How to Draw Graffiti Names
Darren Chow is the founder and developer of MyArtPassion.com, an online website that offers free drawing lessons, home study courses, and other drawing related resources.For more free resources like the one you've just read, please visit MyArtPassion.com for free online drawing lessons.
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Graffiti Writing: Learn to Draw Graffiti Letters
By Kashmira Lad
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Drawing Graffiti Letters
Graffiti follows along the same line of self-expression, in that the creativity and expression of art is personally evolving and color, design and complexity developing. The Italian word from which the word graffiti was derived, coming from Greek graphein meaning "to write," was first applied to writing on walls in Roman times. Modern graffiti artists have applied their own self-expression on a lot of walls and buildings, following the ancient Romans, as witnessed by many today. It can however, be done in a way that does not vandalize or violate the law.
Over the years, distinctive styles have evolved that can be instantly recognized as graffiti, even when the writing is on a piece of paper. As with any art, there is no right way to draw graffiti, and you need to develop your own style. There are beginning points and ways to develop learning how to draw graffiti letters.
The subject of Graffiti is limitless; it has taken on many forms and styles. Each of these forms and styles is different from the other and appeals to many different individuals. The creativity of individuals leads to different tastes, likes and dislikes, it is not surprising to find so many different people drawn to a certain art form with limitless boundaries.
Of all the art forms created, none has met with such considerable resistance from a lot of individuals as graffiti. Graffiti is heavily criticized as vandalism and as a contributor to visual pollution. So great is the resistance for this art form that governments in certain countries around the world created laws or policies in the hopes of controlling, if not eradicating it. Certain laws were made and passed that stipulates the capture and imprisonment of the individual in the process of doing the art form. These are just examples of what critiques of this art form did, and of how much length they would go just to drive it into extinction.
Most serious graffiti artists start by developing a unique signature. They start by choosing a style for their name, of which bubble letters are especially popular in graffiti, because it seems to be easier to draw, but there are other styles, too. Once the letters and signature have been selected you need to add color, to fill in your drawing. You can use colored pencils, marker or crayon. Again, it's a good idea to look at examples before doing this, but really you can do anything you want.
A very simple graffito (a single work of graffiti) can have only one color. You can also easily do each letter in a different color or make the added details a different color than the letters. Graffiti artists traditionally had to work secretly for fear of getting caught--many still do--and so they could carry only one or two different colors of spray paint at a time--a lot of very good graffiti is just one color.
Graffiti today has gone way beyond simple letters, transforming to various styles such as the Tag Style, Throw-up, Blockbuster, and WildStyle. There is even the use of polka dots, checkers, crosshatches and the like, to add color and depth and size to the graffiti art.
About the Author
draw alphabet graffiti letters
www.howtograffitiletters.com
TJ has spent most of his life studying the techniques of drawing, graffiti, custom painting, airbrush, and chalk. He's drawn in street festivals and has taught kids and adults alike.
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Children'S Portraits
Let me try to help move some of those stumbling blocks out of your way so you can enjoy and profit from the business of painting children's portraits in watercolor.
1. GET TO KNOW YOUR SUBJECT. The most successful portraits are always those that capture the personality of the child. They show a certain tilt of the head, a smile, or a gesture that's characteristic of the individual. Discovering these special qualities can be accomplished in a very short period of time if you know how to handle yourself during the first meeting with the child. I always make a point of going to the client's home, whether it's down the street or on a buffalo ranch in Wyoming, rather than asking them to come to my studio. While my studio is certainly better equipped and more comfortable for me than the client's home, I need to see the children in their own surroundings: It gives me a more accurate sense of their character and the opportunity to select more meaningful props and background material.
I also prefer going to clients' homes because it makes them feel more at ease. When children are relaxed and comfortable, their expressions aren't strained. It's important for everyone to be cheerful and optimistic during this first encounter, so I talk to the children and reassure them that what I'll be doing will be easy and fun for them. I need to help them get over the fears any person might have--whether young or old--about being painted.
Before I begin making sketches or taking photographs, I walk around the house with the children, asking them to show me their bedroom, favorite toys, and pets. I take mental notes about any repeated expressions or gestures, and I evaluate the possibility of using objects and decorations in the home as props or background material for the painting. No matter where I'll be working, I make it plain I don't want any other family members in the room with me. The "helpful" participation of parents can be an annoying distraction to both me and the children.
Most importantly, I focus on the children and watch what happens. I don't go into portrait sessions with preconceived notions about the poses or props. Children have a wonderful ability to be free and open about the way they present themselves. If I ask them to sit the same way they do while watching television, they're only too happy to oblige. Or when I ask children to show me their favorite "lookout spot" up in a tree, they'll climb up faster than a cat and, without prodding, show me how they can hang upside down. (Just try getting a corporate executive to do that!)
2. MAKE CHARACTERISTIC DRAWINGS. When I travel to a client's home, I carry a hardbound 11"-X-14" sketchbook, a variety of drawing pencils ranging from 2H to 5B, a small pencil sharpener, and a kneaded eraser. The sketchbook is durable and easy to carry, and after it's filled it becomes a record of the many people I've had the good fortune to meet.
When drawing children's portraits, I keep in mind their overall body proportions (as illustrated in Figure 1) and the ways in which they differ from the proportions of an adult. (Figure 1 omitted) For example, the head of a child is bigger in relation to the child's body, and the features of the face dominate the lower haft of the skull. While adult hands and feet are comparable in size to the face, a child's hands and feet are smaller when similarly compared.
I ask my subjects to pose in a well-lit area, and I try to have the natural light coming in from one side of the body to make the shapes and contours of the face more discernible. I need to be at eye level with the children, so if they're more comfortable on the floor with a toy, I sit on the floor with them.
I keep my sketches quick and open-ended, and I like to work on two or three at once. It's unfair to ask children to sit perfectly still, and if they freeze up I run the risk of missing their spontaneous and animated expressions. I draw them from whatever angle is comfortable for them. If one happens to be a real wiggler, there's nothing like a television program or videotaped movie to settle the child down. I often have a couple of videotapes of children's movies in my tote bag for just such an occasion. I used to carry a cast-iron frog named Fred with me, and he almost always guaranteed me twenty minutes of drawing time. As I draw, I add written notes about my client in the margins of the notebook. These notations about personality and special features become invaluable to me later.
There's no way to compensate for a lack of drawing ability--especially when dealing with children's portraits. A quick pencil sketch of posture, hand position, or shading can be the most valuable reference an artist can have when painting. That's why I encourage all my students to enroll in a life-drawing class and attend regularly. The skills you learn will be quickly put to good use when you try to draw a five-year-old who moves even faster than his golden retriever. And when the child's mother asks you to put the retriever in the painting, you'll be especially glad you learned how to draw quickly and accurately!
3. TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOGRAPHS. Even the best-natured children become weary, restless, or downright cranky after posing for a couple of hours. That's why the camera has become an essential tool for almost every artist who paints portraits of children.
There are several common mistakes artists make when taking pictures of children. One is taking the picture with the children too far away from the camera, and the second is taking it from a position too far above them. In the first case, the resulting photographs don't offer enough useful information about the subject, and in the second the figure is totally distorted by the radical angle of the shot.
A third common mistake artist make when taking photographs is not posing children in proper lighting. These pictures turn out either too dark or too light, or there are strange shadows cast by the nose and chin. Using a flash can result in lifeless photographs and, ultimately, lifeless portraits. A flash aimed straight at a child's face will flatten all the features and burn out any delicate color changes. Working from photographs taken by a professional studio photographer can be equally disappointing because the lighting used during the shoot is meant to soften contours and remove color "imperfections," leaving little for the artist to work with.
The best lighting for natural skin color and descriptive contours is soft or diffused daylight; a hazy, slightly overcast day produces soft shadows and is therefore ideal. The light available during either the morning or late afternoon is preferable for outdoor photography since too much sunlight can yield severe shadows and squinting eyes. If I have no choice but to work in the middle of a sunny day, I pose the children in a shady area under trees or a porch roof.
It's important to keep the photo session casual and fun. If I can get the children to play with me while I'm taking photographs, the results will be much more satisfying. I use a 35mm Nikon camera with a standard 50mm lens and Kodacolor 100 film. When I'm working away from my studio, I take along a small Olympus camera just in case something goes wrong with the Nikon. Using both cameras, I take between 70 and 100 photographs, being careful to include profiles, close-ups, and hands. If there's a family pet or a specific background that has to be included in the painting, I take ample shots of that as well. In short, I take more photographs than I think I could possibly use. Nothing is worse than beginning a painting and discovering I don't have enough information to work with.
Occasionally, a client will request a portrait painted from an existing photograph that the family is especially fond of. Frankly, I see little merit in copying someone else's work. I let my clients know I prefer the intimacy and originality that comes from using my own photographs and sketches.
4. KEEP THE COLORS CHILDLIKE. Watercolor has always seemed the perfect medium for children's portraits because of its pristine colors. I organize mine in the compartments of a John Pike palette so I have a choice between a warm and a cool version of each. Here are the tube colors I use most often:
Reds
Warm: scarlet lake or cadmiumred medium
Cool: alizarin crimson or permanent rose
Yellows
Warm: cadmium yellow medium
Cool: cadmium lemon
Blues
Warm: cerulean blue
Cool: phthalocyanine or Winsor blue
Browns
Warm: burnt sienna
Cool: raw umber
In addition, I use lots of raw sienna and yellow ochre for the flesh tones, and I make my darkest values by adding Payne's gray to other colors. There are many suitable colors, but I find the transparent colors best for skin tones since too much opaque color can make skin look chalky and dull.
One frequent mistake made in painting children's skin is using too much blue or gray. The liveliest sense of color is achieved when a harmony of warm and cool colors are used. Remember, however, that blue skin tones become more pronounced when placed next to warmer, rosier tones.
I avoid using dark gray in recessed areas like nostrils, inside the ear, and in the folds of the skin around a smiling mouth. Although these areas appear darker, they're warm tones that are generally not as dark in value as you might think. I paint all the shadow areas of the skin with subtle veils of color, and I consciously avoid the tendency to make them too dark and heavy when working from photographs.
Choosing a suitable background color for the painting can be confusing. When selecting any color for a painting, I consider the focal point and the overall look of the picture and ask myself whether a color would reinforce or detract from that focal point. I often use color swatches I pick up at paint and hardware stores to help me make better choices. I can hold the chips up against the painting to better judge both the color and the value.
5. KEEP THE BRUSHWORK LIVELY. When working on children's portraits, the key is to keep the colors and brushwork as lively, fresh, and spontaneous as the personality you're trying to present. For this, there's no better medium than watercolor. However, fresh and lively colors become dulled and muddied when too many corrections are made. To avoid the common problems of dull and muddy color combinations, overworked brushstrokes, and harsh edges, you have to learn the best way of handling the medium and you have to plan ahead. Let me describe the procedures I've developed during many years of practice.
After meeting with my client, I take my photographs and sketches back to my studio and do some compositional studies of how I might arrange the figure, props, and background in the painting. Regardless of the medium you're using, I recommend making a thumbnail sketch before beginning the finished painting to indicate general masses and values. You may have a good idea about the character of the features, but how much of the figure will you show? What about the hands? What color is the background, and what additional items will be included in the painting? All of these questions (and more) should be considered before the brush touches the paper.
After I've made my thumbnail sketch and settled on a plan, I draw those elements lightly in pencil on a sheet of watercolor paper that I've previously soaked, stretched, and allowed to dry. I produce a fairly detailed drawing on the watercolor paper, putting down all the shapes I see, from the shape of the small highlight on the nose to the shapes in the background. I never work from just one photograph but from several photographs and sketches.
I never project my photographs directly onto the paper, but I often put a sheet of gridded tracing paper over my best photograph of a child's face, draw a corresponding grid pattern on my watercolor paper, and then carefully transfer the lines indicating the outlines of the facial features. This procedure helps me get a better likeness of the child and avoid drawing too many pencil lines on the paper.
I almost always work with the painting surface tilted in an upright position because I find that the pigment settles more cleanly and easily when it's pulled by the force of gravity. I also like being able to step back from the painting and see how it's progressing. Since the finished picture will be viewed from about eight feet away, I make a point of looking at it from that distance as I work.
For portraits I recommend using a paper that can take scrubbing and erasing. Even the best-laid plans sometimes require change. My favorite paper for watercolor portraits is Arches 140-lb cold-pressed paper because of its workable, textured surface and the slightly warm white hue that complements skin tones. Generally, I paint with a one-inch flat and a No. 10 round sable brush. The collection of brushes I use includes some Pro Arte brushes and one Utrecht Giant round.
I begin by painting pale washes of the skin tone and then apply light washes to indicate the clothes, props, and background. If I'm unhappy with the color combinations or placement of elements, I can adjust them at this early stage.
The next three hours of the painting process are the most critical as I move from painting soft wet-in-wet shapes to more sharply defined facial features. Rewetting the paper so my brushstrokes have soft edges and easy transitions between colors, I bring up the values in the face from light to dark. If I paint a feature and it looks too hard and lifeless, I paint over it with a brushload of clear water to soften and blend the edges.
I continue working on the clothing, props, and background--everything in the picture except the person's eyes. I leave the eyes for last since they're the smallest and most crucial details of the portrait. By the time the portrait is finished, I've usually worked for a total of 12 hours over two or three days.
On average, one out of every three or four portraits turns out to be a failure, and I have to tear up what I've done and start over again. I don't hesitate to do that if I have any serious doubts about a painting.
DEMONSTRATION: CHRISSY
Step 1. Here are the photographs and sketches I made while visiting one of my clients. In all of them, I was trying to capture the child's natural gestures and posture while she sat in sunlight outdoors.
Step 2. After photographing and sketching Chrissy, I soaked and stretched a piece of 140-lb Arches paper and, once it was dry, made a light drawing of the figure with a No. 2 pencil. I then painted light washes of color over the entire picture. By keeping the skin tones light at the beginning of the painting process, I can easily make corrections later without sacrificing the freshness of the watercolors.
Step 3. Keeping the paper damp so the shapes I painted would have soft edges, I put down all the lights and middle tones. I made a point of keeping the brushstrokes quick and broad to give the portrait all the vitality of an active young girl.
Step 4. I always save the detailed work of rendering eyes until the last stage of the painting process. I rarely use masking fluid because I prefer to paint around light areas such as whiskers and loose strands of hair.
The completed painting: Chrissy, 1992, water-color, 20 X 17. Private collection.
FIVE TIPS ON BUSINESS PRACTICES
1. CONFIRM YOUR APPOINTMENTS. A few weeks in advance, confirm the portrait sitting in writing and make note of the date and time, the price, medium, and approximate size of the painting, and the deposit required. On the day before or the morning of the sitting, call again to reconfirm the appointment.
2. BE ON TIME. Frazzled nerves created by being late for a portrait sitting can interfere with concentration--both yours and the client's. Timeliness is also important in meeting a delivery deadline. If the family wants the painting completed within a time frame that doesn't work with your schedule, be up-front and tell them you can't meet the deadline. Then tell them when you will have it ready. If the painting is to be given as a gift on a date you can't meet, make up a gift certificate the client can present instead, stating that the portrait will be ready on a specific date.
3. BE FLEXIBLE BUT NOT SUBSERVIENT. Clients have every right to be pleased with the finished product, but don't compromise your integrity. If they ask for something you feel you can't or won't do, offer recommendations of other artists who may be better able to meet their requests.
4. BE OPEN TO CRITICISM. After the painting is completed, listen to any suggestions or criticism offered, even from the child. Clients may not be artists, but they'll pick up on a drawing error or missed judgment call. Many of these points can easily be corrected and then mentally filed for future reference. With every suggestion or criticism made, see the opportunity for growth.
5. LOOSEN UP! Many artists say that accepting commissioned work inhibits their spontaneity. It needn't. If the painting is going badly or the client is unhappy, loosen up and start over. Very often, all that's needed is to schedule another portrait sitting. Few clients remember the inconveniences of portrait sittings when faced with the finished painting of someone they love.
Mary Whyte graduated from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has earned a national reputation as both a landscape and portrait painter in watercolor and oils, and her paintings have been included in juried shows organized by the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, and The Greenwich Workshop in Southport, Connecticut. She teaches portrait- and figure-painting workshops throughout the United States and maintains a studio on Seabrook Island, South Carolina.
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5 Short Steps to Drawing the Perfect Rose
Paul Wagner, artist and founder of Art Training Intl, serves aspiring artists with simple step-by-step training in How to Draw Multimedia Lessons. Includes an e-book, 15 in-depth video lessons, reference graphics, and access to our complete library resources. Check out how-to-draw-online.com
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Learn To Draw Animals
If you want to learn to draw animals, you should understand that this is a complicated kind of art. Remember that your subject here is a living being. In fact, the complexity of this form of art is comparable to how hard drawing a human figure is. You do not only have to depict the form of the animal but even capture its essence too. However, the problem here is that unlike people, you cannot really tell an animal to sit still forever until you finish your drawing. Thus, more imagination is needed.
Here are some of the other things that you should know in drawing animals.
Be Creative Because They Are Unique!
It is important for you to become extra creative when drawing an animal. This is because they are not the same. Each one of them is unique. Thus, you have to approach each in a different manner. This difference of approach is important in all aspects.
For instance, the way you’d approach them physically can be different. You can watch them from afar without being noticed or have a personal close-up encounter or even a one-on-one play session with them. Various ways of encountering animals can have a very obvious on the outcome of your drawing.
The way you draw an animal can be different too. They can be drawn in various ways. You can choose to depict them as cartoons. In fact they can even come out as a mere line or swirl. You can also opt for a much realistic portrait. It all depends on you.
Observe First Then Draw!
Before you can start drawing, it is imperative that you first observe your subject. It is best to see them in their natural environment. If you can’t find a live encounter then you can always opt for videos. You can also look at photos or books. As you do this, you would find that there are plenty of styles that one kind of animal could be drawn. Although it is possible to master a lot of styles, it is still best that you concentrate on one style and make this your niche.
To find your niche, gather a variety of materials. By seeing animals in their different forms, you are now being exposed to their basic shapes. If you want to know precisely the basic shapes of your chosen animal, the best way to do this is by photocopying its picture. Once you have a copy, start drawing out basic shapes which you see. Observe how its body’s outer lines manage to bring all these shapes together and form the subject.
Start Out With The Basics!
It is best that you start basic. After drawing the basic shapes, you could then build on it by the use of layers. Start adding details by shading and knowing important animal muscles that have become your subject’s trademark. Keep on practicing and you’ll be able to perfect your drawing in no time!
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Learn To Draw Fairies
Your Fairy Your Rules
Since fairies are mythical creatures, there is no fixed parameters in which you would be limited to in drawing them. All those beautiful fairy pictures, drawings and paintings you have seen are all products of their respective artists’ imagination. This is why, as an artist that wants to draw fairies, you would have all the power to do so.
All you need to do is imagine. Create a vision of your own fairy in your mind and this would be your guide. If you want your fairy to be a boy or girl, it all depends on you. However, for starters it is recommended that you start out with a female fairy, since this is the common.
The Traditional Fairy Look
Most of the time, fairies are depicted to be women in small sizes that have wings. They are also usually beautiful. They also glow at times or has a very colourful aura. They have the ability to fly. Their wings are most of the time depicted to be similar to a dragonfly’s, which is transparent and slender. However, in some other renditions, fairies are seen to have butterfly like colourful wings that matches their colourful clothes. Of course, there is also the ever present magic wand.
Basic Body Parts
Fairies have two major body parts. One would be the human like body, which is generally similar to a human’s figure. The second would be the wings. In some cases, artists add a little twist with their fairies. They do this by giving them pointed ears. Some would even make the head shape a little pointed too. It still depends on you whichever style you want to go for.
So basically, you would just have to draw a woman. Then, make her whimsical by adding a pair of wigs on her back. For the hair, you could either give her extremely long hair or extremely short hair with a pointed head. The hair color could also vary depending on your imagination. Almond shaped eyes are common among fairies too.
Clothing And Accessories For clothing, your fairy can wear something that is close to nature, especially if the type of fairy that you want to draw is the kind that lives in the forest. Most fairies appear to be wearing a miniskirt that has asymmetrical edges. Their long slender legs are also prominent with their clothing. For accessories, you can draw a flower garland around their head of around their waist in a way that it would look like a belt hanging loosely. You can also add a pouch to their belt, just like the one where Tinkerbell keeps her fairy dust.
The Environment
For your fairy to appear more magical you should draw her in her environment. Again, this would depend on you. She can be playing in a pond, beside a flower or sitting at a rock. Whatever the environment is, make it appear magical and out of this world.
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Learn To Draw Japanese Animation
They Are Based On Manga
One thing that you should remember when drawing Japanese Animation is that they are based Manga. Thus, the style of drawing would be pretty be pretty much the same, only that they are moving for the animated version. Here are some things that you should take note in drawing this style of cartoons.
Characters Have Wild Hairstyles
If you observe characters in this kind of genre, you’ll see that they usually have wild hairdos. More often, male characters have long hair. In fact, there are some shows that sometimes men are mistaken to be women because of their long tresses. Their hair colors are also wild too. You can see pink and green haired characters. The style of their hair could be very extreme also. Often times, their hair would be sticking up and out to different directions.
When drawing hair, all you have to do is draw them into clumps that would stand as hair strands. For female characters, ponytails, headbands, pigtails and loose hairstyles are common. For men that have long hair, loose let down hair is also in fashion along with ponytails. Bangs are also in for both sexes.
The General Male
Most male characters would be muscular. A lot of them are depicted to be warriors of some sort. A lot of them are also lean and tall. It is normal for you to see blue or even pink colored hair male characters. However, this doesn’t really mean that they are gay.
The General Female
Most female characters are depicted to have slim bodies and long legs. These features are also emphasized by the type of clothing that females wear. More often they wear clothing that shows off their long legs, especially if the setting of the story is in the modern times. The breasts are also prominent. Women also have sharper chins and snub noses.
Little People?
Do not be surprised if you get to see characters that look like little people. These are called “Chibi’s”. These are basically distorted versions of characters. Although proportion is a rule when drawing, Chibis are intended to have a distorted proportion. This is done to achieve a ‘cuteness’ factor. This type of drawing is usually applied for child-like characters. They have big heads, small bodies, big eyes and no nose.
Villains For villains, characters are usually drawn to be more realistic. There is more shading to make their faces look scarier and the lines used are more crooked than smooth and straight. You could usually find them in the form of mafia’s or gangs. Big bosses are also usually not seen. Body parts such as hands, feet or a mouth smoking a tobacco are the commonly used images whenever the big boss is focused on.
Cute Vs. Macho
For cute Anime’s the drawings are often simplistic with huge eyes and a lot of hearts and touches of pink. However, for macho type of Anime’s, the characters have more details and are rendered to be more realistic.
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Learn To Draw Manga
Learn The Culture
If you really want to draw good Manga, it is best that you learn more about Japanese culture. Most Anime’s are based on Japanese tales and historic characters. It is also better if you learn to observe the different surroundings and places in Japan. This is so that your drawing would really have a Japanese feel to it.
The Hair
Characters’ hair is generally based on a variety of hair strand shapes. More often, these shapes have a grass like appearance to it that is more curved at the lower end. Just like real hair, they do have many strands. However, you do not draw each individual strands as is, instead, you have to draw it into clumps.
It is important to take note that there is a skull underneath your character’s hair. A lot of artists overlook this factor and usually end up drawing oddly shaped heads. It is better that you draw a hairless head first so that it would look natural when you add on the hair.
Clothing And Folds
For clothing, the folds are very important details that you should take note of. You should always remember to take into consideration the direction that the fabric would be pulled. That is where you should create folds. Also, remember to shade the parts that are not subjected to light, like grooves, places in which there is an overlap of cloth and areas within folds.
For female characters, the clothing usually cling tighter to the body. For male, they usually hang loosely. There are also body portions that folds always occur, whether you are drawing a boy or girl character. These portions usually include the shoulders, lower waist, ankles and knees. There is less creases on the cloth on the lower and upper leg, since they are usually hanging loosely or are simply pulled down by gravity. They only have folds when the leg is being lifted up.
The most common pieces to be seen are pants, shirts, skirts, kimonos and capes. Manga art is very fond of using capes and kimonos, especially if the setting of the story is somewhere long ago in the past. School uniforms are a favourite too, which usually consist of pants and coats for boys and white blouses and mini skirts for girls.
Eyes
The eyes are the most important aspect of your character. This is what makes them different from other characters. Thus, you have to learn how to draw them correctly. For most cases, female eyes are drawn big. They are also more complicated than male eyes, since they tend to have a lot of shiny areas.
It is important that you select a light source, so that you would know where to put the white shiny areas on the eyes. For male eyes, they do have shiny areas but they are less obvious, than that of female characters. Male eyes are also narrower than female’s.
Most of the time, they are shady too in order to give life to the character, especially if they have a very mysterious personality.
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Oil Painting Technique - Wave Foam in Seascapes
Oil Painting Seascape Wave Techniques - Lesson and Class. Oil painting lessons teach techniques on how to bring depth, motion and iridescent color to seascapes. International, award winning artist, Byron Pickering shows in this seascape video tip how to create and paint wave foam patterns that bring life to your art work. For more - www.paintingwaves.com
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Portrait Drawing Lesson by Lon Haverly
From Oregon Public Broadcasting TV series "You Can Draw!" www.lonhaverly.net, Virtual Drawing Institute
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How Tor Draw an Impossible Object/Illusion
This video shows how to draw a impossible object/illusion.
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How to Draw Manga Eyes, Four Different Ways (pt.1)
Learn how to draw Manga eyes.
http://www.markcrilley.com/
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How to draw anime girl 003 - www.spyre.co.nr
Learn how to draw anime.
http://www.spyre.co.nr
http://www.animedrawcentral.com
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Learn To Draw Animals
A Complicated Art
If you want to learn to draw animals, you should understand that this is a complicated kind of art. Remember that your subject here is a living being. In fact, the complexity of this form of art is comparable to how hard drawing a human figure is. You do not only have to depict the form of the animal but even capture its essence too. However, the problem here is that unlike people, you cannot really tell an animal to sit still forever until you finish your drawing. Thus, more imagination is needed.
Here are some of the other things that you should know in drawing animals.
Be Creative Because They Are Unique!
It is important for you to become extra creative when drawing an animal. This is because they are not the same. Each one of them is unique. Thus, you have to approach each in a different manner. This difference of approach is important in all aspects.
For instance, the way you’d approach them physically can be different. You can watch them from afar without being noticed or have a personal close-up encounter or even a one-on-one play session with them. Various ways of encountering animals can have a very obvious on the outcome of your drawing.
The way you draw an animal can be different too. They can be drawn in various ways. You can choose to depict them as cartoons. In fact they can even come out as a mere line or swirl. You can also opt for a much realistic portrait. It all depends on you.
Observe First Then Draw!
Before you can start drawing, it is imperative that you first observe your subject. It is best to see them in their natural environment. If you can’t find a live encounter then you can always opt for videos. You can also look at photos or books. As you do this, you would find that there are plenty of styles that one kind of animal could be drawn. Although it is possible to master a lot of styles, it is still best that you concentrate on one style and make this your niche.
To find your niche, gather a variety of materials. By seeing animals in their different forms, you are now being exposed to their basic shapes. If you want to know precisely the basic shapes of your chosen animal, the best way to do this is by photocopying its picture. Once you have a copy, start drawing out basic shapes which you see. Observe how its body’s outer lines manage to bring all these shapes together and form the subject.
Start Out With The Basics!
It is best that you start basic. After drawing the basic shapes, you could then build on it by the use of layers. Start adding details by shading and knowing important animal muscles that have become your subject’s trademark. Keep on practicing and you’ll be able to perfect your drawing in no time!
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Learn To Draw Anime Characters
What Is Your Character?
First, you should identify the character you are drawing. Who is he/she? Is he/she old, teenaged, or a child? Is your character good or bad? Getting to know the features of your character would generally be your guide in being able to draw him/her out of your imagination. Try to have a set of personality characteristics for your character so that you can have a basis.
The General Styles
There are main archetypes used in depicting characters in anime. These could serve as your basis but not your prison in creating your own character.
Cute characters are usually depicted with large eyes, round cheekbones, and closely set facial parts. Evil characters are usually drawn more 'realistically'. They also have sharp protruding cheekbones and very small pupils. Their eyes more often than not appear to be shady.
Shoujo characters or those girly-girl characters usually have sharp chins and huge expressive eyes. They also have elegant nose bridges and slender bodies. Stupid characters have round heads and bodies. They also have less details and simplistic features. Their eyes are most often tiny, in some cases are just dots. If your character is a fighter, just like those in Dragon Ball Z, he/she would also have simplistic features but with exaggerated body proportions and a small head.
These are the basic prototypes in creating Anime characters. However, do not limit yourself with those stated above. Try to experiment and play around with the features. This is the only way you can make your character your own and not just some plain Anime looking character.
Hairstyle
The possible hairstyles that characters could have are endless. This is the beauty of Anime art. They could have wild, out of this world hairstyles and they would still look good. Generally, hair strands are drawn in clumps. All you have to do is draw grass like shaped clumps of hair just to give their hairdo some form and style. Bangs are common with these characters. The color you can use is not limited to black, blonde, brunette or auburn. In fact, most characters have wildly colored hair such as green, purple, pink and blue.
Eyes
The eyes are usually prominent with Anime characters. This is what differentiates one character from another. If you observe, there are a lot of white portions in their eye. This is so that it would have a reflective appearance. This also makes the eyes more lively and appealing. You can observe this especially with Shoujo characters or other female characters.
There is also no limit with the color used. Some characters even have pink, and purples eyes. Usually, eye color also compliments the hair color. You may see some blue haired characters with blue eyes and purple haired characters with pink eyes. Sky’s the limit in choosing eye colors.
Clothing
Most Anime characters are in school uniforms or traditional Japanese costumes. However, there are also characters wearing Western style of clothing. It basically depend on the overall theme of the story.
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Learn To Draw A Flame
What most aspiring artists do not know is that drawing a flame could be simple. It just takes much precise observation compared to drawing still life objects like chairs or tables. So, here are the basics of what you should know in order to start drawing a flame.
Get Some Inspiration
Fire is one element of nature that is both magical and whimsical. It could really be addicting and relaxing by just staring at it; so if you want to draw it, then there’s no better way to start but by getting some inspiration. No, you do not have to burn the whole house and watch as the flames go up. A mere match or lighter would do. Light up the match and look at the flame for some time. Try to keep the image in your head, just like a movie that keeps on playing back.
Get Shaped Up!
You should first decide what shape you would want your flame to be. At this point, try not to delve too much on the details of your subject or other complicated elements. Just think about the shape. Start exercising your imagination and visualize a shape.
Generally, most aspiring artists that want to master drawing this kind of subject start out by making use of the “S” shape. Thus, the term “S-shaped flame”. This is a favourite for beginners since it is one of the easiest to draw. If you decide on using this shape, then it would be your drawing’s outer shell.
How About The Internal Structure?
Next, you should think about the internal structure of your drawing. As soon as you have your chosen shape and you have drawn it on your paper, think about what you want to place inside. Visualize a design that you would want to place within your shape. There is basically no limit in choosing a design and there are different variations available for you to play and experiment with.
For instance, you can draw a smaller version of your outer shell’s shape. So, if you have a S-shape for an outer shell, then you can place a smaller S-shape inside. You can place only one or even a number of smaller S-shaped flames with different sizes and shapes inside. It is all basically up to you.
Add Some Color
Although flames can be drawn in both black and white, and color, opting for the first one would require mastery of shading. For beginners coloring is recommended. Doing this would give life to your drawing. So, add some color to your flame. Recall what the flame looked like when you lit up the match or when you lit up the lighter. If possible try to light a fire again, just to see the actual colors.
Observe closely. See the difference of the inside portion of the flame with the outside. If you look closely, you would see that the tip is colored blue, in most cases. The core also has this color. However, as you go farther out from the core, you would observe that hues of yellow, orange and red have appeared.
Use your imagination and try to blend these said colors in your drawing. Arrange them as how your model flame looked like.
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Learn To Draw Dogs
Drawing A Cartoonish Dog
If you’ll be teaching children how to draw, one of the best subjects to start with would be a dog. This is because children love dogs and they are quite familiar with how one would look like. For kids, a cartoon dog would be just right.
Basic Body Parts
First you should draw four circles. Put one circle on top of another, overlapping each other by about 1/3. Make the top most circle the smallest and as you go down, make the next circle slightly bigger than the previous. Align them vertically. However place the second circle from the most top a bit off centered to the left. The top circle would be your dog’s head. The second one, which is off-centered, would be his snout. The lowest two would be your dog's body.
Add Some Ears
Draw the ears. Pick one spot on the upper right portion of its head and draw a sharp triangular arc going outwards. From the same point, draw another triangular arc but this time a bit higher than the previous one. Close them off by a curved line. This is your right dog ear. Do the same on the left side. This time, make sure that the arc would be going out towards the left.
Add Some Eyes
Give your dog eyes. Draw two small circles within his head and just about above his snout. This would be his eyes. Add two half circles above and around his eyes. These would serve as his eye brows. If you want a happy dog, then keep the half circles a bit high and cur curvaceous for a bright disposition. However, if you want your dog to be sad, replace these arcs with diagonal lines going towards the center. If you want him to be mad, replace the arcs with just one long zigzagging line across his forehead.
Give Him A Nose
Now draw another small circle that is concentric to second circle, which is the one that would stand out as your dog’s snout. This would be the tip of his nose. Place the nose tip a bit off-centered to the left.
Add The Legs
Draw his legs. This dog is basically in a sitting position. Thus, his front legs would be straight while his hind legs should be folded. Place these on the lowest circle. The hind legs should be sticking out from both sides of the body, while the two front legs are both occupying the center portion of the lowest circle. Do not forget to give him paws too. Put paws on the end of the legs by drawing a fat “m” like figure and closing it off on its bottom portion.
Add Some Details And Clean Up
Add the details of his body, such as neck and mouth. For the neck, find the right angle in which you can create a slightly diagonal line from the snout circle to the upper body or 3rd circle. The mouth should be under his nose. Lastly, you should clean up by erasing sketch lines which are not really needed for your dog’s body.
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