How to Draw – Some Tips for Young Artists: If you want to learn how to draw, you don’t just want to know how to do “nice” drawings, and you don’t want to learn how to copy somebody else’s drawings. You want to create great drawings of your very own, don’t you?
So what does it take?
It takes less magic than most people think.
I don’t know who started the myth that only a few especially talented people can learn how to draw. There are even some art teachers out there who believe that.
But if you learned how to draw the alphabet, and can write a sentence that other people can read, you can learn how to draw. It just takes lots of practice, and some guidance from people who have learned a few tricks.
In a way it’s a lot like learning to play baseball – you need to train your eye to see better than you ever have before, and you need to train your fingers and hands to move the way you want them to.
The first time you took a swing at a baseball, you probably missed. So don’t expect to become a professional artist overnight.
Now, does that mean that everyone who has the patience and the willingness to learn will become a famous artist?
No, not necessarily. It means that if you are willing to practice and to make mistakes, you will very soon be drawing far better than just about anyone you know, and your friends and family and teachers will be amazed.
People may even ask you for copies of your drawings, beg you to make special ones just for them, and request that you make drawings for the school newsletter or your club’s brochure.
So even if you don’t become world-famous, you can still get a huge amount of personal satisfaction from your drawings. You can also give wonderful, thoughtful gifts to people you care about, without spending hardly any money.
Soon, your drawings, (after you have practiced just a little), will seem almost magical to the people who see them.
Materials
It doesn’t cost hardly anything to learn to draw and create wonderful works of art. To start, all you need is some cheap paper without lines (copy paper is fine) and some pencils. The #2 pencils that are used in schools are perfectly OK – you don’t need to go to the art store and buy special ones.
You should find a good eraser, though, because the ones that come with your pencils are not big enough, and soon wear out.
That’s it! That’s all the materials you need to draw.
What’s the first thing you need to do? Find something that you would enjoy drawing. It should be something fairly simple, like a cup or a book.
Sit and look at this object very closely, and notice things you usually don’t see – things like where the shadows are, and how the shapes look different from different angles. Learning how to see is probably the most important skill for any artist.
Then start putting on paper the things you see.
When you have one drawing finished, draw another one. Keep practicing, just like you would if you were going to try out for the school baseball team.
You can’t expect to create a masterpiece on your first try – after all, even Michelangelo had to practice before he was good enough to paint the Sistine Chapel.
If you keep at it for at least 30 minutes every day, you’ll probably find that you want some help. Your local school or city library should have some beginning drawing books.
Avoid books that teach you how to copy someone’s cartoon. Even if you want to become a cartoonist someday, you still need to be able to create your own.
Choose a book that shows you how to see shadows, and how to know where to put the parts of a face, and how to make a drawing look ‘alive.’ These are the lessons that will make you a true artist someday.
Another way to learn how to draw better pictures is to search the Internet for websites that show the artist’s drawings. Pay attention to how different artists show shapes and shadows and expressions. Then see if you can make your pictures feel that way.
How to Draw – Some Tips for Young Artists
