Today, I’d like to share a great way to begin drawing from life, and it involves only three steps!
Most artists know there’s value in drawing from life. Many understand that value. But there are a lot of us who simply don’t do it for one reason or another. I certainly fell into that category for many years.
The apparent complexity of drawing from life is what kept me from practicing this particular art form for so long.
But you know what? It doesn’t have to be difficult or complex.
Drawing from Life in 3 Steps
In an email drawing class I conducted several years ago, I broke the drawing process down to three basic elements. These elements apply to every form of drawing, but are especially helpful in life drawing.
Even if you’ve never drawn from life before.
Lines
The most basic element is the mark you make on the paper with each pencil stroke: otherwise known as a line. Most artists begin their drawings with lines, which are also known as “strokes.”
Lines can be straight or curved, long or short, thick or thin. No matter what type of line you draw, they all have one thing in common.
They’re one-dimensional. That means they have a beginning and an end. They have only length. (You could count the width of the line as a second dimension if you wish, but for the sake of this conversation, I’m speaking of lines as a one-dimensional mark that begins and ends with one stroke.)
And yet the line is the foundation on which all art is built, especially two dimensional art. Paintings, sketches, prints, and drawings are all forms of two-dimensional art, and they all begin with a simple line.
“Even the most complex drawings?” you ask.
Yes. Even the most complex drawings.
Shapes
Everything around you—living or not, naturally occurring or man-made—can be broken down into one or more of three basic shapes.
That’s right. Circles, squares, and triangles.
Take a look at the things around you. Chairs. Tables. A cup of coffee or glass of soft drink. An apple, orange, or bunch of grapes. What shapes to do you see?
Even complex things like animals and people can be reduced to these basic shapes.
Shading
Lines are one-dimensional (they have only length.) Circles, squares and triangles are two dimensional. They have width and height.
The paper you draw on is also two-dimensional.
Almost everything you draw is three-dimensional. It not only has width and height, but it has depth. It takes up space.
How do you draw something that looks three-dimensional on something with only two dimensions? The answer is shading.
Shading is the process of adding shades of gray (or any color if you’re working with color) to the shape you’ve drawn. These “shades” are known as values.
Shading is what turns this…
…into this.
When you shade a shape, you make it look like light is striking different parts of it to different degrees. That creates the illusion that the object has form or mass; that it takes up space.
The Key to Drawing from Life in 3 Steps
The key to realistic life drawing in only 3 steps is to follow this pattern of starting with simple lines, combining lines into shapes, and then adding shading.
In short, begin by sketching your subject in simple lines. I like using short straight lines because I have more control. Short, straight lines are easier to rough in than curving lines. They’re also faster, which can be very important, depending on your subject.
In the first egg illustration above, I blocked in the egg with light pressure and pretty basic lines.
After the subject was established, I began refining it until the shape was more complete.
When the shape was correct, then I began shading until there were dark enough values to make the egg look realistic.
I used graphite for the egg sketch, but the same method works with colored pencil.
Interested in seeing how this works with a tutorial?
You’re in luck. I’ve explained the process thoroughly in the tutorial Drawing from Life in Three Easy Steps. The illustrations in this post come directly from that tutorial.
For a step-by-step tutorial showing how this 3-step method works with color, take a look at my tutorial on drawing a simple cloud. While the subject is a very basic cloud, the method works for more complex subjects.
Drawing from Life in Three Easy Steps is $12.99. Drawing a Simple Cloud is free.
Getting Started
If you’re new to drawing from life, I suggest you start simple. There’s no need to frustrate yourself by trying to learn the method on a complex subject.
It can also be helpful to start small. I like sketching on 5×7 paper. That size gives me enough space to do fairly detailed life drawings, while still being small enough to finish quickly.
What size of paper is right for you? You’ll have to do some experimenting to find that answer. But a good rule of thumb is to start with whatever size you most often do finished work on.
Once you master the three steps, then you can advance to more complicated subjects.
Of course, don’t expect to get good at life drawing with one or two drawings. As with all things related to art, the more you practice, the better you’ll get.
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