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What's the best way to learn how to draw fine art?

I have two frieds that are absolutely amazing at fine art. They can draw fine art with a pencil and it looks like a photo...it's that good! They also do amazing paintings and they both became great tattoo artists on Long Island. I am wondering, what's the best way to start with fine art (without going to an expensive art school)?

  Topic Art Subtopic Fine Art Tags painting drawing art fine art learning art
3 Years 1 Answer 1.8k views

Nicholas G

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  1. J Starr 4425

    You practice.  You practice and practice and practice some more. 

    Learning to draw if you do not feel you have that "talent" is like learning to cook when you do not feel you have that talent: Practice makes perfect. You practice; you make mistakes, you fail, you improve, you almost succeed, you get better, and then one day someone sees a drawing you have done and says, "Wow!  That's really good!"

    Here are some hints for drawing:

    • Draw what you see, not what a thing is;  there's a difference.  If you ever looked at, say, a horse's leg and hock separate from the rest of the horse, you would see it is not really all that graceful, but knobbly and sinewy and oddly shaped.  If you drew a horse's leg as a horse's leg, it would not look right, because you are drawing what you believe the thing looks like, rather than what you actually see. Draw what you see.
    • Control your pencil.  Do not press hard- ever.  Use light strokes, just skimming the paper surface; this way, if you make a mistake it can be ignored or erased-  but, at first, don't bother erasing because then you will feel as if you made a mistake- which is not what you want when you are practicing. As soon as you can, stop using outlines and go to masses of tones (values)
    • Use your pencil to help you measure.  You need to measure the size of one part of what you are drawing to the size of another to the distance from this part to that part so your drawing is accurate.  For instance: The distance between your eyes is the same length as your eye, itself.  Go ahead-  check it with your fingers.  The corners of your mouth line up with your pupils.  While the head is vaguely oval-shaped, the facial features- such as brows and eye sockets- start about one third of the length down from the top of the head. And that same one third distance is about the same as from the bottom eye lid to the top of the chin structure.  Always use one part of what you see to provide you the reference for another part.
    • Do not mistake color for value. Color is hue; value is the relative lightness or darkness of said hue. Red may seem quite dark, but I can show you a yellow equally dark as a red.  If you are having trouble with seeing value, then squint your eyes at what you are drawing-  squint hard, so that color becomes less important to your view.
    • The better you become at drawing, the pickier you will become, so use these tricks to help you refine your skill: Turn your work upside down, or so you can see it in a mirror- this will help show you any glaring mistakes at first, and subtler areas of weakness as you continue to improve; challenge yourself to draw what you see by drawing the item upside down- this is an excellent way to force yourself to let go of what an object is; learn to see masses and tones (values) in blocks rather than lines; learn to see where edges- from one tone to another- need to melt into one and other rather than stand in contrast to each other
    • Practice some more

    That really is it.  There are lots of drawing books but when you condense the ideas they provide, you get these: Draw what you see using light and layered strokes, mass tones, control edges and practice practice practice.

    UTC 2020-10-14 06:45 PM 0 Comments

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