Pick up a pencil. How to learn to draw without leaving home

Each person has his own talent. Some are well versed in technology, others are unsurpassed cooks, others are dancers and musicians, poets and artists. And at one point, your hand reached for a pencil, and you decided to draw. But where to start developing your talent? You can enroll in courses, go to art school. All this is promising when you are young and full of energy. But, if your life has already settled down, family, work, children, cares and troubles, and drawing is just a hobby for you, then you are unlikely to go to learn all the wisdom of artists. For you, a few simple tips will be enough to help you get the most out of your drawing.

The first and most important. Having a computer with the Internet, the easiest way to find a good painting course online. It’s even easier to learn from artists through video tutorials. You will be taught to draw colorful pictures in stages completely free of charge. But let’s say you have not so far-reaching plans.

Where to start? And start with a simple one - decide what you like to portray. To do this, you do not need to rush to the canvases and draw in different styles and directions. Just remember that you personally prefer what kind of paintings or pictures evoke more vivid emotions, which are most often painted on the margins of school notebooks. Close your eyes and imagine what you are drawing. A landscape or a portrait, can illustrate children’s fairy tales or cartoon characters.

When we have decided on what we want, we will begin to practice. I advise, no matter what and what you are going to draw, start with the image of black and white geometric shapes. Many people like black and white drawings, they more accurately convey the mood of the artist. But even if you are going to paint landscapes with watercolors, start with black and white figures. What for? Only in this way will you learn to transmit light and shadow, and this is the foundation, you can even say the foundation, of fine art.

You will need - a simple pencil (necessarily soft), an ordinary album and any geometric shape. Of course, you can draw on printer paper, but whatman is more suitable for pencil drawing. It will have softer strokes that are easy to blend. Take the simplest figure - a cube. If there is no cube, any object that matches the shape will do. Let it be a box, a book or a column. The main thing is to put the subject so that the light falls either on the right or on the left. No need to place an object on a windowsill or direct the lamp directly in the center.

You need to make sure that the lighting is not too bright, soft, but not dim. The light source must be one. If the sun shines brightly through the window, then you do not need to turn on the lamp from the other side.

Carefully examine the subject and begin to draw its outline. I think you will notice that each side of the cube is different in brightness. The most illuminated face will be the lightest, the one in the shadow - the darkest. Shade the light sides with light hand movements, and when you draw dark edges, just slightly press on the pencil. Well, so that the strokes were barely noticeable, just rub the slightly shaded surface with your finger.

Another important point - do not forget to draw the plane on which your object lies. And be sure to depict the shadow that falls from it on this plane. Then your cube will not hang in the air, but will realistically lie on the table.

Later try to draw a ball, cylinder, pyramid, cone. The main thing is to understand the play of light and shadow. After all, this principle is the basis of modern 3D paintings.

The main thing is not to despair if the first time fails. Try, experiment and you will definitely feel in which direction you need to move.