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October 4, 2009

Drawing Faces continued

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , — @ 4:01 am

We have had a look at the eyes and nose, the mouth and ears are next. Of course, they also come in different shapes and sizes.

Look at the line where the lips meet, is it straight or curved? Does it curve up, down or both? Draw the curves and basic shape in lightly. Notice the difference between the top and bottom lip, is one fuller?

The middle line where the lips meet is the darkest, the outline of the lips is more a change of colour than a distinctly drawn line. The lip edges should be kept soft. Draw in any other features you notice on the lips and around the mouth eg. lines, dimples or moles.

When drawing ears the tops are generally in line with the eyes and the bottom is between the nose and mouth. Look at the ear lobes are they free or attached, do the ears sit flat or stand out?

Profile

A profile drawing begins with a circle, divide it through the centre with a verticle and a horizontal line. Shorten the curve at right, lower section of the circle. Draw in the neck looking at the lines and the way the neck curves.

The eye is on the horizontal line, about one third of the way along the left side of the circle, a sideways V.  The top of the ear curves just above the horizontal line right at the centre. Draw in the hairline,  the chin and the nose fill in with shading.

Have a Great Day.

October 3, 2009

Eye’s and Nose

Filed under: drawing,Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — @ 4:11 am

The eyes and nose come in all shapes and sizes every one has their own very unique ones, isn’t that just awesome.

So when it comes to drawing them a little bit of basic structural knowledge will help you get off to a good start.

Look closely at the shape of them and try to get the lines right. Use a dot to position the pupil and use that as a guide to draw the shape around it. The distance between each eye is about an eye width apart.

Concentrate on getting the lines and positions right before you think about eyelashes, brows or shading. Look at the iris where does it sit in relation to the eyelash lines. Draw in the pupil, shade it black but leave a little dot of white for reflection.

Now the tip of the nose is not quite halfway from the centre eye line to the chin, then the mouth measures about one third of the way down from the nose to the chin. Mark their locations lightly on the centre vertical line.

Your nose measures about the same width across at its tip as the distance between the eyes. The correct size for the mouth is about as wide as the distance between the centre of the eyes.

Practice drawing the eyes and nose keeping an eye on where they are positioned.

Happy Days :)

October 2, 2009

Drawing with Perspective

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , — @ 5:58 am

Things appear to grow smaller and closer together as the distance from you gets greater. This is called perspective and it takes your drawing to what can be known as the vanishing point and in doing so creates depth.

Here is a little exercise that will give you a clear picture of how this will work when you are drawing.

Write the word P  E  R  S  P  E  C  T  I  V  E, with double space between each letter, draw a line two spaces below it, then place a dot on the line below the middle E.  Join each letter to the dot, start with the E above the dot then follow on to each letter after that bring each line back to the dot use a ruler if you need to.

Now you have given the word some depth, this is what you create when you give a drawing perspective. It works with straight lines, with different shapes and tones or a combination of all of them.

So lets recap, perspective is about things appearing smaller and closer together towards a distant point, (vanishing point), or points along a line. The line is called the horizon it is where the  sea meets the sky, it is also approximately the eye level of people standing or sitting at your level.

The horizon is actually the curve of the earth, it is as far as the eye can see and it is the best guide to use to get the right perspective in your drawings.

Keep Practicing, Keep Smiling

October 1, 2009

What About Drawing Animals?

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , — @ 3:17 am

Let’s take a look at animal drawing and get familiar with a few basics using the lines and shape technique. Remember once again we are just introducing some basic concepts to start with.

To begin we will look at the main body of the animal, it can be represented as an oval. Then draw in two threes one backwards at either end of the oval. These represent the shoulders and hips and they take up about one third of the shape lengthwise and just touch the top and bottom of the oval.

Another oval is then drawn to the front of the body to represent the ribcage  it is positioned over the shoulders and takes up just over half of the body oval.

Legs are added using vertical lines,  the back legs will look similar to an arrow head pointing back and positioned just under the large three in the bodies rear. The front leg will look more like an open ‘C’  and is positioned under the shoulder three.

A couple of sideways ‘U’s will work for the feet and a reversed ‘nine’  is positioned just above the shoulders at an angle for the neck and head.

Now just try and merge all these lines and shapes together rounding of fany straight lines and giving some form to the other shapes.

Just give it a go and see what you come up with you don’t need to have any particular animal in mind at this stage, just any of the four legged variety should suit.

TIP: Most animal bodies without legs, neck or head taken into account are roughly twice as long as they are high.

Dream Big, Aim High

Cheers from the Team at

Only Craft

September 30, 2009

Shading with a Pencil

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , — @ 1:20 am

We have looked at how  shapes and lines can be used to get you started with a basic drawing. Now we are going to look at the different ways to shade your picture and the effects they create.

Before you begin to shade look at what direction the light is coming from in your subject. The light and shade in your drawing is what gives your image form. On curved surfaces the shading is gradual and even from the darkest tone to the lightest. When you are shading a flat surface the shading is still gradual but will change from surface to surface.

A lot of the things we draw have a combination of curved and flat surfaces. Faces are an example of this so shading gradually and evenly from dark to light is an important technique to learn. Remember practice is the key.

There are many ways to shade with a pencil:

  • Continuous Tone – Hold your pencil almost flat to the paper and move it around with gentle continuous motions, press harder where the tone is darker.
  • Smudging - This can produce beautiful results but it can be difficult to keep within the area and have the correct depth of tone desired, it can also be messy.
  • Dots – This method can be very tedious the dots must be very close together in the darkest areas.
  • Cartoon – This is only suitable for certain types of drawing as it doesn’t really have the gradual change in tone, it is more definite.
  • Combination – This combines solid colour with lines and is only suitable for some drawings.
  • Cross-Hatching – This is a set of lines crossing over each other at slightly different angles. The more lines the darker the tone.

I hope you are getting a few techniques you can use to build your drawing confidence. Its very satisfying to work on something and see your self progressing forward. Keep practicing.

Have a Great day :)

Only Craft Team

September 29, 2009

More on Drawing Faces

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , , , — @ 6:22 am

Let’s look at the face a bit closer, our faces are all about expression, happy, sad, excited, amazed, angry all creating different lines. Keep on checking your expressions in the mirror making different faces and closely examining what happens to your face.

When you raise your eyebrows in amazement notice if there are lines above them in your forehead, are your eyes are wider, what’s the shape of your mouth?

When drawing a face use a light pencil, a 2H is good. Lightly make the basic shapes first for example egg shaped head, oval eyes and a round mouth (amazed expression). Mark the centre line from the top of the head to the chin then the cross lines to mark the position of eyes, nose and mouth.

You can also use the grid method especially if you are drawing from a picture or photograph. Hairline and shading can be done with darker pencils like a H or a HB. For a dark shadow effect using 2 or 3B pencils will be best.

Light and shade must also be considered when drawing. Where is the light in your picture coming from. Often when sketching the light can be achieved by leaving these areas clear, or by rubbing back with an eraser. To do this shade the area first, then smudge (using your finger or a tissue), then where you want the light effect, use a clean eraser and gently rub the area clear.

TIP : Try drawing different parts of the face first, concentrate on just drawing eyes for a week. Once you feel you are satisfied with the result try another part. Don’t be to tough on yourself though practice and persistence are the keys to success.

Keep smiling :)

September 28, 2009

Let’s Keep Drawing

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , , , — @ 7:31 am

If you want to draw, at some point you will probably need to draw a face some  people think they are too difficult and just stay away from them altogether.

Faces can be broken down into basisc shapes and lines just the same as all other types of drawing. Faces have a lot of changing expressions that give an indication of mood this makes them interesting to draw.

Before you are ready to draw spend some time examining the basic shapes and the lines that make up a face. Consider how they differ from person to person and from baby to child to adult.

Practice making expressions in front of the mirror, look for changes in the lines on your face especially around your eyes, mouth and forehead. Most faces are oval in nature similar to an egg round at the top and narrower at the bottom.

Just for fun and before you get to serious though do some basic practice drawings to get an idea of how the lines in different facial expressions lie.

  1. Draw 4 circles all the same size.
  2. Use the ‘c’ shape to make noses and mouths all the same size.
  3. Use the ‘Þ’ shape and a dot in the centre to make the eye and move them around to create different facial expressions.

Remember that all you are doing for now, is looking for simple overall shapes and lines and how they fit together. At this stage you are not concerned with detail that can come later.

Have Fun :)

September 27, 2009

Anyone Can Draw

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , , — @ 7:45 am

If you would love to draw but always say you can’t or don’t know how to well nows the time to reconsider.

Drawing isn’t really difficult, of course some people find it easier than others just like most other things in life. That doesn’t mean that you can’t learn a few tricks that with practice will have you drawing alongside the most capable drawers.

If drawing is something you love to do than why not. Here are few new ways to consider what it takes to call yourself a good drawer.

Drawing is a combination of lines carefully observed and put onto paper or other similar medium. To put simply, look, see, draw. The key is in learning how to ‘see’.

When you look at an image you would like to draw consider what the simple shapes and lines are. Don’t get confused or bogged down by details drawing is a process that starts with the simplest form first and than slowly builds up to a completed picture.

So to start with you are just going to concentrate on drawing the simple lines and shapes first. Before you actually start to draw practice looking for these shapes and lines. You are already familiar with them and can also already draw them.

The basic lines are very closely related to the letters of the alphabet and with only slight adjustments will form your drawing, now remember this is just the beginning, once you have accomplised a few drawings and your confidence grows you will be able to produce more complicated pictures. The basic lines and shapes however will always be present.

Think Positive :)

September 25, 2009

Drawing Parts of the Body

Filed under: drawing — Tags: , , , , , , , — @ 7:20 am

Its easier to think about drawing the body if you break it into parts and then picture them as shapes. The head can be round or oval, the lips are triangular, the palm of the hand is like a square.                                                         When you are preparing to draw a face assess the basic shape, draw it then mark out the centre line. Mark in lines that will place the nose, the eyes and the mouth in their proper locations. By doing this the facial features will have the proper perspective.

When drawing the facial features note that all the parts have various  characteristics.

The eyeball consists of the cornea, iris, pupil, retina and the outer part has the eyelid and eyelashes. the eyebrows form a frame over the top.

The nose comes in many shapes and sizes consider its size in proportion to the rest of the face.

The mouth depends on the age of the subject, the lips of a baby are puckered and relitively small, the young childs lips have developed somewhat and are fuller. This continues into adulthood only to thin again in old age.

The ears are rounded and curve like a shell, earlobes can be short and fixed or longer and free, some sit close to the head others stand out.

Look carefully at all the features taking notice of all the finer details. Practice drawing the various parts individually until you feel comfortable with them. then put them altogether to form your portrait.

Keep Smiling :)

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