. Figure 5. B. 2B. 3B. Softer. number, the harder the lead. be and the lighterthe mark.. work where there. HB*. & Lighter. this side, the higher the. mark than. F. 4B. & Darker. 5B. 6B. -*. As the numbers get higher on this side, the leads get softer and darker, i.e. You will achieve much darker marks with a 6B than a B. These pencils are excellent for soft shading but will dull quickly. Most artists limit themselves mainly to the pencils on this side. On rare occasions where they need they. may. light values, like. blonde. hair,. venture over to the other side and grab an. F..

(16) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. *The. HB. is. ™. by Sandra Angelo. the lead generally used in the. common. ©. 1989. yellow household pencil with. that. While you can take great phone messages with this, it's pretty lousy for creating deep dark values or soft gradations. If you are a 'hatcher', (meaning you don't mind if your lines show), you might like the HB If you are a 'graduator', and like soft terra cotta eraser.. .. changes. in value, (with. Because page. 5,. it. may. no. lines showing),. drive you to the loony bin. and remember when. labeled them, light,. medium. blackened. I. if. will probably prefer using the. you. pencil,. try to. memorize. have devised a somewhat. I. idiot. on. proof. commonly used densities and when you want to deface your boss's. and dark. For example,. you would use the dark pencil. When you want hair, you would use the light pencil.. on shading, you. will learn. how. I. draw. and. personally don't switch pencils. when I want to enhance a dark area I use a 6B. grab an F pencil from the left side of the chart.. I'm not sure how or why the F wandered onto the. to. to create a full range of light. very often, I. leads.. took the three most. dark values by using only one pencil density. Although. stroke. B. the density charts. teeth,. your Uncle Floyd's silver Later, in the chapter. which. to use. system for drawing with graphite. portrait with. you. If I. want. to get a delicate, light. somehow it did. (Who evening, or maybe his wife. left side,. knows, maybe Mr. Chartmaker was a bit inebriated that Myrtle changed it in the middle of the night to sabotage him. but. for not picking. up. his under-. name was Floyd and he wanted to name a density after himself, or maybe... woops, we're digressing.) Anyway, in my opinion, the 'FY texture is more suited to the B side of the chart, but then I wasn't around when this chart was invented, so wear, or. there. maybe. his first. was no one. them. to set. Keep. in. straight.. mind, the best way to make lights look. darks behind them. So,. medium and dark. when you. really light, is to place. strong. are drawing a blonde, you would often use. shadow areas so as to emphasize the strong light highlights. Even if you just paid $100 to get rid of those dark roots, you must place strong shadows at the roots so as to anchor the hair to the head. Remember, just because a subject is light, doesn't mean you only use light pencils. Even light subjects have medium and dark shadows.. the. One More. my. pencil. in. the. H pencils don't mix well with the B's unless you have a high quality brand. The texture of the two pencils can be quite different, preventing them from blending. The only time pick up the lighter leads is when want to get a really delicate value like the texture of blond or gray hair or a baby's soft skin. If you are using a good brand, the lower number H pencils like H, 2H, 3H and the F will create very Tip:. In. I. light values.. opinion, (which. is. usually right), the. I. With an. inferior brand, the. H pencils simply indent your paper..

(17) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR PENCILS. Whenever you. try out a. new. tool,. it is. strokes,. drawing with. who do. Artists. their fingers.. ©. by Sandra Angelo. 1989. .. best to test. When. hold their pencil like they would hold a pen.. ™. it. and see how. it. works. Most. realists. they draw, they use tight, controlled. This allows them more. command. over their marks.. impressionistic, (or abbreviated) renderings like to grasp their pencil like. They use arm movements, holding their pencil at a distance, making loose, casual strokes. You might want to try both methods to see which feels most comfortable to you. You may even find that you like to mix it up, drawing the landscape loose, then detailing the goose bumps on a plucked chicken with tight, controlled strokes. they would a brush.. In this book,. I. have both. realistic. and impressionistic drawings.. very exact and delicate. Don't be concerned ures 8. -. 10.. We. Figure 6: Here with a 2B. In. Figure. 7:. is. my. Here. is. all. drew the same. if. your. style is not like. subject, yet each person's style. a sample of the texture created by using an view, these two textures don't mix properly.. a swatch drawn with an. pencils' textures look. more compatible.. F pencil.. I. My drawings. H pencil.. have blended. it. tend to be. mine. Look. at. was unique and. On. the left. into a 2B. In. is. Figdiffer-. a swatch drawn. my. view, these two.

(18) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ent.. one. Each of you is. will. ™. by Sandra Angelo. have a slightly different. unique, so, don't. be concerned. if. € 1989. style. Just as. it is. with handwriting, every. your drawings don't match the ones. in this. book. exactly.. Figures 8-10: Each of us drew the same subject, but our strokes were unique, making every drawing a different. and distinctive. style.. Figure 8. Drawing by Sandra Angelo.

(19) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. Figure 9. Drawing by Nancy Kearin. Figure 10. ©. 1989.

(20) .. So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Paper There are a wide variety of papers available on the market, most of which are bound. in. sketchpads. The quality varies dramatically and, unlike pencils, quality does not always correlate with price. rible. Some. excellent papers are very reasonably priced while. papers are the same price as the good ones.. confusing. Almost every tablet will say life. its. Shopping. for a. suitable for drawing,. some. ter-. good paper can be. even. if. it. so. isn't,. I. quite. made. simple for you.. Good. your sketch pad is bound into this book. To save you the trouble of guessing which brands would work for these exercises, I bound good quality paper into this book so that you can use it as a workbook and sketch book. If you run out of paper, you can use the order form in the back of this book to send for my special sketch pads. news.... In addition, for. most of the exercises. you by drawing the grids. I. right. Caution! Soap box ahead. (This. recommend. require gridded paper so. on the practice paper. is. where. importance of using good supplies 'cause. I. I. get. up on. in. I. made. it. easy. your book.. my podium. and lecture about the. don't want to hear your whining. when you. get. crummy stuff.) I recommend that you do all your exercises right on the paper in this book. Some people, who want to conserve their paper, will try to draw these exercises in other sketch books. This will defeat the whole purpose of why this book was created. I carefully selected the correct paper for you. If you choose your own paper, you might select lousy paper, 'cause you don't know how to choose a paper. Then you'll get bad. results using. bad. results.. When you draw with This. it.. means. the graphite pencil, your paper needs a 'tooth' or. needs to have a. it. slightly. 'bite'. to. rough texture so that the graphite. become deposited into the microscopic grooves of the paper. (To understand this better, remember when you tried to use a pencil to write a mushy poem to your favorite beau on the back of a slick greeting card? The pencil wouldn't stick because the paper was too slick(or maybe your verbage was too mushy). That surface is considered a plate finish and has no 'tooth'.. will. chip off and. it. (Graphite pencils. Things that can go wrong.. You cannot get a sweater) when you won't stick. to. last. only adhere to a paper with 'tooth'.). .. range of values with bad paper and, flimsy paper will. erase. it.. If. you. try to. draw on a section you have erased,. pill (like. a. the graphite. your paper.. low quality paper will yellow and slowly deteriorate (Remember what haptime you left the morning paper on the door step all day. The paper became discol-. In addition,. pened. full. will.

(21) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. You may want. ored.). grating,. So. you. to save. frame a drawing, or. to. can't perserve. at least. save. it.. If. ™. by Sandra Angelo. you have paper. that. is. ©1989. disinte-. it.. you from your own well meaning frugal ity with its corresponding good paper into this book. So use it already!. failure,. I. paid. big bucks to bind. have seen so many beginners waste time by using bad paper and cheap pencils. They are not doing the drawings wrong, it's just that they can't get the correct results with bad paper. Nag. nag, nag. I admit it. I have a fetish about using the right supplies. I get tired of the grumbling when people moan to me about their bad results, and it's all because they've used I. wrong. Use good materials. (Honestly, the good paper costs same as the bad stuff. And if you use good quality, you'll save money in the long run 'cause you won't need nearly as much Maalox .) Okay, okay, I'm climbing down off my soap box now. the. supplies. So, indulge yourself.. exactly the. R. ACCESSORIES Dust Brush Because graphite can. you. need to purchase a dust brush to rid your paper of graphite residue and eraser crumbs. In my studio, I use a large drafting brush but on the road, I like to take along a goat hair brush. It's the perfect size and is nice and soft. ( I prefer natural hair brushes over synthetic because they are gentle on the paper.) get messy,. will. you can't find a goat hair brush, you can buy one using the form in the back of the book. Or you can visit Old Mac Donald and borrow one of his trained goats who will swish his tail over your paper on command. (Be careful to use the correct end of the goat. If the goat's head faces your paper, he will eat it, unless it's crummy paper: in which case, you'll wish he would eat it.) If. Erasers. An. inexpensive. though. art. gum. work well to rid your paper of most mistakes. Alcrumble and smudge the graphite a little, it is the best at lifting. this eraser will. eraser will. large errors.. If. you make a section a. little. too dark, you can gently lighten the area by pressing a. To keep your drawing free of smudges, use a piece of clean paper underneath. your drawing hand. This dragging side ite.. down. will. prevent your hand from picking up graphite and. across your paper.. it. is. the. most effective. I. find that an 8x1. shield. because the. glossy photo with the shiny. slick. paper will not absorb graph-.

(22) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. kneaded eraser against. ™. by Sandra Angelo. The kneaded. that object.. ©. 19S9. eraser will stick to the paper and. lift. the. dark values, leaving a gentle, soft gradation behind. (Other erasers leave an abrupt edge. when. My. they erase.). absolute favorite eraser. can actually draw with than grinding ure. 1 1. .. 1. it. it.. It. is. the small. hand held, battery operated eraser because you. glides over the surface of the paper lifting the graphite rather. into the paper. drew some grass and. and crushing the tooth. To see how out the highlights with. lifted. my. it. works, look. at. Fig-. battery operated eraser.. works well with other drawing media including colored pencils. About the only thing it won't erase is cellulite and wrinkles. Believe me, I've tried.) Caution: Beware of cheap battery operated erasers. They work fine till they hit the paper, then they stop. (As an aside,. The. this eraser. best brand. is. on our order form. in the. There are other erasers out there,. like. back of the book. pink erasers, plastic erasers and such but. view these smudge too much. They skid very difficult to remove. Therefore,. I. in the. limit. graphite and create a. myself. little. to the erasers described. slurry. in. my. which. is. above.. Figure 11. Pencil Cases. The graphite leads inside the wooden casing will break if you drop your pencils on the floor. Then when you sharpen your pencil, the lead will break off into your sharpener. To prevent this, I carry my pencils and erasers around Believe. it. or not, pencils are fragile.. in a neat little case. (All artists. with any fashion sense, have a different case for every. outfit.). Fixative. When you change. are absolutely sure that your drawing. it, ( i.e.. if. the. is. perfect and. Louvre just offered you $30 million for. it),. you never ever want to you can spray the draw-.

(23) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. Don't be confused by the term workable... that only. draw on top tive. is. of the fixative.. Whatever. is. and prevent. it. my. because I'm never really sure. it. client will like. it. into a turtleneck sweater. (If. I. Remember. I. want. won't breathe the spraying and. I. my. is. very toxic.. one heavy one.. A heavy. to live a long time with. fixative.. close the. I. wear a. I. fixative,. Whenever. my. painter's. It is. I. for the fixative to dry but the odor lingers, so for 15-20 minutes. (The timer will. could not add pencil. I. spray. it, I. go outside and. steal. better to give the. brain intact,. mask from I. remind you. drawing several. I. the. also take precautions so that. hardware store while. to that spot.. set a timer. It. am. only takes a few minutes. and leave. to retrieve the. I. my. drawing outside. drawing before the scouts. it.). Sharpeners I. use three different tools for sharpening. In. ener.. For the road,. I. between sharpening, to a motor.. studio. I. use a vertical electric sharp-. keep a piece of sandpaper close by. Caution: Avoid the cheap. battery operated sharpeners it. my. take along a battery operated sharpener and, to liven up a dull point I. which have simply taken a hand held sharpener and mounted. Before you buy a sharpener, remove the casing where the shavings will be. stored and look at the blades.. Be. careful. when you. casing for the shavings. carry your battery operated sharpener around with you. If the is. I. application will cause the fixative to run.. windows and doors next. from the Louvre sneak up and. always use workable fixative. paper. Holding the can 12-18 inches from the drawing,. paper using horizontal strokes.. light coats, rather than. Because. fixa-. slick.). that fixative. on each corner of. I. had used a matte or glossy. because the surface would be too. lightly coat the. you can. drew all four of her chins. If I I can't remove one of the chins, but, So, I could change one of her chins. that. can add graphite pencil on top of workable fixative.. I. that. underneath the workable. from smudging.. already sprayed the drawing with workable fixative,. lay a weight. means. 1989. there to stay.. ing with fixative to seal. Caution:. ©. by Sandra Angelo. not well attached,. it. may come. off in your bag and leave a big. mess. This problem can often be solved by simply wrapping a large rubber band around the sharpener to secure the casing.. I.

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(25) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. CHAPTER ONE INSTRUCTIONS. FORGETTING (STARTED So where do A Drawing System. For The Artistically Challenged (Notice. There are many effective ways. to learn to. scribed in other art books. If they had. what makes. this. Well, believe. we. I begin...?. didn't say klutz.). draw. Those ways have already been de-. worked. for you,. you wouldn't be reading. this.. So,. system different?. it. or not,. I. actually started out teaching in high schools, ivy league prep. Fig. 12. Fig. 12 shows the dramatic improvement. techniques of the masters.. made by Bob Baker when he learned to draw by copying. the.

(26) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. was teaching a drawing lessons were so. schools and universities.. ©. by Sandra Angelo. I. 1989. traditional art curriculum to naturally gifted. was even selected as one of the nation's top art educators for a Fellowship Award from Rhode Island School of Design. So thought could teach anybody. Wrong! students and. I. my. effective that. I. I. Much. to. my. of wanna be traditional. surprise,. artists. when. I. moved. into adult education classes. and found a room. my tried and true, blue ribbon, award it. No one understood a thing I said.. with no real talent,. drawing lessons didn't cut. I. winning, discovered. way. For one thing, they didn't even under-. that these folks learn in a radically different. stand the language of. full. Next, they were not inclined to deduce things on their own,. art.. they needed to be guided, and shown, step-by-step, with very specific instructions, until. they eventually. my. of. felt. comfortable enough to venture forth on their own. So. book. I. am. presenting the results of a proven system that has. sands of people just like you. listened to. them describe. a period of years,. effective. That. all. I. the. I. learned. how. to teach these. drawing process. perfected this. in their. new. terms and. worked. artists I. by. began. for thou-. listening.. to repeat. it. I. back.. system by watching them and seeing what was. and what wasn't.. means. You. threw out. prized techniques and started from scratch.. In this. Over. I. there's. more good news!. are not a guinea pig!. Many. lab rats have. paved your way so. that. you don't have. to. suffer.. Realize that everything will be presented tion of the tools. an end. if. you. will. need and how. you use the wrong pencil, you. of pencils. The whole system. is. in a. to use. will. step-by-step format, with a full explana-. them.. While the world. will not. come. to. probably get different results with other types. predicated on the assumption that,. and tools worked for thousands of others, they. will. work. for. you. if. these exact methods. too.. The reason I tell you exactly what to use is because my rank beginners have begged for that format. To those of you who may have one recessive artistic gene, you may feel beginning twinges of rebellion when I tell you exactly what to do. To you, I say, 'If you are getting equal or better results doing it a different way, go for it' The rest of you really ..

(27) ™. So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. should follow. this. book step-by-step. pencils and papers. I. stick to the lesson until. Tell. For those. you know the. who. your friends emphatically.. . .. 1989. improvement most of. are not naturally artistic,. rules well. rules but only by people. ©. exact sequence presented, using the same. describe, or else you won't get the dramatic. students have experienced.. made by breaking. in the. by Sandra Angelo. who. enough. to break. learned the rules. 'No snickering,. it's. my. usually best to. them. (Most good. art is. first.). unwelcome. advice, or disre-. '. spect.. You. are. embarking on a private journey.. tice the piano, or football, or the violin.. book. is. No one. Don't. let. them pracpeople watch you practice. Your sketch invites people to listen to. private, off limits.. 'Why?' you ask.. Everyone taken. art in. is. an. art critic.. school, but that doesn't keep. come up with very all. Very few people. thoughtless. comments. in. America, except the very talented, have. them from being. may. that. sting,. a. 'know. it. all'.. They. often. wound and discourage you, and. along they were just 'kidding' or 'trying to help'. The rank beginner has a very fragile. ego.. and. Most rank beginners don't all. it. takes. is. really believe they. a few of those snide. comments. can learn. to conjure. to. draw. in the first place. up humiliating memories of. art class.. This sketch book. is. your practice. field.. your work, you will be more hesitant. you out of the creative. right side of. If. you think someone. to relax. is. going to be critiquing. and make mistakes. This mind. your brain. So keep. this sketch. book. keep. to yourself.. you can show everyone your finished only show your best work. Believe me, you don't want to hear about the rest! Later, after you've finished this course,. set will. pieces... but.

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(29) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. THE MAGIC DRAWING SYSTEM Most. traditional art teachers set. New. say, 'Draw'.. artists. What. How. take. do. I. make. live. I. you back. to the easiest. start. use to draw hair?. .... with the. two dimensional. '. feels like starting school in 12th grade. Since. am. going to. form of drawing and present you with a graduated. level of. too difficult for a rank beginner to draw objects from real. it's. I. a three dimensional object on a. models. room and. or a model in the middle of the. still life. type of stroke do. To beginners, drawing from believe. a. don't have a clue where to begin. 'Where do. eye, the elbow, the ear...?. piece of paper?. up. • ••. life,. I. I. difficulty.. • Level. One. -. Copying the Masters. you say. "It's cheating to copy." Well, guess what? Everybody's cheating then. Golfers copy Tiger Woods. Pianists copy Van Cliburn. In the Degas wing of the Norton Simon Art Museum, there is a Raphael painting, copied by Degas. If that's the way all the masters did it, guess what? It's legit. "Stop. right there!". Copying. is. the easiest. dimensional. The. artist. form of drawing.. It's. easy because the drawing. is. already two. has already solved the drawing equation, determining the texture. of the strokes, the darkness and lightness of the marks, and the direction of the lines. All. you have. to. do. What do you. is. copy.. gain by copying? First, every time you draw, you are developing hand eye. coordination. Next, you learn. how. to create textures,. how. to shade,. how. to. draw eyes,. how. to simplify millions of tiny hairs to suggest the style rather than detailing. etc.. As with. the art of calligraphy, as. worried about losing your. own. you copy, you improve your. lose their. own. handwriting.. It. hair,. strokes. (Don't be. creative style just because you're copying.. penmanship never made anyone. every. Copying good. simply improves your. technique.). m.

(30) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Figure 13: In just five weeks, Gordon Kleim improved his drawing. dramatically by copying the. skills. drawings of the masters.. When do I. I. stop copying?. recommend. that beginners. copy the masters. until. about 80. turning out well. (Like high jumping, you don't raise the bar frequently.. ). Success breeds success.. The confidence you. % of their drawings are. till. Stay with the easy things. you've been clearing. till. you get good. at. it. them.. you gain courage to try the next level. Beginners need a lot of success to keep motivated. If you try things which are too difficult, you will experience a lot of failure. Repeated failure makes most people discouraged and then they give up. Wait till you are succeeding regularly before moving on to Level Two.. Level. Ah. build, will help. Two - Copying From Photographs. ha! Cheating again.. Among. noble and pure to draw from real the. way. the masters did. it!. the. life. myths. that surround art,. is. than to copy from a photo.. Do you know why. the belief that. Why?. it is. Because. the masters didn't use photos?. more. that's. Because. they hadn't been invented!. draw from life, many modern artists try to hide the fact that they use photos. I once read a book where an animal artist was actually claiming he never uses photos, yet his paintings had subjects like a lion leaping through a flying Since the public expects. artists to.

(31) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. cloud of dust, chasing a terrified zebra. Right.. ™. And I have some. by Sandra Angelo. ©. swamp. in. great. land. 1989. Florida.. Photos are fabulous for frisky kid. and other. artists. because they trap. stuff that just. moves. light, action, a. glance, an innuendo, a. too much. While artists are not slaves to photos,. most use a combination of photos and live objects. Photos are a modern tool, so use them. Nobel prize winners use computers, even though the masters used a quill dipped in an ink well.. 'The times they are a changin'. Why. is it. easy to draw from a photo? Because. Photo by Sandra Angelo. & 15 —Drawing from photos is easier than drawing from real life because the object has already been reduced to two dimensions and the Fig. 14. values are clear, (meaning. it is. easy to see the light. and dark patterns). Drawing by Gre Harm.. it. is. already two dimensional. And. black.

(32) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. and white photos have already solved the value. (that. ©. 1989. means. light. and dark) equation, and. they can be gridded. (Grids will be explained later on page 25.). So, once you've graduated from copying masters, begin working from black and white photos. Here, for the. first. time,. you. will. have. to solve the. drawing problem. You must. decide what kind of strokes to use for the hair, what direction your lines should take. when drawing. you through this and you will draw on the techniques you learned from copying the masters. After you've reached the 80% success level copying from photos, move on to level three, copying from real life. a nose... etc... • Level Three. -. I. will guide. Copying from real. life.. Now. you are ready for the level where most art classes begin, drawing from life. This Not only do you have to determine the direction of your strokes, but now you must learn how to translate color into black and white, and how to draw a three dimenis. hard.. sional object. on a two dimensional surface without making. be your most. difficult transition.. coordination,. how. be surprised. Fig. 16. —. if. it. to. measure proportions, how. takes a. When you. However, your practice. little. to. it. will. shade and. look. flat.. This will probably. have taught you hand eye. how. to create texture.. Don't. longer to master this level of drawing.. begin to draw from. improve, increase the level of difficulty.. live objects start. out with simple shapes. and as your skills.

(33) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. • Level Four. A lot. Composing. of people think that. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. original, creative art.. all artists. can draw anything out of their head. Surprise! Its. not true. In teaching literally thousands of talented, creative, non-talented, and other. assorted species,. have discovered. I. that only. 5%. of talented. artists. can draw from their. imagination. All others use live models, photos or a combination of the two. So can't. draw out of your head, join. the. 95%. ranks.. (Many. artists. who can draw. if. you. out of their. heads are cartoonists.). But, even. if. your drawing. you can't create imaginary objects and skills. fantastical beasts, after. and study a variety of media, you. how. drawings. You will learn. will be able to. you master. compose. original. combine a series of photos with everyday objects, change things around and mix them up until you have an original piece of art which expresses your thoughts and feelings. (You can learn all about that in my next book. Exploring Colored Pencil. In that textbook I've written two chapters called Design Fundamentals and Composing A Drawing. Those chapters will walk you through the creative process and teach you how to tap your creative skills. (Exploring Colored Pencil will be to. available in Jan. 1999.). You 've either got To. that,. I. it. or you don 7.. .. say 'Balderdash!' That's. silly.. If. you picked up a. violin,. across the strings and then recoiled from the discordant sound, you I. sound bad, I've never learned. brilliant,. you don't. say,. 'I. to play'.. But. if. your. first. marks with. and dragged the. would. bow. say. 'Naturally. a pencil aren't. haven't developed the skills for expressing myself, you say,. *I. can't draw'.. All. you. really. need. to. be a creative. artist is to learn the rules first.. As with. writing,. you learn grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling and such before you take a creative writing class.. You. understand you. if. can't write creatively. you couldn't. spell. if. you don't know the. and punctuate. So. it. is. rules.. No. one would. with drawing. You must learn. you can express yourself effectively. The lessons in this book will teach you the language of art. This book is like a preschool. Once you've mastered these concepts, you will fit comfortably in any traditional art classroom because you will now the basics before. understand the language!.

(34) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. You are in for an exhilarating surprise! Learning to draw will liberate your creative mind and provide you with the skills you have wanted so badly, the skill to express yourself visually, whether you want to draw a picture of your boss's face on your dart board, draw yourself with. thin thighs. and two. less chins, or. immortalize the world's cutest grand. kids for posterity.. So enough hoopla. fig, 17. already, let's turn the pages and get started drawing!. — Practical uses for your new drawing skills... Immortalize your grandkids..

(35) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. CHAPTER TWO LEARNING TOOLS. DRAWING WITH A GRID world differently than you do. The key to drawing. Artists see the. ning to see the world as they do. They see objects line, value, texture. deal with the. first. different book.) line,. and. The lessons. in this. book. you. artist is. begin-. complete exercises which. will. so involved. is. an. terms of five key elements: shape,. in. color. In the following lessons,. four elements. (Color theory. like. will require a. it. whole. around the four elements of shape,. will center. value and texture.. L earn to see shapes.. Artists see objects as a collection of shapes.. interlocking jigsaw puzzle pieces,. When. becomes much. it. a subject easier to. viewed as a. is. draw. it. .. Look. drawings on page 26. In Fig. 18, the space between the man's arm and body easier to see because. Look. to draw.. Now. at. what happens. that the space outside his. you were. arm and. to. the. draw. The space outside his elbow Fig 19 when we put a vertical. enclosed.. it is. in. elbow. is. enclosed,. is. and then look down. memory about. at. nebulous and. line next to his. difficult. elbow?. the object rather than. nebulous and you. can't. If. itself.. you look. Looking. at the. subject. you. are. the. drawing the. at the. background. itself,. you tend. will. to glance at. your paper for several minutes, drawing from your stored. background space instead,. drawing what you actually. you have. see.. When you. look. at. more draw from memory. Drawing instead of drawing from memory.. to stare at. it. remember them long enough. negative space forces you to really pay attention,. at. much. is. easier to read as a shape. If. called negative space drawing because. cause you to draw more accurately.. Look. much. two. two shapes, the shape behind the elbow, and the shape between body, you would have an accurate drawing of the arm.. space behind the object, rather than the object. the. is. at the. the. This type of drawing. it. it. is. series of. closely, because the shapes are to. Figure 18. Your natural tendency would be to draw the arm as. if. the. hand was.

(36) So You Thought You Couldn't Drau. Figure 18. body. is. —. much. ™. h\. Sandra Aneelo. I. 1989. The space between the man 's arm and easier to see because. it is. enclosed.. Figure 19. —When. we put a. vertical line next to his. elbow, the nebulous space outside this man's is. easier to see. If you. arm. draw the shape behind. his. elbow and the shape between his arm and his body,. you will have a more accurate drawing of the arm. You will improve your drawing accuracy if you can draw the shapes behind the object, instead of looking at the object. itself..

(37) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1. 989. —. Figure 20 Look at the background space between the body and the arm. Compare this space to Figure 18. Noticing the difference between these. two shapes. placed. will. help you draw the. arm. accurately.. you look at the negative space, the space behind the object, you shape between the arm and the body in Figure 18 is much different than. at the waist.. can see that the. But. if. the negative space in Figure 19.. Looking. at. an object as a collection of shapes helps you. focus on what you are really seeing rather than focusing on what your brain remembers. about 'arms on the hips".. If. draw objects by viewing them be more likely to draw accurately.. you can learn. pieces,. you. will. to. as a collection of jigsaw puzzle. Using The Grid... Many. artists. use a grid of vertical and horizontal lines superimposed over their photo. reference in order to see shapes precisely. to the. man's elbow? This helped us. to see the shapes. collection of vertical and horizontal lines.. or horizontal line,. we. will find. it. Remember when we As we. easier to draw.. more. relate. placed a vertical line next. accurately.. each shape. to. A grid. its. is. simply a. adjacent vertical.

(38) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Okay Isn't. it. Time in. here. we go. again. All of. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. you skeptics are chanting,. cheating to use a grid?'. to burst another. Figures 21. & 22.. One. myth. The masters of old used grids. Look is. by Leonardo Da Vinci and one. is. at the. two drawings. by Edgar Degas.. Even. Fig21. & 22 —. Look at these drawings done by the great masters. Leonardo Da Degas used a grid. If it's good enough for Ed and Leo, it's good enough for you. Figs. 21. Vinci,. and Edgar.

(39) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Fig. 22. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989.

(40) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. Michelangelo used a grid for the Sistine Chapel.. Mike, and Leo, shouldn't. Three reasons First, as. we. to. If. ©. 1989. using a grid was good enough for Ed,. be good enough for you?. it. use a. grid.... stated before, placing a vertical or horizontal line next to our subject will. help trap the negative space and allow us to view. it. more. accurately. Second, the grid. helps us with proportions. In Figure 23, notice that the man's right eye left. one. In Figure 24,. ourselves, 'Self, the. would proceed so weird.. The. we. tangents. Without this line,. at different. to. we would. probably look. at the. man has eyes. Eyes are directly across from each. draw eyes. Using grid. like the. man. in. lines as a reference,. third use for grids. is. is. lower than the. have inserted a horizontal line to help us to see that the eyes are. Figure 25, wondering. we. are. more. all. man and other.'. along. say to. Then we. why. he looks. likely to place things accurately.. enlargements. Michelangelo used a grid to enlarge his paint-. ,*fc^. «*. - j*. Cjorvd^. ,4>-s|ilo. £i11j. Figure 23. — Notice that the eye on the right side of the drawing. Figure 24. —. When we place. different heights.. a horizontal line at eye. level,. it. is. higher than the. left.. becomes more evident that the eyes are at.

(41) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. —If we glanced at the man, relied on our stored memory. Figure 25. and then. about eyes, we would tend to draw them both at the same level, even though that's not the way they really are. This student,. Bob grid.. Estell, first. He was. memory. drew the man without a. operating on stored. same way he inaccurately. that eyes should be at the. level so that. the. is. drew them.. Figure. 26— When. he redrew the. man. using a grid, he realized that the man's. head. is tilted,. than the other.. was able. making one eye lower. By following. to place the eyes. the grid, he. more. 40. >. V \. accurately.. (. \. W.v,. Bu ait a.

(42) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. When you. ing studies for the Sistine Chapel.. gain perspective.. He had. ©. by Sandra Angelo. 1989. are painting a ceiling,. to break the subjects into a collection of. you. can't. modules so. back up that. to. he. could retain the accuracy of his paintings.. How do. use a grid?. I. Because. all. of the practice pages. grid kit to complete your lessons.. in this. However,. need to continue using a grid for awhile. Option One: Draw. lines. book. are gridded,. after. If so,. you won't need. you've finished. now. is it?). With. on your drawing paper with a. the thin. ruler. end of a black Identipen draw. reference and label the grid boxes the. Option Two: book.. It. If. you. are too lazy to. to. buy or make a. book, you. may. find. you. here are the instructions for making a grid.. boxes are always square. Rectangles don't work... (don't ask class. this. and a. light pencil.. me why, this. is. Make. sure the. not a geometry. on top of your photo. lines. same on both your paper and your. make your own, buy our grid. picture.. kit listed in the. back of the. has three acetate sheets with different size grids and grid paper to match. Paper clip. the acetate over your photo reference, creating an instant grid. (This also prevents. having to damage the photo by drawing sketch paper and paper clip. it. lines. in place. If. you. on. it.). Lay your grid. you from. sheet underneath your. are using our sketch pad,. you should be able. to. see the grid lines through the drawing paper.. How do I know what size grid to use? Most people can. get by with just a. few. sizes of grids.. A one. inch grid and a one half. inch grid should suffice for most drawings in this book.. The grid size will be determined by 27 you can see that a one inch grid is needed because of the. perfect.. and complexity of the subject.. you can also use a large grid for the majority of the subject and then subdivide areas which have more complex details. See Figure 29.. Note the. size. you are copying. In Figure In Figure 28 a one half inch grid was. the size of the object. that.

(43) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Identifying. Many grid,. series of. it. A. 27— You. ©. 1989. useful to place a series of letters across the top and bottom of their. numbers along both. which square you are drawing;. Figure. by Sandra Angelo. Tangents. students find. and a. ™. B. i.e.. 'B. T. in. C. can see that a one inch grid. Drawing by Sandra Angelo. sides of the grid. This will help. Figure 27.. D is. E. appropriate for this drawing.. you. identify.

(44) So You fhought You Couldn't Draw. Aaargh! Will Yes.. were. I. learning. keep your balance. on your page. b>. Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. ever outgrow the grid?. Calm down. Put. first. ™. until. how. the sedatives away.. You. will. outgrow. this stage.. When you. you needed training wheels until you learned training wheels. You need vertical and horizontal. to ride a bike,. A grid. is. you begin. like. to see the. to lines. shapes without them. Eventually you will see. objects as a collection of shapes. At that point,. you. know you've outgrown. will. H. B. the grid.. K. I. » %. mmk. 3k. 1. •n. K /. /. \ fcS&L. \ '. :-4B '•. 10. H. B Figure 28 Because of the complexity of the Drawing by Tiko Youngdale.. However, you there. when you. will. still. details,. I. K. a smaller 1/2 inch grid was used over. this. photo.. revert to using an occasional vertical or horizontal line here. are trying to. conquer problem areas. That's. why Leonardo Da. and. Vinci. slapped a grid on the nose. (See Figure 21 on page 28) The face was a piece of cake but that snout. was a. real bear.. The. grid helped. him resolve. the problem..

(45) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. A Figure. 29—. C. B In some cases, you. the areas which have. may. more complex. D. ™. by Sandra Angelo. E. use a larger grid for the majority of the photo details.. ©. 1989. F. and then subdivide.

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(47) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. NEGATIVE SPACE DRAWING. CHAPTER THREE SEEING SHAPES You. will be surprised at. by drawing. how much. easier. it is. to. draw things accurately when you begin. just the silhouette while looking at the negative space. behind the object.. Because our brain stores preconceived notions about objects, we tend. memory. about. how. to rely. on our. these objects should look rather than paying close attention to the. angle or perspective in front of us. For example, our brain stores the eye as an oval with a circle in the. middle. the full circle can. like Figure 30.. you? Notice. Look. at the. You. eyes in Figure 31 and 32.. that the three shapes in the. eye. in. Figure 3. 1. can't see. are very. you drew these eyes by looking at shapes, instead of drawing what you remember about eyes, you would draw more accurately.. different than the three shapes in Figure 32. If. *fc^**;. Figure. 30— This is the way we. Figure 31 —Look at the three. think of an eye; an oval shape. shapes contained within this. with a full circle in the middle.. eye.. If you look at the eyes in. the left. Figure 31 and 32, you will see that you cannot see the full. the white space on the right. If you drew these two white shapes and the iris, you would have an accurate eye.. of the iris. Looking at the eye as a collection of shapes will help you see it circle. more. accurately.. The white of the eye on is. so. much. bigger than. Figure. 32— Notice how different the. white shapes are in this eye. compared to the shapes. in. when. Figure 30..

(48) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Drawing negative space. is. ™. by Sandra Angelo. especially helpful. ©. when we. 1989. are trying to. draw objects which. means that an object is pointing straight at us. Look at the rhino in Figure 33. His body is coming straight at us. His head, which is in profile, would be easy to draw, but the rump, which is foreshortened, is tough. If we focused on his body while drawing, we would have a terrible time drawing him accurately. However, if we concentrate on the shapes around him (the negative space), as we did in Figure 34, are foreshortened. Foreshortening. we would. be. much more. inclined towards accuracy.. Fig. 33. Fig. 34.

(49) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Iiuiruvliuitt FtjrEibturj'jj We learn to draw the Old Fashioned Way, we practice. Here's a. list. of general instructions for. all. the exercises in this book.. One. In Chapters 3 and 4 I've provided a space to try the drawing with the grid and. without the grid.. Do. both drawings.. may. If. your drawings are consistently accurate when you. you don't need the grid, copy the drawings from this book in a sketch pad, (because sketch pages would not be gridded). Most of you however, are rank beginners and will need a grid. You should practice all of your drawdon't use the grid, you. ings. not need. on the gridded paper provided. Two.. We. learn to. the drawings,. draw. until. If. in this. book.. the old fashioned way,. you can use a grid. your sketchbook,. it.. you are. kit. we. practice. If. you want. to redo. any of. and practice the same piece over and over again. satisfied with the results.. While. it is. in. very useful to practice. same piece twice or even three times, it's a good idea to complete most of the drawings in the book before going on to repeat them. Don't expect perfection. You are like a first grader ... very new at this. As you continue practicing, your skills will improve autothe. matically. It's. not a good idea to do a lot of erasing. Just draw each subject to the best of your. and turn the page and draw the next one. You'll be very surprised. ability. your drawings will turn out well and others are. drawing a subject. quently,. it's. a. that. good idea. you. like,. you. to start with. will. may be draw. it. a tad worse. You'll find well, even. some of that when you. that. if it's difficult.. Conse-. drawings that look easy and fun. Once you meet with. success, you'll have the courage to tackle. more. difficult subjects.. The tortoise and the hare... remember who won? Take your time with the exercises. Don't compare yourself to others. There is no correlation between speed and talent. New artists who will end up becoming Impressionists generally work faster and those who will be Realists generally work slower. Work at your own speed and don't be pressured to keep up with others. It's better to take your time and make sure you master each concept before moving on. Three'.. Four.. What does. You need. to. chocolate ice cream have to do with this?. keep a visual record of your progress so. that. you can see how you are. improving. Your drawing will improve very slowly, but just like gaining weight, you will not notice gradual changes. I. ate just. have. this. on good authority because I've done the research.. one bowl of Chocolate Chocolate Chip Haagen Daas. three months. in the. I. I. really couldn't see the difference until. beginning stages of. my. research.. My. I. ice. cream every day. for. looked back at a picture of myself. figure had definitely changed.. Your work.

(50) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. ©. by Sandra Angelo. 1989. change too, but the improvement will be very gradual. If you keep each drawing, you will be able to see your progress. Looking back at your early drawings will encourwill. age you. So,. when you make. a mistake, try to resist the urge to rip, slash or tear your drawing. out of your book and feed. it. to. your ravenous paper shredder.. I. know. it. be. will. difficult,. you exercise some restraint, you will be gratified by a visual version of your progress. For example, by the time you get to Chapter Six, you may not feel like you have made any improvement, yet when you look back at the drawings in lesson one and but,. if. two, you will be amazed. In addition,. you. at. your progress.. from reviewing your. will often learn a lot. progress, looking back at your old drawings will help. new. principles. Five.. down. As. you have. first. drawings.. As you. you see the importance of using. the. just learned.. a general rule,. it. is. into simple steps like the. easier for beginners. drawings. in. if. the. drawing process. Figure 35 on page 41. .. Many. is. broken. beginners find. it. useful to follow a four step process.. First,. begin each drawing by putting. tive space,. do a. line. in the. negative space. Then, inside the same nega-. drawing, which will serve as road. map. for your shapes and shadows.. Next, shade the object to establish the light and dark values and finally, on top of place the textures or details. In this revised edition, line. I. this,. have provided negative space and. drawings of many of the exercises.. Six:. Some. people learn by reading and others are visual learners. Reading learners. may. book and copying what they see. Visual learners will find it helpful to supplement this book with the companion videos. The videos will allow you to watch my hand up close while I draw and see how I make my strokes, how hard I press, when I turn the paper, etc. The three companion videos for this book demonstrate several of the drawings in this book. They are Drawing Basics, The Easy Way To Draw Animals and The Easy Way To Draw Flowers, Water and Landscapes. (See the back of the book for ordering info.). be able to acquire. all. by simply reading. the skills they need. Seven: Because most people. who buy. this. book are time conscious, I have broken the exercises down into a set of bite sized lessons. If you want to follow a regime, simply complete one drawing per day. Most folks can complete the entire book within 90 days if they practice 45 minutes to one hour each day. As your work improves, you'll find yourself looking. forward. to this refreshing. values. You'll be surprised. you. will feel afterwards.. how. fast. this. hour each day. Art has tremendous therapeutic. time. flies. when you. are drawing and. how. refreshed.

(51) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Stepl. Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. cO**<WA>pi«Jo. Figure 35 —This progressive drawing of the cow shows the four step process that most beginners use. First the negative space is established, then the contour lines are added, next a study of the light and dark values is completed and the textures are put on last..

(52) ). ™. So You Though! You Couldn't Draw. b\ Sandra. Angelo. ©. 1989. Shape Exercises (Aerobics for artists). When you draw with rule. it. is. a grid, concentrate on. one square. at a time.. As a general. best to start with the section which looks easiest to you. That way,. your success. confidence quickly and you. will build. reach the tougher. be ready. will. when you. stuff.. you are having problems with accuracy, think about using a drawing window. To do this: If. 1). Use an. because. 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper (or. it's. one side of a manila. sturdier than paper).. window. 2) In the center of the folder, cut a square. your grid square,. (i.e. If. one half inch window 3) Place this. same size as you would cut. the. grid,. a. reference so that you can only see. This will block out the rest of the drawing and. force you to concentrate on only the square. periodically to. should not analyze your drawing or If. is. middle of your 8 1/2x11 folder.. in the. at a time.. You can peek underneath. that. you are using a one half inch. window over your drawing. one grid square. drawing.. file folder,. make. make. you are drawing.. sure. you. are in the right square, but. corrections until. you have finished the. you. entire. you follow this procedure exactly, (without analyzing or correcting while you. draw), you will be amazed. at. your accurate. Using a window can seem tedious but. it. is. results.. actually training. values just like artists see them. Soon you will see. dow. Like the. grid, the. window. is. a training tool.. you. to see shapes, lines,. them without having. to use the. and. win-.

(53) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Shape Exercise. r. ^ k. A. i B. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. In box 2, draw the negative space of the lamp with the grid. When you are doing this negative space drawing remember to focus on the black space while you draw. You will draw more accurately if you draw the space behind the object rather than the object itself I have made this negative space black so that it is easier to identify it as a shape.. ABCDEF. DEF. B. ™. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. B. In box four, draw the lamp again, without a grid this time. Did you get more accuracy with or without the grid? If you were more accurate using the grid, you will probably need to use one for most of the lessons. If you did ok without it, try a few more without a grid. See which method gives you the most accurate results..

(54) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Shape Exercise. ///. ™. the first box,. you. of this object in the in the. by Sandra Angelo £ 1989. will see the object. you are. to. draw.. second box, using the grid. Then. Do. try. a negative space drawing it without the grid. drawing. box below.. A. B. 1. B. C. D. E. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. i®X. 7 7. B. Try again, without the grid.. F.

(55) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ShaD8 ^ ExerCiSe. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. In *he first box, you will see the object you are to draw. Do a negative space drawing of this object in the second box, using the grid. Then try drawing it without the grid in the box below.. A. B. 1. B. C. D. E. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. ta!. 7 7. B. Try again, without the grid.. F.

(56) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Shape Exercise. ™. h>. Sandra Angelo t 1989. /// the first box, you will see the object you are to draw. Do a negative space drawing of this object in the second box. using the grid. Then try drawing it without the grid in the box below. It's okay to use a ruler.) I. A. 1. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. 7 7. Try again, without the grid.. B. C. D. E. F.

(57) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. try doing a NEGATIVE space drawing by looking at the final drawing of the elephant. Remember to concentrate on the white space, not on the elephant. Draw only the silhouette.. A. B. V. 1. B. C. D. E. F. 1. 2 2. w ^Wk. 3 3. 4 4 if. 5 5. 6 6. 7 7. B. Try again, without the grid this time.. Drawing by Sandra Angelo. 1989. Now. Shape Exercise. I. ©. H®X. B.

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(59) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. CHAPTER FOUR CONTOUR LINE DRAWING. SEEING LINES Most. artists. begin their drawing by laying. will place their shapes artist. line. an elaborate. and shadows. Reducing an object. to. its. map which. dictates. where they. simple line elements helps the. solve the proportion and placement problems before shading. These drawings, which. show both want. down. the interior. to impress. and exterior. lines of. an object, are called contour line drawings.. your friends, casually refer. to. your. line. If. you. drawings as a collection of contour. drawings. This sort of conversation makes for great repartee over cocktails with your. boss, a date, or anyone you're trying to amaze.. In Figure 36 you see a negative space drawing of the rabbit. In Figure 37 we filled in the interior contour lines. These lines will later serve as a map for placement of our interior shapes & shadows.. Figure 36. Figure 37.

(60) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw 9. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 19X9. [©raidi. LkaZ/O. you are to draw. Do a negative space drawing of this object in box 2. using the grid. In the same box, fill in the interior contour lines to establish a map for your shapes and shadows. Then try this same drawing without the grid in the box In the first box,. you. will see the object. below.. A. ABCDEF If you want to try the. same drawing now without. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. B. AB the grid, give. it. a whirl.. C. D. E. F.

(61) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. LIod®. Ereraid. Copy. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. the contour line drawing.. A. SS-. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. B. cr. J. c. B. If you want to try the. ™. same drawing now without. the grid, give. it. a whirl.. C. D. E. F.

(62) 1. So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Um \Emm°wm. ™. ©. by Sandra Angelo. Copy the contour. 1989. line drawing.. A. B. B. C. D. E. F. 1. 22. 3. --. 33. 44 55 66. ABCDEF If you want to try the. same drawing now without. 77. ABCD i. the grid, give. it. a whirl.. Bint.

(63) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. Urn. lw@il§(i. Copy. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. the contour line drawing.. A. B. ABCDEF If you want to try the. ™. same drawing now without the. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. grid, give. B. C. D. ABCD it. a whirl.. E. F.

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(65) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. CHAPTER FIVE VALUE DRAWING. LEARNING TO SHADE In the art world, shading. you. are,. go around referring. blue eyes and say, to see. is. you with,. '. my. shadows. light values. dear,'. beware!). light. crucial because drawings. tion for all. to. What. Learning to see the. mension and depth. referred to as a value study.. to. as. deep values.. you have,. and dark values. and paintings with a. art. endeavors.. Or. as. used to say, 'You need to take a second look. What do you mean you want to change. full. how. my at. he responds, 'All the better. dear.' (If. in the objects that. them. Understanding. your future. my. To show the world how savvy Look into your loved one's baby. you draw. range of values have. is. absolutely. much more. di-. to create value will provide the founda-. old crotchety art teacher, Mr. Dingleberry. your values, honey.'. my values.. .. ?. To avoid a rainbow effect like the one you see in Figure 38, go back over the section where values change and blend the two neighboring values together like the ball in Figure 39.. &' I. jA. ^^''''^W. 1 ,. \ ^f. Figure 38. Figure 39.

(66) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. IM. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Photo by Sandra Angelo ©1989. Figure 40. When you. look. at the. photograph. Figure 40 you will see that there are. in. many shades. of black, white and grey. Using a scale of one to ten, with one being white and ten being. you can accurately draw these values the way they appear in the picture, your drawing will have depth and it will look three dimensional. If, like most beginners, you use all medium values, your drawing will solid black, rate each shape. look. flat like. drawing. It is. in. and shadow. the drawing in Figure 38.. that. you. Look. at. see. If. how much more dimension. there. is in. the. Figure 39.. interesting to note that. values even. when you switch. pastels, colored pencils,. and. learn to see every shape and. you. will use this. to color. same. rating. and begin painting with watercolors, acrylics,. other art media. That's. all. shadow. system to determine your. in. terms of. its. why. it is. oils,. so crucial for you to. value rating.. Shading Exercises Are you afraid of fhe dark. Most beginning are. much worse. . .. ?. draw dark values because they feel dark mistakes ones. As we just said, unless a drawing or painting has a wide. artists are terrified to. than light. range of light and dark values,. among beginners To. learn. how. value scales.. is. it. will look flat. and. lifeless.. The most common mistake. the lack of depth in their values.. to use a pencil to create light. and dark values,. let's. begin by practicing our.

(67) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Shading Exercise Instructions:. Using your 3B or medium pencil, create 10 different values. in the. boxes. below. You can copy from the value scale above.. Shading Exercise. Now. same exercise with your 6B or dark pencil. I have provided several practice boxes so that you can keep trying this exercise until you get exactly 10 different values. You can copy from the value scale above. try the. To shade an object with even tones that gradually move from. light to dark,. use a shading technique called 'gradation'. Gradation simply means to shade without showing your. lines.. move your. and. ture. pencil back. to graduate. on your. pencil off the paper at. your values. forth, blending the adjacent lines. shows. You can change the lightness or darkness. ing harder or lighter. my. The easiest way. pencil.. all.). (When. I. of. graduate. is. to. so that no tex-. your value by press-. my. values,. I. don't. lift.

(68) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. IM. by Sandra Angelo. 1989. i. CREA TING DEPTH IN YOUR DRA WING. How do I make. it. look round.'. There are four ways to shade w Inch. One:. If. you use a gradual change. look round. See the ball. Two: You must have. a. in. \\ ill. in. create depth in your drawing.. value from dark to light, your object will begin to. Figure 42.. wide range of values. your shading. Look. in. By. at the ball in. 41 Because there are only a couple values, the ball looks. flat.. Figure 42 has a wide range of lights and darks, making. look very round.. .. it. Figure. contrast, the ball in. Figure 42. Figure 41. Three: Your pencil strokes should always follow the contour of the object. In Figure. 43 the pencil strokes go every which way. The follow the contour of the. ball.. This ball. is. ball looks flat. In Figure. 44 the strokes. beginning to look round. Figure 44. Figure 43. n:. 3§ \ \\\. Four: round looks is. the. If. you place dark. at. both edges and light. like the cylinder in Figure 46. In Figure flat.. in the. 45 the cylinder only has one value so. (Notice too that the bottom on the cylinder. way most. is flat. beginners draw cylinders. The correct. sure the arc of the ellipse at the top of the cylinder ellipse at the. bottom just Figure 45. like the cylinder in. middle, your object will look. is. way. the. while the top to. same. is. round. This. draw a cylinder. is. to. make. as the curvature of the. Figure 46.) ^^Figure 46. it.

(69) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. liifltroMoMi. Instructions:. ing pages, in. box. On. box. see the object In. totr. 1. you. the follow,. you. will. are to copy.. draw. 2, using the grid,. the negative space. first,. then. same box, fill in the contour lines which delineate a map for shading. Next in the. shade your drawing within the contour lines you have just established. Figure. 47 dem-. onstrates the sequence. you. will follow.. Now. copy. drawings. all. the value. in this chapter.. Figure 47 Drawings by Gre Hann. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989.

(70) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. don 't show when you graduate your values, it is important to shade in the proper direction so as to sculpte the object with your lines. In Box one you see a diagram which shows the contour line drawing of the pepper. Copy this in box 4. In Box 2, you will see a diagram that shows you which direction your strokes will take when you shade the pepper in Box 4. Don 't use lines like the. Although your. lines. diagram, copy the shading. A. B. C. style in. Box 3 but make your shading follow. D. E. the directions indicated in. B. F. 1. Il\~** 2. 3. 4. 5. f. 6. (D®x. 7. \. _____. 1. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. M. 7 7. B. x4>. Box. 2..

(71) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Value Exercises Copy. A. these drawings to learn shading techniques.. B. C. D. E. F. 1. A. B. C. D. E. F. A. B. C. D. E. F. A. B. C. D. E. F. A. B. C. D. E. F. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5 5. 6 6. 7 7. 1. 1. 2 2. 3 3. 44 55 6 6. 77.

(72) So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. ™. by Sandra Angelo. ©. C 1. )H9. Value Exercises Try these drawings on the practice paper. If it seems too hard, consider practicing just a few of the parts of the drawing. If the subject doesn't interest you, you can skip to the next drawing.. ABCDEF. ABCDEF. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. A. B. C. D. A. B. C. D. ABCDEF.

(73) ™. So You Thought You Couldn't Draw. by Sandra Angelo. ©. 1989. Value Exercise Copy. this value. drawing. in. box 2 below. A. B. C. D. E. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. I. J. K. L. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7 iimi. 7. ABC. Dra ving by Tiko Youngdale.. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L.

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