80% Benefit From 20% Effort
In the early days of desktop computers I taught production artists how to use the new page layout software.
I quickly learned that they didn’t need to know everything about the program to be productive.
To be the most productive, they only needed to know about 20% of the features.
But which 20%? Ah, there’s the rub. And that’s why they needed someone to guide them.
I think learning to draw is the same way.
Think of all the art and drawing skills you’ve heard of. Composition. Value. Proportion. Anatomy. Perspective. Line. Shapes. And on and on.
Sure, you want to be proficient in all of them. But that’s a lifelong endeavor.
Reading vs Drawing
I think it’s easier to remember the way we learned to read and write.
What if before learning to read and write you thought of all the things you’d heard about? All the spelling and grammar rules?
In reality there’s a clear path when learning to read and write.
Learn the alphabet and the sounds of the letters. Learn how they combine to form words. And how words make sentences, and sentences make paragraphs.
All of that so you’re able to communicate your thoughts and ideas to others.
And to understand their thoughts and ideas as well.
To me, that’s one of the benefits of knowing how to draw.
So you can look at things around you and communicate something about them to others.
To record how you see the world and let us see it through your eyes.
Which Drawing Skills Will Help You Most?
So when you consider all the drawing skills, are there some that will help you progress the fastest?
I think there are.
In my own drawings, one of the things I try to do is get the shadows in as early as I can. Shadows do the heavy lifting.
But before I can put the shadows in, I need to make sure they’re in the right place.
I was in the early stages of a watercolor painting recently. I’d sketched out the main elements, making sure proportions were accurate.
I had the outlines of shapes and the main shadows laid in, but it wasn’t until I painted in those shadows that I realized there was a tall chair just outside of view.
You couldn’t see the chair, but the shadow let you feel it.
When I’ve taught beginning artists in the past I’ve drawn a lot from Betty Edward’s book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. In it she lists five fundamental drawing skills all artists use.
If there's time when I’m teaching beginners, I explain all of them.
But I’ve found they can get a lot of mileage by focusing on three of them (that 80-20 rule I mentioned earlier).
1. Comparing Angles to Horizontal and Vertical
Comparing a few prominent angles to the horizontal and vertical edges of the paper lets you get the main shapes down.
Now that your focal point is on the paper where it belongs, you won’t run out of room later.
Here’s a post that outlines a good way to do this: The Importance of Getting the Rough Drawing Right
2. Perceiving Negative Shapes Around Objects
Once these main angles are in place, you can start to focus on the negative shapes surrounding your subject.
The worst thing you can do is think of the names of the things you’re drawing.
When you do that your subconscious throws out symbols it has for everything and it gets in your way.
3. See Shapes of Shadows
Once the main shapes are in place you can start to block in where the shadows are.
Shadows are what tell our brains we’re seeing three-dimensional objects.
Just as you’ve been observing negative shapes, now shift your focus to these shadow shapes and give them a light shading treatment.
You’ll be surprised at how your drawing comes to life at this stage.
What’s Next?
These are only three of the most helpful skills.
I’ve chosen them because as I’ve taught beginning artists over the years, these are the skills that really open the doors for them.
If you already feel confident in these skills, feel free to brush up on some of the others by watching these videos on my YouTube channel:
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