Many people think that you are simply born knowing how to be artistic. But artistry is learned through studying and hard work. So, drawing is a skill that anyone can learn with dedication to the craft. It’s a great way to keep your mind active and explore a new hobby!
First, you’ll need to pick up some tools. A charcoal pencil and a good eraser will be a good place to start. Pencils have hardness ratings that determine how hard the charcoal is that makes up the tip of the pencil. Generally, for beginners, a 2B hardness is a good place to start because it is the most flexible. A 2B pencil can make dark marks and also light ones. Almost any eraser will work, but it is recommended that you get a white eraser because they erase better on white paper. You’ll also want to get a pad of paper. Just about any paper will work. There are some more technical elements for the kinds of paper you can use as you get further into drawing, but for now, anything you like is fine.[1]
Once you have everything you need, one of the most important things you can do is create a value chart. A value chart can help you think about shading. If you’ve ever been confused about how artists create great shading, this is the first step!
To create a value chart, draw 5 boxes that are all next to each other and the same size. Number them 1-5 from left to right. Leave box 1 blank. Lightly fill in box 2, and don’t press too hard on your pencil. Try to make the whole box the same light shade of gray. Fill in box 3 with a darker color gray by pressing harder on your pencil. Make box 4 darker than box 3. Fill in box 5 by drawing the darkest you can with your pencil. Now you have a simple gradient from white to black.[2] Doing this can help you calibrate what shades appear using different forces and techniques. Once calibrated, you can utilize different shades to achieve depth, shape, and texture.
Now choose something you want to draw. Make sure you pick a thing, leave it in the same place, and sit in the same place every time you go to draw it. As you draw, look at the different parts of the thing and refer to the value chart. Where is the lightest part of the object? That will be the same shade as box 1. Where is the darkest part of the object? That will be the same shade as box 5. What parts are only a little lighter than the darkest part? Those parts should look like the shade in box 4. And so on.
Drawing isn’t really a virtuosic talent that comes to people in their sleep. Drawing takes time, dedication, and an investment in tools and education. If you see yourself looking forward to investing both time and money into a hobby, whether drawing or not, having a solid financial plan that is expertly managed and works for you can help free up time and protect your finances so that you can dedicate yourself to the wonderful new passions you’ve discovered. We’re here to help provide that for you. Click HERE to reach out to us today at Bulman Wealth Group for a complimentary review of your finances.
[1] https://www.ecegurler.com/post/differences-between-charcoal-pencil-types#:~:text=How%20should%20we%20decide%20which,used%20types%20of%20charcoal%20pencils.
[2] https://www.thedrawingsource.com/value-scale.html
