Drawing Landscapes (beginner)
Venetian Red
AMmanthon...@yahoo.comf13d20d3rc389mnmce7uutts54ktnqri9f@4ax.com
> I've always enjoyed drawings/painting of landscapes. Since I like to
> draw (I'm not that good), I would like to know if anyone can give me
> any suggestions on how a beginner should approach this. Any sites you
> might recommend?
>
> I bought a sketch pad, a basic set of drawing pencils, and I am
> looking for a good beginner's book. I like basic pencil drawing, but
> eventually make get bold and add some colored pencil work to a
> drawing.
>
> Your thoughts/suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Mark Ferrante
Hi Mark,
Gosh, there are so many ways to go with this sort of question.
Go into an art supply store, if there are any around you, and look at the
books they have and see what calls to you. That's the best way. If it's
something you like it's often because your eye is inclined to the sort of
editing of nature and mark making that that artist employs.
If you're a beginner, a good cheap way to begin is to look at the Walter
Foster series. Art supply stores don't have all of the hundreds (thousands?)
of titles. But the series is relatively cheap (or used to be). And it ranges
anywhere from cheesy to pretty darned nice. But each usually covers one
topic. And drawing would be covered in there somewhere.
Many how-to art books have samples within that show step by step. Many of
these are on painting techniques, though. But painting frequently starts out
with line drawings, and that shows the artist in question's thinking
process.
There are lots of books on illustration techniques (commercial art). And
many such techniques are specifically for drawing as an end product. And
there are a lot of different styles out there in print. Don't overlook
artists showing the use of colored markers either.
And you can look at books on artists, wherein they will show finished
pieces. These are good because you can learn to draw by imitation. It can
give you an idea how other artists have solved visual problems. And you do
that enough, their skills become your skills.
Another inexpensive way to proceed is to use your library. You can do
searches for keywords like 'drawing' and 'how-to'. And then take it home for
however long you can. And then you can try it on for fit, without spending
anything.
JUST LIMIT HOW MANY DIFFERENT STYLES YOURE TRYING TO LEARN AT FIRST, or else
they'll become overwhelming, especially if they are not really similar in
technique. You really only need one to begin. If you stick with art, your
bookshelves will be spilling over before long. So don't sweat it.
My advice when it comes to drawing landscapes is to simplify the image you
are trying to draw. Look at it long enough that you will begin to see the
relation and shapes of dark and light pattern. There will be areas of shadow
and areas of light. And how they fill the page will make up your design.
But keep it simple for a while. It's not necessary or even desirable to
render every leaf on every tree, nor every blade of grass. Think hierarchy
of importance, like the ratio as you ascend a pyramid. Get the large shapes
down, and then subdivide only some, and only a little, where it
strategically works best. These sorts of choices will make the drawing
uniquely yours. Some day you will know your style well enough to do this
without thinking.
Know too that the viewer's eye will go to the area of most contrast or
activity. That means a solid black against a solid white will draw the eye
to where they meet (usually, depending on what else is going on in the
image). And the other thing is that detail or lots of smaller marks will
also draw the eye. So find out what happens when you put things on the page.
Oh, there's more to it, but hopefully this is a good starting point.
Most of all, have fun with it!
- Greg