Seniorgiri
Counter the Loneliness Yourself.
Seniorgiri Series: Hobbies
Drawing and Sketching
By Shobha Mathur [email protected]
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THIS IS HOBBY HELP SERIES FOR
SENIORS.
I am compiling a series of things to do - what to do to counter
loneliness, in addition, how to go about it.
The book about painting became BOOKS about visual arts. As it is
inconvenient to upload and download big files, I have arranged the
info in different files.
Learn to Paint Part 1 Covers Supplies, General Techniques, Oil and
Acrylic Paintings. Part two is now split in several parts.
Digital Arts
Drawing and Sketching
Glass Painting
Water Based Painting
This one is about Drawing and Sketching.
I have tested all the links mentioned. As on May 2010, all links are
secure, correct and working.
You should look for more as you surf. You may find many that will
suit to your needs. This is just a first step.
Please feel free to share this with anyone you like.
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Drawing and Sketching
Introduction
The word Draw as verb has several meanings. You can draw money
from ATM or bank, Draw water from well, Draw blood while
fighting, and of course make a drawing!
Here also, just like the word “Painting”, the word Drawing is both a
noun and a verb. Both the act and the product are known as drawing.
It is usually the first step in any painting or design
It is chiefly associated with some artistic expression. It is
making shapes and forms primarily by lines, though colors and
shading can also be included.
Anything that can make a mark on any surface can be used as a tool.
Though pencils, pens, crayons, charcoal and paper are the usual tools,
you can even use your fingers to make drawing on dusty cars, fogged
mirrors, or sand.
This is basically a 2 dimensional design, though can be shaded
or drawn with perspective to provide depth for a 3 –d effect.
Then there are technical drawings which encompass Architectural,
and Engineering drawings which are a complete different ball game.
Here we are concerned with drawing as a visual art form.
Geometry is a basic drawing training discipline to learn the techniques
of drawing.
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Type
There are basically two main streams of drawings,
1. Technical and scientific –
These are illustrations or models for a product. They are exact and
drawn to a scale. These include:
Anatomical drawing
Architectural drawing
Botanical drawing
Technical drawing
Engineering drawing
2. Artistic
These depict some idea or object not necessary to scale. They can be
visually pleasing or giving vent to artist’s imagination in cartoons or
caricatures. These are actually STYLES of drawing. These include:
Doodle
Sketch
Actual Drawing
http://z.about.com/d/drawsketch/1/
http://z.about.com/d/drawsketch/
cghs.dadeschools.net/.../fist.ht
m
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Kinds of Drawing
There are five broad kinds of drawing :
Drawing from life – Portraits, Still Life
Drawing from a photo
Drawing from imagination –Cartoons, Clipart
Geometrical shapes - Symbols, Logos
Under Drawing - the basis of painting
Subject matter
Drawing from life -,
observing and drawing
people, animals and
nature –portraits,
landscapes, silhouettes,
figure drawing.
Examples
Drawing from Photosreferencing a photo
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Subject matter
Drawing from
imagination – Pure
imagination for
anything- cartoons,
caricatures, fashion
designing.
Examples
Drawing decorative
geometrical shapes and
symbols – Logos,
rangolis, Alpanas, and
just decorative designs.
Underdrawing - the
drawing done on a
painting surface before
paint is applied,
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There are two kinds of drawings by way of execution
Two Dimensional
Three Dimensional
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History
There have always been people with artistic urges. When there were
no homes, no paints, no drawing tool, yet people found places and
tools to express themselves. Caves dwellers all over the world
decorated their walls and ceilings with available tools and materials
which bear witness to human artistry and desire for aesthetic
surroundings as well as innovative streak.
We have examples of rock and cave drawings since 30,000BC.
They are found all over the world – Europe, Asia, Middle Eat and
Africa. They also chronicle their habitat. They tell us a lot about
the people, animals, weapons and their attire. They were
probably used for ceremonial rites too.
The earliest artists used four basic colors in drawings and paintings .
Black from charcoal, white from limestone, and red and yellow from
red clay.
In medieval times too frescos and murals were drawn and
painted on walls and ceilings of homes as they provided the
best surface.
Invention of paper in14th century changed the whole scenario as it
then became the most common surface for drawing.
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Tools
You do not need fancy and expensive equipment for this hobby.
The basic tools are
A Drawing book, or papers
Pencils
Pencil sharpener
Eraser
You can draw keeping the paper on your lap , or use a
memo board to clip the paper while working and even
later.
Other optional tools used are
Circle compass,
Ruler
Set square( A rudimentary Geometry box is very useful)
Tracing papers and carbon papers to transfer designs and
drawings
Miser Tip - For rough doodling and sketching, I use back of letters or
envelops.
Trivia about Tools
Though all these are everyday ubiquitous items, here is some trivia
about some of them.
Paper has been covered in introduction to painting with other
supplies.
Here follows some trivia about Pencils.
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Pencils
We all know what a pencil is and what it looks like.
A pencil is a writing or art tool.
It is usually made of a narrow, solid pigment center inside a protective
casing. The case saves the core from breaking or staining the user’s
hand.
How Pencils are made
Pencil core is a kind of carbon, called graphite.
Graphite is derived from the Greek word 'graphein' meaning, to write.
To make the core, natural graphite is powdered, blended with
clay into a paste. This paste is compressed and rolled into long
thin rods and baked. The finished center is then infused with
wax to aid smooth drawing and covered in wooden shafts.
To use the pencil, the casing must be peeled off to expose the working
end of the core as a sharp point.
The outcome from a pencil is durable. Though writing can be
removed easily with an eraser, it is unaffected by moisture, most
chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural ageing.
Pencils create marks by physical scratching. It leaves behind a trail of
solid core material that sticks to a sheet of paper or other surface. That
is why the core gets depleted and needs to be sharpened again.
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Types of Pencils
Apart from the common Graphite pencils, there are other types of
pencils also available:
Charcoal pencils
They are made of charcoal and provide fuller blacks than graphite
pencils. They tend to smudge easily and are coarser than graphite.
Sepia-toned and white pencils are also available for duotone
techniques.
Carbon pencils
They can be made of a mixture of clay and lamp black, or charcoal or
graphite depending on the darkness and manufacturer. They produce a
fuller black than graphite pencils, but are smoother than charcoal.
Colored pencils
They have wax-like cores with pigment and other fillers.
Watercolor pencils
These are designed for use with watercolor techniques. The pencils
can be used by themselves for sharp, bold lines. Strokes made by the
pencil can also be saturated with water and spread with brushes.
Using Pencils
Always keep them sharp , invest in good Pencils, sharpeners and
erasers.
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The HB Graphite Grading Scale
Many pencils across the world, are graded on the European system
using a range from “H” (for hardness) to “B” (for blackness), as well
as “F” (for fine point).
The standard writing pencil is graded HB. It used “B” for black and
“H” for hard; a pencil's grade was described by a sequence or
successive Hs or Bs such as BB and BBB for successively softer
leads, and HH and HHH for successively harder ones.
As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very hard, light-marking
pencil to a very soft, black-marking pencil usually ranges from
hardest to softest as follows::
9H 8H 7H 6H 5H 4H 3H 2H H F HB B 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 9B
Hardest
Medium
Softest
If you are just starting out, the low-cost, quick solution is to choose
select a 6B, 4B, 2B, H , HB and 2H.
An H pencil should be as hard as you need for lightest tones; an HB
will give you a good mid range, with B and 2B for darker shades. For
very dark areas a 4 or 6 B might be needed.
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Learn to Draw
Actually many people are just scared of drawing. But the reality is
that we all doodle, and have the capacity to draw.
There are many step by step instructions on the net and I have given
the links at the end. But here is a simple lesson that you can try. This
is from
How to draw and Paint.com.
http://www.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/learntodraw.html
This tutorial will show you that just by using a few simple shapes
that anyone can manage, you can learn to draw literally anything you
want to, with increasing confidence and enjoyment.
Every object you look at around you - a house, animal, a face, boat,
mountain, tree and so on can easily be constructed by using one or a
combination of just five basic shapes. All you need is an oblong,
square, oval, circle, and triangle - like these :-
Try practicing these shapes on a scrap of paper. Try all
variations, sizes, proportions, fatter, thinner, with or
without sharp corners. They don’t have to be exact!
Remember they are there to guide you not to trap you.
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Learn to Draw Whatever You Want
At the following link you will learn to use these shapes to make
interesting drawings :http://www.how-to-draw-andpaint.com/learntodraw.html.
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Shady Effects
After drawing outline, you can fill it with various pencil strokes to
make a painting out of it!
Graduated tone can be used to create the illusion of space and form in
a drawing. It is a very useful skill to develop.
Use a B, 2B, or darker grade of pencil for your shading. Lighter
grades (H, 2H etc.) will not give enough depth to your darkest tones.
Before you Start - How to Hold the Pencil
http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/drawing_workshops/Shading_1.html
Use an overhand grip for these exercises. Practice making broad
marks with the side of the lead until you're comfortable working with
a pencil held this way.
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Hatch: This is the fundamental shading stroke by pencil. It just goes
back and forth. Darkening happens with strokes over strokes. Practice
with the pencil at a low angle to get the strokes smooth.
Cross hatch
Its hatch in all directions, one over other.
Each different direction adds more tone to the
shading, and gets it increasingly darker.
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How to Shade a Ball in Six Steps
See the graphics below and read the full tutorial at
http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/drawing_workshops/Shading_2.ht
ml
Different shades of Black and grey can make a picture lifelike.
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Links
All the links are working , correct and secure as on May 2010.
Basic drawing
Drawing & Sketching
Free lessons.
http://www.creativespotlite.com/drawing-lessons.htm
Free Art Lessons and Commercial Art Tutorials
Learn how to draw, sketch and paint. Drawing, Sketching and
Painting (portrait art, landscape, wildlife... for artist's of all abilities)
http://www.artgraphica.net/
Learn to Draw Whatever You Want
Discover Lots of FREE Drawing & Painting Tutorials
Using simple techniques that really work, you'll discover how to draw
anything you want, quickly and confidently. Faces, landscapes,
flowers, boats - anything.
http://www.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/index.html
Beginning In art
http://beginninginart.com/drawing/
How to Draw Simple Shapes into Abstract Creations:
Video Series
30 videos in the series
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_2659_draw-simple-shapes-abstractcreations.html
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Toad Hollow Studio
http://toadhollowstudio.com/drawing_and_inspiration.html
How To Draw
Anyone Can Learn How to Draw Custom Illustrations
http://desktoppub.about.com/od/creategraphics/a/how_to_draw.htm
Shading
Pencil Shading Exercises
http://www.artyfactory.com/portraits/drawing_techniques/pencil_shad
ing.htm
Learn Pencil Shading
http://www.liveindia.com/shading/
Basic Pencil Shading
http://snigom.deviantart.com/art/Basic-Pencil-Shading-42276998
Introduction to Pencil Shading
http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/pencilshading.htm
Cartoons
Cartooning: Learn How to Draw Fun & Funny Stuff
Has lessons as well as other links.
http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/artscrafts/cartooning.shtml
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How to draw Cartoons
This page full of free online tutorials will show you how to draw
everyone from SpongeBob to Snoopy, and Daffy Duck to Dora The
Explorer. The step-by-step lessons are easy to follow, and show you
how to sketch, draw, and then color your way to the completed work.
Each given stage will proceed only whenever you press play, so
following the lesson will be no problem!
http://www.drawingnow.com/how-to-draw-cartoons.html
General
Portrait Drawing Tutorial
http://www.ratemydrawings.com/tutorials/portrait/178Drawing_different_kinds_of_Eyes.html
Traditional-Drawing Tutorial: Learn How to Draw 7 Different
Types of Dogs
http://www.pxleyes.com/tutorial/traditional-drawing/1510/LearnHow-to-Draw-7-Different-Types-of-Dogs.html
Draw space
http://www.drawspace.com/
Learn to Draw Animals
Many links for different animals
http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodrawanimals/Learn_to_Draw_
Animals.htm
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Acknowledgement
The filler Flower graphics used here are from Hellas Multimedia
http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/default.htm.
The beautiful graphics are free.
Graphics from the net are acknowledged at the point.
Other clipart are from WP Clipart Free Collection.
http://www.wpclipart.com/index.html
Some graphics are from me.
This e book is by Ms.Shobha Mathur [email protected]
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