by You Can Draw In 30 Days The Fun Easy Way To Learn To Draw In One Month Or Less (pdf)
Let’s begin applying this important thickness rule to the door on the right side first. If the door is on the right, the thickness should be on which side? Yes, you’ve got it: the right. Using your drawing compass lines in direction NW, draw the bottom thickness on the right side of the doorway.
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11. Complete the door by following the
12. Look at the door on the left side. Using the line of the exterior door as it curves up.
drawing compass direction NE lines you drew
earlier as reference, draw the thickness on the left-side door on the left side of the entrance.
13. Erase your guide lines at the bottom of
each door. With a well-placed line in drawing
directions NW and NE, you can easily create
the visual illusion that there is a hallway or a room inside each doorway. Notice how I have
drawn these lines just a bit higher than the
bottom thickness line of each doorway. By
nudging this line up, I create more space.
14. Now, with some interesting wedges you can develop these into entrance ramps or quick-exit-end-of-workday slide ramps or skateboard ramps for your kids. This is a great example of why drawing in three dimensions is such a magical skill to master. You are developing the skills to create buildings, cities, forests, or entire worlds on a blank two-dimensional piece of paper. One pencil, one piece of paper, your imagination, and the skills I am teaching you here are all the ingredients you need to create your own world. Not a bad way to spend thirty minutes of your day, right?
Draw two guide dots on either side of the building.
LESSON 7: ADVANCED-LEVEL CUBES
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15. Let’s create the ramp on the left side
first. Draw the vertical back edge of the ramp
against the wall, and extend the bottom edge
of the ramp out in drawing compass direc-
tion SW. We used this direction often when
drawing our guide lines for cast shadows in
our previous lessons. In fact, we will be
using this SW direction line again for a cast
shadow on this building a little later in this
lesson. Be vigilant in maintaining this direc-
tion SW line. Triple-check it against your
earlier lines in NE because NE and SW lines
are identical, just a different stroke direction of your hand. This is definitely an idea that is much easier to explain with visual examples
than with words.
16. Complete the near edge of the ramp.
17. Draw the thickness of the ramp
with two lines in direction NW,
matching the angles with the lines
you drew earlier in direction NW.
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18. Complete the far edge of the ramp by matching the angle of the front edge (another good example of parallel lines). Notice how I have drawn the bottom of the face or the ramp a tiny bit larger than the top. You must always keep in mind the effect of size in your drawing. To reiterate, to make objects appear closer, draw them larger. To make objects appear farther away, draw them smaller. In this case, I want to draw the bottom of the face of the ramp a bit larger to strengthen the visual illusion that it is closer to your eye and that the top of the ramp is pushed deeper into the picture, farther from your eye. It’s this constant application of these small details, using these important drawing laws (size, placement, shading, shadow, etc.) and the drawing compass directions (NW, NE, SW, and SE) that give you the skills and confidence to sketch anything in three dimensions.
19. Erase your guide lines behind the
ramp. Using the lines you already
drew in direction NE as reference
(keep glancing at those lines as you
are drawing new ones to match up
the angles), draw the ramp on the
right side. Remember: Beware of the
tendency to droop the bottom line.
No drooping!
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20. Complete your two-layered foreshortened ramp building by drawing the horizon line above the building, positioning your light source, and shading all the surfaces opposite your light position. Using your reference lines to angle the cast shadow correctly in direction SW is really simple when you are drawing buildings; just extend the bottom lines. Erase any extra lines or smudges, and voilà, you have completed your first architectural rendering. Congratulations! Beautiful job!
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Lesson 7: Bonus Challenge
Here are two very interesting variations of the two-layered ramp building. In variation number one, I experimented with tapering the vertical sides inward. I was pleased with the results. You try it. However, in your version, draw it nine levels high. Now, draw a nine-section-high version, alternating the tapered sides from inward to outward. How about trying a tall version with alternating thin and thick layers, tapering three segments in, three segments out, three in, etc.? You can see where I’m going with this. There are a thousand possible variations of this interesting exercise.
In variation number two, I experimented with alternating the foreshortened layers into a rotating step building with ramps, doors, windows, and some peculiar foreshortened cylinder attached to the side. It looks much more complicated than it is. Simply start with a very strong and sharp foreshortened square. Keep in mind that the very first foreshortened square you draw is the template reference point for all the lines you will be drawing for the entire picture. With this strong
beginning, enjoy the process of
duplicating my variation number
two, one line, one step at a time.
You have enough knowledge and
skill now to draw this one on your
own without me having to break
it down into steps for you. Be
patient, take your time, and
ENJOY yourself!
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Student examples
Take a look at some student examples and get inspired!
By Julie Einerson
By Suzanne Kozloski
Julie Einerson has applied several prin-
ciples from the lesson to this sketch of
her spa.
By Marnie Ross
Marnie Ross has applied her
budding drawing skill to this
rendering of her church.
By Michael Lane
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L E S S O N 8
COOL KOALAS
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T oday, let’s take a break from boxes and structures and draw a koala from our imagination. This lesson was inspired from my teaching tour through schools in Australia many years ago. During my school visits, the students introduced me to a wide array of exotic Australian pets. One student let me hold his pet koala, another a pet echidna, a frilled hooded lizard, a duck-billed platypus, and even a baby kangaroo.
Of course, on each occasion I had to draw the animals in my ever-present drawing sketchbook/journal. Then, of course, I just had to teach the entire class how to draw these wonderful creatures in 3-D by using the Nine Fundamental Laws of Drawing. In this
lesson we will draw a caricature of a koala. After the lesson, I encourage you to go online and research three photos of real-world koalas and draw them as well by using the skills we are going to learn now.
2. On the first circle, use curving
dashes to create a “soft fur” texture
1. Very lightly sketch three circles in a row.
along the outside edge.
3. Continuing to work on the first cir-
cle, use more curving dashes to fill in
4. Let’s take this one step further.
the left side of the circle, creating the
On the second circle, draw sharp
illusion of shading with texture. You
lines around the outside, creating
can use texture to shade an object.
the “feel” of sharp spikes.
6. Draw scribbles around the third circle. Keep 5. Place your light source in the top
scribbling more circling lines around and
right corner of your page, and add a
around the shape to create a messy-looking
few more rows of spikes to the left
ball of dryer lint. Continue to explore this idea side of the shape.
of texture as a tool for shading.
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7. Now, time for the start
8. Lightly sketch in the ears.
9. Lightly slope down the shoulders.
of this lesson—the koala!
Begin with a light circle.
10. When you draw in the “tapered”
nose, be sure to leave a small white
area. This creates the illusion of a light
11. Draw the koala’s eyes, transferring
reflection off the shiny nose. You will
the idea of reflection by leaving a small
do this same thing when drawing other
white spot in each pupil.
animals: cats, dogs, bears.
12. Let’s take a closer look at the ear. This is what is known in the art world as doing a
“study” of a small portion of a picture: for example, the hand of Michelangelo’s Adam as he reaches out to God in the panel “Creation” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or the overlapping petal of Georgia O’Keefe’s Lily. In this study of our koala’s ear, draw the top edge of the ear, the “helix.”
13. Draw the overlapped line of the “concha.”
14. Draw the bump at the bottom of the ear. This is the “tragus.”
12
13
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This is a perfect example of how effective visual communication can be. I could write for pages explaining what a concha is, where it’s located, and what it looks like. Or I can draw a few lines on a page and point to it. Now take your finger and lightly trace the helix, concha, and tragus in your own ear. What do you know? We humans have nearly the same ear structure as koalas, and in fact all land mammals’ ears have a helix, a concha, and a tragus. In future drawings you create, you’ll be able to transfer this detail to other animals you want to draw.
16. Look back at the furry ball you drew at
15. Repeat this ear structure on the right ear.
the beginning of this lesson. Notice how
you created the soft feel of fur as com-
pared to the sharp feel of the spike ball.
Draw the soft, furry texture around the
outline of the koala.
17. Use more furry texture
to shade the koala’s head,
ears, and body. Emphasize
the undershadow under his
chin and in his ear under
the top helix line.
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Lesson 8: Bonus Challenge
Now that you have successfully drawn one cute little koala, why stop here? Go ahead and draw a crowd of them! Enjoy yourself. Use a lot of overlapping and size to push the other koalas deeper into your picture. Darken and define the edges 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 have successfully achieved the delightful illusion of the third dimension, depth, in your picture. Way to go!
Now take a look at my sketchbook page for ideas on drawing a koala crowd.
Here’s an idea: Search the Internet for three photos of koalas in nature. Notice how their ears and noses are in real life. Using the important concepts from this lesson—texture, shading, and overlapping—draw another koala with smaller, more realistic ears and nose.
Suzanne Kozloski used the
important principles from this
lesson for her more realistic
drawings of koalas.
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Various textures found their way to my students’ sketchbooks, as you can see here.
Student examples
By Marnie Ross
By Ann Nelson
By Kimberly McMichael
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L E S S O N 9
THE ROSE
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L et’s warm up for the rose by drawing a simple bowl shape. I often tell my students that musicians warm up by playing scales, athletes warm up by stretching their muscles, and we artists can warm up by drawing several simple basic shapes, a few stacked tables, some overlapping spheres, or a delightful bowl of cereal!
1. Draw two guide dots horizontally
2. Connect the dots with a
across from each other.
foreshortened circle.
The foreshortened circle is one of those pivotal shapes that can be used as a foundation to create thousands of objects. Similar to the importance of a foreshortened square, enabling you to draw boxes, tables, houses, and so on, the foreshortened circle enables you to draw the three-dimensional curved surfaces of cylindrical objects: a bowl, a rose, a cub, a hat, a jellyfish. Practice drawing six foreshortened circles in a row, using guide dots, like I have here.
3. Draw the body of the
bowl.
4. Using a guide line in direction SW (you’ll
have to draw this from memory, as you have no
reference lines yet—careful, no drooping!),
position the light source in the top right. Draw the horizon line. Shade the bowl with blended
shading from dark to light, creating a smooth
blended surface. Look at how the small bit of
blended shading inside the right corner of the
bowl has an enormous visual effect in creating
the illusion of depth. This small blended shad-
ing detail will be very important for you to
transfer when you are drawing the rose, the lily, an orchid, or any flower.
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5. Before you draw the rose, I want to introduce you to an important idea I call the
“peeking” line. This tiny detail of a small overlapping line that defines a fold or a wrinkle will have a huge visual effect in enabling you to make the rose petals appear to be curling around the bud in three dimensions. The best exercise to familiarize you with this is a fun simple “flapping flag” exercise.
5a. Draw a vertical
5b. Draw two guide dots.
5c. Draw three-quarters
flagpole.
of a foreshortene
d circle.
5d. Draw the vertical
5e. Curve the near bottom edge
5f. Draw the “peeking” line,
thickness of the flag.
of the flag a bit more than the
the most important line in this
line above it. The bottom of the
exercise. This teeny tiny dash
flag is a bit farther from your
will make or break this draw-
eye, so you need to distort it,
ing and holds an enormous
curve it more than the top edge.
amount of visual power. It
uses overlapping, placement,
and size simultaneously.
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5i. Draw three-quarters
5g. Okay, that was pretty
of a foreshortened circle,
5h. Draw the two
cool. Let’s try one in
but this time curve the
guide points for the
reverse.
top edge of the flag
foreshortened circle.
toward you.
5j. Draw the vertical thickness
5k. Curve the bottom of the
5l. Push the back line up, away from
lines from each edge. Make
near part of the flag.
the near bottom corner of the flag.
sure to draw the near edge a bit
Remember to curve it a bit
You need to curve this back line
longer to make it appear closer.
more than you think you
opposite the line you have just drawn.
need to. Remember that dis-
You are following the curved line
tortion is your friend here.
above as reference, however, so the
same principle of distortion applies:
Curve the back line a bit more than
