Barrington Barber - Complete Book of Drawing: Essential Skills for Every Artist

Learning to draw is not difficult. Everybody learns to walk and talk and read and write at an early age, and learning to draw is less difficult than all that. Drawing is merely making marks on paper which represent some visual experience. All it takes to draw effectively is the desire to do it, a little persistence, the ability to observe and a willingness to carefully correct any mistakes. This last point is very important as mistakes are not in themselves bad. Regard them as opportunities for getting better, and always correct them.

Many of the exercises in this book incorporate the time-honoured methods practised by art students and professional artists. If these are followed diligently, they should bring about a marked improvement in your drawing skills. With consistent practice and regular repetition of the exercises, you should be able to draw competently, and from there you will see your skills burgeon. So dont be put off by difficulties, because they can be overcome with a little persistence and a lot of practice. Further steps may appear to be a struggle at first, but that is usually when you are actually learning, so the difficulties can be a good sign. The main thing is to practise regularly and keep correcting your mistakes as you see them. The time you spend altering your drawings to improve them is time well spent. It is the only way to improve your skills.

Work with other artistic students as often as you can because this also helps your progress. Drawing may seem like a private exercise, but it is in fact a public one, because your drawings are for others to see and appreciate. So show your work to other people and listen to what they say. Dont accept or reject their praise or criticism, but check up on your work to see if they have seen something you havent. Be objective about looking at your work, and although other peoples views may not be very complimentary, dont take offence. None of this matters; either the praise or the criticism, except in so far as it helps you to see your work more objectively. Although at first a more experienced artists views are of great value, eventually you have to become your own toughest critic, assessing exactly how a drawing has succeeded and how it has not worked. Talk to other professional artists about their work, if you get the chance. Go to art shows and galleries to see what the competition is like, be it from the Masters or your contemporaries. All this experience helps you to move your work in the right direction. Notice your weaknesses and try to correct them, but dont ignore your strengths. Build on your strengths and go about eliminating the gaps in your knowledge and expertise whenever you can.

Steady work can accomplish more than talent by itself. Its a very satisfying activity, even if you never get your work into the Royal Academy or the Tate Modern. Enjoy yourself!

The implements we draw with are important, as is the material we draw on. A keen artist will draw with anything and make it work to his advantage. Artists have to draw, no matter the situation they are in. If nothing else is available, theyll use sticks in sand, coal on whitewashed walls, coloured mud on flat rocks anything to be able to draw. If you dont have a wide range of equipment at your disposal, dont let that stop you. Use whatever is to hand. However, if at all possible, supply yourself with the best materials you can afford. If you try as many new tools and materials as you can, you will discover what suits you best. Here are some obvious basic implements.

PENCIL
The simplest and most universal tool of the artist is the humble pencil, which is very versatile. It ranges from very hard to very soft and black (H, HB, B, 2B, etc.) and there are differing thickness. Depending on the type you choose, pencil can be used very precisely and also very loosely.

You should have at least three degrees of blackness, such as an HB (average hardness and blackness), 2B (soft and black) and 4B (very soft and black).

For working on a toned surface, you might like to try white carbon pencil.

GRAPHITE
Graphite pencils are thicker than ordinary pencils and come in an ordinary wooden casing or as solid graphite sticks with a thin plastic covering. The graphite in the plastic coating is thicker, more solid and lasts longer, but the wooden casing probably feels better. The solid stick is very versatile because of the actual breadth of the drawing edge, enabling you to draw a line a quarter of an inch thick, or even thicker, and also very fine lines. Graphite also comes in various grades, from hard to very soft and black.