*I made this tutorial in Photoshop in an effort to save some time, but with pencil on paper the method is exactly the same.
Gridding is faster in Photoshop (CTRL ” will show a grid, you can adjust the settings in your Preferences ), but using reference lines is faster on paper.
Learning to draw can be a daunting process. I found my biggest problem with drawing to be getting the initial lines so that the end result would be right.In the beginning it can be very helpful to draw using a grid.
Practicing the “filling in” of the line drawing with color and shade also is a lot less frustrating when everything is in the right place.
Some people start with tracing the reference picture. I know there are 2 camps when it comes to this; the “tracing saves time” versus “tracing is BAD”.
Personally I don’t care, I limit my tracing, but sometimes I do trace parts of the reference picture if there are a lot of intricate details (I’m usually too lazy to really trace everything and end up just placing a few dots for reference, but it’s still tracing, kind of)
I do think the ultimate goal is to be able to draw freehand though, and this 3 step “program” will help you learn to do just that.
1. Tracing.
Either by putting a thin sheet of paper over your reference, or by using a lightbox (or if you’re on a budget – a window).
Perfect way to practice the “filling in” without wasting hours on the line art.
Do pay attention on how drawing the correct line feels, and carefully study your reference picture/object to see if you can figure out the relationships. (for example: an object is twice as wide as it is high, the shade reaches up to 1/3 the way).
2. Using a grid.
This is 1 step up from tracing.
In the beginning you will want to use a small grid (with the squares close together), and as you get better you should use a bigger one (with bigge squares) so you’ll have to do more on your own. Keep challenging yourself.
The gridding below took about 1 hour. If you put in a little more effort you’ll get more precise results.
(My Wacom tablet is getting a little old, and sometimes ignores penpressure which results in big fat lines..)
2.1 Draw a grid over your reference picture with a ruler and pencil. You might want to copy your reference picture for this to keep the original clean (so you can see what’s on it better)
2.2 Draw the same grid on your paper with a ruler and pencil – make sure you use very light pencil marks so you can erase them later. I’ve found a soft B to work better than H pencils, but heard of others who prefer H.
In Photoshop: press CTRL+” to show the grid
2.3 You can number the squares, in #3 you’ll see the horses ear – so that has to go in # 3 on your paper as well.
If you’re drawing digitally in Photoshop, it’s best to draw on a separate layer – then you can just hide or delete the grid later at the end.
2.4 One square at a time (but keep paying attention to the general shapes!)
2.5 Until you’re done! Then you look at the whole picture again and adjust a few things you think should be different.
3. Using reference lines.
3.1 Same picture, only in stead of a grid you’ll draw a few reference lines. You don’t really need a ruler for this – you can measure the distances with your pencil.
3.2 Draw the same reference lines on your paper (don’t press too hard, you want to be able to erase them again)
And you’re really doing the same thing as you would do when you’re using a grid, but with reference lines you have to pay a lot more attention to the position and relationship of things.
In this case:
The tops of the eyes are on the same line.
The tips of the ears are on the same line.
The bottom ‘tip’ of the right ear is directly about the corner of the right eye.
The nostrils are on the same line.
The curve of the jaw ends underneath the corner of the eye.
You can ‘see’ a triangle in between the right side of the eye and the start of the jaw.
And so on!
(I put the eye a little too far to the right by the way, but that can be corrected later)
As you grow more confident, and more skilled, you’ll find you need less reference lines, and you can start to practice drawing from a reference picture or from life, without any lines at all!
(You’ll probably use the lines in your head, and draw a few still, but you don’t have to draw all of them anymore).
