Taggart - Drawing: For Beginners! : The Ultimate Crash Course to Learning the Basics of How to Draw In No Time

One of the most important things about drawing is to look at what you are drawing. Although this seems like an obvious point to make, it is a vital one. Many people, when confronted with an object, say a car, will draw an image of that object based on how they think it looks, rather than what they actually see in front of them. The first thought is to make sure that the drawing has four wheels, a body, headlights, windows and a steering wheel. These parts are undeniably physical aspects of a car, but they will always look slightly differently to how we expect to see them in our heads. For example, despite knowing that when we look at a car it has four wheels, we may only be able to see two or three of them depending on where we stand. Again, every car has a metal or plastic body and headlights, but it is the curves and lines of these that make it distinctive and give it character, just like a good drawing. How the car is lit affects how the windows look, does the sunlight reflect the scene around the car, or can you look through them into the interior and see the steering wheel? These are the details that make the difference in a drawing, and really add to the quality and integrity of your subject.

At first this could seem complicated and a lot to think about, but dont worry, there is an easy way to make sure you notice the de tails and bring out the real characteristics of what you want to draw. This can be summed up into a fairly simple rule: spend roughly twice as much time looking at your subject as actually drawing it . This may seem odd but it works.

The rule is also as literal as it sounds. There are a few fun drawing exercises that we will complete during the course of this book that will really help you to understand and realize how this rule will seriously improve your drawings skills. It is directly linked with the practice of drawing from life, simply meaning to draw what you see around you. For example, if you wanted to draw a portrait of your cat or pet, then you could sit down with a sketchbook and draw them while they were asleep on the floor or lying in the sun in the garden. If you decided to use a photo as your inspiration then you wouldnt be drawing from life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working from photographs, it is essential for drawing certain subjects, but the point is that drawing from life will give your artworks an edge of realism and knowledge of your subject that is impossible to fake.

The great part of drawing from life is that it is so easy to practice. The potential for choosing something that you would like to draw is limitless. Take a second to look around yourself now, maybe you are relaxing at home, or reading on a train or even a beach if you are lucky. Look at the view or something you are wearing, or a piece of jewelry that you are particularly fond of; everything is a possible subject for you. Everything at all without exception, it is important to draw exactly what you want to draw yourself.