Soap Bubble

Soap Bubble

For my fourth post, I will be learning how to draw a soap bubble. I am using the book "How to Draw Cool Stuff" by Catherine V. Holmes. The first thing I need to understand is that "Lines and shaped drawing in a curved manner on top of a circle shape help to create the illusion of a sphere" (Holmes 53). When drawing a bubble, it is important to use curved lines to develop the shape of the sphere.

Steps: 
1. The first step is to lightly sketch a circle. I recommend using a cup or something you can trace to draw a perfect circle. I had to free sketch the circle because I had nothing to trace.

2. I forgot to take pictures of the steps of shading so here is the instructions from the book how to do it. (Sorry it's sideways, I couldn't figure out how to turn it.)

3. As you can see from my other posts, I am not the best at shading. It is hard for me to figure out where the light and dark areas are supposed to be. So here is my attempt of a shaded soap bubble.

I definitely have room for improvement. I think one thing that I want to understand better is how reflection, "An image given back by a reflecting surface" (Holmes 53), affects the bubbles shading. I encourage you guys to try out this drawing! I enjoyed the challenge even if the outcome wasn't so great. 

If you've ever drawn, what was one thing that was really hard for you? What are areas you could improve on?

Holmes, Catherine V. How to Draw Cool Stuff: A Drawing Guide for Teachers and Students. New York: Library Tales, 2013. Print.

Snail Drawing

Snail Drawing

For my fifth and final drawing that i'm learning from "How to Draw Cool Stuff" by Catherine V. Holmes, I will be drawing a snail or "A small gastropod mollusk animal that lives in a shell that it carries on its back, that moves very slowly, and can live in water or on land" (Holmes 55). Although a snail is not normally a very attractive animal, this drawing teaches me how to draw a cute little snail using simple techniques. To be able to draw this, I need to understand that "Simple shapes combined together can create more complex objects" (Holmes 55). This is a key thing to know because shapes can be added to construct a bigger picture.

Steps:

1. Start off with a basic circle.

2. Add a small crescent as shown. Draw a circle inside the previous one, it should be to the lower left.

3. Connect the smaller circle to the outer circle with curve. Erase part of the little circle as shown.

4. Continue drawing the curve around and around until it is about this small.

5. Next, erase a part at the bottom to show the opening. Then, add a rim to the front of the shell as shown

6. Add a body, head and and tail to it for the finished snail.

7. Add shading.

This is a very cute and simple drawing that anyone can do! I hope you guys try it. What is your favorite animal? Do you think you could draw it?

Holmes, Catherine V. How to Draw Cool Stuff: A Drawing Guide for Teachers and Students. New York: Library Tales, 2013. Print.

Basic Cylinder

Basic Cylinder

For my third drawing, I will learn how to draw a cylinder from the book "How to Draw Cool Stuff" by Catherine V. Holmes. According to the book, I need to understand that "a cylinder is a three-dimensional geometric form utilizing line and ellipse" (Holmes 22). This tells me that  a cylinder is circle that is projected into three dimensions. 

Steps:

1. Start by drawing two points.

2. Connect the points with rounded lines to make a thin oval. This oval is called an ellipse. "A circle viewed at an angle; an oval" (Holmes 22).

3. Add 2 vertical lines directed straight down from both points.

4. Connect the base with a curved line.

As you can see, this drawing is very quick and easy. When drawing a cylinder, you must understand perspective. This is "The technique artists use to project an illusion of the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface" (Holmes 22). It helps to create a sense of depth that allows the object to look three-dimensional. 

One thing that was hard for me was shading. I had a hard time making the cylinder's shading look cohesive. The book says you should start with a value scale, which show you the lights and darks of your drawing. Here is an example:

Then you use this diagram to shade the cylinder: 

Now here is my attempt:

I can definitely say that it is not my best work. This drawing showed me that I need to improve on my shading. What are ways that I can help develop my shading skills? 

Holmes, Catherine V. How to Draw Cool Stuff. N.p.: Library Tales, 2014. Print.

Remember Ribbon Drawing

REMEMBER RIBBON

For my second drawing, I will be drawing a remember ribbon from the book "How to Draw Cool Stuff" by Catherine V. Holmes. To draw this properly, I will need to understand "How to create the illusion of shadows and light in a drawing" (Holmes 51). By learning how to do this, it will add dark and light values that make the ribbon appear more realistic.

Steps:
1. The first step is to draw a skinny oval. Then draw a triangle underneath the oval, to make it look like an upside down cone.

2. Erase the bottom of the oval and add two, small curved lines extending from the triangle. Then connect the two lines by drawing an arch.

3. From the point of the triangle, continue the two lines diagonally so it appears as an X.

4. Draw two lines at a light slope extending from the top arch and draw two more diagonal lines extending from the angled lines. Then close the ribbon ends with diagonals.

5. Add shading, starting with dark areas first and add light layers with your pencil. Extend the shading further down the ribbon by adding a slightly lighter shade next to the medium shadows. If you want, you can take a tissue covering your finger tip and gently blend in the shading to make the lines blend away.

 By using shading, it adds depth and form to the ribbon and it makes it look real. The definition of shading in the book says "Showing change from light to dark in a picture by darkening areas that would be shadowed and leaving other areas light" (Holmes 51). Shading is important because it provides the illusion of dimension and depth.

Remember ribbons are commonly used to bring awareness to certain kinds of cancer. They represent the different kinds of cancers through colors. This is a great thing to learn how to draw because it can be put to a great cause and spread awareness to people. Also, it is very quick and easy, that anyone can do! Trust me, if I can do it, you can too.

What are your thoughts on how this simple drawing can bring awareness to a larger cause? Tell me what you think in the comments below(:

Holmes, Catherine V. How to Draw Cool Stuff. N.p.: Library Tales, 2014. Print.

Sphere Drawing

SPHERE DRAWING

For my blog, I will be posting about pencil drawings. I think that drawing is a relaxing thing to do in your free time. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a ton of free time to do intricate and astounding drawings, not that I could anyway. So I chose a book that goes over the basics of drawings. It's called "How to Draw Cool Stuff" by Catherine V. Holmes. It covers shading, texture, patterns, and optical illusions. I am currently in a drawing class so I have some experience, but I still have room to grow. Hopefully through this blog, I will be able to develop my drawing skills.

For my first post, I decided to draw a basic sphere. According to the book, I have to understand that "Shading adds depth, contrast, character, and even movement to your drawings by capturing the shadows and highlights of your object" (Holmes 27). When drawing a sphere, shading is an important part because it shows the shadows of the object, giving it form. Here's my attempt in drawing a sphere!

Steps: 

1. The first step was to draw a very light outline of a circle and choose the direction that the light source will come from.

2. Next, was to shade the furthest area from the light source.

3. I shaded toward the light source, adding a bit more pressure. This was supposed to be the darkest spot.

4. I filled in the circle with less pressure as the shadow moves toward the light source.

5. Finally, I gently blended the shading to bring it all together.

As you can see, blending my drawing helped develop the shape and make it look more 3D. The definition of blend from the book says "To mix marks or colors smoothly together on a surface" (Holmes 27). This step was important in this drawing because it helps show the sphere's shape. 

This drawing helped me learn how to show depth and form. Shading helped to make the picture more cohesive and 3D. I hoped you guys enjoyed this post! What do you think I can do to get better and develop my skills? Do you guys agree that drawing is a relaxing past time? Let me know what you guys think in the comments below!

Holmes, Catherine V. How to Draw Cool Stuff. N.p.: Library Tales, 2014. Print.