You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less (40 page)

Most of the time, an odd number of objects in a group will look more pleasing to the eye than an even number. I’m looking out the window right now, and here are some examples of grouping I see from my point of view. The store across the street has a group of three windows to the right of the door and a group of three windows to the left of the door. There is a group of three tree tubs on either side of the store’s entrance. Take a look online at famous historical Roman architecture, noticing how many columns are on either side of the entrances or windows. Look at the grouping of windows, arches, and sculptures in historical Renaissance architecture. Grouping is an important art concept that I will discuss in greater detail in our upcoming lessons.

8. As we did in the koala lesson, we are going to draw the surface feel of these leaf clusters. Start by drawing small rows of scribbles as I have illustrated. As you build up more rows and layers of these scribbles, you will create the illusion that these spheres are leaf clusters. Now, draw the textured wood grain with repeated flowing lines running down the trunk. Darken underneath the branches with nook and cranny shadows.

9. Continue to build up the visual effect of leaves, filling in each of your large leaf clump circles with small scribbles. Complete the tree by adding textured shading. Draw long vertical lines to shade the tree trunk and branches. Great work! Nice-looking tree!

In this bonus challenge, I will teach you how to capture nature’s beauty—using a clear clipboard.

Here is what you will need:

Using the whiteout tape, secure one sheet of clear plastic Write-On Film to your clear clipboard. One small piece of tape on either side of the transparency will do just fine.

Grab your black Sharpie pens and step outside.

Once outside, find an interesting tree. Stand still, close one eye, and look at the tree through your plastic clipboard. Move around the borders of your clipboard to frame the entire tree. Place your easel or stack several of the white empty storage boxes at this spot. Hold your plastic frame comfortably while you look through the frame with one eye closed, and trace what you see with your black Sharpie. If you are having trouble holding your clear clipboard up at arm’s reach while tracing with the other hand, ask a friend to stand still in front of you for a minute or two. Use her or his shoulder as your easel. Keeping one eye closed, concentrate on the outlines, edges, shapes, and lines. As I’ve mentioned before, all of history’s great artists, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, have traced from nature to learn how to really see what they wanted to draw.

If you’d prefer to stay inside, sit at your kitchen table with a plant or a flower in a vase in front of you. Experiment by placing the flower very close to your clipboard and then moving it far away. As you draw these images with one eye closed, notice how our drawing laws (overlapping, shading, shadow, and horizon lines) come to life.

This clear clipboard is an idea I dreamed up twenty-five years ago when I was drawing a picture of my friend’s pet collie. I was having a difficult time capturing the soft expressive eyes and the wonderful flow of the collie fur. (This was way before digital pictures instantly zapped from your cell phone to your printer, and all I had handy was a wide plastic straight edge.) I remember doing this technique directly on the straight edge. I was able to draw only a sliver of the collie due to the width of the straight edge, but it was enough for me to solve the problem. At that time I had no way to quickly transfer the image to paper, so I just wiped it off.

Years later, my friend Michael Schmid created a wonderful exercise for his art classroom. He constructed a standing framed four-foot-by-four-foot clear plastic partition. He would have students sit on either side with nonpermanent Vis-à-Vis overhead markers (which are used to draw on overhead projector transparencies and can be wiped off).

The students would take turns closing one eye and sitting very still while tracing the student sitting on the other side of the partition. Mike thought of a clever way to transfer a student’s work to paper. He would wet a blank sheet of white paper with a wide sponge. Next, he would carefully apply the wet paper to the drawn image on the plastic surface, smoothing it down with his hands, being careful not to smear the image on the plastic. Then, he would slowly peel the wet paper from the plastic surface. Voilà! The student’s beautiful drawing was successfully transferred to the paper.

Since then I’ve developed this very easy clear clipboard technique to teach students this fun way of observing/drawing/tracing from the real world around them. If the weather does not permit you to go outside to stand in front of a tree, try sitting at your kitchen table with a plant or a flower in a vase in front of you. Experiment with this by placing the flower very close to your clipboard and then moving it far away. As you draw these images, you’ll be reminded of all the drawing laws you have been learning, right there in front of you, in the real world! Watch how overlapping, shading, shadow, and horizon pop from the real world to your two-dimensional plastic surface.

Take a look at how these students practiced this tree lesson in their sketchbooks. Notice how their different styles are beginning to emerge, just as yours is!

H
ave you ever wondered what your room would look like if you moved your bed and dresser? Or how your family room would look if you rearranged the couch, chairs, and entertainment center? Has the enormous effort involved in moving everything around just for a “look-see” ever dampened your enthusiasm for a project? This is a wonderful lesson in learning how to draw a room, hall, or foyer in one-point perspective so that you can interior decorate to your heart’s content!