Fundamentals of

Drawing
- Kabir Malkani
* This presentation has been compiled from references available from the Internet. This is meant purely for
educational purposes and the presenter does not claim to hold any ownership whatsoever; of the content
(textual or graphical) included in this presentation. The ownership and copyrights of the following content
belong to the respective brands /agencies / artists showcased in this presentation.
 Topics covered…
O Introduction
O Origin of Basic Drawing Materials
O Gripping the Pencil
O Basic Shapes & Forms
O Shading
O Perspective Drawing
O Drawing the Human Face
Introduction
 Introduction
O Drawing is a form of visual art that makes
use of any number of drawing instruments to
mark a two-dimensional medium.

O An artist who practices or works in drawing

may be called a draftsman or draughtsman.

O The medium has been a popular and

fundamental means of public expression
throughout human history. It is one of the
simplest and most efficient means of
communicating visual ideas.

Raphael, study for what became

the Alba Madonna, with other
sketches
 Introduction
O Instruments used for drawing include
graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked
brushes, wax color pencils, Crayons,
Charcoal, Chalk, Pastels, Markers,
styluses and various metals (such as
silverpoint).

O Other materials used for drawing

include various kinds of erasers, pencil
sharpeners, geometric apparatus such
as rulers, protractors, compass etc.
André Masson Pencil portrait by
Ink on paper Ingres O The most common surfaces for
drawing is paper, although other
surface materials such as cardboard,
plastic, leather, canvas, and board,
may be used. Temporary drawings may
be made on a blackboard or
whiteboard or indeed almost anything.
Origin of Basic Drawing
Materials
Origin of Basic Drawing Materials
Paper
O The precursor to modern paper dates back to 2nd
century BC in China.
O From China, the paper making process spread to
the Middle East, then to medieval Europe in the
13th century, where the first water-powered paper
mills were built.
O In 1844, Canadian inventor Charles Fenerty and
German F.G. Keller independently developed
Hemp wrapping paper, China,
processes for pulping wood fibers significantly
circa 100BC.
lowering the cost
O Modern day paper is a thin material produced by
pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose
pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and
drying them into flexible sheets.

Stack of modern day copy paper

Origin of Basic Drawing Materials
Pencil
Origination of the word “Pencil”
O from French: “pincel”, which means “a small paintbrush”
O From Latin: “penicillus” a "little tail“
Evolution
O Modern day pencils evolved from an ancient Roman writing
instrument made of lead called a stylus. Lead poisoning from
Ancient Roman Stylus pencils was not uncommon
Discovery of Graphite
O Some time before 1565, an enormous deposit of graphite was
discovered Cumbria, England. The locals found that it was very
useful for marking sheep and thought it was some form of
Lead. Graphite from a pencil stick is not poisonous.
Grading and classification
First mass-produced pencils in 1662 by
Faber-Castel Pencils are usually graded on the European System using a
continuum from "H" (for hardness) to "B" (for blackness), as well as
"F", a letter arbitrarily chosen to indicate midway between HB and H.

The standard writing pencil is graded HB.

Modern day HB graphite pencils
Origin of Basic Drawing Materials
Eraser
O An eraser is an article of stationery that is used for
removing pencil markings.
O Typical erasers are made from synthetic rubber, but
more expensive or specialized erasers are vinyl,
plastic, or gum-like materials.
O Before rubber erasers, tablets of rubber or wax were
used to erase lead or charcoal marks from paper. Bits
of rough stone such as sandstone or pumice were
An old-fashioned gum eraser
used to remove small errors from parchment or
papyrus documents written in ink. Crustless bread
was used as an eraser in the past.
O In 1770, Edward Nairne, an English engineer, is
credited with developing the first widely-marketed
rubber eraser for an inventions competition. He sold
natural rubber erasers for the high price of three
shillings per half-inch cube.

Faber Castell Vinyl Erasers

Gripping the Pencil
Gripping the Pencil
Scribe Grip
O The “scribe’s grip” that feels
natural for most people is
surely the worst grip for
drawing: writing and drawing
are fundamentally different
activities.
O Writing is done with minute
motions of the hand and
fingers, with the elbow fixed
O Drawing is done with broad
movement of the whole arm,
from hand to shoulder-blade
Gripping the Pencil
Pen Grip
O Hold the pencil like you
would hold the writing
pen, but much further
from the tip
O This grip is good for
detailing, and for small-
size sketching
O It is also the grip Wacom
tablets are designed for
Gripping the Pencil
Violin bow grip
O Hold the pencil with the thumb
against all four fingers. This
removes most control from the
fingers, and emphasizes the wrist
and especially the arm at elbow
and shoulder.
O This grip is the preferable basic
drawing grip.
O it produces flowing, economical
sweeping line and is ideal for
rough sketching, hatching and
tonal work with the side of lead.
 Gripping the Pencil

Gesture grips and variations

O Between the “pen” and the “violin bow”, there is any number of
intermediate grips, suitable mostly for gesture drawing with varying
paper size and motion range.
O Usually, the smaller the page or detail, the closer the grip will be to the
“pen”.
 Gripping the Pencil

Brush Grip
O Sometimes a brush grip is used for detail work — it is the pencil held
like a brush, in a pen grip with index finger resting along the shaft.
O It offers more motion freedom than the pen grip and works with or
without elbow support, but when used with a pencil it also takes away
some fine control.
O It is fairly good for holding the Wacom stylus, too.
Basic Shapes & Forms
 Basic Shapes & Forms
Exercise #1: Drawing Straight Lines
O Draw each line with a single motion. You'll discover the best
angle at which you can draw a straight line. Then, all you
have to do is turn the paper to execute a horizontal, a
vertical, or diagonal line.
Basic Shapes & Forms
Basic Shapes & Forms
Exercise #2
O List down a few objects
that you see in the real
world that follow these
structure types
 Basic Shapes & Forms
Contour Lines
O Defines the edges and surface
ridges of an object.
O A contour line also creates a
boundary separating one area from
another.

A contour drawing by Egon Schiele.

Shading
Shading
Definition
O The use of light and dark
values to give the illusion
of form and depth
Shading - Terms
O Highlights: small areas of
white used to show the very
brightest spots of an object
O Transitional Light / Midtones:
used to show the actual color
of the object
O Core of the Shadow:
Represents the shadowed side
of an object
O Cast Shadow: the shadow
where the object meets the
surface (the darkest tone)
O Reflected light – is a faint rim
of light reflected back onto an
object from the surfaces
surrounding the object.
Shading - Techniques
Hatching

Crosshatching

Stippling

Scribbling

Blending
Shading - Techniques
Hatching is a series of straight or curved
lines (called a set), drawn beside one
another to give the illusion of a value.

Crosshatching is a shading technique in

which one set of lines crosses over
(overlaps) another set.

The act of Stippling involves covering an

area with dots. It is a wildly time-
consuming technique, in which an image is
drawn dot...by dot...by dot. Pointillism in art
is based on this technique.
Shading - Techniques
Scribbling has many different names and
techniques such as Scumbling, Circling &
Squirkling. Basically, this technique
involves shading using random strokes or
circlular strokes.

Blending, also known as Smooth Shading

is where you use your finger or some
smudge tool such as a piece of cloth or
cotton swab and smear the shading for a
more uniform shade. If controlled correctly
this can give a smooth polished look.
 Shading - Techniques

Hatching Crosshatching Stippling

 Shading - Techniques

Scribbling Blending
Shading - Techniques

Exercise #3
O Identify the different shading techniques used in the
above diagram
Perspective Drawing
Perspective Drawing
Perspective Drawing is a
technique used to
represent three-
dimensional images on a
two-dimensional picture
plane.
Perspective Drawing - Terms
SUBJECT
refers to the object or scene that
we are dealing with in the
composition of our drawing or
painting. It can be one item or
many things, such as a complex
scene from nature.
Perspective Drawing - Terms
Low Elevation of View
HORIZON LINE
The horizon is represented by the
point at which the sea and sky, or
flat land and sky, meet.
Normal Elevation of View

The true horizon line is always at

the “Eye Level” and will change as
you change the elevation of view.
High Elevation of View
Perspective Drawing - Terms
VIEWING POINT
Every object appears different
when viewed from various angles.

The viewing point can be seen as a

straight line from our eye to the
horizon line. If we move to the
right/left OR up/down, we are
changing the viewing point and
there will be major changes in the
drawing.
Perspective Drawing - Terms

THE PICTURE PLANE

The picture plane (PP) is the plane that is used to record the 'picture' or 'drawing' that
the eye sees. It is easiest to think of the picture plane as being a sheet of glass, and
the observer having a marking pen that can trace onto the glass exactly what their
eye sees.
Perspective Drawing - Terms

VANISHING POINT
is that spot on the horizon line to which the receding parallel lines diminish. As things
get further away, from us, they seems smaller and closer together. When they get far
enough away, distances become ever tinier and so form a single point.
Perspective Drawing - Terms
VANISHING POINT
Look at a long table from one end
and notice that the far end
appears to be smaller than the
near end. We know that the ends
of the table are the same width,
but due to perspective, we notice
the viewing difference. This is the
Illusion of Depth.
 Perspective Drawing - Terms
VANISHING POINT
If we draw imaginary lines along the sides of the table and extend them to meet each other , they will
meet at a point. The meeting point where the two lines meet is a Vanishing point. And the parallel line
which passes through the vanishing point is Horizon Line. Lines that are parallel to the table side lines
will also meet at the same vanishing point on the horizon line. All objects in the picture will also seem
to grow smaller as they move into the picture, toward the horizon line. So, the horizon line plays a
number of important role in the rules of perspective.
Perspective Drawing - Types

There are three types of

perspective that we use most.
one-point, two-point and three-
point perspective.

Let’s learn how to draw these…

One-Point Perspective
Steps
1. Draw a Horizon Line
2. Mark a point on that
line… this will be the
Vanishing Point
One-Point Perspective
Steps
3. Draw a neat rectangle

NOTE: Ensure the

vertical edges are
perpendicular and
horizontal edges are
parallel with the Horizon
Line
One-Point Perspective
Steps
4. Draw 4 lines originating
from each of the
corners of the rectangle
and converging at the
Vanishing Point. These
are also called
Vanishing Lines
One-Point Perspective
Steps
5. Draw another rectangle
behind the existing one
using the Vanishing
Lines as coordinates for
it’s corners.

NOTE: Ensure the

vertical edges are
perpendicular and
horizontal edges are
parallel to the edge of
the paper
One-Point Perspective
Steps
6. Now you can delete the
Vanishing Lines.

NOTE: If you want to

draw a see-through box,
you can choose not to
erase the lines inside
the box.
One-Point Perspective
Exercise #4
O Try drawing these boxes in
one-point perspective
following the steps
mentioned above
One-Point Perspective -
Examples
One-Point Perspective -
Examples
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
1. Draw a Horizon Line
2. Mark two points on that
line… these will be the
Vanishing Points
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
3. Now, draw a vertical line
that will be the front
corner edge of your box

NOTE: Ensure this line is

not too close to the
Horizon Line and that
its perpendicular to it
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
4. Now, draw the first
Vanishing Lines starting
from the two ends of
the line and diminishing
at the two Vanishing
Points
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
5. Now complete the
visible sides of the box
by drawing the corner
edges (shown here with
red lines).

Note: Make sure these

lines are perpendicular
to the Horizon Line
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
6. Now draw two sets of
Vanishing Lines from the
ends of the corner edges
you drew in the last step.

Note: The Vanishing Lines

from the left corner edge
of the box should connect
to the Vanishing Point on
the Right & those from
the Right corner edge
should connect to the
Vanishing Point on the
Left.
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
7. Now you simply have to
draw a vertical line from
the where the lower two
vanishing lines intersect, to
the intersection of the
upper two lines (shown as
a red line in this example).
Two-Point Perspective
Steps
6. Now you can delete the
Vanishing Lines.

NOTE: If you want to

draw a see-through box,
you can choose not to
erase the lines inside
the box.
One-Point Perspective
Exercise #5
O Try drawing this box in two-
point perspective following
the steps mentioned above
Two-Point Perspective -
Examples
Two-Point Perspective -
Examples
Three-Point Perspective
Steps
1. Draw a Horizon Line
closer to the bottom of
your page
2. Mark two Vanishing
Points on that line… and
add the third one above
the line closer to the top
of the page
3. Draw a perpendicular
line from the 3rd VP to
the Horizon Line
Three-Point Perspective
Steps
4. Now, draw a line beginning
from the Left VP
intersecting the
perpendicular line at about
2/3rds its height
5. From this intersection draw
another line to the Right VP
6. Draw another line again
beginning from the Left VP
intersecting the
perpendicular line at about
1/3rds its height
7. From this intersection draw
another line to the Right VP
8. Now, draw two lines starting
from the 3rd VP on either
side of the perpendicular
line
Three-Point Perspective
Steps
9. Draw a line from the lower
back corner to the left
vanishing point. And draw
one from the lower left
corner to the right
vanishing point.
Three-Point Perspective
Steps
10. If you want to show a see-
through box… draw the 3
green lines as shown in the
diagram
Three-Point Perspective
Steps
10. Now erase the Vanishing
Lines
Three-Point Perspective -
Examples
Three-Point Perspective -
Examples
Drawing the Human Face
 Drawing the Human Face
1. Draw a circle
2. Lightly draw a vertical
line splitting it in half
3. Extend this line
downwards – the length
being roughly about the
radius of the circle (Take
note of the
measurements shown)

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
4. Draw the outline of the
face as shown
5. Lightly mark the vertical
half line. This is where
the eyes should be
drawn.

Tip: The shape of the

face can be fine-tuned
later. Don’t aim for
perfection at this stage.

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
6. Lightly draw the eyebrow
line halfway between the
eye line and the center of
the circle
7. Similarly mark the
guidelines for key
features such as hair &
the nose

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
8. Divide the eye line into 5
equal parts. The 2nd &
the 4th division
demarcates the location
of the eyes

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
9. Divide the bottom third of
the face into 3 equal
parts – these will mark
the opening of the mouth
& the top of the chin
10. The middle third of the
face decides the position
of the ears

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
11. Erase the guidelines
12. Detail out the key
features

Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Drawing the Human Face
Tips:
1. You must be able to draw
realistically before
stylizing
2. Understanding of
Anatomy is the key to
drawing decently
3. Look up the web, observe
film actors & actresses or
casually observe people
around you to
understand the basic
differences in features
such as eyes, lips, noses,
hair & ears
4. Practice this exercise
over and over again
Courtesy soas95
http://soas95.deviantart.com/
 Assignment
Choose from projects listed below:

O Draw the inside of a room using One-Point

Perspective
O Draw a popular Indian monument using Two-Point
Perspective OR
O Draw the side profile of the face you have just
drawn during the course of this training. (Feel free
to look up the web for references)

* Final Date for submitting this assignment is the 21 st of

Jan 2014