| for you. There appears to be a difference of opinion | | | | Others hold a pencil with the pencil between the |
| amongst artists when it comes to fixatives. Some | | | | thumb and index finger, with the rest of the pencil |
| artists love to work with them and swear by them, | | | | resting under the palm of your hand. Whichever |
| while others feel they may actually alter the quality | | | | method you use for holding your pencil, make certain |
| of a drawing. Again, you have to experiment yourself | | | | that you do not hold the pencil too tightly. |
| to see if fixatives are a good choice for you. | | | | Contour Drawing - This very basic technique is simply |
| Paper - In the beginning, for the purpose of practice, | | | | drawing the outline of your subject without any |
| you may want to consider purchasing some | | | | shading to indicate form. |
| inexpensive newsprint paper. You should be able to | | | | Blind Contour Drawing - Similar to contour drawing, |
| get this at any local art store or online. When you are | | | | only you do not look at the paper. The point of this |
| ready to purchase a more expensive grade paper, | | | | exercise is to force you to better observe what it is |
| choose something that will work best with the | | | | you are drawing. You should have no concern over |
| medium you use. Paper comes in a variety of | | | | the outcome of your drawing so it is important not |
| different textures from smooth to rough, often | | | | to peek. |
| referred to as its "tooth". A really smooth paper may | | | | Hatching - This drawing technique uses a series of |
| not work well for some mediums as the surface | | | | parallel lines drawn close together, in the same |
| lacks texture, and will not grab certain drawing | | | | direction, which gives the appearance of value. |
| mediums very well. If the paper is too rough, the | | | | Crosshatching - Similar to hatching only you draw |
| medium may simply slide across the surface. You | | | | multiple layers of hatch lines at different angles that |
| have to experiment with different papers to find the | | | | overlap one another. |
| one you are most comfortable with. Strathmore | | | | Tonal or Value Drawing - In this approach to drawing |
| Brand makes excellent paper that is very popular | | | | we are indicating the various changes of light and |
| amongst artists. | | | | shade in our picture without the use of strong edges |
| Horse Hair Drafting Brush - You should be able to | | | | and lines. |
| purchase a horse hair drafting brush at any local art | | | | Upside Down Drawing - Drawing upside down is a |
| supply store or online store. This is a really helpful tool | | | | wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your |
| for brushing away unwanted eraser scraps from your | | | | brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are |
| drawing. | | | | making it somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This |
| Basic Drawing Techniques: | | | | forces you to draw what you see as opposed to |
| There are two basic ways to approach a drawing: | | | | relying on your memory to draw something. |
| linear and tonal. The linear approach to a drawing | | | | Negative Drawing Technique - This technique teaches |
| focuses on line and outlines of shapes. In tonal | | | | you how to properly see the "white" or "negative" |
| drawing, you make use of gradations to indicate the | | | | space in your picture. This is the area that surrounds |
| various planes of your subject. | | | | your subject or "positive" space. Instead of drawing |
| You should try to avoid smudging and blending in the | | | | out the positive part of the drawing with line, you |
| beginning so that you force yourself to use your | | | | draw in the shapes that surround the positive part of |
| pencil more to achieve value in your drawings. | | | | your drawing. |
| Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure | | | | Dry Wash Technique - This technique works quite |
| you are constantly focusing on the subject and only | | | | well if you want to cover large areas of your |
| glancing at your drawing. By doing so, you won't | | | | drawing. It creates a nice soft tone. You begin by |
| constantly judge your drawing, or think something is | | | | adding marks with a pencil or apply some graphite |
| wrong or out of place. Focus on the subject and | | | | powder to the desired area on your paper. Then |
| draw what you see. | | | | using a tissue or soft cloth pick up some of the |
| Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat | | | | graphite and gently rub it across the paper, almost as |
| portfolio of everything you draw. This is an excellent | | | | if you were painting. |
| way to see your progress over time. | | | | Want to find out about bowling wrist support, |
| Holding the pencil - Hold your pencil in a way that is | | | | bucatini pasta and other information? Get tips from |
| most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just | | | | the Knowledge Galaxy website. |
| as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. | | | | |