you can draw in 30 days: the fun, easy way to learn to draw in one month or less

TableofContents

TitlePageDedicationIntroductionLESSON1-THESPHERE

Lesson1:BonusChallengeStudentexamples

LESSON2-OVERLAPPINGSPHERES


LESSON3-ADVANCED-LEVELSPHERES

SuggestedProductsLesson3:BonusChallengeStudentexamples

LESSON4-THECUBELESSON5-HOLLOWCUBES


LESSON6-STACKINGTABLES


LESSON7-ADVANCED-LEVELCUBES


LESSON8-COOLKOALASLesson8:BonusChallengeStudentexamples

LESSON9-THEROSE


LESSON10-THECYLINDER


LESSON11-ADVANCED-LEVELCYLINDERS


LESSON12-CONSTRUCTINGWITHCUBES

Lesson12:BonusChallengeStudentexample

LESSON13-ADVANCED-LEVELHOUSES

Lesson13:BonusChallengeLesson13:BonusChallenge2Studentexamples

LESSON14-THELILY


LESSON15-CONTOURTUBES


LESSON16-THEWAVE


LESSON17-RIPPLINGFLAGS


LESSON18-THESCROLL


LESSON19-PYRAMIDS


LESSON20-VOLCANOES,CRATERS,ANDACUPOFCOFFEE

TheVolcanoTheCoffeeMugLesson20:BonusChallengeStudentexamplesStudentexamples

LESSON21-TREES


LESSON22-AROOMINONE-POINTPERSPECTIVE


LESSON23-ACITYINONE-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Lesson23:BonusChallengeLesson23:BonusChallenge2

StudentexamplesLESSON24-ATOWERINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Lesson24:BonusChallengeStudentexample

LESSON25-ACASTLEINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE


LESSON26-ACITYINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE


LESSON27-LETTERINGINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE


LESSON28-THEHUMANFACE


LESSON29-THEHUMANEYEOFINSPIRATION


LESSON30-YOURHANDOFCREATIVITY!

Lesson30:BonusChallengeStudentsamples

CopyrightPage

ThisbookisdedicatedtomydearsisterMari(http://mari-kistler.memory-of.com/About.aspx)

Mari,LOOK!You’reinmybookjustlikeIpromisedyou!

http://mari-kistler.memory-of.com/About.aspx

Introduction

Congratulations!Ifyou’vepickedupthisbook,youareexploringthepossibilitythatperhaps,justmaybe,youreallycouldlearntodraw.Guess what? You’re right! Even if you have little or no previous drawing

experience,andevenifyoudon’tbelieveyouhavenaturaltalent,ifyoucanfinda fewpencilsand twentyminutesaday for thirtydays,youcan learn todrawamazing pictures. Yes, you have found the right teacher. And yes, you havefoundtherightbook.

Welcome to my world of creative possibilities. You will learn to createrealisticrenderingsofeverythingfromphotostolandscapesfromtheworldyousee around you and to draw three-dimensional pictures entirely from yourimagination.Iknowthisisabigclaimfilledwithenormouspromise.I’mawarethatyoumaybeskepticalandwonderinghowIcanmakesuchastatement.Thesimplestwayformetoqualifymyteachingconfidenceistosharewithyoumypaststudentsuccessstories.

DrawingasaLearnedSkill

During the last thirtyyears, I’ve taughtmillionsofpeoplehowtodrawduringmy extensive travels around the country and through my television shows,websites, and videos. Many children have grown up watching my drawinglessonsonpublic televisionandhavegoneon topursuecareers in illustration,animation, fashion design, design engineering, and architecture. I have alumnistus who have helped design the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceShuttle,andMarsExplorationRoversandotherswhohaveworkedonanimationmegafilmprojectssuchasShrek,Madagascar,FlushedAway,The Incredibles,HappyFeet,andABug’sLife.

But here’s a secret—learning is learning and drawing is drawing, nomatterhowoldyouare.My techniqueswork foradults just aswell as theywork forkids—Iknowthis,becauseI’vetaughtthousandsofadultsaswell.Inthisbook,I will introduce sophisticated concepts and complex drawing theories in asimple,easy-to-followway,butbecauseI’makidatheart,IwillnotcutbackonanyofthefunthatIbelievedrawingmustbe.I amacartoon illustratorby trade,but these lessonswillgiveyou thebasic

skillset thatwillenableyoutodrawthree-dimensionally inanystyle(realisticdrawings, photograph studies, portraits) or medium (oil paints, watercolors,pastels).I will teach you how to draw using the same step-by-step, follow-along

method that has proven successful for all my students. I will focus almostexclusivelyonwhatIcallthe“NineFundamentalLawsofDrawing,”beginningwithbasicshapes,shading,andpositioning,allthewaythroughmoreadvancedperspective,copyingfromphotos,anddrawingfromlife.Thesebasicconcepts,discovered and refined during the Italian Renaissance, have enabled artists tocreate three-dimensional renderings for more than five hundred years. I will

teachyouthesebasics,onekeytermatatime,onestepatatime,onelineatatime. I believe that anyone can learn how to draw; it is a learnable skill likereadingorwriting.TheNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingcreatetheillusionofdepth.Theyare

asfollows:1.Foreshortening:Distortanobjecttocreatetheillusionthatonepartofitisclosertoyoureye.

2.Placement:Placeanobject loweronthesurfaceofapicture tomakeitappearclosertoyoureye.

3.Size:Drawanobjectlargertomakeitappearclosertoyoureye.4. Overlapping: Draw an object in front of another object to create thevisualillusionthatitisclosertoyoureye.

5.Shading:Drawdarknessonanobjectoppositethepositionedlightsourcetocreatetheillusionofdepth.

6.Shadow:Drawdarknesson thegroundnext to theobject, opposite thepositionedlightsource,tocreatetheillusionofdepth.

7.Contourlines:Drawcurvinglineswrappingaroundtheshapeofaroundobjecttogiveitvolumeanddepth.

8.Horizonline:Drawahorizontalreferencelinetocreatetheillusionthatobjectsinthepicturearevaryingdistancesfromyoureye.

9.Density:Create the illusion of distance by drawing objects lighter andwithlessdetail.

It is impossible to drawa three-dimensional imagewithout applyingoneormore of these fundamental laws. These nine tools are foundational elements,neverchanging,alwaysapplicable,andtotallytransferable.In addition to the Nine Fundamental Laws of Drawing, there are three

principlestokeepinmind:attitude,bonusdetails,andconstantpractice.Iliketocallthemthe“ABCsofSuccessfulDrawing.”

1.Attitude:Nourishingyour“Icandothis”positiveattitudeisacrucialpartoflearninganynewskill.

2.Bonusdetails:Addyourownuniqueideasandobservationstoyourdrawingtomakeittrulyyourownexpression.

3.Constantpractice:Repeateddailyapplicationofanynewlearnedskillisabsolutelynecessaryforsuccessfulmasteryoftheskill.

Without exercising these three principles, youwill not be able to grow as anartist.Eachoneisessentialtoyourcreativedevelopment.In thisbook,we’llalsofocusonhowtheNineLawsareapplied to thefour

basic“molecules,”orbuildingblocks,ofthree-dimensionaldrawing:thesphere,thecube,thecylinder,andthecone.

YouCanLearntoDraw

Witheachlesson,Iwillbeintroducingnewinformation,terms,andtechniques,but I also will be repeating definitions and applications you’ve previouslylearned.Infact,I’llberepeatingmyselfsooftenthatyouwillundoubtedlystarttothink,“Thisguysurerepeatshimselfalot!”ButIhavefoundthatrepetition,review, andpractice produce success—and they also keepyou fromhaving tojumpoutofyourlessontohuntfortheoriginalexplanation.ThebiggestcriticismIhavereceivedin thirtyyearsof teachingis,“Youare

teachingstudentstocopyexactlywhatyouaredrawing!Where’stheoriginality?Where’s the creativity in that?” I’ve heard this comment countless times andalways from a critic who has never drawn a lesson from my books, classes,website, or public television series. My response to this is always the same:“Haveyouevertriedtodrawalessonwithme?”“No.”“Here,sitdownwiththispencil and this ‘rose’ lesson, right here at this table, for twenty minutes. Intwenty minutes, after you complete this lesson, I’ll answer that question foryou.”Mostcriticswalkaway,butafewadventuroussoulsactuallydositdownand draw this “rose” lesson. For these idea explorers, the possibility lightbulbcould almost be seen shining over their heads as they leaned over the table,drawingtherose.

ThepointI’mtryingtomakehereisthattolearnhowtodraw,apersonfirsthastodraw.Astudenthastobeinspiredtoactuallypickupapencilandmakelines on a blank sheet of paper.Many people Imeet are truly terrified of this

idea.Thatblanksheetofpaperisanunsolvableproblemthatonlytalentedartistscanmaster,theythink.ButthetruthisthatlearninghowtodrawwiththeNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingwillgiveyouasolidfoundationofconfidence,which will enable you to enjoy drawing as a personal form of creativeexpression.Weall,everysingleoneofus,lovedtodrawwhenweweretoddlers.Wedrew

oneverything!Wedrewonpaper,ontables,onwindows,inpudding,inpeanutbutter.. .everything.Allofuswerebornwiththisamazinggiftofconfidenceandcreativity.Everypicturethatwedrewwasamasterpieceinourminds.Thecastlewith theflyingdragonwasaperfect illustrationofmedievalaction.Ourparentsstrengthenedthisconfidencewithencouragingcommentslike,“So,littleMarky, tell me about this wonderful drawing!” Somewhere along the way,sometimebetween the third and sixthgrade, a fewpeople began to say to us,“Thatdoesn’tlooklikeacastlewithadragonflyingoverit!Itlookslikeapileof poop (or some other unflattering comment).” Slowly over time, enoughnegativecommentserodedouramazingartisticconfidencetothepointthatwebegantobelievethatwejustdidn’thavethe“talent”todraworpaintorcreate.Wemovedontootherinterests,believingfordecadesthatwecouldn’tdraw.Sohereweare togethernowwith thisbook. Iwillprove thatyoucan learn

howtodrawby:1.Inspiringyoutopickupapencilagain.2. Sharing with you immediate success in drawing simple three-dimensionalobjectsthatactuallylooklikethethree-dimensionalobjectsthatyousetouttodraw.

3.Rekindlingthatamazingartisticself-confidencethathasbeendormantinyou for decades by slowly, incrementally, introducing you to easilydigestible bits of the “science” behind drawing as you experience onewonderfulsuccessfullessonafteranother.

Now,backtothecritic’squestion,“Whereisthecreativityincopyingexactlywhat I draw?” I sometimes answer, “Did you copy and trace letters of thealphabet infirstgrade?”Ofcourse,wealldid.That ishowwelearnedhowtoconfidentlywriteourletters.Wethenlearnedhowtowritewordsandputthemtogethertomakesentences:“SeeMarkrun!”Thenweputthesentencestogethertomakeparagraphs,andfinallyweputtheparagraphstogethertocreatestories.It’ssimplythelogicalprogressionoflearningacommunicationskill.Itakethissame progression in teaching the visual communication skill of drawing. Youneverhearanyonesaythat theycan’twritea letter,arecipe,ora“Meetmeat

Starbucks”notebecausetheyjustdonothavethe“talent”towrite.Thiswouldbe silly. We all know we do not need talent to learn how to write as acommunicationskill.

I apply this same logic to learning how to draw. This book is not aboutlearning how to draw a museum-quality masterpiece or drawing animatedsequencesworthyofaShreksequel.Butthisbookwillgiveyouafoundationfordrawingthatimageinyourheadorthatphotographyouhavealwayswantedtosketch,fordrawingthosedrivingdirectionsforyourfriend,fordrawingthaticonorgraphonthatofficereport,orfordrawingthatimageonthedryeraseboardina meeting without the obligatory, self-deprecating “Sorry this looks so bad. Inevercoulddraw.”Let’s followyour historical path a bit longer.Youwere in a high school or

collegeartclass,andtheteacherputapileofobjectsonthe“stilllife”tableandsaid, “Draw that.You have thirtyminutes.” That’s it!No instruction, no roadmap,exceptperhapsafewvaguecommentsabout“seeing”thenegativespacessurrounding thepileofobjects.Soyougave it avalianteffort,youdrewyourheart out, and despite the art teacher’s wonderful supportive encouragingcomments,“Greateffort!Goodjob!We’lldothisonehundredmoretimesandyou’llnailit!”yousawtheresultofyoureffortglaringatyoufromthepaper:Itlookedlikeapileofscribbles.Irememberannoyingmycollegeartteachertonoendduringstilllifedrawing

exercises. I’d constantly chatter to neighbors on both sides ofmy easel. “You

know,”I’dwhisper,“ifyou trydrawing thatapple loweron thepaper,and thebananahigheron thepaper,youwouldmake theapple lookcloser, just like itdoesonthestilllifetable.”Theprevailingmethodsof teachingDrawing101 force thestudent to figure

out how to draw through a long process of trial and error. Thismethod datesbackto1938andanextraordinarybookbyKimonNicolaides,TheNaturalWaytoDraw(abookyoushouldaddtoyourlibrary!).Inithestates“...thesooneryoumake your first 5,000mistakes, the sooner youwill learn how to correctthem.”Thisapproachjustdoesn’tmakesensetome.Withallduerespecttothisbookasaprofoundwork,aclassicinteachingartstudentshowtodraw...but,Why?Iask.Whydiscouragestudentswithsuchadauntingtaskoffailing5,000timeswhenIcanshowthemin just twentyminuteshowtosucceed?Whynotbuilduptheirskill,confidence,andinterestallatthesametime?The thirty-daymethod in this bookwill increase your success, inspire your

practice,buildyourconfidence,andnourishyourinterestindrawingforlife.Iurgeyoutotakeasmallcreativeriskwithme.Givemethirtydays,andI’ll

giveyouthekeystounlockallthedrawingtalentalreadywithinyou.

WhatYou’llNeed

1.Thisbook.2.Aspiral-boundsketchbookorblankjournalwithatleastfiftyblankpages.

3.Apencil(fornowjustgrabanypencilwithinreach).4.A“drawingbag”toholdyoursketchbookandpencils(anythingwilldo:arecyclablegroceryclothbag,abookbackpack,abookbagwithhandles.Youwanttomakeitveryeasytoquicklygrabyourdrawingbagwheneveryouhaveasparecoupleofminutestoscratchoutafewdrawings).

5.Adayplannerorcalendar(probablythemostimportantiteminthischecklist).Youwillneedtostrategicallyandmethodicallycarveoutasmalltwenty-minutechunkoftimeeachdaytodrawwithme.Ifyouplannow,today,youwillbeabletofollowthroughwithourthirty-dayplan.

StepOne

Get out your planner and a pencil—let’s schedule some drawing time for justthis first week. I know your days are intensely busy, so we’ll get creative.Imaginethatthepencilinyourhandisasteelchiselandyou’regoingtocarveoutonetwenty-minutechunkeachdayforsevendays.Ifthisistoodifficult,trychiselingouttwochunks,tenminuteseach.Ideally,thesetimechunkswillbeatyourdesk,yourkitchentable,orsomefairlyquiettablespace.Mygoalistogetyoutocommittooneweekwithme.Iknowthatonceyouaccomplishthefirstseven days (seven lessons), you’ll be totally hooked. Immediate success is apowerfulmotivator.Ifyoucandrawdailyforaweek,you’llsuccessfullyfinishthisbookinamonth.However,itisperfectlyacceptabletotakeamoreleisurelyapproachandfocusononlyafewlessonsaweek,spendingmuchmoretimeonthe lesson steps and the fun bonus challenges I introduce at the end of eachlesson.I’vehadafewstudentsdoamazingworkbycompletingjustonelessonaweek.It’stotallyuptoyou.Thekeyisthis:Justdon’tgiveup.

StepTwo

Start drawing! Sit down at a table with your drawing bag. Take a nice deepbreath,smile(thisisreallygoingtobefun),openyourbag,andbegin.

TestYourself

Okay, enough about my teaching philosophy and methodology ; let’s put thepenciltothepaperandstartdrawing.Let’sbeginwithalittlepretestsothatyouwillhaveareferencepointlateron.Iwantyoutodrawafewimagesforme.Considerthese“warm-up”scribbles.

Relax.Youaretheonlypersonwhoeverhastoseethese.Iwantyoutodrawtheimagesthatfollowinordertogiveyourselfabaselineskillassessmentofwhereyouarenow,ascomparedtowhereyouwillbeinthirtydays.Evenifyouaretotally tempted to skip this part (becausenoonewill ever know!), humorme,humoryourself,anddrawtheseimages.Inthirtydaysyouwillbegladyoudid.

Open your sketchbook. At the top of the first page write “Day 1 of 30,Introduction:Thepretest,”today’sdate,thetime,andyourlocation.(Repeatthisinformation,with the appropriate lesson number and title, at the beginning ofeachofthelessons.)Nowspendtwominutesdrawingahouse.Just fromyour imagination,don’t

lookatanypictures.Next,spendtwominutesdrawinganairplane.Andfinally,spendtwominutesdrawingabagel.Itrustyouarenotcompletelystressedfromthat.Kindoffun?Iwantyouto

keepthesewarm-updrawingsinyoursketchbook.Youwillbeabletocomparethesewarm-updrawingswith theadvanced lessons later in thisbook.Youaregoingtobeamazedwithyourphenomenalimprovement!

Hereyou’llfindMicheleProos’swarm-uppagefromhersketchbook.Michelealwayswantedtolearnhowtodrawbutneverhad.ShesignedherchildrenupforoneofmyfamilyartworkshopsinPortage,Michigan.Likemostparents,shesat in with her children and participated. Michele has graciously agreed toparticipateinthisthirty-lessoncourseandsharehersketchbookpageswithyou.Keepinmindthatshecametomyfirstworkshopconvincedshecouldn’tdrawastraight line,andshebelieved thatshehad“noartistic talentwhatsoever.”Shesatwithherchildren in theclass,but shewasvery reluctant toparticipate.AssoonasImether,IknewshewastheperfectpersontorepresentthepopulationofadultreadersthatIamhopingtoreachwiththisbook:thepersonwhothinksshecan’tdrawandthinkssheistotallyvoidoftalent.

Iexplainedthis“YouCanDrawin30Days!”bookprojecttoherandinvitedher to be my laboratory student. In fact, as I was explaining this new bookproject to her, other parents in the workshop overheard, and all wanted toparticipate! A very enthusiastic seventy-two-year-old grandfather was soimpressedwithwhathelearnedinjustoneforty-five-minuteworkshopwithmethathealsovolunteeredtobealaboratorystudent.I’llbesharingmanyoftheseparents’ and grandparents’ sketchbook pages alongwith those of some ofmyother students aswe progress together through the thirty days of lessons.Mystudents are from all over the United States, fromMichigan to NewMexico.

They’re all ages, and their occupations range from IT consultants andprofessional hairdressers to business owners and college deans. And they’reproof that nomatter what the background or experience, anyone can learn todraw.Thisamazingjumpinskilllevelisthenorm,nottheexception.Youcanand

youwill experience similar results.MicheleProosalsodrew the illustrations Ifeaturedontheprecedingpagesoftheeye,therose,andthehumanface.Indulgeme a bit longer here: Being a teacher, I’m compelled to flauntmy

students’work.Ijustlovetosharemystudents’enormousleapsofdrawingskillandcreativeconfidence.Areyouinspired?Areyouexcited?Let’sbegin.

LESSON1

THESPHERE

Learning how to draw is in large part learning how to control light in yourpicture.Inthislessonyouwilllearnhowtoidentifywhereyourlightsourceisand where to shade objects in your drawing. Let’s draw a three-dimensionalsphere.1.Turntothenextpageinyoursketchbook.Drawacircle.Don’tstressifyourcirclelookslikeaneggorasquishedblob.Justputthepenciltothepaper,anddrawacircularshape.Ifyouwant,tracethebottomofyourcoffeecup,ordiginyourpocketforacointotrace.

2. Determine where you want your light source.Wait, what’s a light source?How do you determine where a light source is? I’m feeling overwhelmedalready!Ahhhh!Don’tthrowyoursketchbookacrosstheroomjustyet.Readon.Todrawathree-dimensionalpicture,youneedtofigureoutwhatdirectionthe

lightiscomingfromandhowitishittingyourobject.Thenyouapplyshading(ashadow)opposite that light source.Check this out:Holdyour pencil about aninchaboveyourpaper,andnoticetheshadowitmakes.Ifthelightintheroomisdirectlyabove thepencil, forexample, theshadowwillbedirectlybelowyourpencil.Butifthelightiscomingatthepencilfromanangle,theshadowonthepaperwillextendoutawayfromthelight.It’sprettymuchcommonsense,butbeingawareofwhere the light is coming from, andgoing to, is anamazinglyeffectiveway of bringing your drawings to life. Play aroundwith your pencilandtheshadowitmakesforafewminutes,movingitaroundandupanddown.Placeoneendofthepencildirectlyonyourpaper,andnotethewaytheshadowbegins attached to the pencil and is thinner and darker than the shadow castwhenthepencilisintheair.Theshadowiscalled(threeguesses)acastshadow.

Forthepurposeofourlesson,positionasinglelightsourceaboveandtotherightofyoursphere like Ihavedrawnhere.Goaheadanddrawa little swirlysunrightonyoursketchbookpage.3.Just likethecastshadowyourpencilcreatedonthetable, thesphereweare

drawingwillcastashadowontothegroundsurfacenexttoit.Castshadowsarefantastic visual anchors that help secure your objects to the ground surface inyour picture. Look how I have drawnmy cast shadow off to the side of thesphere below. Now draw a cast shadow on your sphere opposite your lightsourcepositiononyoursketchbookpage.Itdoesnotmatterifyouthinkitlookssloppy,messy,or scribbly.Thesedrawingsare for skillpracticeandyoureyesonly.Justrememberthesetwoimportantpoints:Positionyourlightsource,andcast

ashadowontothegroundnexttotheobjectandoppositethelightsource.

4.Scribbleshadingonthecircleoppositethelightsource.It’sokaytogooutsidethelines—don’tworryaboutbeingperfect.NoticehowIhavescribbledabitdarkeron theedge farthest from the light

sourceandhowIhavescribbledlighterastheshadingcurvesuptowardthelightsource.This iscalledblendedshading. It isanawesometool to learn to reallycreatethe“pop-out”illusionofthree-dimensionaldrawing.

5.Useyourfingertosmudge-blendyourshadinglikeIhavedonehere.Checkthisout:Yourfinger isactuallyanart toolsimilar toapaintbrush!Cooleffect,

isn’tit?

Voilà! Congratulations! You have turned a scribbled circle into a three-dimensionalsphere.Isthiseasyorwhat?Here’swhatwe’velearnedsofar:1.Drawtheobject.

2.Identifythelightsource.3.Shade.

Easyaspie.

Lesson1:BonusChallenge

One importantgoalof thisbook is to teachyouhow toapply these lessons todrawings of “real-world” objects. In future lessons we will be applying theconceptsyouhavelearnedindrawingthisthree-dimensionalspheretodrawingfun interestingobjectsyou see in theworld aroundyou.Whetheryouwant todrawacolorfulbowloffruitonatableorasketchofafamilymemberinreallifeorfromaphotograph,youwillhavethetoolstodoit.Let’sstartwithdrawingapieceoffruit,anapple.Infollowinglessonswewill

tacklemorechallengingobjects,suchasbuildingsandpeople.Takealookatthisphotographofanapplewiththelightsourcelowandonthe

right.

Takealookatthesedrawingsfromfolksjustlikeyou!

Studentexamples

LESSON2

OVERLAPPINGSPHERES

You have completedLesson 1!Way to go!Now, let’s use that sphere skill ofyourstodrawglobesallovertheplace.1.Spacepermitting,continueonthesamesketchbookpage.Drawacircle.

2.Drawa second spherebehind the first one.How?Asyoudraw this secondsphere,youwillbeusingthreenewdrawinglaws.Threeatonce!!Havenofear:

Wewilltakethemoneconceptatatime,anditwilltakefarlongertoreadaboutthem than to use them. Take a look at my example below. I have drawn thesecondsphereabitsmallerthanthefirstsphere,abithigheruponthepaper,andtuckedbehindthefirstsphere.Indoingthis,I’veusedthreedrawinglaws:size,placement,andoverlapping.Goaheadandwritethesenotesinyoursketchbook.

Size=Drawobjectslargertomakethemlookcloser;drawthemsmallertomakethemlookfartheraway.Placement=Drawobjectsloweronthesurfaceofthepapertomakethemlookcloser;drawthemhigheruponthepapertomakethemlookfartheraway.Overlapping=Drawobjects in frontoforpartiallyblocking theviewofotherobjects to make them look closer; draw them tucked behind other objects tomakethemlookfartheraway.Goaheadanddrawthesecondspheresmaller,higher,andbehindthefirstone

likemysketchbelow.

3. Determine where your imaginary light source will be positioned. This isprobablythemostimportantstepindrawingrealistically.Withoutadeterminedlight source position, your drawing will not have consistent shading.Withoutconsistentshading,yourdrawingwillnotpopoutandlookthree-dimensional.4. Keeping in mind the position of your light source, draw a cast shadow.Rememberthatitgoesofftotheside,asif it isontheground,inthedirectionoppositethelight.Youdonotneedarulertodeterminetheexactmathematicalangle. Just eyeball it for now.As I said earlier, a good solid cast shadowwillanchoryourdrawingtothesurfaceofyourpaper.Rememberthatifatanytimeyougetabitconfusedbymytextexplanation,

simplylookatmysketchexampleandcopywhatIhavedone.Bepatient—allthisinformationwillberepeatedthroughout.

5.Toseparateobjectsinyourdrawing,drawadarkdefiningshadowinbetweenthetwospheres(Icall thisanookandcrannyshadow).Thiswillhelp identifythe depth between the two objects. Notice how I defined the dark nook andcranny shadow on the farthest sphere. Nook and cranny shadows are alwaysappliedunderandbehindnearobjects.Forexample,claspyourhandstogetheronthetableinfrontofyou.Takealookatthetinyverydarknookandcrannyshadows thatdefine theedgesof each finger andknuckle. Inyour sketchbookwrite, “Nook and cranny shadows: Separate, define, and identify objects in adrawing.”

6. Hold your pencil loosely, and scribble the first layer of shading on bothspheres. Shade the surfaces opposite your light source.When I shade, Imakeseveralpassesovermydrawing.This isour first“rough”shadingpass.You’llnoticethatmyshadinglinesbelowarealllinedupawayfromthesun,butyourshadinglinesdonothavetobelinedup.Justscribbleinthedarkareaanywayyouwantaslongasitisoppositeyourlightsource.

7.Makeaseconddarker,morefocusedshadingpassoverthespheres.Detailintheverydarkedges,and letyourscribblesget lighterand lighterasyoumoveslowly toward your established light source. Look at my sketch below, andnoticewhereIhavepointed to thebrightestspoton thenearsphere. Icall thisthe“hotspot.”Thehotspotistheareaonanobjectthatgetshitwiththemost

directandbrightestlight.Determiningwherethehotspotisinadrawingisveryimportantwhenyouareapplyingtheshading.

8. Go ahead andmake severalmore scribbles (blending shading passes) overthesetwospheres.Nowforthefunpart!Usingyourfinger,carefullyblendtheshadingfromdarktolight,tryingtokeepthehotspotcrispwhite.Don’tworryifyousmudgetheshadingoutsidethelinesorintothehotspot.Ifyoufeellikeit,useyourerasertocleantheexcesslinesandsmudges.

Awesome job! Look at your beautiful three-dimensional rendering! Amasterpiecesuitableforanyin-homerefrigeratorartgallery.Youcanbeproudtodisplaythisgreatdrawingonyourfridge,rightnext toyourkids’work.Ifyoudon’t have kids, put this drawing up on your fridge anyway. You will enjoy

seeingitwitheachtriptothekitchen,nottomentiontheoohsandahsyouwillgetfromyourfriends!Take a look at a parent student of mine, Suzanne Kozloski’s Lesson 1

sketchbookpage.Now, take a look at howSuzanneKozloski applied this lesson to drawings

fromreallife.

HereismysketchbookpageasIcreatedLesson2.


Nowthatyouhaveconquereddrawingspheres, tryplacing twotennisballsonthetableinfrontofyou,overlapping.Drawwhatyousee.Makesuretonoticetheobjects’placement,shadows,andshading.

Studentexamples

HereisSuzanneKozloski’sdrawingofthisbonuschallenge.

LESSON3

ADVANCED-LEVELSPHERES

You’regettingintothisnow,eh?Justthink,thisisonlythethirdlesson!Imaginehowmuchfunyou’llbehavingbythethirtiethlesson!Doyouwanttopushthelessonenvelope?Thisnextdrawingwilltakeyouabitoftime,definitelyafulltwentyminutes, but if you have the time, you could easily spend an hour ormore.Beforeyoutacklethisnextchallenge,I’mgoingtosuggestthatyoupurchase

a few really cooldrawing tools.Noticehow Iwaiteduntil now tobring theseadditionalcosts.Thisismyslywayofgettingsomegreatsuccessesunderyourbeltbefore inundatingyouwithashopping listofadditionaldrawingsupplies.Thesesuppliesare totallyoptional;youcancontinuejustfinewithanyregularpencil,anyscratchpieceofpaper,andyourfingerasyourblendedshadingtool.

SuggestedProducts

Artist’spencil-blendingStomp(size#3).Stompsareamazingtoolsyoucanuse(insteadofyourfinger)toblendyourshading.Theseareawesomefun!Youcanfind these in art supply stores.Toactually seemeusing this stomp in avideotutorial, go tomywebsite,www.markkistler.com, and click on “OnlineVideoLessons.”

PentelClicEraser.Theseareveryeasytofindatyourlocalofficesupplystoreoronline.Thesearegreaterasertools.Theylookandactlikeamechanicalpencil;justclicktheerasertoextenditforuse.

http://www.markkistler.com

0.7 mm Pentel mechanical pencil with HB lead. There are hundreds ofmechanical pencils on themarket, and I’ve triedmost of them. This 0.7mmPentel is by farmy favorite drawing tool. It’s easy to handle, adjust the leadlength,anddrawwith. It just“feels”verycomfortable tome.Experimentwithmanybrandsandtypesofpencilstodeterminewhichones“feel”rightforyou.You see?With just a few additional items in your drawing bag, you have

raised your lesson enjoyment level exponentially. Enough about products andtools. Let’s get back to producing. Put in yourmusic earbuds and settle in....Let’sdraw.1.Look at the drawing at the beginningof the chapter.Looks fun, eh?Lookscomplicated?Looksdifficult?Naw!It’seasywhendrawnonecircleata time.It’slikebuildingaLegotower,onebumpylittlebrickatatime.Startwithyourfirstcircle.

2. Draw another circle behind the first. Push it up a bit (placement). Tuck itbehindthefirst(overlapping).Drawitabitsmaller(size).Yes,you’vedonethisalready.Thisredundancyisveryimportantandintentionallybuiltintothethirty-lessonplanstrategy.

3.Drawthenextcircleovertotherightbehindthefirstone,pushitup,tuckitbehind,anddrawitabitsmallerthanthefirstcircle.

4. Onward into the third row of spheres. You’ll notice this row is definitelygettingsmallerandmuchhigheronthepageasyoumoveawayfromthefrontsphere.Whenyoudrawobjectssmaller tocreate the illusion that theyaredeeper in

yourpicture,youaresuccessfullyusingthefundamentaldrawinglawofsize.Asyoudrawthisnextrowofspheres,youneedtodrawthemabitsmallerthantherowinfront.Sizeisapowerfultooltocreatedepth.

5.Fillinthefargapwithapeekingover-the-topsphere.Rememberthatsmallerequals deeper.This is also a great example of the potency of overlapping.Bydrawing a simple curved line “peeking” from behind, you effectively create athree-dimensionalillusion,andyouhaven’tevenbeguntoaddshadows,shading,orblending.Overlappingisanawesome,powerfultooltounderstand.Yetwithgreat power comes great responsibility.... Oops, wait, wrong book. I startedchannelingMarvelComicsforamoment.

6.Completethethirdrowwiththeendspheresmaller,higher,andbehind.Areyoubeginningtonoticearecurringmantrahere?Muchoflearninghowtodrawin 3-D is in repetition and practice. I trust you are finding this repetition ofdrawingspherestoberewarding,fun,andrelaxing.(I’menjoyingdrawingtheselessonstepseventhoughI’vedrawneachstepperhaps5,000timesinclassroomsduringthelastthirtyyears!)Practicecanbetedious,butifyoucanpushthrough,you’llsoondelightintheresults.7.Drawthefourthandfifthrowofspheres.Pushingeachrowdeeperintoyourpicturewithsize,placement,andoverlapping.Wehaven’tevenbeguntoshadethedrawing,andyetitisalreadystartingtopopoffthepaperin3-D.

8.Goahead,gocrazy,gowild—drawrowssixandsevenreallyrecedingintothedepthsofyoursketchpage.Sizereallykicksinonthesedistantrows.Youcandefinitely see the size difference between the front sphere and the back row.Even though the spheres are all the same size in our imagination, we havecreatedthesuccessfulillusionthattheyarerecedingfarawayintothesunset.

9. I was shooting for twenty rows of spheres, really trying to impress you.However,Ilostsightofthespheresatrownine.Whatagreatvisualtreat.Thismobofspheres looksvery three-dimensional,andwehaven’tevendeterminedthe light source yet. You can see how powerful these concepts are: Size,placement,andoverlappingcreateeffectivedepthallontheirown.

10.Finally,wegettodeterminethepositionofourlightsource.Forconsistencywewillkeepthelightpositionedinthetopright.Youcanmessaroundwiththislightpositiononyourown.Tryexperimentingwiththismobofsphereswiththelightsourcepositioneddirectlyaboveoroverinthetopleft.Ifyouwanttotrysomething really challenging, position the light source fromwithin the spheremob,makingoneofthemiddleorbsglowinghotbright.Wewillgetintomovingthe light source position around in later lessons.Go ahead and toss some castshadowsofftotheleft,ontheground,oppositeyourlightsourceposition.Now,drawthehorizontalbackgroundreferenceline;thisiscalledthe“horizonline.”Thehorizonlinewillhelpyoucreatetheillusionofdepthinyourdrawing.

11.Myfavoritestephasarrived,thenookandcrannyphase.Pushhardonyourpencil, and darken the nooks and crannies.Notice the immediate “punch-out”visual effect.Wham—nook and cranny shadows work their wonderful magiconceagain.

12. Continue your shading process with a first pass over all the objects,scribblingtheshadinglightlyoveralloppositeedgesawayfromthelightsource.

13. Make several more scribble shading passes. With each consecutive pass,darken the edges farthest away fromyour light sourcewhile scribbling lighterand fainter as youmove toward the light source.Blend the shadingwithyourfinger.Carefullysmudgethedarkshadedareasuptowardthehotspots,lighterandlighterasyougo.Erasetheexcesspencillinestocleanup(ifyouwantto).Dabthehotspotswithyoureraser,andwatchwhathappens.Prettycool,huh?Thespotsyoudabwithyoureraserwillcreateaverydistinct,easilyidentifiedhot spot. Now we are getting into some fancy art terms such as “graduatedvalues”and“definedreflection.”Don’tyoufeel likeacollegiatefineartsgradstudent?All thisfunandweareonlyfinishingLesson3andyouarestillwithme!Waytogo!

Inthreelessonsyouhavelearnedalot:

Drawobjectslargertomakethemlookcloser.Drawobjectssmallertomakethemrecede.

Drawobjectsinfrontofotherobjectstopunchthemoutin3-D.Drawobjectshigherinthepicturetomakethemlookfartheraway.Drawobjectslowerinthepicturetomakethemlookcloser.Shadeobjectsoppositethelightsource.Blendtheshadingonroundobjectsfromdarktolight.


Takealookatthisdrawing.Whoa! I broke just about every lesson rule so far!The largest sphere is the

farthestaway.Thesmallestsphereistheclosest.This is madness! Has everything you’ve learned over the past few lessons

beenthrownoutthewindow?Absolutelynot.Icreatedthisdrawingspecificallytoillustratehowsomeofthedrawinglawsholdmuchmorevisualillusionpowerthanothers.IcomparethisvaryinglevelofvisualpowertoafewofmysonAnthony’sfun

obsessionwithYu-Gi-Ohcards(anexpensiveobsessionforsure. . .upto$60for a CARD!). Each Yu-Gi-Oh card has varying strengths to defeat anopponent’scard.SayyouhaveaYu-Gi-Ohcardtitled“MarshmallowMusher.”Let’s say “MarshmallowMusher” has attack power of 1400 and it attacks anopponent’scard,“PickledGnatBrain,”withadefenseofonly700.Well,poor

Pickled Gnat Brain gets totally destroyed, wiped out, stomped, crushed.Correlation here: Each of the drawing laws has varying power over otherdrawinglaws....Ifyoudrawasmallerobjectinfrontofanyotherobject,evenaJupiter-sizeplanet,overlappingwillprovetobeallpowerfulandwillprevailinappearingtobetheclosest.Somedrawinglawshavemorevisualillusionpowerthanothers,dependingonhowyouapplythem.Lookattheprecedingdrawing.Eventhoughthefarthest,deepestsphereisthe

largest, the smaller spheres overlap it, thus trumping the visual power of size.Overlappingisalwaysmorepowerfulthansize.Look at the drawing again. See the nearest sphere is drawn the smallest.

Typicallythiswouldmeanitwouldappearthefarthestaway.However,becauseit is isolated andplaced loweston thepaper, it appears closest.Simply stated,placementtrumpedbothsizeandoverlapping.Idonot intend foryou tocommit thesevisualpowervariations tomemory.

Thesefunfreakywrinklesintheruleswillnaturallyabsorbintoyourskillbankasyoupractice.

1.Drawacircle.

2.Drawguidelinesshootingofftotherightandleft.Theseguidelineswillhelpyoupositionthegroupofrecedingspheres.Wewillbeusingguidelinesalotinupcominglessons.Drawtheseguidelinesatjustaslightangleupward,nottoosteep.

3.Usingyourguidelines,positionafewmorespheresbehindyourfirst.Drawthe tinyonepeekingout likeIdidbelow.NoticehowImadeuseof theguidelinestopositionthespheres.4.Continuetouseyourguidelinesasareference,anddrawafewmorespheres,varyingthesizes.Noticehowtheguidelineshelpyouplacethesphereshigherupinproperposition(placement).

5.ThrowsomeBigMamaspheresinthere.Overlappingisthepowerprinciplehere;even thoughsomeof thespheresareverysmall, theystilloverpower thelargerspherestoappearcloser.Overlappingistrumpingthepowerofsize!

6.Becausethisdrawingisallaboutenjoyingyourself,goaheadandstackafewspheresontop.

7.Someofthespheresarebreakingfromthepack,seekingalesscrowded,lesscongestedlife.Bravesolitaryspheresareestablishingthefirstruraloutposts.

8.Here’sthegreatestsphereofall,except,ofcourse,fortheenormousJupiter-size sphere theentiregroup is settledon.Andnow for thenewdrawing term:“horizon.”Drawingahorizonlineaddsaneffectivereferencelineforyoureye,establishingtheillusionthatobjectsareeither“grounded”or“floating.”UsuallyIdrawthehorizonlinewithaverystraightlinebehindmyobjects.InthispictureIwanttocreatetheplanetfeel,soI’vecurveditquiteabit.Lookscool,eh?

9.Goaheadanddrawa fewmoreplanets inorbitabove thespherepile.Takethis idea of “adding extras” as far as youwant.Go ahead and draw a row ofthirty-sevenplanetsintheskyoverlappingdowntothehorizon.

10. Identify the position of your light source, and begin adding cast shadowsoppositeyourlightposition.ForconsistencyI’llkeepmylightsourcepositionedin the topright,eventhoughI’mtemptedtoslap itover to the leftside just tothrowacurveballatyou!I’llsavethatsuddenlightsourcepositionchangeforsomelaterlesson....Youarenowforewarned!

11.Thisnookandcrannystepwill takesome thinking.Keepdartingyoureyebetweenyourlightpositionandtheobjectsyouareshading.Putsomepressureonyourpencil,andgetareallynicedarkshadowintoallthenooksandcrannies.Takeyourtime;thisisafunstepinthelesson,soenjoyyourself!

12.On the first shading pass, let your pencil fly over the spheres, just lightlyshadingthelargeareasoppositethelightsource.Don’tworryabouttheblendingyet;justlaydownabaselayertoworkfrom.Makeseveralmoreshadingpassesoverallthespheres.Reallyworkthedark

edges, thedarknookandcrannies,and thedarkspaceson thegroundbetweenthespheresandthecastshadow.Worktheblendingslowlyuptowardthelight.Constantlydartyoureyesbacktoconfirmthepositionofyourlightsource.Takeyour time,work thiswell, and enjoy the exhilaratingpunch-out effect you arecreating.Yousee?Drawingin3-Diseasywithme!

13.Blendyourshadingassmoothasglass.Ifyouhaven’thadtimetopurchaseahandfulofblendingStomps,yourfingerwilldojustfine.Usecontrolled,carefulpressure tosmudgeandsmear theshading,blending it lighterand lighter fromthedarkestdarkedgestothelightestbrightesthotspotoneachsphere.Workthisfor awhile.The smoother youmake the blended light transition fromdark tolight, themore“glasslike” thesurfacewillappear.“Smoothasglass” isanicesegue,allowingmetointroduceanothergreatterm:“texture.”Texturegivesyourobjects a “surface feel.”Youcoulddrawcurving, spiral,

wood-grainlinesalloverthesespheresandcreatetheillusionthattheyaremadeofwood.You could scratch a ton of hair onto each sphere, and suddenly youwouldhaveaverystrangelookingalienfamilyoffurryblobs.Texturecanaddalotofidentifyingcharactertoyourdrawing.(Moreonthisgreatprincipleinlaterlessons.)

14.Addingextrastoyourdrawingaddsanotherlayertoyourlearning.Icanandwill teachyou thespecific skillsyouneed tocreate technicallyaccurate three-dimensional drawings. However, the real learning, the real fun, the trueenjoymentofdrawingcomefromyou internalizing theskillsandexternalizingyourcreativeimagination.

I’ve been driving my four-year-old son around a lot lately, hour-longcommutes to downtown Houston. As soon as we start the trips, he happilydemands, “Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!” So off withmy preset NPR, and inwith the

Elmo CD. I’ve got the songs memorized now; I hear them in my head, mydreams,mynightmares!However,thereisonesongthatIreallylike,evenafter1,500listeningsessions:“It’samazingwhereyoucangowithyourimagination!Thethingsyouwillsee,thesoundsyouwillhear,thethingsyouwillbe!”Whoknew?Elmoisalittleredfurrydudeofwisdom.Icanteachyouhowto

draw,easy,noproblem.Thefunpartishowyoulaunchfromthisstartingpointbypracticing,practicing,practicing...allthewhileadding,adding,addingtonsofyourownbrilliantcreativeimaginativeextras.

Trydrawinga fewholes in the largerspheres.Holesandwindowsaregreatpracticeexercisesforlearninghowtodrawthicknesscorrectly.Hereisaneasywaytorememberwheretodrawthethicknessonwindows,doors,holes,cracks,andopenings:

Ifthewindowisontheright,thethicknessisontheright.

Ifthewindowisontheleft,thethicknessisontheleft.Ifthewindowisonthetop,thethicknessisonthetop.

YoucanseeIhadsomefunwiththislesson.Istartedgoingcrazyandaddedwindowswith boulders launching from them. Iwas about to drawa bunchofdoors,skateboardramps,andhamstertraveltubesbetweenthespheres.Ipulledmypencilbackat the last second,notwanting tooverloadyouwith toomanyideas,toofast.Thenagain,whynot?Goforit!

Take a look at a fewexamplesof howother students completed the lesson.Youcanbegintoseeuniquedrawingstylesbeginningtoemerge.Eachstudentwillhavehisorherownuniqueapproachtothelessons.

Studentexamples

LESSON4

THECUBE

Hadenoughspheresforawhile?Let’smoveontotheall-important,extremelyversatile,always-a-crowd-pleasercube.Thecubeissoversatilethatyouwillbeusing it todrawboxes,houses,buildings,bridges, airplanes,vehicles, flowers,fish . . . fish?Yes, a cubewill even help you draw a fine-finned fish in 3-D.Alongwithhelpingyoudrawfaces,flowers,and,well,justaboutanythingyoucanthinkoforseeintheworldaroundyou.Solet’sdrawacube.1.Startingonafreshnewpageinyoursketchbook,writethelessonnumberandtitle,date,time,andyourlocation.Thendrawtwodotsacrossfromeachother.

2.Placeyourfingerbetweenthedotsusingtheoppositehandyouaredrawing

with.Thendrawadotaboveyourfingerasshown.

Feelfreetowritejournalentries,quotes,notes,andanecdotesinyoursketchbook.Themoreyoupersonalizeyoursketchbook,themoreyouwill value it, and themore youwill use it. Look atmy sketchbookpages:Iwritejournalentries,self-remindernotes,grocerylists,to-doitems,airlinetimes,andallkindsofnondrawingstuff.Mysketchbookis the first place I lookwhen I need to remember something Iwassupposedtodo.

3.Lookatthedotsyouhavedrawn.Trytokeepthesetwonewdotsreallyclosetogether.Weareabouttodrawa“foreshortened”square.

4.Shootthefirstlineacross.

5.Drawthenextline.

6.Addthethirdline.

7.Completetheforeshortenedsquare.Thisisaveryimportantshapetopractice.Go ahead and draw this foreshortened square a fewmore times.WARNING:Draw the twomiddle dotsvery close together. If these dots are drawn too farapart,youwillendupwithan“open”square.Weareaimingforaforeshortenedsquare.

Foreshorteningmeansto“distort”anobjecttocreatetheillusionthatpartofitisclosertoyoureye.Forexample,pullacoinoutofyourpocket.Lookatthecoinstraight on. It is a flat circle, a 2-D circle that has length and width (twodimensions)butlacksdepth.Thesurfaceisatanequaldistancefromyoureye.Now, tilt the coin slightly.The shape has changed to a foreshortened circle, acirclethathasdepth.Thecoinnowhasallthreedimensions:length,width,anddepth.Bytiltingthecoinslightly,youhaveshiftedoneedgefartherawayfromyoureye;youhaveforeshortenedtheshape.Youhavedistortedtheshape.

This isbasicallywhatdrawing in3-Dboilsdown to,distorting imagesonaflat two-dimensional piece of paper to create the illusion of the existence ofdepth.Drawing in 3-D is distorting shapes to trick the eye into seeing drawnobjectsnearandfarinyourpicture.Now,backtomywarningaboutdrawingthetwomiddledotstoofarapart.If

yourdotsaretoofarapart,yourforeshortenedsquarewilllooklikethis.

If your foreshortened square looks like the open square I just mentioned,redrawita fewmore times,placing themiddledotscloser together,untilyourshapelookslikethis.

Okay,enoughaboutforeshorteningfornow.Keepthisconceptinmind;it issoimportantthatjustabouteverylessoninthisbookwillbeginwithit.8.Drawthesidesof thecubewith twovertical lines.Vertical,straight-up-and-downlineswillkeepyourdrawingsfrom“tilting.”Here’satip:Usethesideofyoursketchbookpageasavisualreference.Ifyourverticallinesmatchupwiththesidesofthepage,yourdrawingwillnottilt.

9. Using the two side lines you have just drawn as reference lines, draw themiddle line a bit longer and lower. Using lines you have already drawn toestablish angles and positions for your next lines is a crucial technique increatinga3-Dpicture.

10.Usingthetoprightedgeofthetopforeshortenedsquareasareferenceline,drawthebottomrightsideofthecube.It’sagoodideatoshootthislineacrossinaquickdashingstrokewhilekeepingyoureyeonthe topline.It’sperfectlyokay to overshoot the line as you can clean up your drawing later. I prefer apicture that has a lot of extra lines and scribbles that look 3-D, rather than apicturethathassupercleanpreciselinesyetlookswobblyandtilted.

11.Nowdrawthebottomleft sideof thecubebyreferring to theangleof thelineaboveit.Referencelines!Referencelines!Referencelines!CanyoutellthatI’mstronglyurgingyoutopracticeusingreferencelines?

12.Nowontothefunpart,theshading.Establishthepositionofyourimaginarylightsource.I’llputmineinthetoprightposition.Checkthisout.I’musingareference line to correctly angle the cast shadow away from the cube. Byextending the bottom right line out, I have a good reference line tomatch upeachdrawn lineof thecast shadow.Looksgood, right?Looks like thecube isactually sitting on the ground? This is the “POP” moment, the instant yourdrawingreallythrustsofftheflatsurface.

13. Complete your first 3-D cube by shading the surface opposite your lightposition.Notice that I amnot blending the shading at all. I blend the shading

onlyoncurvedsurfaces.

Let’s takewhatwe learned indrawing thebasic3-Dcubeandadddetails thatenhanceandidentifythecubeasthreedifferentobjects.1.Wearegoingtodrawthreecubesinagroup.Startthefirstonewithyourtwoguidedots.I’mgoingtobereferringtothesepositioningdotsas“guidedots”fortherestofthebook.

2.Useyourindexfingertopositionthemiddleguidedots.Thisisaterrifichabittoestablishnow,earlyinyourdrawingskilldevelopment,sothatbytheendofLesson30usingthemwillbesecondnaturetoyou.

3.Connect the foreshortened square. This is a great shape to practice in yoursketchbookifyouhaveonlyaminuteorsotodoodle.Sayyouareinlineatthebankdrive-throughwithfourcarsaheadofyou.Youthrowyourcar intopark,whipoutyoursketchbook,anddashoutabunchofforeshortenedsquares.Don’tworryaboutneedingtokeepaneyeoutforthelineadvancing;achorusofcarhornswill politely remind youwhen it’s time tomove forward.Always keepyour drawing bag handy, as you never know when you’ll have a few spareminutesofdowntimetopracticeasketch.

4.Draw the vertical sides and themiddle line of the cube.Themiddle line isalways drawn longer and lower to make it look closer. Use the side of yoursketchpageasyourreferenceline.

5.Completethecubeusingthetoplinesasreferencelines.

6.GoaheadanddrawthreecubeslikeIhavedrawn.

7.Drawguidedotsinthemiddleofeachsideofthetopforeshortenedsquares.

8. Let’s take this one cube at a time. On the first cube, let’s draw an old-fashionedgift-wrappedpostalpackage,thekindweusedtogetfromGrandmaatChristmas:aboxwrappedinbrownbutcherpaperandtiedinstring.Shootaverticallinedownfromthenearleftguidedot;thendrawitacrossthe

toptotheotherguidedot.

9.Repeatthisontheotherside.Lookathowyouhaveforcedthestringtoflattenacross the top. The guide dots helped you draw the string inside of aforeshortened boundary. Guide dots are extremely helpful in lining angles uplike this. You’ll see how oftenwe use guide dots in the upcoming lessons (alot!).

10. To draw string wrapping around the sides of the package, use guide dotsonceagaintopositiontheangles.Drawguidedotshalfwaydowneachverticaledge.

11.Drawthestringbyconnecting theguidedots,using the lineaboveasyourreferenceline.

12.Withthisbasicstringwrap,youcanfinishallthreecubesintoapackage,acubegame,andagiftwrappedinthickribbon.

Go ahead and have some fun: Try drawing a group of five cube games each

overlappingtheother,likeyoudidwiththefivespheres!

ByKimberlyMcMichaelPlaceashoeboxoracerealboxoranykindofboxonthetableinfrontofyou.

Sitdownandpositionyourselfsothatyoucanseetheforeshortenedtopofthebox,similartotheforeshortenedshapesyouhavejustdrawninthislesson.Now,drawtheboxsittinginfrontofyou.Don’t panic! Just remember what you learned in this lesson, and let this

knowledge of foreshortened squares help your hand drawwhat your eyes areseeing.Look,reallylook,attheforeshortenedangles,theshading,andthecastshadow.Lookathowtheletteringontheboxfollowstheforeshortenedanglesatthe top and bottom of the box. Themore you draw, themore youwill reallybegintoseethefascinatingdetailsintherealworldaroundyou.

LESSON5

HOLLOWCUBES

Toteachyouhowtoreallyfeellikeyouaregainingcontroloverthatdauntingflatpieceofpaper, Iwant toexplore thechallenging funofhollowboxesandcubes.1.Goaheadandlightlysketchinthecube.

ParallelandPerpendicularLines

Parallellinesaretwolinesgoinginthesamedirection,spacedequallyapart. Inmymind I picture theword “parallel” and see the two l’stogetherintheword.Perpendicularlinesaretwolinesthatintersectatright angles to each other. For example, this line of type text isperpendiculartotherightedgeofthisbookpage.

2.Slantbacktwoparallellines.

3. Alignment alert! Look how I have drawn this top edge of the box lid inalignmentwithalloftheangledlinesslantingslightlyuptotheleft.I’mgoingtorefertothisangleasdirectionnorthwest.Thinkofacompass.

The four most commonly used line directions that I will be referring tothroughout this book will be lines drawn in directions northwest, northeast,southwest,andsoutheast.Takealookatthiscompass.

Now,I’llforeshortenthecompass.Asyourecall,foreshorteningisdistortingor squishinganobject tocreate the illusionofdepth, tomakeoneedgeof theobjectappearclosertoyoureye.Notice in this foreshortened compass illustration that the four directions—

NW,NE,SW,andSE—alllineupwiththelinesyoualreadyusedtodrawyourcube.Icallthismy“DrawingDirectionReferenceCube.”Thisisawonderfultool

to help you position your lines consistently in proper alignment. Withoutconsistencyinyourangles,yourdrawingswill“droop”orlookaskew.Dr.Seussachievedworldacclaimforhissignaturestyleofdrooping,melting,Play-Doh-ishcharacters,buildings,objects,andenvironments.However, inhiswork,Dr.Seuss still maintained consistent drawing compass angles. Good examples ofthisareinhisbookTheLorax.TurntoanypageinTheLorax,andholdupthe

DrawingDirectionReferenceCubetotheillustration.Youwilldiscoverthathisbuildings,windows, doors, pathways, vehicles, and characters all follow thesefourimportantpositions.

4.Drawtheothersideoftheboxlidliftingupwithtwoparallellines.

5.Using thebottomof thebox line indirectionNE,drawthe topof the lid in

directionNE.

6.Sketchinthetwonearlidflapsslantingdowninfrontofthebox.

7.Onceagain,usingthebottomoftheboxanglestoguideyourlinedirections,complete the near flaps, aligning them up in directionNE andNW. I will berepeating this idea often: Use the lines you have already drawn as referenceanglestodrawadditionallines.Byalwaysreferringtothelinesyouhavealreadydrawnandbycontinually checkingyour angles against theDrawingDirectionReferenceCube,yourdrawingswilllooksolid,focused,and,mostimportantly,three-dimensional.

8. Draw the short “peeking” line at the back interior of the box. I am stilldelighted(afteralltheseyears)withthevisualpowerthatonelittlelinehasontheoverallthree-dimensionalillusionofadrawing.Thislittlepeekinglineattheback of the box creates the “BAM!” (as Emeril would say) moment in ourdrawing—the one precise moment that the sketch transforms from a two-dimensionalsketchintoathree-dimensionalobject.

9.Establishyourhorizonlineandyourlightsourceposition.

10. To properly draw the cast shadow, use the Drawing Direction ReferenceCubeasreference.Drawaguidelineextendingfromthebottomoftheboxlinein drawing direction SW.Droop alert! This is themost common point wherestudentstendtodroopthecastshadowguideline.Noticehowmycastshadowlinesupwithmyguidelines.

Becarefulnottodroopyourcastshadowlikethis.

11.Darken under the two front overlapping flaps as I have done, creating theundershadow effect. Undershadows are terrific little details that successfulillustrators exploit to pop out objects, refine detail, and sharpen edges. In thisspecific drawing, undershadows have the power to really pull the overlappinglidstowardyoureye,whilepushingtheactualboxdeeperintothepicture.12. This is themost rewarding step of each lesson. Clean up your sketch byerasingtheextrasketchlines,andsharpentheoutsideedgesofthedrawingbydarkeningtheoutline.Thiswillthrusttheimageoutawayfromthebackground.Finishshadingtheleftsideoftheboxandinsidethebox,awayfromyourlightsource.Ialwaysencourageyoutohavefunwiththeselessonsbyaddinglotsof

extradetails,neatlittleideasyoucreativelyconjureuptospiceupyourdrawing.I’veputafewsmallitemsinthebox,justbarelyvisible.Noticehoweventheselittledetailsaddalotofvisualflavorandfuntothesketch.


Speakingof addingextradetails to enhanceyourdrawing, let’s expandon thecardboardboxlesson.Howaboutatreasureboxoverflowingwithpearls,coins,and priceless loot? We are all so stressed about the economy, our mortgagepayments, and health insurance premiums, so let’s take a reality vacation anddrawourownwealth.1.Beginningwithourbasiccube,goaheadanddrawintheDrawingDirectionReferenceCubedirectionlinesforgoodpracticeandmemoryimprint.Slantthesidesinjustabit.

2.Drawtwoparallellinesslightlyopeningthetopofthetreasurechest.3.Usingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawn(soundfamiliar?)asreference,drawthetopedgeofthelidintheNWdirection.

4.Drawthenearcurvingedgeofthelid.5. Using the lines you have already drawn (am I sounding repetitive?) as areference,drawthetopedgeofthelidindirectionNW.NoticehowIslantedmytopedgelineabitmorethanadirectionNWline.ThisisbecauseeventuallyalltheseNWdirectionlineswillconvergeonasinglevanishingpoint.Iwillexplainthisvanishing-pointconceptingreatdetailinalaterlesson.Fornow,justfollowmystepsandslantyourtopedgelineabitmore.

6.Draw the two inside “peeking” lines.This is our “BAM”punch-out in 3-Dmoment;you’vegottolovethis!

7.Detailyourdrawing.Cleanupanyextralines.Positionyourlightsourceandaddshadingtoalltheoppositesurfaces,darkentheundershadows,anddrawthecast shadow.Enjoydrawing the extradetails to this lesson.Drawoverflowingmoney,jewels,andpearlstoyourheart’scontent!

Studentexamples

Takealookathowthesestudentsaddedsomegreatbonusdetailstothislesson.

LESSON6

STACKINGTABLES

This is a fun and rewarding lesson that was inspired by my fifth-grade artteacher, BruceMcIntyre (Mr.Mac). His enthusiasm for teaching kids how todraw had a profound and lasting effect onme. This lessonwill gel all of theconcepts and laws we have been discussing so far into one very cool three-dimensionaldrawing.DidImentionthisisareallyfunlesson?Ibetthatyouwillenjoy it somuch that youwill be stacking cubeson every scrapof paper thathappenstobewithinyourreach.1.Beginwitha strong foreshortened square.Remember, Iurgeyou touse theguide dots for all the lessons in this entire book. I knowyou are feeling veryconfidentwithyour foreshortened squares,boxes, andcubes.However,humor

meandusetheguidedotseachandeverytime.Thereisasolidreasonforthis,which I’ll explain in detail in a later lesson.Trustme, young grasshopper; allwillberevealedintime.

2.Drawtwoshortedgestocreatethetopofthetable.

3. Draw the middle line longer, using what extremely important drawingconcept?4.Usingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnasreference,drawthebottomofthistabletopindirectionsNEandNW.

5.Drawthemiddlelinelongertocreatethenearedgeofthetablepost.

6.DrawthesidesofthetablepostasIhavedone.Noticehoweachsidelineisdrawnhalfwayfromthefaredgetothemiddleline.Lookatmyexample.Thisisdefinitelyacasewhereapictureisbetterthanabunchofwords.7.Using the linesyouhave alreadydrawnas reference (I’mactuallygoing tostartcuttingandpastingthatsentenceineachofthesesteps!),drawthebottomofthetablepostindirectionsNWandNE.

8.Drawthehorizonlinejustabovethetable,andpositionthelightsourceaboveand to the right. I’m drawing the horizon line at this stage in the lesson toillustratean importantconcept toyou.All thedrawingswehavecompletedsofarhavebeendrawnfromanabovepointofview(pointofperspective),lookingdownat the object.Thehorizon line tells our eye that the object is below thehorizonline,whichcommunicatestoourbrainthatthethickness,shadows,andforeshorteningarefromthisperspective.Theword“perspective”isrootedintheLatinspec,meaning“tosee.”Think

ofspectacles,oreyeglasses,asassistanceinseeing;aspectatorassomeonewhoseesanevent;andspeculationastheactofseeingpossibilities.Perspectiveistheprocessofseeingtheillusionofdepthonourtwo-dimensionalsurface.InlaterlessonsIwillbeteachingyouhowtodrawobjectsabovethehorizonlinewithone-pointandtwo-pointperspective.Fornow,justrememberthatthepositionofthehorizon line is above theobject if youdraw it in a looking-downpoint ofview.

9.ALERT!Veryimportantstep!Placeaguidedotdirectlybelowthenearcornerofthetablepost.Manystudentsforgettousethisguidedotduringthisexercise—to the detriment of their drawings. If you don’t use the guide dot on everystackedtable,yourdrawingmaygetprogressivelymoreskewedandimpossiblydistorted.AcoolvisualeffectifyouarechannelingAndyWarhol,butadisasterif you are aiming for a sharp, focused, properly proportioned, foreshortenedthree-dimensionalstackoftables.

10.Usingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnasreference(yes,again!),drawthefrontedgeofthepedestalindirectionsNWandNE.

11.ALERT!Whenyoudrawthebackedgesofthetopofthepedestal,besuretogobehindthecornerofthepost.Thesetwoveryshortlinesneedtobelinedupwith the lines you have already drawn in directionsNW andNE. This is thesecondmostcommonmistakestudentswillmakedrawingthislesson.Studentshave a strong tendency to connect these two short lines directly to the post

corners.Fightyourinstincttoconnectcorners!Drawtheselinesbehindthepost.

12. Complete the pedestal, making sure to draw the near corner lower. Asalways,usethelinesyouhavealreadydrawnasreferenceanglesfordrawingthebottomlinesofthepedestalindirectionsNWandNE.

13.Using the lines you have already drawn for reference, extend out the castshadowdirectionguideline.

14.Addthecastshadowoppositeyourpositioned lightsource,shade the tableandpedestal, andadd thedarkundershadowsofbothsidesof thepost.Noticehowthatnicedarkundershadowreallypushesthatpostdeepunderthetabletop.Thereitis,anotherBAMmomentforourlesson!

Here’s a greatway to really get the important points of this lesson. Find awatch,clock,orcellphonethatreadsasecondhand.Iwantyoutotimeyourselfdrawingthissingletableonapedestal.Tryittwoorthreetimeswithatimer,andsee ifyoucangetyourcompletion timedown to twominutes. Ido this timedexercisewithallofmystudents fromelementaryschoolgradesall thewayupthroughmyuniversityworkshops.Thepurposeofhavingyoudrawthisimageina specific amount of time is to train your hand to confidently draw theseforeshortenedshapesandoverlappingcornersand,most importantly, toembedthedrawingcompassanglesintoyourhandmemory.TheanglesNW,NE,SW,and SEwill begin to have a certain comfortable feel to them. Themore youpractice this single tablewith a pedestal, themore comfortable and confidentyourlineswillbeinalloftheupcominglessonsandallofthedrawingsyouwillevercreate in the future.This isanexcellentdrawingexercise todwellon forseveraldays.


Now,forthereallyfunlevelofthislesson.Justhowfardoyouwanttostretchyourdrawingskillstoday?Takealookatmydrawingjournalpage.You can see that I really enjoyed myself with this supertall, curving table

tower.Nowtakealookatafewstudentexamplesofthissameexercise.

Studentexamples

Do you have fifteen more minutes to try one of these monster table towers?Sure,goforit!Besuretonoteyourstarttimeandyourendtimeonyoursketchpage. I’m fairly certain you’ll endup spending several fifteen-to-thirty-minutechunksofyourdaydoodlingthesewonderfulwackytabletowers.Notonlyarethey terrific practice exercises to really nail down the specific skills offoreshortening, alignment, undershadow, shading, placement, size, andproportion;thesetabletowersalsoareaddictivelyfuntodraw.

LESSON7

ADVANCED-LEVELCUBES

InthislessonIwanttobuildonthispivotalskillofdrawingthree-dimensionalcubes.Iwantyoutobeabletohavecompletecontrolofdrawingthecubeandthe ability to manipulate it into many more advanced shapes. You will soondiscoverinlaterchaptersthattheabilitytomanipulatethecubewillenableyouto draw a house, a tree, a canyon, and even a human face. “How can youtransformaboringcubeintoatreeorahumanface?”youask.I’lltellyou...later,butfirst...1.Usingguidedots(asyouwillforallthelessonsofthisbook,right?),drawawellpracticedsharpforeshortenedsquare.

2.Lightlydrawthesidesdown,anddrawthemiddlelinelonger(sketchlightlyasthesearejustthebeginningshape-forminglines).

3. Draw the bottom of the cube using the lines you have already drawn asreference.Forthepurposeofreview,goaheadandextendallofyourdirectionNWandNElinesoutasIhavedonehere.

4.Draw theall-importantguidedot justbelow thenearcorner.Thisguidedotdetermines the angle of your foreshortened second layer. If your guide dot isplaced too low, it will distort the layer and throw the entire building out ofalignment.

5.Usingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnforreference,drawthenearedgesofthe second tier in directions NE and NW. When I am drawing my ownillustrations, I still dart my eyes back and forth constantly between my first“primer” compass angles to each line angle I am adding.Think of howmanytimeseachminuteyouglanceatyourrearviewmirrorwhiledriving.Youdothiswithout even thinking,because it is sodeeply ingrained inyour subconscious.Thisisexactlythelevelofcomfort,ease,andhabitIwantyoutoformwiththisconstant,vigilantreferencetoyourdrawingcompassangles.

6.LookatyourNEangleatthetopforeshortenedsquareofyourbox.Now,lookatall theNEdrawingcompassdirectionarrowsyoudrewinstep3.Now,takeyourpencilandtraceoverthosedirectionlineslightlytoembedtheangleoftheline into your hand memory. After a few of these rehearsal pencil strokes,quicklymoveyourhandto the leftof thecubeanddrawthedirectionNElinebehindthecorner.RepeatthissametechniquetodrawtheNWlineontheotherside to create the top of the second layer of the building. I do this rehearsalshadow drawing all the time, with every drawing I create. I am constantlyreferring back to my initial foreshortened square source, shadow drawing theanglesagainandagainbeforedashingoffthelinesthatbuildmydrawings.

7.Complete the second layerof thebuilding.Double-checkyourbottom linesagainstdrawingcompassdirectionarrowsNWandNE.

8.Begindrawingthedoorsonthetoplevelwithtwoverticallinesoneachside.Tomakesureyourlinesareactuallyvertical,straightupanddown,lookattheedgeofyourpaper.Allofyourverticallinesshouldbeparallelwiththeedgeofyourpaper.Youshouldglanceattheverticaledgeofyourpapereverytimeyouare drawing a vertical line, or you run the risk of the objects in your pictureseverelyleaningovertoonesideortheother.Here’saninterestingpointtonote:Thenearedgelineofeachdoorwayneedstobedrawnabitlargerthanthefaredge line. This uses the important concept of size. The near part of the doorneeds to be drawn larger to create the three-dimensional illusion that it isactuallyclosertoyou.Thisunderscoresafundamentalprincipleofdrawing:Tomakeanobjectappearclosertoyoureye,drawitlargerthanotherobjectsinthepicture.

9.Curvethetopsofbothdoorwaysonthetopfloorofthebuilding.10. To create the illusion that these doors actually exist as three-dimensionalentrances to this building,we need to add thickness to them.Let’s review thesimplethicknessrule:Ifthedoorisontheright,thethicknessisontheright.Ifthedoorisontheleft,thethicknessisontheleft.

Memorize this rule, repeat it,andpractice it (I teach this rule tomyuniversitystudentsasoftenasIdotomyelementaryschoolstudents).Thisthicknessrulewillalwaysapply—toanydoor,window,hole,orentrancetoanyobjectyouwillever draw. Knowing this rule by heart will get you out of many a drawingquandaryincomplicatedrenderings.Let’sbeginapplyingthisimportantthicknessruletothedoorontherightside

first. If the door is on the right, the thickness should be onwhich side?Yes,you’vegotit:theright.UsingyourdrawingcompasslinesindirectionNW,drawthebottomthicknessontherightsideofthedoorway.11.Completethedoorbyfollowingthelineoftheexteriordoorasitcurvesup.

12.Lookatthedoorontheleftside.UsingthedrawingcompassdirectionNElinesyoudrewearlierasreference,drawthethicknessontheleft-sidedoorontheleftsideoftheentrance.

13.Eraseyourguidelinesatthebottomofeachdoor.Withawell-placedlineindrawing directionsNW andNE, you can easily create the visual illusion thatthereisahallwayoraroominsideeachdoorway.NoticehowIhavedrawntheselines just a bit higher than the bottom thickness line of each doorway. Bynudgingthislineup,Icreatemorespace.14. Now, with some interesting wedges you can develop these into entranceramps or quick-exit-end-of-workday slide ramps or skateboard ramps for yourkids. This is a great example of why drawing in three dimensions is such amagicalskilltomaster.Youaredevelopingtheskillstocreatebuildings,cities,forests,orentireworldsonablanktwo-dimensionalpieceofpaper.Onepencil,onepieceofpaper,yourimagination,andtheskillsIamteachingyouherearealltheingredientsyouneedtocreateyourownworld.Notabadwaytospendthirtyminutesofyourday,right?Drawtwoguidedotsoneithersideofthebuilding.

15.Let’screatetherampontheleftsidefirst.Drawtheverticalbackedgeoftherampagainst thewall,andextend thebottomedgeof therampout indrawingcompass direction SW.We used this direction often when drawing our guidelinesforcastshadowsinourpreviouslessons.Infact,wewillbeusingthisSWdirectionlineagainforacastshadowonthisbuildingalittlelaterinthislesson.Be vigilant inmaintaining this direction SW line. Triple-check it against yourearlierlinesinNEbecauseNEandSWlinesareidentical,justadifferentstrokedirectionofyourhand.Thisisdefinitelyanideathat ismucheasier toexplainwithvisualexamplesthanwithwords.

16.Completethenearedgeoftheramp.17.DrawthethicknessoftherampwithtwolinesindirectionNW,matchingtheangleswiththelinesyoudrewearlierindirectionNW.

18.Completethefaredgeoftherampbymatchingtheangleofthefrontedge(anothergoodexampleofparallellines).NoticehowIhavedrawnthebottomofthefaceortherampatinybitlargerthanthetop.Youmustalwayskeepinmindthe effect of size in your drawing.To reiterate, tomakeobjects appear closer,draw them larger.Tomakeobjectsappear fartheraway,draw themsmaller. Inthis case, I want to draw the bottom of the face of the ramp a bit larger tostrengthenthevisualillusionthatitisclosertoyoureyeandthatthetopoftherampispusheddeeperintothepicture,fartherfromyoureye.It’sthisconstantapplication of these small details, using these important drawing laws (size,placement,shading,shadow,etc.)andthedrawingcompassdirections(NW,NE,SW,andSE)thatgiveyoutheskillsandconfidencetosketchanythinginthreedimensions.

19.Eraseyourguidelinesbehindtheramp.UsingthelinesyoualreadydrewindirectionNEasreference(keepglancingatthoselinesasyouaredrawingnewones to match up the angles), draw the ramp on the right side. Remember:Bewareofthetendencytodroopthebottomline.Nodrooping!

20. Complete your two-layered foreshortened ramp building by drawing thehorizon line above the building, positioningyour light source, and shading allthesurfacesoppositeyourlightposition.Usingyourreferencelinestoanglethe

cast shadow correctly in direction SW is really simplewhen you are drawingbuildings; just extend the bottom lines.Erase any extra lines or smudges, andvoilà, you have completed your first architectural rendering. Congratulations!Beautifuljob!


Here are two very interesting variations of the two-layered ramp building. Invariationnumberone, Iexperimentedwith tapering theverticalsides inward. Iwaspleasedwiththeresults.Youtryit.However,inyourversion,drawitninelevelshigh.Now,drawaninesection-highversion,alternatingthetaperedsidesfrom inward to outward.How about trying a tall versionwith alternating thinand thick layers, tapering threesegments in, threesegmentsout, three in,etc.?YoucanseewhereI’mgoingwiththis.Thereareathousandpossiblevariationsofthisinterestingexercise.In variation number two, I experimented with alternating the foreshortened

layers into a rotating step building with ramps, doors, windows, and somepeculiar foreshortened cylinder attached to the side. It looks much morecomplicated than it is.Simplystartwithaverystrongandsharpforeshortenedsquare.Keep inmind that the very first foreshortened square you draw is thetemplate reference point for all the lines you will be drawing for the entirepicture. With this strong beginning, enjoy the process of duplicating myvariationnumbertwo,oneline,onestepatatime.Youhaveenoughknowledgeandskillnowtodrawthisoneonyourownwithoutmehavingtobreakitdownintostepsforyou.Bepatient,takeyourtime,andENJOYyourself!

Studentexamples

Takealookatsomestudentexamplesandgetinspired!

JulieEinersonhasappliedseveralprinciplesfromthelessontothissketchofherspa.

Marnie Ross has applied her budding drawing skill to this rendering of herchurch.

LESSON8

COOLKOALAS

Today, let’s takeabreakfromboxesandstructuresanddrawakoalafromourimagination.ThislessonwasinspiredfrommyteachingtourthroughschoolsinAustraliamanyyearsago.Duringmyschoolvisits, thestudentsintroducedmetoawidearrayofexoticAustralianpets.Onestudentletmeholdhispetkoala,anotherapetechidna,afrilledhoodedlizard,aduck-billedplatypus,andevenababykangaroo.Of course, on each occasion I had to draw the animals in my ever-present

drawingsketchbook/journal.Then,ofcourse,Ijusthadtoteachtheentireclasshow todraw thesewonderful creatures in3-Dbyusing theNineFundamentalLawsofDrawing.Inthislessonwewilldrawacaricatureofakoala.Afterthelesson, I encourage you to go online and research three photos of real-worldkoalasanddrawthemaswellbyusingtheskillswearegoingtolearnnow.

1.Verylightlysketchthreecirclesinarow.

2.Onthefirstcircle,usecurvingdashestocreatea“softfur”texturealongtheoutsideedge.

3.Continuingtoworkonthefirstcircle,usemorecurvingdashestofill intheleftsideofthecircle,creatingtheillusionofshadingwithtexture.Youcanusetexturetoshadeanobject.

4.Let’stakethisonestepfurther.Onthesecondcircle,drawsharplinesaroundtheoutside,creatingthe“feel”ofsharpspikes.

5.Placeyour light source in the top right cornerof yourpage, and add a fewmorerowsofspikestotheleftsideoftheshape.

6. Draw scribbles around the third circle. Keep scribblingmore circling linesaround and around the shape to create a messy-looking ball of dryer lint.Continuetoexplorethisideaoftextureasatoolforshading.

7.Now,timeforthestartofthislesson—thekoala!Beginwithalightcircle.

8.Lightlysketchintheears.

9.Lightlyslopedowntheshoulders.

10.Whenyoudrawin the“tapered”nose,besure to leaveasmallwhitearea.Thiscreatestheillusionofalightreflectionofftheshinynose.Youwilldothissamethingwhendrawingotheranimals:cats,dogs,bears.

11.Drawthekoala’seyes,transferringtheideaofreflectionbyleavingasmallwhitespotineachpupil.

12.Let’stakeacloserlookattheear.Thisiswhatisknownintheartworldasdoing a “study” of a small portion of a picture: for example, the hand ofMichelangelo’sAdamashe reachesout toGod in thepanel“Creation”on theceilingoftheSistineChapelortheoverlappingpetalofGeorgiaO’Keefe’sLily.Inthisstudyofourkoala’sear,drawthetopedgeoftheear,the“helix.”13.Drawtheoverlappedlineofthe“concha.”

14.Drawthebumpatthebottomoftheear.Thisisthe“tragus.”

Thisisaperfectexampleofhoweffectivevisualcommunicationcanbe.Icouldwriteforpagesexplainingwhataconchais,whereit’slocated,andwhatitlookslike.OrIcandrawafewlinesonapageandpointtoit.Nowtakeyourfingerand lightly trace the helix, concha, and tragus in your own ear.What do youknow?Wehumanshavenearlythesameearstructureaskoalas,andinfactalllandmammals’earshaveahelix,aconcha,andatragus.Infuturedrawingsyoucreate,you’llbeabletotransferthisdetailtootheranimalsyouwanttodraw.15.Repeatthisearstructureontherightear.

16.Lookbackatthefurryballyoudrewatthebeginningofthislesson.Noticehowyoucreated thesoft feelof furascompared to thesharpfeelof thespike

ball.Drawthesoft,furrytexturearoundtheoutlineofthekoala.

17.Usemorefurrytexturetoshadethekoala’shead,ears,andbody.Emphasize

theundershadowunderhischinandinhisearunderthetophelixline.


Nowthatyouhavesuccessfullydrawnonecutelittlekoala,whystophere?Goaheadanddrawacrowdofthem!Enjoyyourself.Usealotofoverlappingandsize to push the other koalas deeper into your picture. Darken and define theedges of the nearest koala to really pull her out closer to your viewer’s eye.Creating this push and pull of objects in your drawing means you havesuccessfully achieved the delightful illusion of the third dimension, depth, inyourpicture.Waytogo!Nowtakealookatmysketchbookpageforideasondrawingakoalacrowd.Here’sanidea:SearchtheInternetforthreephotosofkoalasinnature.Notice

howtheirearsandnosesareinreallife.Usingtheimportantconceptsfromthislesson—texture, shading, and overlapping—draw another koala with smaller,morerealisticearsandnose.

SuzanneKozloski used the important principles from this lesson for hermorerealisticdrawingsofkoalas.Various textures found theirway tomy students’ sketchbooks, as you can seehere.

Studentexamples

LESSON9

THEROSE

Let’s warm up for the rose by drawing a simple bowl shape. I often tell mystudents that musicians warm up by playing scales, athletes warm up bystretchingtheirmuscles,andweartistscanwarmupbydrawingseveralsimplebasic shapes, a few stacked tables, some overlapping spheres, or a delightfulbowlofcereal!1.Drawtwoguidedotshorizontallyacrossfromeachother.

2.Connectthedotswithaforeshortenedcircle.

The foreshortened circle is one of those pivotal shapes that can be used as afoundation to create thousands of objects. Similar to the importance of aforeshortenedsquare,enablingyoutodrawboxes,tables,houses,andsoon,theforeshortenedcircleenablesyoutodrawthethree-dimensionalcurvedsurfacesofcylindricalobjects:abowl,arose,acub,ahat,ajellyfish.Practicedrawingsixforeshortenedcirclesinarow,usingguidedots,likeIhavehere.

3.Drawthebodyofthebowl.

4.UsingaguidelineindirectionSW(you’llhavetodrawthisfrommemory,asyouhavenoreferencelinesyet—careful,nodrooping!),positionthelightsourcein the top right.Draw the horizon line. Shade the bowlwith blended shadingfromdarktolight,creatingasmoothblendedsurface.Lookathowthesmallbitofblendedshading inside the rightcornerof thebowlhasanenormousvisualeffectincreatingtheillusionofdepth.Thissmallblendedshadingdetailwillbevery important for you to transferwhen you are drawing the rose, the lily, anorchid,oranyflower.5.Beforeyoudrawtherose,IwanttointroduceyoutoanimportantideaIcallthe“peeking”line.Thistinydetailofasmalloverlappinglinethatdefinesafoldor a wrinklewill have a huge visual effect in enabling you tomake the rosepetalsappeartobecurlingaroundthebudinthreedimensions.Thebestexercisetofamiliarizeyouwiththisisafunsimple“flappingflag”exercise.

5a.Drawaverticalflagpole.

5b.Drawtwoguidedots.

5c.Drawthreequartersofaforeshortenedcircle.5d.Drawtheverticalthicknessoftheflag.

5e.Curvethenearbottomedgeoftheflagabitmorethanthelineaboveit.Thebottomoftheflagisabitfartherfromyoureye,soyouneedtodistortit,curveitmorethanthetopedge.

5f.Drawthe“peeking”line,themostimportantlineinthisexercise.Thisteenytiny dashwillmake or break this drawing and holds an enormous amount ofvisualpower.Itusesoverlapping,placement,andsizesimultaneously.

5g.Okay,thatwasprettycool.Let’stryoneinreverse.

5h.Drawthetwoguidepointsfortheforeshortenedcircle.

5i.Drawthreequartersofaforeshortenedcircle,butthistimecurvethetopedgeoftheflagtowardyou.

5j.Drawtheverticalthicknesslinesfromeachedge.Makesuretodrawthenearedgeabitlongertomakeitappearcloser.

5k.Curve the bottomof the near part of the flag.Remember to curve it a bitmorethanyouthinkyouneedto.Rememberthatdistortionisyourfriendhere.

5l. Push the back line up, away from the near bottom corner of the flag.Youneed to curve this back line opposite the line you have just drawn. You arefollowingthecurvedlineaboveasreference,however,sothesameprincipleofdistortionapplies:Curvethebacklineabitmorethanthetopedge.

5m.Now,let’sapplyallthisdistortionofforeshortenedcirclestoacurlingflag.Thisexercisewillbedirectlytransferredtotherose.Drawanotherflagpole.

5n. Draw the two guide dots, and draw the threequarter foreshortened circle

curlingtowardyou.

5o.Beginspiralingtheforeshortenedcircleinward.

5p.Complete the foreshortened circle spiral. Stretch out the ends, and alwayscurvethemiddleinclose.Wewillalsobediscussingthiswhenwedrawwaterripplesinalaterlesson.5q.Drawthethicknessoftheverticalsidesoftheflag.

5r.Curvethebottomofthenearedgeoftheflagabitmorethanthecurveyouhavedrawnonthetopedgeabove.

5s.Pushthatbacklineup,andcurveitawayfromyoureye.

5t.Drawtheall-importantpeeking lines fromeachof the insideedges.This isdefinitelytheBAMmomentofthisdrawing,theoneinstantlydefiningmomentwhenadrawingsuddenlypopsintothethirddimension.

5u.Drawinsomeverydarknookandcrannyshadows.Generally,themorelittlecracks, crevices,nooks, andcrannies thatyoucanpour someshadow into, themoredepthyoucreateinyourdrawing.Completetheblendedshading.

Iknowthatwasquiteabitofawarm-upexercisefor thisonedrawinglesson.Goodjobonyourpatientcooperationindrawingthebowlandthethreeseparateflags.Wewillnowusethetechniquesyoujustlearnedtodrawarose.6.Drawaforeshortenedbowl,andaddastem.

7.Drawaguidedotinthemiddleoftherosebowl(getthepun?).

8.Begintospiralouttherosepetalwiththreequartersofaforeshortenedcircle.

9.Keepspiraling,andkeepthesespiraledforeshortenedcirclessquished.It’sthedistortedshapethatwillformthethree-dimensionalrosebud.

10.Completethespiralatthecenterofthepetal.Erasetheextraline.

11.Draw the center thicknessof the rosepetal and the first peeking thicknessline.WearealmostattheBAMmoment.

12.Drawthenextouterpeekingline.

13.Drawtheremainingthicknessline.BAM!Thereitis—depthfocusedonourbeautifulrose.

14.Drawintheverydark,verysmall,nookandcrannyshadows.NoticeIevendarkenedashadowalongtheedgeoftherosepetal.

15.Placethelightsourceinthetopright,andblendtheshadingoneachofthecurvedsurfacesopposite.Drawafewthornsonthestem,anddrawtheleaves.


Takealookatmysketchbookpagetogetinspiredtodrawanentirebouquet.Trytodrawthissix-rosebouquetonyourown.Ifyoureallylikethissix-rose

bouquet lesson, check out the twenty-minute video tutorial on my website,www.markkistler.com.


Studentexamples

Look at these wonderful student drawings of this lesson, and get inspired topractice!Draw!Draw!Draw!

LESSON10

THECYLINDER

In previous lessons we conquered the sphere and several variations of thesphere.Weconfidentlydrewthecubeandseveralvariationsofthecube.Inthislessonwewillconqueranotherbuildingblock:thecylinder.1.Drawtwoguidedotsforyourforeshortenedcircle.

2.Drawaforeshortenedcircle.

3.Drawthesidesofthecylinderwithtwoverticalparallellines.

4.Curvethebottomofthecylinder,makingsuretocurvethebottomabitmorethanthecorrespondingcurveatthetop.Thisbottomcurveusestwokeydrawingconcepts,sizeandplacement,simultaneously.

5.Todrawthebacktwocylinders,positiontheforeshortenedcircleguidedotsaboveandtotheleftofthetopcenterofthefirstcylinder.

6.Completetheforeshortenedcircle.

7.Draw the sides of the second cylinder.The right side tucksbehind the firstcylinder,usingoverlapping,whichcreatesthevisualillusionofdepth.

8. Curve the bottom of the second cylinder. Be sure to push this line up andbehind the first closer cylinder. The natural tendency is to draw this lineconnectingtothebottomcornerofthefirstcylinder.Idon’tknowwhy,butmoststudentsdothisoverandoveragain.YoucanseewhereIputalineplacementguidedotontheleftsideofthenearcylinder.

9.Beginthethirdcylinderwith twoforeshortenedcircleguidedotsoff the topcenterrightofthefirstcylinder.

10.Drawtheforeshortenedcircle.Noticehowmysecondrowofcylindersisabitsmallerthanthefirstcylinder.Completethethirdcylinderusingoverlapping,size,andplacement.

11. Draw the horizon line, and position your light source. I like to beginmyshadingprocessbydarkeningallofthesmalldarknookandcrannyshadows.

12.Completethisdrawingofthreecylinders.Addcastshadows,oppositeyourlightsource,usingblendedshading.MakesuretouseadirectionSWguidelinetoplaceyourcastshadowscorrectly.


Okay,nowwearereadytostartapplyingourdrawinglessonstotherealworld.Gointoyourkitchen,andfindthreesoupcans,threesodacans,orthreecoffeemugs,allofthesamesize.Arrangetheobjectsonthekitchentableinthesamepositionsthatwehavejustdrawnthem.Sitdowninachairinfrontofyourstilllife.Noticehowthetopsofthecans

arenotnearlyasforeshortenedaswehavedrawnthem.Thisisbecauseyoureyelevel is much higher than where we imagined it to be in our picture. Pushyourselfbackfromthetableabit,andloweryoureyeleveluntilthetopsofthecansmatch the foreshortening thatwe have drawn.Experimentwith your eyelevel,movingyoureyesevenloweruntilyoucan’tseethetopsofthecans.Thisisaglimpseoftwo-pointperspectivethatIwillbegettingtoinalaterlesson.Now, standupandwatchwhathappens to the foreshortenedcan tops.They

expand;theyopenuptonearfullcirclesdependingonwhereyoureyelevelis.UnderstandingtheNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingwillgiveyoutheskill

to draw objects you see in the world around you or that you create in yourimagination in any position. Now grab nine cans or mugs (varying sizes areokay).Positiontheminanywayyouwantononeendofthekitchentable.Sitattheotherendofthekitchentablewithyoursketchbookandpencil.Lookatyourstill life.Drawwhatyousee.Feel free toplaceaboxunderyourcans toraisethemtoahigher,moreforeshortenedperspective.Asyoudrawwhatyousee,youwillrecognizethewordsthatyouhavebeen

learning in these lessons. You will begin to discover how these NineFundamentalLawsofDrawingtrulyapplytoseeinganddrawingtherealworldin3-Dinyoursketchbook.Here is an important point: In every three-dimensional drawing you create

from your imagination or from the real world, you will always apply two ormoreoftheNineLawseverytime,withoutexception.Inthislessonweappliedforeshortening,overlapping,placement,size,shading,andshadow.

Studentexamples

Takea lookathowstudentSusanKozloskiexploredchanging theeye level inherdrawings.

LESSON11

ADVANCED-LEVELCYLINDERS

InthislessonIwillexplorethefunvisualeffectofdrawingmultiplecylindersina cityscape scene. The skills we will be practicing in this drawing areoverlapping, foreshortening, blended shading, shadows, and nook and crannyshading. While practicing these skills, we will also push the envelope andexpandourunderstandingof theNineFundamentalLawsofDrawing.Lookat

thelessonillustrationonthepreviouspage.Everything looks fine andorganized according to theNineLaws.However,

take a closer look at the lowest cylindrical tower. It ismuch smaller than thesurrounding towers, so according to our understanding of the laws, it shouldappear farther away.Yes? This is an example of how some design laws havemore visual power than others. The lowest smaller cylindrical tower appearscloser because it is overlapping in front of the other much larger towers.Interesting,isn’tit?Overlappingwillalwaystrumpsize.Here’s a mindbender. Look at the two hovering cylinders. The larger one

couldbecloserorfartheraway.Wedon’thaveanyreferenceastoitsposition.Itisnotoverlappinganobjecttopullitcloser;itisnotcastingashadowtoindicatethatitisdirectlyaboveornexttoanobject.Inthissituation,itssizedoesn’tgiveus any indication of its position. Now in comparison, look at the smallerhoveringcylinderoverontheleft.Becauseitisoverlappingtheothertowerandcasting a shadow, we can determine it is closer. If I had drawn the centerhoveringdiskatinybitinfrontofatower,oratinybitbehindatower,Iwouldhave given the viewer a context of where the disk was, thus eliminating aconfusingopticalillusion.Understanding these relationships among the Nine Fundamental Laws of

Drawingwillhelpyoueffectivelyandconfidentlyresolvepositioningproblemsinyour illustrations.Wewill learnmoreabouthowtopositionyourobjects toalleviatedepthambiguitywhenwedrawclouds,trees,andtwo-pointperspectivecitiesinlaterlessons.Nowlet’sdraw!

1. Draw a large picture frame, taking up an entire page of your sketchbook.Sometimesit’sfuntoplaceyourdrawinginsideadrawnframelikeIdidinmysketchbookdrawingsofthekoala,thespheres,andthesetowers.2.Usingguidedots,drawthefirstforeshortenedcircle.3.Drawmoreforeshortenedcircles,somelarge,somesmall.4.Asyou continue to drawmore foreshortened circles, be sure to place somehighintheframe.5.Drawa fewmore foreshortenedcirclespositionedslightlyoutof the frame.Thesepeekingtowershaveanicevisualeffect.Afewofmystudentshavegone

ontoillustrateforDCComicsandMarvelComics.WhenI’vehadtheprivilegeof speaking with them over the years, I’ve always picked their brains fortechniques to share with my students. Probably the most valuable tidbit I’veheardoverandoveragainistopositionobjectsslightlyoffframe.Forexample,whenworkingonSpidermanorTheHulk, theseartistswilldraw thecharactermovingintotheframeormovingoutoftheframewithjustpartialviews,suchasanarm,ashoulder,andanedgeoftheface.6.Drawverticalsidesdownfromthelowestforeshortenedcircle.Whenyouaredrawing full scene pictures like this, it is always a good idea to detail in thelowestobjectsfirst.Why?Becausethelowestobjectswillbeoverlappingeveryotherobjectinthepicture.Onescenariowhereyouwouldn’tnecessarilywanttodrawthelowestobjectsfirstisifyouaredrawingaspacesceneofplanets(thinktheopeningsegmentofStarTrek:TheNextGenerationora spacescene fromStarWars).Anotherscenariowouldbeifyouweredrawingaflockofbirdsinflight.Thebirdpositionedhighestintheframemightbedrawnlargerinsizeandoverlapping other smaller birds lower in the frame. In both scenarios,overlappingstilltrumpsalltheotherNineLaws.7.Continuedrawingtheverticalsidesdownforthelowestrowoftowers.8.Concentrateonoverlapping,drawingtheimportantpeekinglinesdownfromeachandeveryforeshortenedcircle.

CAUTION:Avoiddrawingthesidesoftwotowerslininguplikethis:Ifthishappens, go ahead and erase the edge and part of one of the foreshortenedcircles.Extendtheerasedforeshortenedcircleasmidge—justenoughtoensurethat it is overlapping behind or in front of the other tower. This idea of“offsetting”objectsjustenoughsothattheedgelinesdon’tmergeisaverysmallbuthelpfultiptoputinyourdrawingtoolbox.

9.Completeallthetowers,movingfromthelowestintheframetothehighest.NOTE:Thereisonesmallproblemyoumayencounterasyouaredrawingthe

towers.There’satendencyforyourdrawinghandtosmearthelowertowersasyoumoveover them todraw thehigher towers.Asimplepractical solution tothisistoplaceasmallpieceofcleanscratchpaperoverthecompletedportionofyourdrawing,placeyourhandonthescratchpaper,anddrawthenextrow.Thenpickupthescratchpaperandrepositionithigher.Donotpushthescratchpaperwith your drawing hand to reposition it. I use this scratch-paper-shielding

techniqueineverypencilandinkillustrationIcreate.Begin your nook and cranny shadows at the top, andwork yourway down

using your scratch-paper shielding.Youwant to avoid smearing your drawingduring thisdetailphase. Ican’t tellyouhowmanynearlycomplete thirty-hourillustrationsIhavetotallysmearedbydrawingafinaldetailnearthetopoftheframe.Avoidsmearing!

10.Completetheblendedshadingontheremainingtowers.


After that“toweringsuccess”(punfully intended), let’s reverse theexercise topractice foreshortenedcircles,size,placement,shading,shadow,and thickness.Let’sdrawafieldofholes.Becausetheseforeshortenedcirclesareon“top”oftheground, the thicknessof theseholeswillbeat the topof the foreshortenedcircle.Thisisafunchallenge.Enjoy!

Studentexamples

Lookathowthesestudentsstretchedtheirimaginationanddrawingskill.

LESSON12

CONSTRUCTINGWITHCUBES

Let’s recapwherewe are in this thirty-day journey.You’vemastered drawingspheres, multiple spheres, and stacked spheres all with blended shading. Youhave learned how to draw the cube, cube variations, multiple layered-cubebuildings,andtowersoftablesand,mostimportantly,howtoapplythedrawingcompass directions: northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast. You will

nowusetheseskillstodrawmorereal-worldobjects.Inthischapter,you’llstartbydrawingahouse;thenyou’lldrawamailbox.1.Drawacubevery,verylightly.

2.Drawaguidedot in themiddleof thebottom lineof thecube,on the rightside.

3.Drawaverylightverticallineupfromthisguidedot.Thiswillbeourguidetocreatingtheroofofthehouse.

4.Connectthefrontslopesoftheroof.Noticehowthenearslopeislongerthanthefarside.Thisisaperfectexampleofhowsizeandplacementcreatedepth.The near part of the roof is longer tomake it appear larger and to create theillusionthatitisclosertoyoureye.

5.Usingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnasaguide,drawthetopoftheroof,beingverycarefulnottoanglethislinetoohigh(example5bbelow).Thisisaproblemmanystudentsinitiallyhavewiththislesson.Toavoidthis,consciouslyandspecificallyreferbacktoyourfirstlinesdrawnindirectionnorthwest.

6.Drawthefarsideoftheroofbymatchingtheslantofthefrontedge.WhenIdrawhouses,Ihavefoundthatslantingthefaredgeoftheroofalittlelessthanthenearedgehelpstheillusion.This is just a peek at the visual illusion of two-point perspective.We’ll do

morewith the lawof perspective in later chapters. I justwanted towhet yourappetitefornew,challengingdrawinglessons!

LookathowfascinatingitistoseethehouselinedupwithdrawingcompassdirectionsNWandNEandtoseehowtheymergeintoadisappearingvanishingpointoneithersideoftheobject.Infact,youhavealreadybeeneffectivelyusingthisadvancedtwo-point-perspectivescienceinyourthree-dimensionaldrawingswithoutevenknowingit!

Now, take amoment to think about this:Youhavealready been effectivelyusing this advanced two-point-perspective science in your three-dimensionaldrawingswithoutevenknowingit!Surprise,surprise!AgoodanalogytothisideaisthatIcantypeonmylaptop,yetnothaveaclue

as to themechanicsofhowacomputeractuallyworks.Youcansafelydriveacarwithoutunderstandinghowtheengineworks.Similarly,youcan(andhave!)successfully learned how to draw fundamental shapes without knowing thescience behind it. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t learn the science ofvanishing-point-perspectivedrawing,becauseyoushould,andyouwill in laterchapters.ButwhatIamsayingisthattoooften,intoomanyclassroomsandintoomanyhow-to-drawbooks, theimmediateintroductionofexcessive, tediousdrawing information can severely hinder or entirely block students fromexperiencing the initial fun of learning how to draw the fundamentals.Wheninformation-overload anxiety hits beginning students, they naturally getfrustrated.Theyexperiencefailureandacceptacompletelyfalseassumptionthattheyarevoidoftalentandthereforedonothavetheabilitytolearnhowtodraw.Thetruth is that learninghowtodrawhasnothing todowith talent.Youhaveexperiencedthisfirsthandwiththeselessons.During thirtyyearsof teachingdrawing, Ihave learned that thebestway to

introduce students to the thrill of drawing in 3-D is by first offering

IMMEDIATE success. Immediate success ignites delight, enthusiasm, andMORE interest. More interest inspires more practice. More practice buildsCONFIDENCE. And confidence perpetuates a student’s desire to learn evenmore.Icallthisthe“self-perpetuatinglearningsuccesscycle.”Whatwehaveseenin theselessons is thatdrawingabsolutely isa learnable

skill.Moreover,learningtodrawcandramaticallyincreaseyourcommunicationskills—which can in turn have an extraordinary effect on your life. I’vepersonallywitnessedtheeffectithashadonmanyofmyformerstudents,whohave fulfilled their individual potential as remarkably creative teachers,engineers,scientists,politicians,lawyers,doctors,farmers,NASASpaceShuttleengineers,andyes,topartistsandanimators.7.Drawthehorizonlineabovethehouse,andpositionyourlightsource.Cleanupyourdrawingbyerasingtheextraguidelines.

8.UsingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnindirectionNWasreference,sketchinlightguidelinesontheroofforshingles.DrawthedirectionSWguidelineonthegroundtoaddthecastshadow.Darkenintheundershadowalongthebaseofthe roof.Thedarkeryoumake it, themoreyouwill recess thewall under theroof,pushingitdeeperinthepicture.

9.Completethesimplehousewithshingles,drawingthenearshingleslargerandreducingtheshinglesinsizeastheymovetowardthefarsideoftheroof.Drawthe windows, keeping your lines parallel to the outer wall edges. Same ideaappliestothedoor.Drawtheverticallinesofthedoormatchingtheverticallinesofthecenterandrightsideofthehouse.I’vescribbledinsomeshrubsoneithersideofthehouse.Goahead—bushesandshrubsarefundetailstoadd.

10.Addthicknesstothewindowanddoor.Completethedrawingwithshading.Nicework!Youhavedrawnanicelittlehouseontheprairie.


Understandinghowfundamentalshapes,suchasthecubeandthesphere,canbe transformed into real-world objects is one of themain goals of this book.TakealookatmystudentMicheleProos’sdrawingofthemailbox.Trydrawingthis mailbox yourself. Begin by transforming a cube into a mailbox. Beginshapingthefaceofthemailboxontherightorleftsideofthecube—it’suptoyou.Again,noticehowthenearedgeofthemailboxfaceislongerthanthefaredge. This is another example of how size creates depth. Draw the post andmailboxdetails.Lookathow thedarkundershadowpushes thepostunder themailbox. Complete your three-dimensional mailbox with more details. Thesesmalldetails—thepostalflag,thehandle,thestreetaddress,and,especially,thetextureofwood—finishthisdrawingnicely.Considertextureasbeingtheicingonacakeandyourdrawingasbeingthe

cake.Textureaddsthevisualfeelofthesurfacetoyourobjects:thefuronacat,thecobblestonesonastreet,thescalesonafish.Textureisthedelicious“flavor”youaddtoyourdrawing,thedessertforyoureye.Abrilliant,inspiringexampleof texture isChrisVanAllsburg’s illustrations inhisbookTheZWasZapped.Takealookatthisbook;itwilltakeyourbreathaway!

Studentexample

Here’s a student example of this lesson to inspire you to keeppracticingyourdrawingseveryday!

LESSON13

ADVANCED-LEVELHOUSES

Iwasinitiallygoingtohavethisadvanced-levelhouseastheBonusChallengeforLesson12.However,Irealizedtherewassuchahighvolumeofeducationalcontent in thisdrawing that Idecided tomake it intoa full lesson.Doing thisallowed me to include an additional house drawing, my favorite “deluxemultiroofhouse,”as theBonusChallenge.Awin-winscenario, Iget towedgeanotheroneofmyfavorite lessons into thisbook,andyouget to learnhowtodrawmoreintricatehouses.

1.RedrawLesson12’ssimplehouseuptothisstephere.

2.UsingyourdirectionSWlineasthereferenceangle,drawthegroundlinefortheleftsectionofthehouse.

3.KeepyoureyescheckingthereferencelinesindirectionSW.Now,dashoutthenextlineindirectionSWtoformthetopofthewall.

4.Drawtheverticallineforthenearcornerofthehouse,anddrawthebottomleftsidewithalineindirectionNW.

5.That lineyouhave justdrawn isnowyour referenceangle line indirectionNW.Usethistodrawthetopofthewall.

6.Drawthefarleftverticalwall.Drawaguidedotinthemiddleofthebottomofthewall.

7.Drawtheverticalguidelineupfromyourguidedottopositionthepeakoftheroof.

8.Drawthepeakoftheroof,makingsurethenearedgeisnoticeablylargerthanthebackedge.Complete theroofwitha line indirectionNE.Eraseyourextralines.

9.UsingthelinesyouhavealreadydrawnasreferencedirectionlinesNWandNE, lightly draw in guide lines for the shingles.Add the door,windows, andgarage.Onceagain,makesure thateachof thesedetailelements linesupwiththedirectionlinesNW,NE,SW,andSE.

10.Completeyourbrand-newhouse!Howexciting,butwe’vegottohustlehere—the moving truck is arriving shortly, and we still need to install the newcarpeting.Drawintheshading,shadows,andverydarkundershadowsundertheeaves.Thesidewalkanddrivewayaredrawnbystrictlyfollowingyourdirectionguide lines! Look at how much faith I have in you! This is a very difficultelement,andI’vethrownyououtthereonyourownwithnosafetyguidelines!Youarewellonyourwaytodrawinghouseswithonlyafewguidelines.You

arewayoutonanindependentlimbhere,soyoumightaswellsketchinafewtreesandshrubs,and(whynot?)let’srecycleourgoodolemailboxfromLesson12.


Beforeyoutrytodrawthisonyourown,whichIknowyouwillsuccessfullydo in short order, I want you to trace this building three times. “What!” youexclaiminshockandhorror.“Trace?Butthat’scheating!”No,no,no,Idonotagree.ForthirtyyearsIhavegottenflackforalwaysencouragingmystudentstotracepictures. Iencourage themto tracepictures fromsuperherocomicbooks,Sundaycomics,magazinephotosoffaces,hands,feet,horses,trees,andflowers.Tracing is a wonderful way to really understand how so many lines, angles,curves, and shapes fit together to form an image. Think of any of the greatartists, painters, or sculptors of the Renaissance—Rafael, Leonardo,Michelangelo—theyall tracedpictures tohelp themlearnhowtodraw. Ihavediscussed this age-old art education question with my colleagues at Disney,Pixar, andDreamWorks PDI. Each one of them unhesitatingly responded thattracingthedrawingsofmasterillustratorshelpedthemtrulylearnhowtodrawduringtheirhighschoolandartcollegeyears.

Lesson13:BonusChallenge2

For this challenge, visit my website, www.markkistler.com, and click on thevideotutorialentitled“DeluxeHouseLevel2.”(Bereadytopushpauseonyourcomputerscreenalotasyoudraw.)


Studentexamples

Lookat a fewstudentdrawings, andcompare theirdifferentunique stylewithyours.Youeachfollowedthesamelessonbuthadslightlydifferentresults.Eachofyouisintheprocessofdefiningyourownuniquestyleandyourownuniquewayofinterpretingtheselessonsandthevisualworldaroundyou.

LESSON14

THELILY

Today, as a reward to yourself for doing such a wonderful job of drawingdifficult houses, enjoy drawing these flowing graceful lilies. This lesson willhighlightasimpleyetimportantline:theScurve.Afteryoufinishthislesson,Iwantyou to takeawalkaroundyourhome (orwhereveryouhappen tobe). Iwantyoutocarryyoursketchbookandwritedown/sketchsixobjectsthathaveScurves in them(tree trunks,windowdrapes, flowerstems,ababy’sear,acat’stail).Youwillbesurprisedhoweasytheyaretospotonceyouopenyourartist’seye.ThisexercisewillhelpyoubecomeawareofhowimportantSlinesareto

ouraestheticworld.1.BeginthefirstlilywithagracefulScurve.

2.TuckanothersmallerScurvebehindthefirstone.

3.Transferringwhatyoulearnedfromdrawingallthoseforeshortenedcylindersintheearlierlesson,drawanopenforeshortenedcircletocreateapetal.

4.Drawthepointedlipofthepetal.Drawthebelloftheflowerbytaperingthesidesdown.Taperingisanotheroneofthoseveryimportantideasthatyouwillstarttonoticeeverywherenowthatyouareawareofit.Yourchild’sarmtapersfrom the shoulder to the elbow and from the elbow to thewrist.A tree trunktapers from its base to its branches. Your goldfish’s fins, your living roomfurniture,thatmartiniglassinyourhand,allconsistoftaperedlines.

5.Drawthecurvedbottomofthebell.Herewe’reusingtheconceptofcontour.Curvingcontourlinesdefinetheshapeandgiveitvolume(contourlineswillbe

describedingreaterdetailinthenextchapter).Thenearpartofthebelliscurvedloweronthepaper.Drawtheseedpodinthecenterofthebell.

6.DrawmoreScurvestocreatethetopsoftheleaves.

7. Draw the bottom of the leaves with slightly more exaggerated S curves.NoticehowIusedabitofcurlfromtheroselessontotuckthetipoftheleavesbehind.Determinetheplacementofyourlightsource,anddarkenthenookandcrannyshadows.Thisisthemomentwhenthedrawingreallypopsoffthepageinthethirddimension.

8. To complete the shading, use your blending Stomp to gradually blend theshadingfromdarktolightacrossthecurvedsmoothsurfaceoftheflower.9.Addafewmoreliliestocreateadelightfulbouquet!Hey,here’safunidea:Scanyourdrawingoftheselilies,ande-mailtheflowerstoallyourfriends!E-mailmeacopytoo(www.markkistler.com).



Takealookatthissimplevariationoftheroseandthelily.Drawafewofthese,andthencreateadozenofyourveryownuniquevariations.

Note:A book that youmust get your hands on isFreaky Flora byMichel Gagné. Incredible drawings, inspiring creativity, wonderfulshading, I absolutely love this artist’swork.Also take a look at theamazing flowers in Graeme Base’s Animalia. They’re justphenomenal.


Take a stroll around your home, garden, or office with your sketchbook, andnote/sketch where you see S curves and tapered lines in at least sixplaces/objects.

Studentexamples

I enjoyed these student examples somuch. Take a look and keep inspired todraw,draw,draweveryday!

LESSON15

CONTOURTUBES

Toeffectivelydrawcurvingtubularobjects,suchastrains,planes,automobiles,trees,people,orevenclouds,youneedtomastercontourlines.Contourlinesareespecially important when you are drawing the human figure. Arms, legs,fingers, toes, and,well, just abouteverypartof thehuman figure involves theuseofcontourlines.Contour lineswraparoundacurvedobject.Theygiveanobjectvolumeand

depthanddefineanobject’sposition.Istheobjectmovingawayfromortowardyour eye? Is the object bending up or twisting down? Does the object havewrinkles,cracks,oraspecifictexture?Contourlineswillanswerthesequestionsandmanymorebygivingyoureyevisualclues regardinghowtoperceive theobjectasathree-dimensionalshapeonyourpaper.Inthislessonwewillpracticecontrollingthedirectionofatubewithcontourlines.

1.DrawaDrawingDirectionReferenceCube.

2.Using thedrawingcompassdirectionNEasa reference,drawa lightguidelineindirectionNE.

3.Drawaguidedottopositiontheforeshortenedcircleendofthetube.

4.Drawtheverticalforeshortenedcircleendofthetube.

5.UsingthelineyouhavealreadydrawnindirectionNEasreference,drawthethickness of the tube. Draw this line from the very top edge of the verticalforeshortenedcircle.Noticeinmyillustrationhowthislineisslantedjustatadbitmore than the bottom line,making the tube taper as it recedes away fromyour eye.This is an applicationof the drawing lawof size to the tube.Theselineswilleventuallymergetogetheratadistantvanishingpoint,whichwewillgettolaterinthebook.

6.Curvethefarendofthetubeabitmorethanthenearedge.Thelawofsizenotonlyshrinksthingsastheymoveawayfromyoureye;italsodistortsimages.Thus,thefaredgeismorecurvedthanthenearedge.

7.Begindrawingthenearcontourlinesonthesurfaceofthetube.Noticehowthesecontourlinescurveabitmoreastheymoveawayfromyoureye.

8.Completethecontourlines.Continuetocurvethemmoreastheymoveawayfromyoureye.

9. To create the illusion of a hollow tube, draw the inside contour lines,followingtheoutsidefaredgeoftheinitialforeshortenedcircle.Yes,eventheseinternalcontourlinesneedtocurvemoreastheymoveawayfromyoureye.

10.Determinethepositionofyourlightsource.Usingthecurveofyourinterior

contourlines,addshadingtotheinsideofthetube.

11.DrawthecastshadowwithaguidelineindirectionSE.

12.Shade the tubewith curving contour lines.This techniqueof shadingwithcontourlinesisanexcellentwaytocreatetextureandthree-dimensionalshape.

13.DrawthesecondtubeforthislessonwithaguidelineindirectionNW.Drawaguidedotfortheverticalforeshortenedcircle.Drawtheverticalforeshortenedcircle.DrawthethicknessofthetuberecedingawayindirectionNE.Drawthecontourlinesontheoutsideofthetube.Voilà!Youjustdefinedtubenumbertwoas facing in theoppositedirectionof tubenumberone.Contour linesareverypowerful in defining an object’s direction andposition on the paper.To shadethissecondtube,drawyourlightsourcetoprightandshadeopposite.


Try thisvisual experiment:Get aholdof an emptypaper towel cardboard roll.UsingablackSharpiemarker,drawarowofdotsaboutaninchapartdownonesideofthetube,fromopeningtoopening.Itwilllooklikearowofrivetsorazipper.Now, carefully draw a line from each dot around the tube back to thesamedot.It’seasiertoplaceyourpenonthedotandjustrollthetubeawayfromyou.Repeatthisuntilyouhavedrawnseveralringsaroundthetube.Holdthetubehorizontallyinfrontofyoureyeatarm’slength.All therings

youhavedrawnwillappeartobevertical lines.Slowlyswiveloneendtowardyoureye,justabit.Noticehowtheverticallinesnowaredistortedintocontourlines.Experimentwiththistubeabit,twistingitbackandforth.Now,bendthetube inhalfanddo thesame thing . . . interesting, right?Seehowthecontourlinesarenowclimbingacrossthetubeindifferentdirections?Takealookatthelongbendingtubeatthebottomofmysketchpagebelow.Noticehowcontourlinescontrolthedirectionofthistube.

1.Now,I’mgoingtodemonstratethepush-and-pullpowerofcontourlines.Forthefirstimage,Iwanttodrawtheleftlegtomakeitappeartobemovingtowardyouandtherightlegtoappeartobemovingaway.Lookatmyexamplesbelow,anddrawthisimportantexercise.

2.Wearenowgoingtoreversethecontourlinesonthesecondidenticalimage.Withjustcontourlines,wewillcreatethe3-Dillusionthattheimageismovingintheoppositedirection.Drawthiscontourtubeinyoursketchbook.


IalwaysenjoytheMichelinMantirecommercials.Thisanimatedstackedtire-man resemblesmore of a snowman/soft-serve ice cream creature than tires tome. However, this Michelin Man is an excellent example of contour linesdefiningshapeanddirection.Google“MichelinMan”andtakealookatthistirefellow.Withthisimageinmind,let’screateourownContourKid.WearegoingtodrawtwoContourKidssidebysidetoillustratethedynamicpowerofcontourlines.1.LightlysketchtheheadandtorsosoftwoContourKids.

2. Sketch in the legs, and try to draw these initial details as identically aspossible,justreversingtheforeshortenedcircle“steppingtowardyou”leg.

3.SketchinidenticalarmsonbothContourKids;justreversetheforeshortenedcirclefromtheleftarmtotherightarm.

4. Have fun drawing the arms swinging out and the legs stepping. Draw thecurvingcontourlinesgoinginoppositedirectionsonthearmsandlegstocreatetotallydifferentillusionsofpushandpullinyourdrawing.

You can spend days experimenting with contour lines. Take a look at a fewstudentexamples.

Studentexamples

LESSON16

THEWAVE

A funwaytoapply thecontour linesyoujust learnedabout inLesson15is todrawawaveofwaterin3-D.AsakidgrowingupinSouthernCalifornia,oceanwaveswere a largepart ofmy life.Whenever I draw this lesson, I’mbroughtback to my teenage years when I would bodysurf enormous waves and seeporpoises swimming in thewaves right in front ofme. Thiswave lesson is agoodexampleofseeinganddrawingcontourlinesintherealworld.

1.Let’sbeginbysketchingtheDrawingDirectionReferenceCubetoseeclearlythedrawingdirectioncompassangles.

2.DrawalightguidelineindirectionNW.

3.Sketchinaforeshortenedcircletobeginshapinginthecurlofthewave.

4.Taperthetopofthecurlofthewavewithalightguideline,againindirectionNW.Thedrawinglawofsizeisappliedheretomakethelargerendofthecurllookcloser.

5.Drawaguidedottoestablishthenearpointofthecurl.

6. Follow the curvature of the curl to create a “flowing” line.Draw from theguidedot,uptheforeshortenedcircleedge,anddownthebackside;thenshootoffindrawingdirectionSW.BesuretouseyourDrawingDirectionReferenceCube!

7.Okay,nowthisisgoingtogetveryinteresting.Wewanttocreatetheillusionofwatercurlingover thewave lip.Let’sdo thiswithaguide line indirectionNW.EraseyourextraguidelinesandtheDrawingDirectionReferenceCube.

8.StartdrawingthefrothyfoamalongtheNWguideline.

9.Drawthefoamallthewayback.NoticehowIexpandthefrothyfoamingmisttoward the back. This is because real “tubing” waves collapse very quickly,peelingacrossthefront(atleastallthewavesinSouthernCaliforniadid!).

10.Begin“shaping”thewavewithflowingcontourlinescurvingdownfromthetop.Curvethesemoreandmoreastheyrecedebackintothepicture.

11.Completeallthecurvingcontourlinesforthistoplipportion.

12.Let’sdefinethewavefoambydarkeningin thenooksandcranniesbehindthefoam.

13.Continuethedrawingwithmoredetail inthefootofthewave.Drawmoreflowingcontourlines.

NOTE:AtthispointIaskmyself,doIcontinuewithallthecontourlines,doIsharpenupthearea,ordoIbeginabitofshading?Thisispart of the joy of drawing, the creative part of illustrating. Thefollowingsteps,whichwehavedevelopedoverthelastfewlessons,

donothavetobestrictlyfollowed:Lightlysketch,shape,andmoldtheobject.Refineanddefine.Shadeandshadow.Sharpenedgesandaddfocuseddetail.Cleanupanderaseextralines.

Sometimes, actuallymost of the timewhen I’m not teaching butjust drawing a personal sketch, I’ll completely ignore this sequenceand justwork from inspiration and feeling.This is such an excitingpointtoreachinyourdrawingskill.Thisisthetransitionfrombeingastudent, following steps from your instructor, to understanding theprocesssocompletelythatyouconfidentlyandcomfortablybegintodriftaheadonyourown.14.DrawseveralguidelinesindirectionNW.Thesewillhelpyoudrawthelightreflectionsshimmeringonthefaceofthewave.

15.Outlinethewavewithadark,definedline.Darkenintheshadowunderthewavelip.Besuretoblenditdown,lighterandlightertowardthereflection.Completetheillustrationbyaddingactionlines.Actionlinesarefantastically

funtodrawandenableyourviewerstovisuallyengageinyourart.Lookathow

my action lines are flowing in the direction the wave is moving. Draw theseflowinglinesonyourwave.


Let’s take the skills we’ve acquired from drawing a wave and apply them toanother fun drawing: the whoosh cloud. Practice drawing overlapping foam,darkrecess(nookandcranny)shadows,andactionlines.Feelfreetodrawthisonewithmeonlineatwww.markkistler.com;clickon“DrawingLessons.”


Studentexamples

Take a look at these students’ drawings of the wave lesson. Seeing otherstudents’workhelpsbuildyourmotivationtodraweveryday,right?

LESSON17

RIPPLINGFLAGS

These next two lessons will be great for learning how to draw flags, scrolls,curtains, clothing, furniture coverings, etc. Interior decorators, theater artdirectors, and fashion designers all must master the skill of drawing flowingfabric. This lesson is a good practice exercise for applyingmany of theNineFundamental Laws of Drawing. These laws all work together to create theillusionofdepth,ofvisualpushandpullintheripplingflagdrawing.

Foreshortening:Thetopedgeoftheflagisdistortedusingforeshortenedcircles.Overlapping: Parts of the flag fold in front of other parts, usingoverlappingtocreatetheillusionofnearandfar.Size: Parts of the flag are drawn larger than other parts, creating thevisualpop-outofdepth.Shading:Partsoftheflagaredrawndarkeronthesurfacesfacingawayfromthelightsource,creatingthefeelofdepth.Placement:Partsoftheflagareplacedloweronthesurfaceofthepaperthanotherparts,creatingtheillusionofnearandfar.

Ifyouareascrapbooker,I’msureyouimmediatelysawthepotentialof this

flaglessoninenhancingyourscrapbookpages,yes?Ifyoulikethislesson,youaregoingtolovethescrolllessoninthenextchapter.1.Beginwithatallverticalflagpole.

2.Drawthree-quartersofaforeshortenedcircle.Keeptheshapesquished.

3.PicturethreeforeshortenedcylindersnexttoeachotherlikeIhaveillustratedbelow. Now, draw the top of the flag by following the top edges of thesecylinders.

4.Repeatthisseveraltimes,extendingthetopedgeoftheflag.

5.Drawall thenear thickness lines first,withvertical linesdrawndown fromeachedge.

6.Draweachofthebackthicknesslines,makingsuretheydisappearbehindtheflag. The small disappearing lines define the overlapping shape of the flag.Theseare themost importantdetail lineswhenyoudrawaflag.Without theselines, your drawing will visually collapse, so carefully double-check that youhavenotmissedanyofthebackedges.

7.Drawthebottomedges,curvingtowardyoureye.Ignorethebackspacesfornow.Remembertocurvetheseevenmorethanyouthinkyouneedto.

8. Before you draw the back thickness lines, think of the visual logic of thisripplingflag.Youarecreatingtheillusionthattheflagisfoldingawayfromyoureye, so the visual logic dictates that the back thicknessmust be pushed awayfrom your eye. We accomplish this by using placement: Objects in theforeground are drawn lower, whereas objects in the background are drawnhigher.Whenyouare learning todrawin3-D,averysimpleruleapplies: If it

lookswrong,itiswrong.(Now,I’mnotsayingthatPicasso’sdistortedfacesaredrawn “incorrectly,” as Picasso was not intending to paint in 3-D. You arelearning to draw in 3-D, so specific laws of creating depth apply.)

9.Tocompletetheripplingflag,addshadingandnookandcrannyshadows.


Youhavelearnedeverythingyouneedtodrawawonderfullylongripplingflag.Lookinyoursketchbook,andreviewthecylinderlessons, theroselesson,andthislesson.Takeamoment,lookatthepagefrommysketchbookbelow,putitalltogether,andenjoydrawingthesuperlongflag.Youcandothis!NoticehowIhave taperedandcurvedallof theflag thickness lines inward.Thiswillgiveyourflagsabitmorecharacterandbringthemtolifeonthepage.See?


Stillnotenoughflagmadnessforyou?Herearetwofunillustrationsdrawnbytwoofmystudentswhilewatchingmyonlinevideotutorial.

Studentexamples

LESSON18

THESCROLL

Asyoucanseeby the illustrationon thepreviouspage, this ismostdefinitelyoneofmyfavoritelessons.Iguaranteeyouaregoingtolovethislessonsomuchthatyouaregoingtostartdoodlingscrollsonjustabouteverythingfromnowon—yourofficememos,grocerylists,to-dolists,andmore!InthislessonIwillemphasizethedrawingconceptof“bonusdetail.”Iwant

toencourageyoutousethesedrawinglessonsasstartingpointsformuchmoreelaborate,detaileddrawingsthatyoucreateonyourown.ThisscrolllessonisanadvancedversionoftheripplingflaglessonafterI’veaddedbonusdetailstoit.1.Verylightlysketchtwocylindersabitapartfromeachother.

2.Using these twocylindersasformingspoolsforourscroll,connect thenearedgeoftheribbonwithcurvedlines.Curvetheselinesevenmorethanyouthinkyouneed to.This is usingwhich two importantdrawing laws?Placement andsize!

3. Erase your extra lines, and spiral in the scroll following a foreshortenedpatternmuchlikewedidontherosedrawing,yes?Yousee,everythingIteachyouinthisbookistransferableinformation.

4. Draw all the peeking thickness lines tucked behind the near edges of thescroll.Thesetinydetailthicknesslinesarethemostimportantlinesintheentiredrawing.Ifyouforgetoneof these,or ifyoudon’t lineeachupcarefullywiththeveryedgeoftheforeshortenedcurve,yourdrawingwillcollapse.(However,I’msureyouwillnothavetoworryaboutthisfate,becauseyouwillneverforgetany of your tucked thickness lines, right?)

5. Position your light source in the top right corner.Use a light guide line indirectionSWtodrawthecastshadownext to the leftsideof thescroll.Usingcurvedcontourlines,shadeall thesurfacesoppositethelightposition.Youseehow I’ve pulled the light position toward your eye, in front of the drawing.NoticehowI’veshadedabitontherightsideofthescrollaswell.Experimentwithyour lightposition.Inyourpracticedrawings, tryplacingthelightsourcedirectlyoverhead,over to the left,orperhapsevenbelow theobject.This is areallychallengingexercise,butsorewarding. Itwill reallyhelpyounaildowntheconceptofshadingoppositethelightsource.


Okay,howwilddoyouwant togetnow?Howmuch timedoyouhave left inthis drawing session? I can see you easily spending another couple of hoursenjoying drawing scrolls. So, draw the scroll below. Combine all the applieddrawingconceptsofshading,contour,shadow,overlapping,size,placement...and you have a very three-dimensional scroll, really alive in that space withdepthandvolume.


Whystopnow?It’sonlythreehoursintothisdrawingsession,solet’spushon’til dawn! This is a fun scroll that I’ve been drawing since watching the oldRobinHoodadventurecartoons,wherethesheriff’stoughguysarehangingthescrolled “Wanted” posters all over town. I also see these cool scrolls on thecoversofmanychildren’sDVDsandanyRenaissancetypeoffairorcelebration.MyfavoritescrollwasactuallytherolledcarpetcharacterinAladdin.I’vespenthoursdrawingandstudyingthatwonderfulcarpet.Takealookatmysketchbookpageontheleft,andgetinspiredtodrawyour

ownfancyscroll!

Studentexamples

Thesestudentexamplesaresocool!I’dsureenjoyseeingyours!Whydon’tyoue-mailmesomeofyourdrawings(atwww.markkistler.com)?


LESSON19

PYRAMIDS

IInthislesson,youwilllearnhowtodrawathree-dimensionalpyramid.Whyapyramid, you ask? Because I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt to climb theancient pyramids. Until that day, I always have my imagination and mysketchbookhandy!Andsodoyou!Wewillbedrawingthepyramidbyusingthefollowingdrawingconcepts:overlapping,horizon lines,shading,andshadows.Thislessonwillalsohelpyoupracticesmoothsingle-valueshading.Becausethesidesofapyramidareflat, theyrequireoneconsistenttoneforshading,unlikecylinders, flags, and other curved surfaces that require blended shading fromdarktolight.Now,let’sbegin.1.Drawastraightverticalline.

2.Slant the sides of thepyramiddown, keeping the angle of the slanted linesidenticalandkeepingthemiddlelinelonger.

3.ThinkingofyourDrawingDirectionReferenceCube,drawthebottomofthepyramidindirectionsNWandNE.

4.Anchorthepyramidtothesandwithahorizonline.Positionyourlightsource,anddrawaguidelineindirectionSWforyourcastshadow.

5.Now, add smoothone-tone, single-value shading to the sideof thepyramidoppositeyourlightsource.

6.Youcanstophere,andyouhaveagreat lookingpyramid!Youcanadd thetextureof stoneblocks, draw somecrumbling edges andpilesof stonedebris,andyouhaveanancientsite.I’mthinkingmorealongthelinesofaddingdoors.Strange?Clever?Sketchinthepositionofthedoors.

7.If thedoorisontheright, thethicknessisontheright; if thedoorisontheleft,thethicknessisontheleft.Drawthethicknessontheright-sidedoorontherightsideofthedoor.

8.Drawthethicknessontheleft-sidedoorontheleftsideofthedoor.

9.Completetheshadingonthesidesoppositeyourlightsource.Remember,thisisaflatsurfacethatrequiressmoothsingle-toneshading,notblending.However,inside the curving door on the right side, I do blend the shading because youalwaysblendshadingfromdarktolightoncurvedsurfacesandyoushadewithasingle value surfaces that are flat and facing away from your light sourceposition.


Dependingonhowmuchtimeyouhave,drawthiswonderfulsceneofmultiplepyramids. Notice how I’ve drawn one pyramid below the horizon line and abunchofpyramidsfarawayinthedistance,droppingbehindthehorizonline.Avery important thing to notice in this drawing is how the law of overlappingtrumpsalloftheeightotherconcepts.Lookathowsizeisjustnotafactorinthispicture.Usually, in drawingswe have created so far, things drawn largerwillappear closer and things drawn smallerwill appear farther away.However, inthis drawing, even though the enormous pyramid dwarfs the smaller group, itstill looks farther away, deeper in the picture. Why? Because the power ofoverlapping. I’ve drawn all the smaller pyramids overlapping the giant daddy,thuscreatingtheillusionthatitisdeeperinthescene.

Ifyouarereadingthis,youhavesuccumbedtothevisuallytastydessertthesepyramids offer to your eye. Repetition of pattern and design is enormouslypleasing to the eye. Take a look at the pyramid variations below, drawn bystudentsjustlikeYOU!

Studentexamples

LESSON20

VOLCANOES,CRATERS,ANDACUPOFCOFFEE

What do volcanoes, craters, and coffeemugs have in common?This amazinglesson!Let’s stretch our imaginations and apply the foreshortened circle to threecompletelydifferentobjects.WiththislessonIwanttoheightenyourawarenessof just howmany objects in the real world are foreshortened circles. As youdraw these three foreshortened objects and themany foreshortened lessons inthis book, you will begin to recognize foreshortened objects all around you.Recognizingforeshorteningandotherlawsofdrawingintheworldaroundyouwillhelpyoulearnhowtodrawin3-D.AsIglancearound,Iseeforeshortenedcircleseverywhere:awaterbottle,a

coffeemug,aquarteronthecarpetnexttomycomputerbag,thetopofthefireextinguisheronthewall.Takealookaround—howmanyforeshortenedcirclesdoyousee?Let’sapplyforeshortenedcirclesfromtherealworldtoourdrawinglesson,startingwithavolcano.

TheVolcano

1.Drawtwoguidedots.Istillencourageyoutouseguidedotseventhoughyouareatime-testedpencilwarriordeepintoLesson20ofthisbook.Istilluseguidedotsaftermorethanthirtyyearsofdrawing!

2.Drawacurvedforeshortenedcircle.

3.Slant the sidesof thevolcano, creating jaggedbumpyedges andgiving thevolcanoafeelingofterrainwithjustafewsquiggles.

4. Position your light source, and use blended shading to create a shadowoppositeyourlightsource.Doyounoticetheextendednookandcrannyshadowinsidethecrater?

TheCoffeeMug

1.Drawtwoguidedots,yes...again.

2.Drawanothercurvedforeshortenedcircle,andcompletethecylinder.

3.Rememberhowwecreatedthelipofthelilyblossom?Now,drawaslightlyopenforeshortenedlipatthetopofthecylinder.

4.Slightlytaperthesidesofthecoffeemuginward.Thiswilladdanicetouchofcharactertoyourmug.

5.Drawapartialforeshortenedcircletocreatetheinsidethickness.

6.DrawaDrawingDirectionReferenceCubebelowthiscoffeemug.Usingthiscubeasyourreference,begindrawingthehandleofthecoffeemugwithguidelinesindirectionSE.

7. Following the lines you have drawn above, draw two more guide lines indirectionSE.

8.Completethemughandlewithverticallines.Cleanupyourextraguidelines,anddetail in thesmalloverlapping lines.Oftenasuccessful3-Ddrawingboilsdown to understanding and controlling these seemingly trivial details.We aregoing to draw a solid three-dimensional coffee mug that looks like it hassubstance,volume,andrealexistence.

9.Drawacastshadowinasouthwestdirection,andaddaforeshortenedplate.Addblendedshading.

10.Completethisrefreshingcupofjavabyaddinganevaporatingforeshortenedwispofsteam.


Checkyourwatch—howlongdid this lesson takeyouup to thispoint? Ifyouare out of time for today, feel good about what you accomplished. Yousuccessfully completed the lesson. However, if you really want to feel thatyou’venailedthisconceptofapplyingforeshortenedcircles,thendrawthisnextchallenge!

Startwiththecurvinghorizonline,andbeginsketchingthenearcratersloweronthepaperandlargertomakethemappearmuchclosertoyoureye.Drawthedistantcraterssmallerandhigher,makingthemappearfartheraway.Besuretooverlap the near craters over the far craters. Notice how my dark nook andcrannyshadowshelpseparatethecraters.

Studentexamples

NowtakealookathowMicheleProosusedthecoffeemuglessontodrawherreal-life“stilllife.”Greatjob!

Studentexamples

Lookathowthesestudentspracticedthislessonintheirsketchbooks.

LESSON21

TREES

Ever since I was ten years old, I’ve been obsessed with drawing trees. I’vealwaysbeenfascinatedwith theabovegroundrootcanalsof thegiant fig trees,the gnarly knotholes and deep trunk wood grain on the great oaks, and thewhispering, dangling leaves of the weeping willows. In this lesson I willintroduce you to the joy of drawing a simple tree with a tapered trunk andoverlappingtexturedclumpsofleaves.Treessurroundus,shelterus,warmus,oxygenateus,andprovideabundantly

forourlives.FromthetableI’msittingatandchairI’msittingon,tothepaper

you are drawing on, trees are fundamental to ourway of life.Onmywebsite(www.markkistler.com), I’vepostedseveral treeplantingorganizations thatmykidsand I areapartof. I encourageyou to takea lookat these (Google“treeplanting organizations”) and consider joining one.With this lesson I hope toencourageyou to gooutside andplant a tree in your yard, your friend’s yard,yourkid’sschool,oryourplaceofworship.Butfirstlet’sdrawaninspiringtree!1.Drawthetrunkofthetreetaperingoutatthebottom.

2.Curvethebottomwithacontourline.Thiswillserveastheguidelineforthetree’srootsystem.


3.Usingthebottomofthecontourcurve,drawguidelinesindrawingdirectionsNE,SE,NW,andSWasIhaveillustrated.

4.Isthisfascinatingorwhat?Drawyourtree’srootsystemwithlongextendingtapering tubes out from the trunk, following your drawing direction compasslines.Haveyounoticedthatweusedrawingdirectionlinesforjustabouteveryobjectwedrawin3-D?

5.Eraseyourextraguidelines.Drawthebranchestaperingsmallerandsplittingoff into smaller branches as I have illustrated here. Notice that I’ve drawnoverlapping wrinkles where the branches split off to identify the overlappingedgemoreclearly.

6.Sketchacircletodesignatewherethefirstclusterofleaveswillgo.

7. Sketch two more circles behind your first circle: the power of grouping.Essentially, a group of three clumpswill look visuallymore appealing than asingleclump.

Mostofthetime,anoddnumberofobjectsinagroupwilllookmorepleasingtotheeyethananevennumber.I’mlookingoutthewindowrightnow,andherearesomeexamplesofgroupingIseefrommypointofview.Thestoreacrossthestreethasagroupofthreewindowstotherightofthedoorandagroupofthreewindowstotheleftofthedoor.Thereisagroupofthreetreetubsoneithersideof the store’s entrance. Take a look online at famous historical Romanarchitecture,noticinghowmanycolumnsareoneithersideof theentrancesorwindows.Lookatthegroupingofwindows,arches,andsculpturesinhistoricalRenaissancearchitecture.GroupingisanimportantartconceptthatIwilldiscussingreaterdetailinourupcominglessons.

8.Aswedidinthekoalalesson,wearegoingtodrawthesurfacefeeloftheseleafclusters.Startbydrawingsmall rowsofscribblesas Ihave illustrated.Asyoubuildupmorerowsandlayersofthesescribbles,youwillcreatetheillusionthat these spheres are leaf clusters. Now, draw the textured wood grain withrepeatedflowinglinesrunningdownthetrunk.Darkenunderneaththebrancheswithnookandcrannyshadows.

9.Continuetobuildupthevisualeffectof leaves,fillingineachofyourlarge

leaf clump circles with small scribbles. Complete the tree by adding texturedshading. Draw long vertical lines to shade the tree trunk and branches. Greatwork!Nice-lookingtree!


Inthisbonuschallenge,Iwillteachyouhowtocapturenature’sbeauty—usingaclearclipboard.Hereiswhatyouwillneed:

•Aclearclipboardoranypieceofclearsolidplastic(I’veevenusedaclearplasticplatetoshowthistechniquetofriends).

• Two black fine-point Sharpie markers and two black ultrafine-pointSharpies.

•A box of clear overhead “Write-On” transparencies (make sure that thebox says, “Write-On,” not the ones that aremade to be run through acopier).

•One rollofanykindof tape (Ipreferwhite¾-inchor1-inchcorrection

whiteouttape,butlowadhesivebluepainter’stapeworksfine,too).• A lightweight portable easel or two cardboard boxes (any kind ofcardboard box will do; I have had good success with the white filestorageboxesthatfoldtogetherwithalid).

Using thewhiteout tape, secure one sheet of clear plasticWrite-OnFilm toyourclearclipboard.Onesmallpieceoftapeoneithersideofthetransparencywilldojustfine.GrabyourblackSharpiepensandstepoutside.Onceoutside, findan interesting tree.Standstill,closeoneeye,and lookat

the tree through your plastic clipboard. Move around the borders of yourclipboardtoframetheentiretree.Placeyoureaselorstackseveralofthewhiteemptystorageboxesatthisspot.Holdyourplasticframecomfortablywhileyoulook through theframewithoneeyeclosed,and tracewhatyouseewithyourblackSharpie.Ifyouarehavingtroubleholdingyourclearclipboardupatarm’sreachwhiletracingwiththeotherhand,askafriendtostandstillinfrontofyoufor aminute or two. Use her or his shoulder as your easel. Keeping one eyeclosed,concentrateontheoutlines,edges,shapes,andlines.AsI’vementionedbefore, all of history’s great artists, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael,Rembrandt,havetracedfromnaturetolearnhowtoreallyseewhattheywantedtodraw.Ifyou’dprefertostayinside,sitatyourkitchentablewithaplantoraflower

inavase in frontofyou.Experimentbyplacing the flowerveryclose toyourclipboardandthenmovingitfaraway.Asyoudrawtheseimageswithoneeyeclosed,noticehowourdrawinglaws(overlapping,shading,shadow,andhorizonlines)cometolife.ThisclearclipboardisanideaIdreameduptwenty-fiveyearsagowhenIwas

drawing a picture of my friend’s pet collie. I was having a difficult timecapturingthesoftexpressiveeyesandthewonderfulflowofthecolliefur.(Thiswaswaybeforedigital pictures instantly zapped fromyour cell phone toyourprinter,andallIhadhandywasawideplasticstraightedge.)Irememberdoingthis techniquedirectlyonthestraightedge.Iwasable todrawonlyasliverofthecollieduetothewidthofthestraightedge,butitwasenoughformetosolvetheproblem.AtthattimeIhadnowaytoquicklytransfertheimagetopaper,soIjustwipeditoff.Yearslater,myfriendMichaelSchmidcreatedawonderfulexerciseforhisart

classroom.Heconstructedastandingframedfour-foot-by-four-footclearplasticpartition.HewouldhavestudentssitoneithersidewithnonpermanentVis-à-Vis

overheadmarkers(whichareusedtodrawonoverheadprojectortransparenciesandcanbewipedoff).The students would take turns closing one eye and sitting very still while

tracing the student sittingon theother sideof thepartition.Mike thoughtof acleverwaytotransferastudent’sworktopaper.Hewouldwetablanksheetofwhitepaperwithawidesponge.Next,hewouldcarefullyapplythewetpapertothedrawnimageontheplasticsurface,smoothingitdownwithhishands,beingcarefulnottosmeartheimageontheplastic.Then,hewouldslowlypeelthewetpaper from the plastic surface. Voilà! The student’s beautiful drawing wassuccessfullytransferredtothepaper.Since then I’ve developed this very easy clear clipboard technique to teach

students this funwayofobserving/drawing/tracing from the realworldaroundthem.Iftheweatherdoesnotpermityoutogooutsidetostandinfrontofatree,trysittingatyourkitchentablewithaplantoraflowerinavaseinfrontofyou.Experimentwiththisbyplacingtheflowerveryclosetoyourclipboardandthenmoving it far away.As you draw these images, you’ll be reminded of all thedrawing laws you have been learning, right there in front of you, in the realworld!Watchhowoverlapping,shading,shadow,andhorizonpopfromtherealworldtoyourtwo-dimensionalplasticsurface.

Studentexamples

Takealookathowthesestudentspracticedthistreelessonintheirsketchbooks.Noticehowtheirdifferentstylesarebeginningtoemerge,justasyoursis!

LESSON22

AROOMINONE-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Haveyoueverwonderedwhatyour roomwould look like if youmovedyourbed and dresser?Or how your family roomwould look if you rearranged thecouch, chairs, and entertainment center? Has the enormous effort involved inmovingeverythingaroundjustfora“look-see”everdampenedyourenthusiasmforaproject?Thisisawonderfullessoninlearninghowtodrawaroom,hall,or

foyer inone-pointperspective so thatyoucan interiordecorate toyourheart’scontent!In this lesson I will explore one-point perspective, which is a drawing

techniqueinvolvingalignmentofallobjectstoasinglefocalpointinapicture.This technique isalsoreferred toasavanishingpoint.Don’tconfuse thiswithtwo-point-perspectivedrawing,eventhoughtheprincipleissimilar.Intwo-pointperspectiveyouusetwovanishingpointstopositionyourdrawingswithspecificalignmenttocreatedepth.I’m not going to detail how to draw the furniture in this introduction.

Honestly, we could spend another entire book of lessons just focusing ondrawing furniture,windows,drapes, stairs,doorways,andother interiordesigndetails. For this introduction, let’s just focus on drawing a really great three-dimensionalspacethatyoucanfillwithyourimagination.

1. Let’s begin this lesson by drawing the back wall of a room. Draw twohorizontallinesliningupwiththetopofyoursketchbookpageandtwoverticallines liningupwith thesideofyoursketchbookpage.Keepyourvertical linesstraight up and down and your horizontal lines straight across. This is veryimportant.

2.Drawaguidedotinthecenterofthebackwall.

3. Lightly sketch a guide line diagonally through the corners of your room,directlythroughthecenterguidedot.Iusedtheedgeofascratchpieceofpaperasastraightedge,butfeelfreetousearuler.

4.Lightlysketchanotherguide linediagonally throughtheoppositecornersofyourroom,directlythroughthecenterguidedot.

5.Leavingthecenterguidedot,eraseyourextralines.

6. Lightly sketch in the position of the door. Notice how we are using thedrawing concept size. The near edge of the door is drawn larger to create theillusion that it iscloser toyoureye.Draw the floor,walls,andceiling,alwayskeepinginmindhowsizeaffectsdepth.

7.Using thecenterguidedotasyourreferencepoint,sketchaguide linefromthe topof thenear edgeof thedoor all theway to the centervanishingpoint.Thiscenterguidedotwillbethefocalpointofnearlyeverylineinthisdrawing.

8.Draw awindow on the oppositewall by blocking in the positionwith twoverticallines.Remembertodrawthenearedgelarger.

9.Onceagain,referringtoyourcenterguidedot,drawthetopandbottomedgesofthewindow.Prettycool,eh?

10. Horizontal and vertical lines are used to illustrate thickness in one-pointperspective drawings.Drawhorizontal thickness lines for the doors,windows,andstairs.

11. Now draw a vertical line to define the thickness of the window. Is thewindowinathree-foot-thickstonecastlewalloramuchthinnerbrickorwoodenwall?

12.Thisstepisaveryimportantpartofthislesson.Usingthecenterguidedotasyourreferencepoint,lightlysketchinthetopandbottomofthewindow.Voilà!You have created awindow in one-point perspective !Now let’swork on thestairs.

13.Using the backwalls as your reference lines, drawhorizontal and verticallines to create the far edge of the stairs. Do you remember in step 1 how Istressedtheimportanceofthosefirsthorizontalandverticallines?Well, thisiswhy.Allofyourremaininghorizontalandverticallinesmustbeparalleltothefirstones,oryourdrawingwillvisuallycollapse.

14.Timetousethecenterguidedotagain.Lineupeachcornerofeachstepwithyour center guide dot. I’ll be referring to this as “line alignment” in futurelessons.DrawlightsketchlinesoutfromthecenterguidedotasI’veillustrated.

15.Cleanupyourextrasketchlines.Sharpenalltheedgestoreallybringyourdrawing into focus. I’ve shaded the drawing with the light coming from theoutsideleftwindowandtheceilinglightsoff.Iftheceilinglightswereon,wherewould the shading be? I’ve added floorboards and a row of ceiling lamps.Redrawthisoneafewtimes,experimentingwithdifferentdoorsandwindows.


This sketch was drawn from one of my online animated tutorials atwww.markkistler.com. I was inspired by one of my favorite M. C. Escherdrawings.TakealookatM.C.Escher’sone-point-perspectivedrawingsonline.Youwillalsoseemanytwo-point-perspectivedrawings,areallycooltechniquethatwewillbediscussinginalaterlesson.



Grabyourplasticclipboardandblackfine-tipSharpiesfromLesson21’sBonusChallenge.Tapea sheetofplasticWrite-OnFilm toyour clipboard, asyou’vedonebefore.Settleyourself anywhere inyour room.Sit atyourdesk,onyourbed,onthefloor,whereveryouaremostcomfortableandinapositionthatgivesyouthebestviewofyourroom.Usingyourlightweightportableeasel,orafewcardboardboxes,positionyourclipboardsothatwhenyoulookthroughitwithoneeyeclosed,thebackcornerwallisaverticalline,matchingcloselywiththeverticaledgeofyourclipboard.Traceeverythingthatyousee:theedgesofthewalls,ceiling,floor,windows,

andfurniture.Makesurenottomovetheclipboardonceyoustarttotrace.Placeyour drawing on a scanner, and print a copy.Use your pencils to shade yourprint,addingmultipletonesandvalueswhereyouseethemintheroom.Noticethereal-worldnookandcrannyshading, theshadows,andseehowplacement,overlapping,andsizereallydoimpactyourvisualworld.Isthisfunorwhat?Take a look at how Michele used the clear clipboard method to draw her

room.Theillustrationbelowontheleftisherinkoncleartransparencytracing,and the illustrationon the right isherexampleofcopying the transparencyonregularpaper,thenaddingshadinganddetailstotheprint.Cool!

Studentexamples

Herearetwodifferentoutcomesfromtwostudentscompletingthesamelesson.Ijustloveseeingtheseresults!

LESSON23

ACITYINONE-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Bylearningtodrawaroominone-pointperspectiveinthepreviouslesson,youpracticedtheimportantbasicskillofcreatingasinglevanishingpoint.Let’stakethisideaastepfurtheranddrawadowntowncityblockinone-pointperspective,whereallthebuildings,sidewalks,androadseemto“vanish”atasinglepointinthe far distance. Take another look at the drawing of the city on the previouspage.Looksreallyfuntodraw,right?Itis!Andit’saloteasierthanitlooks.InthislessonIwillbereinforcingyourunderstandingofseverallawsofdrawing:size,placement,overlapping,shading,andshadow—aswellastheprinciplesof

attitude,bonusdetails,andconstantpractice.

DefiningPerspective

Indrawing,perspectiveisused“tosee”orcreatetheillusionofdepthonaflatsurface.Theword“perspective”isrootedintheLatinwordspec, meaning “to see.” Other words rooted with spec include“speculate”(toseepossibilities),“spectator”(onewhoseesanevent),and“inspector”(onewhoseesclues).

1.Drawahorizonlinewithaguidedotplacedinthecenter.

2.Similartotheguidelinesyoudrewtopositiontheceiling,walls,andfloorintheone-pointperspectiveroom,drawtheseguidelinestopositionthebuildingsandtheroad.

3.Drawaverticallinewhereyouwantyourbuildingstostartontheleftsideofyourpaper.Thendrawaverticallinewhereyouwantyourbuildingstoend,alsoontheleftsideofyourpaper.Makesuretokeepyourverticallinesstraightsothat they match the edge of your sketchbook. Feel free to use a ruler orstraightedge to draw the lines. When I draw small one-point perspectiveillustrations, I often sketch freehand, without a straightedge. Try drawing thislessonbothways,witharuler,thenfreehand.Whichismoreenjoyableforyou?Therulerdrawingwillappearhard-edgedandprecise,whereas the freehand

won’tbeastechnicallooking,butitwillhaveyourspecialhand-drawnstylisticfeel. Ihesitate tosuggest that studentsexperimentwithusingastraightedge inthislessonbecausesomestudentstendtobecomedependentonthistool.Pleaseunderstandthatthestraightedgeisjustanotherdrawingtoolinyourquiver,justastheblendingStompisanextremelyhelpfultool.Ifneedbe,however,youcandrawjustfinewithoutit.4.Nowdo the same for the right sideofyourdrawing.Drawvertical lines toindicatethepositionofthebuildings.

5. Make sure that the buildings’ top and bottom lines match up with yourvanishingpoint.

6.Drawhorizontallines,matchingthehorizonline(youreyelevel)fromthetopandbottomcornersofeachbuildingontheleftsideofthedrawing.Thisisthemomentwhenyourdrawingreallysnapsoffthepage!

7.Drawthehorizontal thickness lineson thebuildingson therightsideof thedrawing.

8.Draw the roadand thecenterdivider lines.Shade thebuildingblock forms.I’vepositionedmylightsourceat thevanishingpoint,soIhaveshadedall thesurfacesfacingawayfromthevanishingpoint.


ThislessonwasinspiredwhenIwascrossingFifthAvenueinNewYorkCity.Ilookeddownthemiddleofthestreetandsawthetoweringbuildings,theriverofyellow taxis, and even the crowds of people on the sidewalks, all lined up inone-point perspective! I stopped in my tracks and thought, “What a greatdrawinglessonthisis...”whenataxiblaredhishornandyelledatmetogetoutofthestreet!Another inspiring moment for this lesson was when I was shopping at the

grocerystore,rollingdownthecannedvegetableisleand...“Whoa!Majorone-point perspective lesson!”—all 10,000 cans are all lined up to one vanishingpoint!It’sreallyverycool.Oh!Ijustrememberedanothergreatlocationforone-pointinspiration—thelibrary!Allthebooksontheshelvesareinwonderfulone-pointperspectiverows!Youshouldtrythisyourselfnexttimeyouareatthegrocerystoreorthelibrary.Itmakestheideaone-pointperspectivecrystalclear!Redrawthelessonbelow,andaddatonofextraideas.YoucanseehowI’ve

added doors, windows, and a few neighbors. Have fun with this one. Drawawnings,stoops,andmaybeaflowerboxor two.Details trulyare thespiceoflife!


Whystophere?Whynotapply thisone-pointperspective techniqueout in therealworldtoreallyseehowitworks?GrabyourclearclipboardwithapieceofclearWrite-OnFilmtapedtoit,alongwithyourfine-pointblackSharpies.Walkdownyourdriveway to thestreet.Lookdownthestreet,eitherway(itdoesn’tmatter); just pick the direction that is themost visually interesting.Close oneeye,andtracewhatyouseebylookingthroughyourclearclipboard.Tostabilizeyourarm,leanagainstastationaryobject,suchasyourmailboxoraparkedcar.Yourvanishingpointisgoingtobeabitofftotherightorleftofcenterasyouwillnotbestandinginthemiddleofthestreet.However,youwillbedelightedwithyourblackinktracing.Prettyneattoseehowthisvanishingpointworksinreality,yes?Trythissittingonabenchdowntown,inthepark,oronapier.Iactuallydid

thisinadepartmentstorewhilelookinguptheescalators.Icouldn’tresist!Theuniformity and repeatedpatternwere just toovisually compelling.A thousandescalator steps all lined up to a single vanishing point. A veritable one-point-perspective drawing lottery win! After the sixth curious stare from a passingshopper, I putmy clipboarddown, but not before I finished the tracingof theforeshortenedescalator.You can achieve a similar exercise by taking a photo and placing a clear

plasticWrite-OnFilmoverit.It’snotasfunoradventurous(orasannoyingtopeople tryingtogetaroundyouonthesidewalk),but takingdigitalpicturesofyourtargetviewisanotherwaytomakethisexercisework.Forexample,whenIwas inspired by the one-point perspective view while walking along FifthAvenueinNewYorkCity,Ishouldhavetakenapictureratherthanstoppinginthe middle of the sidewalk to draw amid several hundred hurried New Yorkpedestrians.Ittookfiveattempts,crossinganintersectionoverandoveragain,tosuccessfullycapturetheimageinmymind.

Studentexamples

Here are three great student examples from this lesson to inspire you to keepdrawingeveryday!

LESSON24

ATOWERINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Ifyouenjoyedexperimentingwithone-pointperspective,youarereallygoingtohave funwith two-pointperspective.Two-pointperspective isusing twoguidedotsonahorizonlinetodrawanobjectaboveandbelowyoureyelevel.Icouldgoonforthreepageselaboratingonthisdefinition,butasyouandInowknow,apictureisworthathousandwords,solet’sdraw.Inthislessonwewillreallyfocusonthelawsofdrawingsizeandplacement.

With these two vanishing-point guide dots, you are going to see immediatelywhysizeandplacementaresuchpowerfulconcepts.

1.Verylightly,sketchahorizonline.Drawthishorizonlineallthewayacrossyourpaper.

2.Placetwovanishing-pointguidedotsonthehorizonline.

3.Draw a tall vertical line in the center of your horizon line to position yourtower.

4.Usingyour ruler or a straightedgeof amagazine, book, or scratchpieceofpaper,drawguide lines from the leftvanishingpoint to the topandbottomofyourtower.

5.Nowdothesamefortherightside.Usingyourrulerorastraightedge,lightlydrawguide lines from the rightvanishingpoint to the topandbottomofyourtower.

6.Drawtwoverticallinesoneithersideofyourcenterverticallinetodeterminehowthickyouwantthetowertobe.7.Darkenanddefinetheedgesofyourtowerandhorizonline.Eraseyourextraguidelines.Drawaguidedotbelowthecenterbottomcornerofyourtower.Addguide lines lining upwith your vanishing points. Thiswill begin to shape thepedestal.

8. Using your vanishing points, draw in the back sides of the pedestal. Now,repeatthisprocesstobegintoshapeinthetopcapstoneofthetower.

9.Drawthesidesofthecapstoneandpedestalwithtwoverticalguidelines.

10.Drawthethicknesslinesforthepedestalandthecapstonelinedupwiththevanishingpoints.

11.Determinewhere your light sourcewill be positioned.Add a cast shadowoppositethelightsource.ThisdrawingisanexcellentvisualexampleofhowtheNine Fundamental Laws ofDrawingwork andwhy. For example, using yourstraightedge to extend the bottom right edge of the tower in a southwestdirectionwillpositionthecastshadowloweronthesurfaceofthepage,makingit appear closer (placement). Also, by using these vanishing points, you havedrawn the near corner of your tower larger (size). Adding shading to all thesurfaces opposite the light source will create the illusion that the tower isstanding in a three-dimensional space. Notice how I’ve added a cast shadowunder the topcapstoneandat thebaseof thecentercolumn.Castshadowsarepowerful tools tohelpvisuallyhold theobjects’componentssecurely together,likevisualglue.

Let’sreviewhowwe’veappliedtheNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingtoatwo-point-perspectivedrawing:

1.Foreshortening:Lookatthebottompedestalofthetower.Noticehowthetop of this pedestal is a foreshortened square. By distorting this into aforeshortenedshape,youcreatetheillusionthatonepartisclosertoyoureye.

2.Placement:Seehowthelowestpointinthetowerisalsothenearestpointinyourdrawing.Thelowestpointofthetowerappearstobecloser.

3.Size:Noticehowthelargestpartofthetoweristhecenter.Thisiswheretheguide lines tobothsidevanishingpointscometogether.The largestpartofthetowerappearstobecloser.

4. Overlapping: Look at how the center column of the tower partiallyblocks the view of the pedestal and the capstone. This overlappingcreatestheillusionofnearandfar.

5.Shading:Shadingthetoweroppositethelightsourcecreatesdepth.6.Shadow:Usingtherightvanishingpointtodrawtheshadowguidelinevisuallyanchorsthetowertotheground,ratherthanhaveitappeartobefloatinginspace.

7.Contour:Youcouldaddawaterpipejuttingoutofthebuildingusingoneofthevanishingpointsasadirectionguidetodrawyourcontourlines.

8.Horizon: Look how the entire drawing is based on the position of thehorizonlinebetweenthetwovanishingpoints.

9.Density:Youcoulddrawothersmallerbuildingsbehindthistower,linedupwith thesesametwovanishingpoints.Youwoulddrawthemlighterandlessdistincttocreatetheillusionofatmosphere.

AnexcellentwaytorememberallNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingis tocreate awacky cartoon story in your imagination based on the first letters of

eachof theNineLaws inproper sequence (F,P,S,O,S,S,C,H,D).Here iswhatIteachinmyclasses,butfeelfreetocreateyourownwildvisualimages.Themoreoutlandishandexaggeratedyour story is, thebetteryour recallof itwillbe.Inyourimaginationpicture“fluffypillowssurfingonsupersmallcarrotsholdingdinosaurs.”Thisisafun,whimsicalwhackyvisualchainthatwillenableyoutoremember

these Nine Laws forever! I’m serious. I taught a big burly cowboy named“Rock” (who just happened to havewon theworld bull-riding competition inNewYorkCity!)thismemorytrickonanairplaneinlessthanfourminutes!Hethen drew a very cool rose in 3-D for his wife. Yes, I do have the mostinterestingweeklyplanerides!


Now,let’sdrawasecondtower,withmultiplelevelsandvaryingwidths.

1.Drawahorizonlineallthewayacrossyourpaper.Placeyourvanishingpointsnear theoutsideedgesofyourpaperasfarapartaspossible.Ifyouplaceyourvanishingpointstooclosetogether,yourtwo-pointperspectivewilllookskewed,as if you were looking through a fishbowl. This is actually a great point toexploreonyourown.Trydrawingthistowerseveraltimes,eachtimeplacingthevanishingpointscloserandclosertogether.Ifyoudo,youwillnoticeincreasingdistortion.Agoodexampleof this isM.C.Escher’sSelf-Portrait inSphericalMirror, where he drew a portrait of himself looking into a round glass globe(Googleitwhenyougetachance).

2.Drawthecenterlinetopositionyourtower.

3.Usingyourstraightedgeorasideofapieceofpaper,lightlysketchinthetopofthetowerwithguidelinesfromthevanishingpoints.

4.Drawguidedotsdownthecenterverticallinetodeterminethepositionofthetowerlevels.

5. Using a ruler or any straightedge, lightly draw the guide lines from eachcenterguidedottothevanishingpoints.

6.Definethetoptowerwithverticallines.Payattentiontotheseverticallines,andmatch themwith your center vertical line.You can also double-check theverticalangleoftheselineswiththeverticalsideedgesofyourdrawingpaper.7.Definethenexttwolevels,makingsuretokeepthesidesvertical.

8.Drawa levelof the towerbothaboveandbelowyoureye level.Rememberthatyoureyelevelisthehorizonline.Beveryattentivetothevanishingpointswhenyoudrawthebackedgeofthe

bottomforeshortenedplatform.Noticehowthislinedisappearsbehindthewallofthetower,notintothecorner,butbehindthecorner.Thisisthemostcommonmistakethatmanystudentsmake.

9. Complete this two-point-perspective multilevel tower by adding shading,shadows, and details, such as tinywindows. By drawing small windows, youcreatetheillusionthatthetowerisenormous.(Likewise,drawingbigleavesonatreemakesthetreelooksmaller;drawingsmallleavesonatreemakesitappearlarger.Drawbigeyesonafacetomakeitlooksmaller,likeababy;drawsmalleyes on a face tomake it look larger and older.) Playingwith proportion is awonderfultrick,whichwewilldiveintomoredeeplyinalaterlesson.

Studentexample

Takealookathowthisstudentpracticedthislesson.Nicejob,eh?

LESSON25

ACASTLEINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE

As you enjoyed that very cool two-point-perspective tower in the last lesson,let’sexplorethistwo-point(vanishingpoint)abitmore.EversincemyfirstvisittoEuropethirtyyearsago,I’vebeenfascinatedbycastles.Itseemedtomethattherewasacastleor two ineveryvillage,hamlet, town,andmajorcity.Whatreallyamazedmewastheageoftheseenchantingcastles,oftenseveralhundredyears old. I remember the adjacent pubs had thick wood tables with namescarvedintothemdatingbackto1700s,whoa!In this lessonwewillbuildonyour two-point-perspectivedrawingskillsby

applying size, placement, shading, shadows, and repetition. We will practiceusingthevanishingpointstocreatethevisualillusionofamedievalcastlereallyexistinginthreedimensionsonyourpaper.

1.Drawalonghorizonlineacrossyourpaper.

2. Establish your two vanishing points by drawing two guide dots as I haveillustrated.The farther apart you can place these guide dots, the better. If youplace your guide dot vanishing points too close together, your two-point-perspectivedrawingwillbecomereallydistorted,muchlikelookingatanimageonthebackofaspoonorroundbowl.AgoodexampleofthiswouldbeM.C.Escher’s Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror, where he is looking at his ownreflectioninareflectivesphere.

3.Drawthecenterlineofthecastle,halfaboveyoureyelevel,halfbelowyoureye level. Notice how the terms “horizon line” and “eye level” can beinterchanged.

4.Lightlysketchtheguidelinesforthetopandbottomedgesofthecastle.5.Placetwoguidedotsaboveyoureyelevel,andtwobelowyoureyelevelonthe center line of the castle. Thiswill establish the guide lines for the turrets,windows,andbuttressramps.

6. Lightly draw all the guide lines using a straightedge. Over the years I’veexperimented with many helpful devices for drawing these vanishing-pointguide lines. One of my favorites is securing a rubber band between the twovanishingpointswithapieceofcardboardbehindthedrawingandthumbtackson thevanishingpoints. Iwilldiscuss this technique indetail in thischapter’sBonusChallenge.

7.Drawtheturrets,makingsuretopayattentiontotheverticallines.

8. Carefully line up your straightedge from the top near corner of each turretwiththeoppositevanishingpoint.Iftheturretisontherightsideofthecastle,lineupthethicknesswiththeleftvanishingpoint.Iftheturretisontheleftsideof the castle, line up the thickness with the right vanishing point—just theoppositeofthethicknessrule.Thisisbecausethethicknessruleappliestodoors,windows,holes—tospacescutoutofadrawing.Theturretsareactuallyblockspushingoutoftheobject.Ifyouhaddrawnatoplevelabovetheturretsclosingthemintowindows,wewouldbebacktothethicknessrule.Interesting?

9. Draw the windows on the left side of the castle by lining up the top andbottomofthewindowswiththevanishingpointontheleftside.Payattentiontotheverticallines.Saggingwindowswouldbeverydistracting.Easyproblemtoavoid: Justkeepdartingyour eyes from thevertical edgeofyourpaper to theverticalcenterlinetotheverticallineyouaredrawing.Inthetimeittakesmetodrawonewindow’sverticaledge,I’veprobablydartedmyeyestothesidesandcenterthreeorfourtimes.

10.Now,wegobacktoourtried,tested,andtruethicknessrule:Ifthewindowisontherightside,thethicknessisontherightside;ifthewindowisontheleftside,thethicknessisontheleftside.Useyourstraightedgetolineupthefartopcorner of each window, with the vanishing point on the right side. Draw thethicknessaswideorasthinasyoulike.

11.Drawtherowsofbuttressrampswithverticallines.Drawthebottomoftheramplinedupwiththeoppositevanishingpoint.12.Drawthetopslantofthebuttressramps.Keepthisangleinmind,asalltherampsthatfollowwillmatchthisangleexactly.

13. Lightly sketch in vanishing-point guide lines from the top and bottomcornersofthebuttressrampsontherightandleftsideofthecastle.

14.Matchingthenearangleoftheramp,drawthethicknessofthefirstramps.Thenleavingagap,drawthenextrampbymatchingthesameangle.Besuretodrawthisnextrampthinnerandsmallerthanthenearramp.Hereisaperfectvisualexampleofthedrawinglawofsize:Thenearrampis

closerandthusdrawnlarger.Eachsubsequentrampisdrawnsmallertogivetheillusionofdepth.Thisisalsoaperfectexampleofthedrawinglawofplacement:The near ramp is drawn lower, creating the illusion that it is closer. The nextrampisplacedhighertomakeitlookfartheraway.Addthefrontentranceontherightsideofthecastle.Lineupthebottomfar

cornerofthedoorwiththevanishingpointontheleftside.

15.Determineyourlightposition,andshadethecastleaccordingly.NoticehowIhaveshadedunder thedoorwayarch. I’vekept thewindowthicknessesshade-free togive the illusion that light is coming fromwithin.Alsonoticehow the

nonshadedwindowledgesreallypopoutnext to theblack interiorononesideand the graytone shading on the other side. This is called contrast. Contrastbetweenvaluesdefinesanobject.To complete the drawing, add details, such as bricks. Be sure to use your

vanishing-pointguidedotstoappropriatelylineupthebricks’angle,asIdidinthe drawing below. Inmost cases,when you’re adding textured detail, in thiscasethebricks,alittlegoesalongway,meaningthatascatteredfewgroupsoftexturewillgivetheillusionoffulltexture.


1.Findapieceofcardboardabouttwelveinchesbyeighteeninches.Youdon’tneed to be exact—any size will do. In fact, you will most likely be makingseveralofthesecontraptionsofvaryingsizes.

2.Secureapieceofpaper to thecenterof thecardboard, leavingat least threeinchesofspacetotheleftandrightofyourdrawingpaper.

3.Drawalonghorizonlinethroughthecenterofyourdrawingpaper,extendingitallthewayoffbothsidesofthecardboardbackboard.

4.Drawvanishingpointsateachendofthehorizonline.

5.Putapushpinintoeachvanishingpoint.

6.Secureathinrubberbandbetweeneachpushpin.

7.Whoala!Younowhaveatotallyflexiblevanishing-pointguideline.Youcanstretch this vanishing-point guide line to determine the correct two-point-perspective vanishing angle of any object in your drawing. Go ahead,experiment!Drawaverticallineanywhereonyourpaper.

8.Now,useyourrubberbandtolineupthetopofthebuilding.

9.Now,usetherubberbandtodrawthebottomofthebuilding.

10.Tocomplete thedrawing,addmorevertical lines, shading,anddetail.Youhavemasteredyetanotherbrilliantdrawingusing3-Dtechniques!

Studentexamples

Takealookathowthesestudentspracticedthislessonintheirsketchbooks.

LESSON26

ACITYINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE

Take a look at the illustration on the previous page. Fantastic fun! This is awonderful exercise for practicing a more advanced two-point-perspectivechallenge. I established practice as one of the ABCs of Successful Drawingbecauseitisnearlyimpossibletolearnandmasteranewskillwithoutengagingin intense repetitive practice. Music, language, reading, sports, and, mostdefinitely,drawingdemandpracticeforapersontoreallyunderstandandenjoythem.

1.Lightlydrawyourlonghorizonline,stretchingacrossyourentirepaper.Drawyourtwovanishingpoints.

2.Draw fourvertical lines to establish thenear corners of four citybuildings.NoticehowI’vedrawnonlytwoofthelinesaboveandbelowthehorizonline.

3.Beginwith the building on the left.Lightly draw the vanishing-point guideline for the topof thebuilding.Noticehow thebottomof thebuildingwillbehiddenbeyond thehorizon line; itwillbebeyondyoureye level,hidden fromyourpointofview.

4.Moveovertothenextbuildingtotheright.Lightlydrawthevanishing-pointguidelinesforthetopandbottomofthisbuilding.5.Moveovertothenextbuilding,andkeeprepeatingthisprocess,usingverticallinestocompletethesefirstbuildings.

6. Using overlapping, draw this far right building tucking behind the closerbuilding.

7.Draw some additional vertical lines from the tops of the other buildings tocreate the illusion of depth and to create the look and feel of a crowded cityskyline.

8.Cleanupyourextralines.

9.Lightlydrawthevanishing-pointguidelinestocreatethetopofthebuilding.Decidewhere youwant your “below-eye-level” buildings to be by drawing averticalline.Thiswillestablishthenearcornerofthebuilding.

10.Definethethicknessofthetowerwithtwoverticallines.

11.Use your straightedge to draw a light vanishing-point guide line from thebackrightcorneroftheroof.Dothesamethingontheothercorner,andvoilà,youhaveaslightlyopened

foreshortenedsquare.Now,youCANactuallyseewhywepracticedsomanyofthese foreshortened squares in the previous lessons.Foreshortened squares arean ideal exampleofhow two-point perspectiveworks.YouCANdraw in3-Dwithoutunderstandingtwo-pointperspective,justasyoucandriveacarwithoutknowing how the engine works, or use a computer without knowing how itworks. However, understanding two-point perspective opens up a whole newviewofcreativepossibilitiesforyourfuturedrawings.

12.Beginanotherskyscraperwithaverticalcenterline.Usingyourstraightedge,lightlydrawthevanishing-pointguidelinestocreate

theroof.Forthisexercise, let’s justdrawourbuildingssotall that theyextendbelowourfieldofvision.Justdrawallyourverticallinesforthesebelow-eye-levelbuildingsrunningrightoffthebottomofyourpaper.

13.Drawtheverticallinestodefinethewidthofthebuilding,andlightlydrawthevanishing-pointguidelinestocreatetheroof.

14.Drawallofthebuildings,repeatingthisvanishing-pointguidelinetechniqueoverandoveragain.

15. Determine where your light source is positioned, and shade all surfacesopposite that light position. Notice how I’ve punched out the edges of theoverlappingbuildingsbyreallydigginginwithmypenciltogetthatverydarknook and cranny shadow. This dark edging, or defining of objects that are infrontofotherobjects,isaveryimportanttoolthatnearlyeveryillustratoruses.Nowthatyouknowwhattolookfor,Ichallengeyoutofindacomic,amagazineillustration,oramuseumpaintingthatdoesnotusethistechniquetodefineandseparateobjects.


Here’safunandinterestingbonus-levelchallengeforyou:GoonlineandsearchforimagesofNeuschwansteinCastle,afamouscastleinGermany.Thiscastleisbelieved to be the inspiration behind Cinderella’s castle at the Walt DisneyWorld theme parks and on the Disneymovie logo youmay have seen in thetheateroronaDVD.BrowsethroughseveralimagesofNeuschwansteinonlineuntilyoufindoneyoureallylike.Besuretochooseonethathasyoureyelevelpositioned toward thebottomof thecastle,withall the spires reaching for theskyaboveyoureyelevel.Enlargethisimagetofillyourcomputerscreen,andprintit.Tapethisphoto

image toapieceofcardboard,onceagainmakingsure thecardboard is largerthan the imageby three inchesoneachside.NowtapeaclearpieceofplasticWrite-OnFilmoverthephoto.Usearulerandablackfine-pointSharpiepentofindandtracetheeye-level

horizonlineinthephoto.Now,drawtheguidelinesfromthehighestpointandthelowestpointofthecastletopositionthevanishingpoints.Continuedrawingasmanyoftheseguidelinesfromanglesthatyoucanfindinthephoto,dashingtheselinesoffthecastletothevanishingpoints.Noticehowallofthewindowsonbothsidesofthemainbuildingalllineup

with the angles of the dark roof, the jutting roof spires, and the jutting roofwindows.Lookathoweventhesmaller-sidecastleandthetall-sideguardtoweralllineupwiththevanishingpointsaswell.

Studentexamples

Takealookathowsomestudentspracticedthislessonintheirsketchbooks.Thisisagreatlessonforyoutodrawthreeorfourtimesinyoursketchbook,addinglotsofextradetail,suchaspeople,windows,anddoors.

LESSON27

LETTERINGINTWO-POINTPERSPECTIVE

DoyourememberhowcooltheopeningsequenceofthefirstSupermanmovielooked?(IknowI’mdatingmyselfhere;thefilmwasmadein1978.)GoaheadandGoogleanimageoftheposterforSuperman,theMovie.That very cool, superslick title lettering that you see is an example of two-

pointperspective.WhenIsawthismovieinhighschool,Ibecameobsessedwithlettering in two-point perspective. Just as a side note here, notice how theSupermanimageiscreatedinone-pointperspective?Sidenotetothesidenote:DoyouremembertheopeningsequenceforStarWars,wherethebattleshipfliesinto view overhead and seems to go on forever? That is a great one-point-perspectivescene,asistheopeningstorytextrollingontothescreen.Sidenotethree: You can learn a lot about 3-D graphic illustration by studying movieposters!I’vehadmanyofmyadultstudentsrequestthatIinclude3-Dletteringlessons

inthisbook.BecauseIhavelimitedspaceinthesethirtydaystocovermorethanone lettering lesson, I also recommend you take a look at another one ofmybooks, Drawing in 3-D with Mark Kistler, which includes instructions onmultiple3-Dletteringstylesforeveryletterinthealphabet,A-Z.Forthislesson,I’vechosentwo-point-perspectiveletteringbecauseit’sthemostchallenging,themostinteresting,andthemostvisuallyrewarding.Let’sstartwiththeshorttwo-letter word “Hi” in two-point perspective lettering. Then you can experimentwithlongerwordslater.

1.Lightlydrawyourhorizon lineacrossyourentiresheetofpaper.Placeyourvanishingpointsattheedges.

2.Establishthecenterlineoftheletteringblock.

3.Lightlysketchinthevanishing-pointguidelinesforthetopandbottomoftheletteringblock.4.Define theblock facesof the letters.Be sure thenear letter block is larger.This is a great example of size. The letter you want to appear closer willautomatically be drawn larger as you followyour vanishing-point guide lines.Thiswillbecomeevenmoreimportantwhenyoudrawwordswiththreeormorelettersinthefuture.

5. Shape the face of the letter H by following your guide lines closely.Remember how important the vertical lines are.Dart your eyes to the verticaledgeofyourpaper, and thevertical center line to ensure thatyourH is beingshapedcorrectly.

6.ContinuebyshapingtheletterI.Youcanclearlyseenowwhatapredominaterolethedrawinglawofsizeplaysincreatingthis3-Dvisualillusion.

7.Lightlysketchinthethicknessvanishing-pointguidelinesontherightside.

8.Establishthecornerthicknessoftheletter/withtwoguidedots.Fromthoseguidedots,drawyourverticalthicknessandyourvanishing-pointthickness.

9.Completethethicknessoftheletter/withtheverticallineforthestem.Now,carefullylineupalltheletterHcornerswiththeright-sidevanishingpoint.10.Positionyour light source,andshadeall the surfacesopposite.Takea fewmomentstoeraseanyextraguidelines.


Insteadofprovidingstep-by-stepdirections,I’mgoingtoprovideyouwiththissimplefact:Youhavepracticed(severaltimes)everyprinciplethatyouneedtoknowtodrawtheimagebelowonyourown.Don’tletthefinaladvancedimagedrain your confidence. Remember it’s just one line at a time.Keep it simple.Create your vanishing points. Draw your block, define your letters, and addthickness.Havefunandenjoy.Itmaytakeyouanhourormoretocompletethedrawing,sosettleinfortheultimatevisualgame.LookathowAnnNelsonhasdrawntheletters“TimetoDraw”intwo-pointperspectivebelow.ThenlookathowAnnNelsonwrote her son’s name and how shewrote “United States ofAmerica.”Thinkof your owncleverwordgroup, anddraw itwith two-point-perspectivelettering.

Studentexamples

LESSON28

THEHUMANFACE

Inmyopinion,LeonardodaVinci,Michelangelo,andRembrandtare themostskilled3-Dillustratorsinhistory.Theirsublimetalentstillinspiresaweafterfivecenturies. However, before they were master artists, they were student

apprentices.Theylearnedhowtodrawfromtheirteachers.Theylearnedhowtodrawbystudying,copying,andtracingtheirteachers’workforyearsandyears.AsIhaveexplainedinearlierlessons,theimportanceoflearninghowtodraw

bycopyingandtracingcannotbeoveremphasized.Aftermorethanthirtyyearsof preaching this philosophy, I still get considerable flack from many arteducatorswhobelieve that studentsneed to learnhow todrawbyobservationand trial anderror. I respect theirmoreconventional approachbecause it doesworkwithstudentswhohaveenormouspatienceandfortitudeintheirdesiretolearnhowtodraw.However,mostofthestudentsI’veworkedwithwouldhavequitmyclasses in frustrationhad Inotgiven thempermission toputaside thefalseassumptionthattracingandcopyingarecheating.Whether it is using a clear clipboard to capture an outdoor scene, or using

your thumb to measure an object in the distance, tracing will empower yourconfidence.Mypointisthis:Whyreinventthewheel?Whyaskstudentstositinfrontofamodelandinsisttheydrawthemodelwithoutteachingthemthemostbasic tools—shading, shadow, size, placement, overlapping, contour,foreshortening, and the other important drawing laws?Why not have studentslearn how to draw the human face, figure, and form by tracing the greatestillustratorsinhistory?For this lesson, I’ve traced a study of Leonardo da Vinci’s Angel of the

MadonnaoftheRocks.Iwantyoutotracethisimagewithapencilontwenty-five-pound translucent tracing paper. Trace this image ten, twelve, or twentytimesonasinglesheetoftracingpaper;don’tworryabouttheshadingyet.1.Tracethebeautifulface,forehead,cheek,andchinwithanS-curvingline.

2.Tracethenoseandtheforeshortenednostril.Noticehowthetipofthenoseisbulbed, as is the bump over the nostril.Draw the nose ridge flowing into theeyebrow above the far eye. Notice da Vinci’s use of the drawing law ofoverlapping.

3.Take your time tracing the soulful eyes using the drawing law of size. Paycloseattention tohowdaVincisolved thechallengeofcreating the illusionofdepthbydrawingtheneareyelarger,byoverlappingtheeyelidoverthepupil.4. As daVinci did, frame her face and foreheadwith a fewwispy simple S-curvingpencilstrokesofhair.

5.Drawherlips.Noticehowtheupperlipdipsdownandhowthecenterridgesunderthenoselineupwiththisdip.Lookathowthelowerlipismadeupoftworoundshadedspheres.

6. After tracing this image about ten times (for about twenty minutes or so),begina fresh sheetof tracingpaper and traceher lovely face again.This timebegin shading by removing your tracing paper from Leonardo’s drawing andplacingitonawhitesheetofpaper.Now,studyhowdaVincishadedherface.Where did he position the light source? Where are the darkest three areas?Where are the lightest three areas?Very lightly shade the three lightest light-reflecting areas. It’s always a good idea tomove from light to dark.You canalways add shade tomake an area darker; it’smuch trickier tomake an arealighter.

7.Shadingfromverylighttoverydark,studyandcopyhowLeonardodefinedthecurveoftheforehead,eyes,andcheekwithblendedshading,whichwefirstcoveredinLesson1withthesimplesphere.Enjoy studying and copying how daVinci shaded the eyes, eyelids, pupils,

and tearducts—suchelegant shading thisMasterArtisthad!Canyou imagineLeonardo shading the same tear duct you are? Can you imagine his creativethinkingprocesswhenheoverlapped the lidover thepupil? (Doyou feel likeyouareartisticallychannelingdaVincirightnow?Canyoue-mailmethetruesecretoftheDaVinciCode?)

8.Keeping the tipof thenosenearlywhite to reflect the light, shade thenosewith blended pencil strokes. Pay attention to how daVinci shaped the nostrilwith only blended shadingwithout any specific hard defining line.Delicately,gently, shade the lips, lightly shaping the two round spheres in the lower lip.Define the center line that separates the upper and the lower lips with two Scurves.Thereyouhaveit.LearningthenuancesofdrawingthehumanfacefromLeonardodaVinci himself! I urgeyou to draw severalmore of these tracingswith complete shading. Da Vinci filled sketchbooks practicing, copying, andstudying a single face, a hand, an ear, even toes. Google the sketchbooks ofMichelangelo,daVinci,andRembrandttogetinspiredtopractice.


Tracing faces and figure drawings from the great Master Artists is aconfidencebuilding exercise that I hopewill inspire you to successfully study,copy,andtracemanydozenmorefacesandfiguresbydaVinciandothers.This tracingexercise is really funwithphotographsaswell.Try itout:Pick

yourfavoritephotoofyourspecialsomeone,enlargeitonacopymachine(setthemachinetoblack-and-whitegrayscalemodeifpossible;grayscaleblackandwhite photos are great to copy/study/trace because the shading really revealsitself).Thisisonlyonebriefsimplelessontocreativelynudgeyoutoexploremore

booksandillustrationsonthehumanface.Herearetwomust-havebooksonthesubject:LeeHammond,HowtoDrawLifelikePortraitsfromPhotographs,andGeorgeBridgeman,DrawingFaces.KeepinginmindwhatyoustudiedfromdaVinci’sdrawing,let’slearnhowto

drawafacelookingstraightatyou.Forcenturies,artistshavedividedthehumanfigure intomathematical sections in order to transfer the image from the real

worldto theirpaper.Let’spracticedrawingahumanfacetogether.Iwonder ifyouwillbeabletotellthedifferencebetweenmycartoonstyleandLeonardo’smasterpiece?!1.Begin thehuman facebydrawing theheadasanovaleggwith the slightlylargerendatthetop.

2.Draw a vertical line down the center and a horizontal line near themiddle.Thiswillbeyourguidelinetopositiontheeyes.

3.Drawanotherhorizontallinehalfwaydownbetweentheeyesguidelineandthebottomofthechin.Thiswillbeyournoseguideline.

4.Onceagain,drawanotherguidelinehalfwaydownbetweenthenoseandthebottomofchin.Thiswillbeyourlipguideline.

5.Separatetheeyeguidelineintofivespaces.Startinthemiddlewithtwolinesandworkyourwayout.

6.Shapeintheeyesinalemonshapewiththetearductsfacingin.Shapeinthenosefromtheedgeoftheeyedowntothenoseguidelinewithalightrectangle.Humaneyescomeinmanyshapesandsizes.Wewillbeexploringtheseinthenextlesson.

7.Detailintheeyelidandpupil.Fromthecenterofthepupil,drawverticallinestopositionthelips.

8.Drawthelips,rememberingthecontourcurvingshadingfromyourstudyofdaVinci.Shapethenoseandtheeyebrows.9.Didyouknowtheaverageheadweighssixteenpounds?That’sasheavyasabowlingball.Rememberthiswhenyoudrawintheneck;ithastoholdalotofweight.It’snotaPopsiclestick;it’sathickcylinder.Theneckstartsatthenoseguide line, tapers in for the throat, and then tapers out as it leads into theshoulders. Sketch in the hairline halfway between the eyes and the top of the

scalp.Acommonmistakeistodrawthehairlinetoohigh,souseyourguideline.Now,drawtheearsusingtheeyeandthenoseguidelines.BeginthehairusingflowingScurves,keepinginmindtheoverallshapeofthehair.

10.Shapetheforehead,temples,jawbone,andneck.DrawhairlikedaVincidid,with a few defining wisps. Enjoy shading this face with blended shading.Remembertostartatthelightestareasfirst(thinkofwhereyourownfacegetssunburned first): the center of the forehead, tip of the nose, and tops of thecheeksandchin.Focusonkeepingtheseareasreflectiveandalmostwhite.Addgraduallydarkershadingawayfromthelightsource,whichfor thisdrawingisaboveandinfrontoftheface.Excellent job!You’ve studied the genius pencil lines ofLeonardodaVinci,

andyou’velearnedthemathematicalgridstructureofthehumanface.

Studentexamples

LookatMichele’sdrawingofthehumanfacelessonbelow.Shedidawonderfuljob using her own style to interpret the lesson.She has amuchmore realisticstyle as compared to my more animation/comic book style. Great drawing,Michele!

ThankstofellowarteducatorsAllisonHamacherandWardMakielskifortheirconsiderablehelpwiththeselessons.

LESSON29

THEHUMANEYEOFINSPIRATION

Theeye.Withoutadoubt, it’smyfavoritethingtodrawonhumans,creatures,animals, aliens, robots, and, yes, even marshmallows, as I’ve done on mynationalpublic televisionseries.Thehumaneye ismostdefinitely thewindowintoaperson’ssoul.Buthowtocaptureit?Todrawtheeyein3-D,Ifirstwantyoutograbasmallmirror.Iwantyouto

propthismirrorupnexttoyouwhileyouaredrawingatthetable.Iwantyoutobe able to look closely at your own eye as we draw this lesson. This is atechniqueIpickedupfrommyvisitwithsomeofmyalumnistudentsatDreamWorksPDIanumberofyearsago.TheanimatorswereworkingonShrek,andattheirdrawinganimationstationstheyhadseveralcomputers,monitors,multipledrawingsurfaces,and,interestingly,twomirrorsoneithersideoftheirdrawingtables.AstheanimatorsworkedondrawingdifferentpartsofShrek,IcouldseethemscowlingattheirmirrorswhiledrawingShrek’sscowlingface.Isawthem

holdingtheirhandsupindifferentpositionswhiledrawingShrek’shands.Itwassoexcitingtowatchtheseworld-classartistsbringShrektolife.Now,let’saddlifetoyourownsketchbook—let’sdrawtheeye.1.Whilesittingatyourtable,lookintoyourmirror.Now,lookafewmomentslonger....Whatagorgeousmiracleyouare.Justlookatthatimage!Thoseeyes!Those lips,nose,ears,hair,whataperfectmodel todrawfrom.You traceddaVinciinLesson28;nowyouwilldrawingfromthemostperfecteyemodelontheplanet—yourself!Verylightlyshapetheeye.Forthislesson,wewilldrawaneyethatresemblestheshapeofalemon,withthebulbofthelemonfacingthenose,shapingthetearduct.Asyoudrawmoreeyes(andyouwillnodoubtdrawhundredsmore, they are so cool to draw), you will notice there are as manyvariations for eye shapes as there arepeopleon theplanet.For this lessonwewilluseasimplelemonshape.

2.Look inyourmirror,and takeaclose lookatyour leftuppereyelid.Noticehow the creases follow the contour shape of the eye. Draw the upper eyelidstartingatthetearduct.3.Drawtheperfectlyroundcircleoftheiristuckedundertheuppereyelidjusta

bit.Weareapplyingthedrawinglawofoverlapping.Rememberthattheirisisaperfect round circle, not an oval. Look into your mirror. Look closely at thethicknessedgerunningalongthetopofthelowereyelid.Interesting,tinydetailslikethisonearewhatyouwanttolookforanddraw.Thesearethedetailsthatwillreallygiveyoureyedrawingthe“wow”factor.Withoutthem,yourdrawingwillnotlookrealistic.

4. Look into yourmirror. Look closely at the pupil in the center of your iris.Notice the perfect roundness of the circle. Notice the tiny spots of reflectioninsidetheblackcircle.Drawtheperfectroundcirclepupilinthemiddleofyouriris. Lightly block out a small circle shape to reserve for the light-reflectioneffect.

5. Look into yourmirror. Look closely at your pupil again. Look at the deepblackofthepupilandthebrightnessofthereflection.Drawthisdeepblackpupilwiththelightreflection.

6.Lookintoyourmirror.Lookcloselyattheirisareaaroundyourpupil.Lookagain.Now, lookagain. Just anawesomeplayof light, color,moisture, shape,suchdetail!Whenyouaredrawingtheiris,usepencilstrokesradiatingoutfromthedarkpupil,anduseavarietyof line lengths,someshort,somelong.Whenyou start experimenting with colored pencils, this is the lesson I wouldrecommendyou startwith. (Usingcoloredpencils todraw the iris is . . . howwould I describe it? A transcendental experience!)

7.Drawyourgorgeouseyebrow.Draw individualhair startingat thebridgeofthenoseandmovingacross thebrow.Drawwith flowingsingle lines, anglingthehairsmorehorizontallyasyoumoveawayfromthenose.Beginshadingtheeyealongtheinsideoftheeyelids.

8. Look into yourmirror. Look closely at your eyelashes.Notice how youreyelashes are clustered in small groups of two or three, not just single hairs.Noticehowtheeyelashgroupsstartontheverynearthicknessedgeoftheupperlids.Noticehowyoureyelashescurveawayfromyourlid,followingthecontourof your eye. Draw a few groups of three eyelashes. Pay attention to yourplacement.Besuretodrawthemattheverynearedgeofthelid.Payattentiontothe direction of the curve of the lashes. Be careful not to draw too manyeyelashes,andavoiddrawingthemtoovertically(orelseyouriskcreatingwhatIcallthe“spidereffect”).Thenextstepisshading.Thisisthelessonstepthatreallypopsyoureyeball

right off the page!There are five specific areas to shade.The first of the fiveshadingareasisdirectlyunderthetopeyelid,thefulllengthoftheeyeball.Thesecond spot is along the bottom lid, above the thickness line, directly on theeyeball.Keepthisverylightshadingatfirst;youcanbuildupmoredarkcontrastlater. (If you start too dark, itwill look like some very heavyGoth black eyemakeup,unlessofcoursethisisthelookthatyouaregoingfor.)Thethirdareaisthelittlecreaseatthetopofyoureyelid,thelinethatseparatesyoureyelidfromyoureyesocket.Thefourthshadingareaisthebottomoftheeyesocket,darkerinthecentercornernearthenoseandtearduct.Thisshadowisblendedandfalls

intothecheek.As Leonardo da Vinci used blended shading to define Mona Lisa’s eyes

withoutanyhardedgedarklines,youtoocanuseblendedshadingtosoftenanddefineyour3-Deye.Besuretodarkenandblendthefifthareaofshadinginallthetinynookandcranniesinthecorneroftheeyesocketandeyelid.


Ilovedrawingeyes.Themoreyoudraw,themoreyouwillenjoythem.Eyesarethe single most important element in drawing the human, animal, or creatureface.Drawseveralmoreeyes inyoursketchbook,afewmorefromlooking inthemirror,andafewfromsearching“Howtodrawaneye”onYouTube.Therearesomeincredibleamateurvideotutorialsyouwillthoroughlyenjoy.

Studentexamples

Takeapeekathowthesestudentspracticedthiseyelesson.

LESSON30

YOURHANDOFCREATIVITY!

The human hand, ourmost expressive appendage! In this lessonwewill pulltogetheralloftheNineFundamentalLawsofDrawingthatwehavelearnedsofarandapplythemtothisdrawing.Let’srevieweachofthelawsandhowtheyapplytothislesson.Take a look at the illustration of the hand below and notice the following: 1.Foreshortening:Theentirehandis tiltedawayfromyourpointofview.Asthehandtiltsaway,itbecomesmoredistortedfromyourperspective.

2.Placement:Thethumbisdrawnloweronthesurfaceofthepaperthantheindexfinger;thiscreatesthevisualillusionthat

thethumbiscloser.Theindexfingerisdrawnhigheronthesurfaceofthepapersothatitappearsfartherawayfromyourperspective.

3.Size:Thethumbisdrawnthickerandlargerinrelativesizeascomparedtotheotherfingers,creatingtheillusionthatitiscloser.

4.Overlapping:Eachfingeroverlapstheothertocreatedepthinthedrawing.

5.Shading:Allsurfacesofthehandfacingawayfromthelightpositionareshadedwithblendedvaluefromdarktolight.Blendedshadingcreatesthevisualillusionofdepth.

6.Shadow:Thedarkshadowsbetweeneachfingerseparateanddefinetheobject.

7.Contour:Thewrinklelinesonthefingersandthepalmwraparoundthefullroundshapeofthehand.Thesecontourlinesgivethedrawingvolume,shape,anddepth.

8.Horizon:Thishandisdrawnbelowyoureye-levelhorizon.Youcantellbytheforeshortening;itisdrawnsothatyouarelookingdownatit.

9.Density:Tofurthercreatetheillusionofdepth,youcoulddrawmanyhandsdeeperandfartherawayinyourpicture.Drawingthesedistanthandslighterwithlessdetailwouldcreatetheillusionofdistance.

Nowlet’sstartdrawingthehumanhandofcreativity!

1.Takea lookat thedrawingat left.Nowholdupyour lefthand in thissameposition.Lookingatyourhand,noticehowyourthumbandfingersareattachedto the palm of your hand. Notice how your palm is the shape of an openedforeshortenedsquare.Drawthisopenedforeshortenedsquare.

2.Takea lookatyour lefthand in theabovepositionagain.Noticehowyourarmslightlytaperstoyourwrist.Drawthisslightlytaperedwrist,usingsizetocreatedepth.

3.Lookingatyourlefthand,seehowyourthumbbendsawayfromyourwristintwodistinctsegments.Drawthesetwosegments.Noticehoweachsegmenthasaslightcurve.

4.Lookingatyourhand,seehowyourthumbisshapedbytheroundendandthecontourwrinklelineinside.Drawthisroundendandthewrinklecontourline.

5.Keeplookingatyourlefthand.Areyougettingtiredofholdingitup?Youcanalways take a digital picture with your phone or camera and draw from thescreenorfromaprint.However,it’sareallygreatexercisetodrawfromtherealworldof light,shadows,andtruedepth.Lookingatyour lefthand,noticehowyour index finger angles away from the palm of your hand. Notice the threesectionsofyourindexfingerdefinedbytheoverlappingcontourwrinkles.Drawthisindexfingerwiththeseoverlappingcurvedsegments.

6. Looking at your left hand, see how the middle finger bends down in twodistinct angles. Look at how the segments are defined by the overlappingwrinkles.I’mhopingthisbringstomindourpracticeofcontourlinesinLesson15.Rememberwe defined the direction of the tubeswith the direction of thesurfacecurves.Wearedoingexactly thesamethinghere; fingersarebasicallysmall3-Dtubeswithdefiningcurvingcontourlines.

7.Lookathowyourringfingeristuckedbehindtheotherfingers.Noticehowthefingersaregettingrelativelysmallerastheymoveawayfromyoureye.Drawthisringfingertuckedundertheotherfingers.Definewheretheringfingertucksintothepalmwithanoverlappingwrinkle.

8.Lookatyourlittlefinger.Noticetheoverlapping,thetapering,thesegments,thewrinkledcontourlinesdefiningeachsegment.Now,drawthelittlefinger.

9.Forthisstep,takeaveryclose,carefullookatyourlefthand.Takesometimetoreallyseehowtheroomlighthitsthetopofyourhand,causingtheshadingtoblendup from thebottom.Notice thedarknookandcranny shadowsbetweeneachfingerandhowtheseshadowsreallydefinetheedgesofeachfinger.Lookat how thewrinkles on the palmwrap around your hand to give it shape andvolume. Now, from these observations and with application of the NineFundamentalLawsofDrawing,completethissketchofyourhand.


Inyoursketchbook,practicedrawingyourhandinthreedifferentpositions.Toinspireyou,takealookatthesestudentsketchesofthreehands.Thisisaperfectvisualicontobringourthirty-lessonjourneytoanend.Yourhandofcreativity!Your hand, your imagination, your sketchbook . . . enjoy your continuingexpeditionintothisinspiredworldofdrawingin3-D!

Studentsamples

Iwant to thank you for sharing this timewithme during these thirty lessons.Whatanaccomplishmentyouhaveachieved!Forthreeyears,writingthisbook

was an intense laborof creativity.At times thrilling, at times (during the17theditphase) similar toa rootcanalprocedure,butasmy friendMcNairWilson(www.mcnairwilson.com)says,“It’ssupposedtobehard.IT’SART!”ItrustyouhavefoundthisjourneytobeasrewardingasIhave.Pleasetakea

few minutes to e-mail me at www.markkistler.com, and let me know yourthoughtsandexperienceswiththisbook.Pleasee-mailmescansofsomeofyourfavoritedrawings(300DPIorless).Ilookforwardtoseeingyourcreativework!This is just the beginning of an amazing life-enriching journey of creative

discovery and visual expression! I am honored that you chose to ignite yourpassionfordrawingwithme.Keepdrawingeveryday,twentyorthirtyminutes;doingsowillcontinuetonourishyourheart,mind,andsoul.Dreamit!Drawit!Doit!

Houston,Texas

http://www.mcnairwilson.com


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you can draw in 30 days: the fun, easy way to learn to draw in one month or less

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