Lesson One, Learn to Draw, Strokes and Shapes.

Lesson One, Learn to Draw, Strokes and Shapes. 07/22/2010

Revision of a previous lesson
Artist's Way of holding the pencil.

Do not grip the pencil tightly like you do when writing.

Also hold the pencil several inches away from the point.

Pencil should be able to be pulled out of your hand easily.

Revision of a previous lesson
Place your drawing board in position (see previous drawing lessons) and you are ready to begin.

Do the warm-up, exercises on this page to get the feel of the pencil. Use firm, sweeping pencil movements for these lines and strokes.

First your lines may not look much like the examples shown here. But with a little practice, you will soon be able to draw them with reasonable success. Don't tighten up __ don't draw each line slowly and tedious __ don't use short, timid strokes. Make your pencil glide across the paper.

Exercises.

1/long, smooth, strokes. Draw each line with one sweep of the pencil. Try pencil position B or D.

2/Swing the pencil, in the circles. Use pencil position, B or E. for many circles, fill pages of practice paper. Soon yours will be smooth and round.

3/horizontal and vertical lines __ line them up with the edges of the drawing paper.

4/finally some slanting, lines.

5/and looping curves.

Strokes and Shapes.

Now put some of these lines together.

1/horizontal and vertical picture frame

2/circles large and small with some lines accented, (darkened) with a 3B pencil.

3/lines with verticals make a box ... a house. Sketch very lightly until you get the right slant then darken the line.

4/Draw round circles... you can do this easily now.

5/Next __ swing an oval.

Then a thinner oval __ still thinner___very thin indeed.

To draw a flower pot.

1/"vertical and two horizontal lines. Add slanting lines. Swing oval in top and bottom. Accent with the darker pencil. Draw a daisy, without lifting the pencil.

Begin to work using a still life model.

Each of these outline drawings was done directly from a model. Notice how the lightly sketched, construction lines were used.