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Want to master pencil drawing and quickly learn how to create realistic portraits and other drawings? In the art studio Matita is trained in pencil drawing from scratch for adults and children.
Photorealistic pencil graphics
Pencil drawing training includes the study of the general basics of drawing, shading, professional techniques. You will learn how:
- make a good sketch;
- maintain correct proportions;
- do photorealistic shading;
- add volume to the picture with light, shadow and tone;
- draw believable portraits;
- convey various textures (water, smoke, animal hair, etc.) on a pencil drawing
Even if you have not held a pencil in your hands for a long time, after the first lesson you will draw a picture. 70% of our students have no drawing experience when they first come. We know how to teach pencil drawing from scratch, and don't doubt your abilities!
Course formats
Depending on your drawing learning goal, we offer three options:
| Trial lesson | Abbreviated program | Complete course | |
| goal | · Try your hand; · Learn the very basics; · Evaluate the learning style in Matita. | · Study in more detail the technique of photorealistic graphics; · Try to draw different objects. | · Improve the technique; · Create diverse work; · Learn more professional tricks. |
| Duration | 3 hours | 5 three-hour lessons | 10 three-hour lessons |
| Result | The first realistic picture | 2 or 3 portraits in A4 format, made in a photorealistic manner | 3-4 photorealistic pictures A4 and one A3; · Certificate of completion of the course. |
How is the lesson
- In the first lesson, you will choose a photograph that will form the basis for the painting. We provide big choice photos designed for different levels of difficulty.
- Sketch with a mentor.
- Learn the author's shading technique and use it in practice.
- Draw the details, improve the drawing.
- Complete your first painting!
The course instructor will help at all stages, give advice, explain and guide. You will be happy with the results and confident in your abilities.
Benefits of learning pencil drawing in Matite
Art Studio Matita invites everyone to learn how to draw with a pencil for classes. Why is it worth learning drawing with us?
- Practice only: the required theory is learned practically;
- Author's technique: you will learn a unique technique of photorealistic shading;
- Mentors: experienced craftsmen who know how to transfer knowledge to beginners, unleash their creativity and inspire self-expression through art;
- Individuality: you choose what to draw;
- Diversity: learn to draw not only portraits, but also complex textures;
- Payment by installments: the full course can be paid in installments;
- timetable: classes are held in the evening;
- Flexibility: free visit is possible once a week;
- Near metro: art studio just two minutes walk from the metro;
- Situation: classes are held in a real artist's studio;
- Creative community: you will meet those who are also making their first steps in art, and those who have dedicated their lives to it.
Our art studio is proud of the results of the students and their positive feedback... On the pages of our site you can find photos of the work before and after the course, which speak for themselves.
Everyone can learn to draw with a pencil! At Matita Art Studio, you will go from scratch to drawings that are indistinguishable from photographs. Sign up for your first lesson to make sure it's real!
The craft of a good draftsman is based on two basic things: the ability to control your hand and correct vision. If you want to create or design sites, then you can't do without special training.
The next 6 sections of the article are, in fact, the first step in this direction - you will learn how to learn how to draw and where to start. Immediately after that, proceed to the second part of the topic and go through more.
This is a translation of a note from Medium by Ralph Ammer (all graphics are his own).
Council. For the next 6 tasks, use one type of pen and one type of paper (for example, A5).
Sleight of hand - two trainings
The first two tricks are about controlling your hand. You should fill your hand, and also learn to coordinate the vigilance of the eye and the movement of the hand. Mechanical practices are great for beginners. Later you can use them to try out new instruments. They also allow you to relax and unwind from mental or physical work. So, how to start drawing correctly.
1. Many, many circles
Fill in a piece of paper with different sized circles. Try not to overlap the circles.
Learning to draw circles is not as easy as you might think. Notice that the more circles on the paper, the harder it is to add the next one. Draw them in two directions and as many as possible.
Council. Shake your hand when it cramp, do this after each approach.
2. Hatching - creating a structure
Fill in a piece of paper with parallel lines.
Diagonal lines are the easiest for us, as they correspond to the movement of our wrist. Note that the left-hander prefers the opposite direction of the strokes over the right-hander. Take a look at your favorite artist (in my case, Leonardo da Vinci) and try to guess which hand he wrote with?
Try other strokes. Have fun with the shading process. Combine different strokes and enjoy the different shading spots on the paper.
Council. Do not turn the paper. It is very important to train your hand in different directions.
So, after we have trained the hand, we need to do eye exercises!
Perception - learning to see
Drawing is primarily about seeing and understanding what you see. People often assume that everyone is seeing the same thing, but in reality they are not. You can always improve and develop the quality of vision. The more you paint, the more you see. The following four techniques will force you to expand your view of familiar objects. This is exactly what begins to learn to draw in different courses.
3. Contour - show me your hands!
Do you see these different fascinating contours of your hand? Draw them on a piece of paper. Don't try to recreate everything, pick just a few of the most interesting ones.
It doesn't matter whether you are drawing a person, a plant, or your favorite animal - you create an outline of what you see. Outlines define a body or object and make the drawing recognizable. The challenge is not to immediately display all existing distinctive features, but to learn to see them!
Even if you know the shape of the object, it is still worth taking a closer look and studying it again.
4. Chiaroscuro - applying light and shadow
Draw a piece of fabric. Start with outlines and then use hatching skills - find the transitions of light and shade.
This exercise will help you learn how to render light and shadow on paper. I have to admit that this is not the easiest way for beginners. Keep in mind that you don't have to make perfect chiaroscuro transitions. The cloth is a playing field to practice the skills learned in previous lessons. Plus, you will also learn how to learn how to paint chiaroscuro using only your hand.
Council. You can use curved hatches to create shape and cross hatches to achieve deeper shadows that resemble fabric structure.
Council. Cover your eyes a little when looking at the fabric. You will see a blurry image of the fabric and an increased contrast between chiaroscuro.
5. Perspective - cubes in three-dimensional space
Let's draw the cubes! Follow the simple steps.
A perspective drawing is a projection of a 3D object into 2D space (your sheet of paper).
Perspective building is a separate science, which is unrealistic to fully consider within the framework of one article. However, we can have a little fun within a simple technique that gives us an intuitive sense of the magic of creating a drawing in perspective.
Step 1. Draw a horizontal line. This will be the horizon.
Step 2. Put two points along the edges of the line - two invisible vanishing points.
Step 3. Draw a vertical line anywhere.
Step 4. Connect the ends of the vertical line to the vanishing points.
Step 5. Add two more vertical lines as shown below.
Step 6. Connect them to the vanishing points.
Step 7. Now use a black pencil or pen to trace the cube.
Repeat steps 3 through 7 as many as you like. Enjoy building! Have fun drawing, then you will succeed. You can shade the sides of the cube.
Council. When you draw cross lines, it is best to overlap one line slightly on top of the other so that the shape is better visible.
Mastering perspective drawings will help you create the illusion of depth. Most importantly, you will teach your brain to see and recognize three-dimensional space. It is a great practice to start painting from scratch without any skill.
Even if you decide to disregard the rules of perspective and make "flat drawings", this knowledge will never be superfluous, but on the contrary, will contribute to expanding your horizons and sharpening the visual receptor.
6. Building a composition - why exactly here?
Make 5 different drawings of the same object. Place the item differently each time.
As you create different options for placing your subject on paper, try to trace how this changes its connotation - meaning.
Ralph Ammer has a few more interesting articles, but it is this one that you need to look at first in order to understand where to start drawing with a pencil and not only. In the comments I would like to see your opinion on the pros and cons of the presented technique. What exercises did you really enjoy and what didn't? What else do you want to know on the topic, or perhaps you have your own best practices on how to learn how to draw from scratch - write it all below.
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If your dream is to learn how to paint like a real artist, but you don't have time to go to art school, or money to hire a tutor, don't despair! You can self-study at home in your free and convenient time. The main thing is to prepare thoroughly, because you yourself will be your teacher.
First of all, you need to understand what kind of knowledge you need to master. Properly selected books are critical to self-study. In educational institutions for painters, the following disciplines are taught: drawing, painting, composition, color science, anatomy and perspective. If you independently decided to study a drawing course, then you will need a set of the following tutorials.
Picture
Fundamentals of educational academic drawing. Nikolay Lee.
The author submits the entire academic course, consistently revealing all materials curriculum art school. Step by step, you will easily master the drawing of simple geometric bodies (cube, cylinder, sphere, cone, pyramid) that underlie the designs of any more complex objects such as Greek vases, capitals, pieces of furniture, houses, the human body. From this book you will learn the basics of linear perspective, the method of constructive construction in drawing, the concept of the proportions of objects and their meaning in drawing, as well as knowledge of the plastic anatomy of the human body.
Picture. Sketches and sketches. V.K.Kuzin
Sketching and sketching plays an important role in the development of the expressiveness of the drawing, the integrity of vision, the ability to convey the proportions and main features of the pose. This book will familiarize you with the artistic possibilities of line and spot, as well as the various materials with which you can sketch. It is full of examples of sketches by prominent artists. In addition, you will learn the role of sketches in creating a composition, and master the techniques and schemes for constructing sketches and sketches.
A play of light and shadow for artists. Burne Hogarth
In this book, you will learn about all the different types of lighting and the effect of light on materiality. You will get an extensive understanding of what a cut-and-shadow drawing on a plane is, and what role light plays in modeling a shape. You will have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe categories of light and shadow, and how light affects the expressiveness of the composition. And you will also understand how flat diffused light, moonlight, sculptural light, spatial light, fragmentary light, blinding light, expressive light differ from each other. In all, in this tutorial, you will discover hundreds of definitions of light and gain a deeper understanding of its function in drawing.
Painting
Technique of watercolor painting. P. P. Revyakin
This book, published during the Soviet era, is a universal guide to academic painting. It gives a broad understanding of the effect of lighting on color and reveals such basic concepts in painting as intrinsic and reflected light, color temperature, chiaroscuro, local color of an object. This tutorial will introduce you to the peculiarities of our vision's sensitivity to color and different kinds color contrasts. You will learn what materials are needed when working with watercolors, as well as the interaction of various pigments with paper. It describes a detailed methodology for the work of the classical method of modeling the shape of objects using watercolors, and also gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe perspective and plans in painting. A significant part of the book is devoted to writing architectural structures, so even architects will find it useful to read it.
Painting basics. Mogilevtsev V.A.
This book is designed for professional training in portrait painting. Here is a basic knowledge of academic oil painting in the portrait genre. There is also a description of the list of necessary materials, the stages of drawing with a brush on canvas, a scheme for working out details (eyes, nose, lips). And also here color relations and expressive means of painting are considered. The book is divided into 4 sections: head, portrait with hands, figure, copying. In each of the sections, the author describes in detail all the stages of work from the concept, creation of a sketch to detailing and generalization of the finished portrait. In addition to this book, Mogilevtsev has two other excellent books "Drawing Basics" and "Sketches and Instructional Drawing", which are also noteworthy and can serve as an alternative to the above drawing textbooks.
Complete oil painting course. Hennes Ruissing
In this book, you will find a description of materials for oil painting, soil recipes, methods for creating a stretcher, covering it with canvas and gluing it with primer. The author demonstrates all stages of work: from sketching to creating a finished painting. From this book you will learn how to work with a palette knife, what is the difference between pasty and glazing paints, what is aerial perspective, etc. Here are some simple examples for mastering oil painting techniques in major genres. In addition, the author gives an idea of \u200b\u200bcolor contrasts and how to use them in painting, and also gives advice on how to avoid many mistakes when working with paints for beginners.
Watercolor painting course. Landscape in minutes. Keith Fenwick.
If you prefer watercolor painting, then this book will make it easy to master landscape painting. It contains many illustrated examples. With it, you will master the technique of writing landscape details, which are sometimes difficult for beginners - these are water, architectural details, stones, single trees. The author examines in detail the methods of writing various atmospheric effects, architectural and mountain landscapes, teaches various techniques for writing the sky, forest, water. He reveals the secrets of his palette, demonstrates the possibilities of using masking fluid, and gives many small practical tips.
Anatomy
Image of a person. Gottfried Bammes
By far the best author you can find to study a plastic artist. Bammes not only professionally expounds the anatomy of the human figure, but also gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe image of the figure on a plane. Unfortunately, his best book, Anatomy for Artists, has not been translated into Russian. Therefore, to everyone who does not own german, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with these two books in Russian "The Image of a Man" and "The Image of a Man. Basics of Drawing from Life ", which are a compilation of the original book in Russian. The first book is a detailed course on anatomy and gives a complete understanding of the structure, proportions of the human body, depicting a static and dynamic human figure. The second book is devoted more specifically to the process of drawing a figure on a plane and will allow you to master various ways of modeling the shape of the human body.
Color science
The art of color. Johannes Itten
This book is an extensive work on color theory. She will introduce you to the physical nature of color, teach you the basics of color harmony and give you a complete understanding of the color system. You will not only learn about color design, all types of color contrast, color harmony and the theory of color expressiveness, which are the basis in many color science textbooks, but you will also expand your understanding of color with deeper knowledge. The author delves into the study of the semantics of color, the subjective perception of color, the spatial impact of light on color. In addition, Itten pays attention to the theory of color impressions, which is especially important for painters who are interested in realistic rendering of objects in a light-air environment.
Composition
Basics of composition. N.M.Sokolnikova.
Despite the fact that this textbook is designed for students in grades 5-8, in my opinion, this is a useful book for both a beginner and an experienced artist. Here, the basics of composition are laid out in a simple form and examples are very well selected that convey the logic of compositional placement of objects on a plane. The book introduces the reader to the elementary rules and means of composition, the meaning of diagonals in the transmission of movement, the power lines of the format, the means of highlighting the plot-compositional center, the rule of the golden section, symmetry and asymmetry. In general, here you will find everything you need to consider when building any composition, including practical advicethat are easy to digest and apply.
With this set of tutorials, you can master the process of learning to draw on your own! All these books can be easily downloaded on the Internet, but it would be even better to purchase their originals for desktop reading. Finally, one more piece of advice - try to refer primarily to the methodological literature of academic authors and avoid superficial paperback brochures with catchy titles, which, as a rule, do not provide systemic knowledge.
Drawing is at least a great hobby for creative people. Many people believe that for this you need to have some kind of special talent, when, in fact, everyone can learn to draw - with a certain perseverance and systematic practice. We will help you figure out how to learn to draw with a pencil and what beginners need to know about this lesson.
Painting supplies
You should have a set of pencils. They are designated by the letters H (T in Russian markings) - a hard pencil, B (M) - soft, and a number is put in front of the letter that indicates the degree of hardness or softness, for example, 2B.
Beginners should start with the HB (TM) pencil - this is a standard pencil, medium hard-soft. As you get used to it, it will be easier for you to control the pressure when using other types of pencils.
Take paper that is white and dense, best of all grainy - pencil shades will be clearly visible on it. If possible, buy one sheet of paper to check and rub it with an eraser - if it immediately becomes loose with piles, then the quality of such paper leaves much to be desired.
Be sure to use a good eraser to correct future blots. Choose a soft eraser to avoid damaging the paper too much when erasing.
Where to begin
First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic principles of drawing: composition, volume, perspective, dynamics. These basics apply to any style, not just pencil drawings.
After that, it is worth deciding what exactly you are trying to learn and how you want to draw, which style to choose. Even if you want to be able to do a little bit of everything, first stop at something specific and do not try to grasp the immensity - master one style, and then move on to another.
If you want to learn how to paint portraits, you will have to learn the basics of anatomy, the proportions of the human face and body. To learn how to paint landscapes, you need to practice drawing natural objects - plants, mountains, sea waves, etc. If you want to draw anime, then you need to know the features of drawing characters in this genre.
From simple to complex
You must learn how to draw geometric shapes in 2D, and then in 3D space. This will become a very important stage in your practice, because, in fact, all objects and even we ourselves conditionally consist of different geometric shapes. And when you are just learning to draw objects and people, and even after gaining experience, you will still sketch circles, ovals, squares on paper, indicating the proportions of the objects being drawn.
Draw a lot of simple objects, animals in a simplified form. Don't shy away from drawing seemingly boring objects like a cup, alarm clock, or apple on a table - even a simple 2D outline drawing will take some skill from you.
Let's try a little practice right now and draw a cute mouse.
1. Take a soft pencil and draw two ovals next to each other, with a slight intersection. One of them will be smaller - this is the future mouse's head, and the second will become the body. 
2. Draw circles for the ears, outline the legs and outline the curling tail. 
3. Now we will draw a muzzle for the mouse - an eye in the form of an inverted droplet, a nose with a ball, a smile, and also do not forget to draw the ears. 
4. Erase the inner paths on the face and make more saturated strokes. Paint the pupil and nose with black, with a white highlight in the middle. 
5. Draw paws for the mouse and shape the tail, erasing the auxiliary contours along the body. Circle the rest of the mouse. 
After two-dimensional images, start mastering three-dimensional, with the transfer of volume. As you study the cut-off drawing, start with the classic task — draw a ball with a falling shadow. If you don't have a suitable ball at home, use a chicken egg as an object. How to perform such a drawing can be seen in the following video.
At first, it is very important to learn how to draw from life - you must develop a sense of form on real objects, observe shadows and light, see volume.
The main principle in drawing is movement from simple to complex, from general to detail.
Take your time and do not expect that after a couple of drawing sessions you will be able to create brilliant pictures. Be patient: sometimes you have to learn to draw the same shape over and over again until you achieve a decent result, and only then move on to more difficult tasks, for example, drawing people.
Basic pencil drawing techniques
The main pencil drawing techniques are feathering and shading.
In the initial stages, it will be easier for you to master shading. Although sometimes art school students, for example, exclusively use shading, and shading is considered the wrong technique. In any case, it will be useful to master both techniques, as they help to achieve different results in the drawing.
Hatching
Hatching is done by drawing short, thin lines with a pencil on a piece of paper. The lines are placed at the same distance from each other. At the same time, the pencil tears off the sheet: after drawing one line, you do not pull it along the paper in a zigzag to its original position, but return it back without leaving traces. It is important to hatch the drawing in one direction.
The degree of saturation of the tone is controlled by the different frequency of strokes and their direction - strokes can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal. Increasing the color depth is achieved using cross-strokes in different directions, for example, diagonal strokes are superimposed on top of vertical strokes.
There are also relief strokes - they are used for the purpose of conveying relief and are performed with strokes curves, arcuate, broken, but not straight.
Through shading with a pencil, both light and shade and tones are conveyed, as well as various textures: backgrounds, surfaces, materials, etc.
The shading technique is quite difficult for beginners and requires a lot of training. It will likely take a long time before you can develop your own hatching style. Therefore, for beginners, the shading technique is suitable, which will help correct the shortcomings in shading if necessary.
It is with the help of feathering that the realism of the image is achieved with a smooth gradation of tone.
It is carried out as follows: hatching lines are applied to the paper with a pencil, and then rubbed with a special tool - a blending stump, or with a cotton swab, a piece of soft paper, fabric or suede. You should not shade the lines with your finger in order to avoid the appearance of greasy spots in the drawing.
In fact, feathering is an optional stage after shading, but with its own peculiarity: it is better to shade before shading with cross zigzag lines. Do not shade horizontally - rub pencil lines only from top to bottom.
It is important that the shading is uniform. As a last resort, you can gently shade the light areas with a pencil again, and weaken the dark areas with an eraser.
In this video you can watch how to perform different types of hatching and feathering.
When the basics are learned, the pencil techniques are mastered, it remains only to practice drawing more often. Remember, practice is the key to your success.
There are tons of tutorials for aspiring artists, where you will see special lessons for drawing individual objects or pictures with a pencil. You can both buy these publications in a specialized store, and take lessons from the Internet. The main thing is to practice as much and as often as possible. Let drawing be, first of all, a pleasant leisure for you.
Elizaveta Rumyantseva
Nothing is impossible for diligence and art.
Content
The childhood dream of graduating from art school does not come true for everyone, but you can learn to draw with a pencil at any age. Knowing how to use a graphite rod is a basic skill to start learning. Simple tips for beginners will help you move on.
Prepare your tools
Before starting work, select the pencils to sketch. Mechanical should be used where accuracy is needed, simple ones - when filling large areas. It is important for a beginner to hold the lead correctly: placing your fingers closer to the end will give control, but make the strokes heavier. Grasping the rod further will give you less precision but more airy lines.
The hardness of graphite is indicated by letters:
- M - soft;
- T - hard;
- TM - average.
A number is added to each letter indicating the degree of hardness: the higher the number, the softer the lead. You should start with medium TM to learn how to control the pressure. Use an eraser to correct, shade, or apply special effects. It is better to choose a soft one so as not to scratch the sheets when erasing. The first sketches should be done on inexpensive sketch paper; for the final work, you will need a denser and higher quality material.
Master basic techniques
Sketching techniques differ for different styles and effects: the depth, shape of objects is shown in many ways. It's important to try new things, to find what improves your portrayal. The ability to control strokes and create a holistic image will come with experience. Alternate between dark and long, short and light lines - this pencil drawing technique will create a dynamic, interesting picture.
Techniques for rendering textures:
- hatching;
- grain;
- finger shading;
- cross-hatching.
Try different types of pencils, from 3M to 6T, hold the rod at different angles. When shading, place a clean sheet under the brush - this will protect from the stains that the hand leaves on the pencil lines. Wipe down the shadows with a piece of tissue paper.
There are four types of object outlines. Thin and hard ones look like solid borders. Discontinuous - fuzzy edges, the subject almost merges with the background. Viewers can only guess the blurred outlines. Train to figure out how to draw correctly, combine ways to create interesting artwork.
Learn to arrange the composition
Apply the 70/30 principle. The idea is that 30% of the sketch is filled with the main focus and its detail, and the remaining 70% is filled with the background. The emphasis should be on a smaller part of the picture - this will help prepare an effective drawing. The whole image should be symmetrical, it is also important to keep track of the proportions of individual elements.
Sometimes you can break this rule by slightly changing the size of objects. Leave general lines mirror-like, but not small details: "play" with them, try to add something unusual. The asymmetry of some elements will help to avoid the boring repetition that is characteristic of perfectly flat images.
Create contrast
Effectiveness can be achieved by creating contrast:
- forms;
- shades;
- saturation;
- textures;
- proportions.
Resist the temptation to use the difference in textures throughout the picture: light shading just as effectively demonstrates the form, details. A softer contrast allows the gaze to wander without focusing it. The smooth transition of color is visually pleasing and creates an accent. To make the graphics look three-dimensional and bright, apply a subtle gradient: the significant difference between dark spots and light highlights attracts attention.
Add details and imperfections
Make your objects different, not just recognizable: quirks and flaws give character to the sketch, invite the viewer to guess the story. The realistically depicted figure, with emphasized dents and bumps, is interesting. Add imperfections to make it funny and fantastic.
