Drawing Basics

 
About graphite pencils
About Graphite Pencils: A look at the grading system for graphite pencils.

Arm Proprortions
Arm Proportions
A look at the proportions of the arm using a seven and a half head measurement guide.
Basic Shapes and Forms
Basic Shapes and Forms
Discussing comparing forms to simple shapes to understand more complex forms. 

Drawing basics: Curve of the spine
The Curve of the Torso
A look at how the head, ribcage, and pelvis positions relate to each other to see the curve of the torso.


Drawing an arm
Drawing an arm: A step-by-step demonstration of drawing an arm.

Drawing a Barn with basic forms
Drawing a Barn: A look at how to use simple or basic forms to draw a building. We use the box to draw a symmetrical building in perspective.
Draw a bee step-by-step

 Drawing a Bee: A step-by-step demonstration of drawing a honey bee.


Drawing a box and understanding its shapes
Drawing a box and understanding its shapes: An exploration of some of the guides that help us draw a box to accurately appear three-dimensional.
Drawing the eye
Drawing the Eye
A look at the basic shape of the eye and how forms around it.
    
Drawing feet
Drawing FeetA look at how to draw a foot starting with simple shapes.


Drawing feet in different postions
Drawing Feet: Positioning and sizingA simple shortcut to positioning the foot and dealing with problems of foreshortening.   


Drawing the ear
Drawing the EarA look at the anatomy of the ear to see the basic shapes, structures, and forms the ear creates.
Ear Drawing Demonstration: A drawing demonstration, walking through a few steps to make drawing the ear easier. 
The elements of light and shadow
Elements of LightBasic guides finding form using the information from the way light interacts with the objects it comes in contact with.
A breakdown of the elements of light and shadow
Elements of Light Breakdown
Another look at how light interacts with form. This time separating each component to identify individually.
 
Drawing a circle in perspective and ellipses
Drawing Ellipses: 
A look at how to draw an ellipse and how the ellipse behaves in three-dimensional space.
Figure drawing, constructing the forms with basic shapes
Figure Drawing, constructing from basic shapesHow to build a figure drawing using simple basic shapes as a starting point.
     
Generalized figure proportions for a male
Figure Proportions: Male
A quick look a the 7 and 1/2 head tall figure proportional measurements.
Generalized figure proportions for a female
Figure Proportions: Female
A quick look at the female figure using the 7 and 1/2 head proportional guide.
Foreshortening an arm
Foreshortening
A look at foreshortening and how it works.
How to draw a golden rectangle
Golden Ratio
How to create a rectangle following the golden ratio using a simple step-by-step process.
The proportions of the hand
Hand Proportions
A quick look a some of the proportions of the hands.

Constructing a drawing of a head with basic forms and shapes.
Drawing the Head using a Constructive Drawing Technique
A look at how to draw the head using simple forms as a starting point.
The proportions of the head
Head Proportions
A look at the proportions of the head and the placement of facial features.

How to hold the pencil when drawing
Holding the Pencil: The different ways we can hold a pencil as we draw.

Lines on the edges of forms
Line and Edges
A look at different ways to suggest the edge of a form.

Using line weight as emphasis in a drawing
Line Weight as Emphasis in a Drawing:  A simple technique we can employ to add variety and direct our audience's attention.


Using line weight to show depth in a drawing
Line Weight to Show Depth
A simple way to help create spatial in a line drawing.
       
Drawing the mouth and lips
Drawing the Lips and Mouth
A simple technique for drawing the mouth and lips and look at the basic structure of the mouth to see how it fits on the face. 
 
The materials used for charcoal drawings
Materials - Charcoal
A brief review of the types of tools used in charcoal drawing.
A measure technique for when drawing from observation.
Measuring Technique for When drawing from Observation
A look at how to use the pencil to compare relative sizes of the subject.

Drawing the nose
Drawing the Nose
A look at how to draw the nose by constructing a simplified nose.
        
 
One point perspective
Perspective: One-Point Perspective
Drawing a cube to understand one-point perspective.
Two point perspective
Perspective: Two-Point Perspective
Drawing a cube to understand the two-point perspective.
Three point perspective
Perspective: Three-Point Perspective:
 
Drawing a cube to understand the three-point perspective.
The Picture Plane in One Point Perspective
The Picture Plane in One Point Perspective: A look at the relationship between the picture plane and the front planes in a one-point perspective.
How to draw a roof using linear perspective
Perspective: How to Draw a Roof in Perspective
A quick look at how to draw an inclined roof in perspective using the linear perspective guides.

Drawing a pineapple
Pineapple Drawing - Shape and Form:
 
A look at how to draw a pineapple to break down the process of drawing realistic form by using two-dimensional shape information.
Starting a portriat drawing
Portrait Drawing - Starting Out
A look at one of the ways we can start out when drawing a portrait.

A Simple Practice Exercise to ImprA Simple practice exercise to improve your drawing skills:
A Simple Practice Exercise to Improve your Drawing Skills: A practice exercise to improve your line quality and speed up your drawing time.

Drawing a hand using the basic or simple shapes.
Simple Shapes - Drawing Hands
Drawing hands by first identifying the larger forms first. 

Make drawing people easier with the simple skeleton
Simplified Skeleton
A way to make drawing the figure easier by simplifying the information one works on at one time.
Make drawing people easier drawing the simple figure.
Simple Skeleton and Figure: A look at using the underlying forms to set up a figure drawing.

How to sharpen a charcoal pencil
How to sharpen a Charcoal Pencil
How to sharpen a charcoal pencil
How to set up or start a figure drawing
Starting a Figure Drawing
A look at how to begin drawing the figure in a drawing from a live session.
 
Looking for the structure in the object we are drawing.
Structure Drawing
A look at finding the underlying forms and structures of objects.
Drawing the thumb and its connection to the hand
The Thumb: Connecting to the hand
A look at how to draw the hand in basic shapes to better understand the shape of the connection of the thumb to the hand.
An explanation of the checkerboard illusion.
Value: Checkerboard illusion explained: A look a the relative nature of value relationships.

Value Pattern and Form: We can look to set up value patterns as we render realistic scenes.

A discussion about Value relationships in a painting
Value Relationships
A look at the relative nature of value.
The value scale and greyscale.
Value Scale
How to draw using shades and value to create form and relationships of value.
Using a viewfinder when drawing or painting.
Viewfinder
A look at how to use this type of viewfinder to examine the value of the local color.