A quick start guide to drawing

The basics of drawing are two things: you learn to control and see your hand.

Tip: For the next 6 exercises, I suggest you stick with a pen and a special type of paper (like A5).

Skills - two exercises

The first two exercises are about controlling your hand. We want to build muscles and train the eye to coordinate with our hands. Such mechanical exercises are best for beginners. You can use them later to explore or start new pens if you still don't know what to draw.

They are also a great way to relax your mind.

Exercise 1: Rings - More is more!

Spread circles of different sizes on a piece of paper until the paper is full. Make sure the circles do not overlap.

Creating circles is not as easy as you might think. Consider how the circles get tighter, the bigger you make them? Try them out in both directions - and make the most of them.

Tip: Shake your hand when the pain starts! After all, this is a workout for our hands.

Exercise 2: Hatching - Structure Happiness

Fill a piece of paper with parallel lines.

Oblique lines come to us easily because they correspond to the movement of our wrists. Have you noticed how left-handed people prefer the opposite direction to right-handed ones? Look at the drawings of your favorite artist or draftsman (in my case: Leonardo), and guess which hand he used!

Now try other directions as well. Enjoy yourself! 

Combine different hatches and enjoy the darkness on your paper.

Tip: Do not twist the paper. The point here is to train your hands to be comfortable in all directions.

So now that we've done a little bit, let's train our eyes!

Read the full story here!