Transcripts
1. Intro: Hi everyone. My name
is Carly and I'm an artist drawing on the
iPad using Procreate. And welcome back to
another Skillshare class. I'm so happy that you are
here today to join me. I'm gonna be sharing
some really fun exercises that you can do, which will help build your art skills and your
confidence in drawing. Even if you're not a beginner. And you just want
to kind of find some new ideas on how to
improve your art skills. These are great exercises
to do on a regular basis. And at the end I
am going to share a couple more tips that
will help you improve. You can maybe do
daily and just keep on top of to really help build
your art skills overall.
2. Supplies: These clauses you
can follow along using any media that you like. I usually draw in Procreate, but I think it's
really important to also practice
traditional art as well, like just using
pencils or something. So I like to use my
paper sketch books as well to keep on
learning and drawing. I'm just using this one today. This was just from office works and I really liked the paper. And if you're interested
for the exercises, I will be just using an
outline 2000.4 black pen and also just a gray graphite pencil
which is from Faber, Castile, and that's an HB. And then these colored pencils, which are also from
Faber, Castile. And I'm just using these colors. Just figure out,
why don't you do the exercises and I will label information below the video
in the description as well.
3. Class project: Ready enough to say the
kind of things that you create from some of
these exercises. I really recommend
posting some in the project section below this class so we can
all have a look. Don't worry if it's not perfect. I know that my joints through these exercises are
not the greatest. See, I'd really love
to see them and say you're taking part
with the exercises. I hope that they help you. And let's dive in to class one.
4. Exercise 1: Line Drawing: For this first exercise, we're going to take our pen of choice and we're going to draw a continuous line without
lifting the pen from the paper. So I've decided to
draw a face for mine, but you can choose whatever
you like as you're drawing. I haven't planned this out, so I just started from the
eye and I'm just hoping for the best without lifting
my pen off the paper. This exercise actually forces your brains are
concentrated a bit more as you have to
figure out where to take your pen next to
create your image. You will probably make mistakes if you're not used to this, but that's why it's good. As it improves the control
that you have with the pen and your
observation skills. I can promise you, my face drawings usually do
look a lot better than this. This was definitely
a challenge for me and I'm really
excited to see what you will come up with if you do decide to share them in
the project section below. I also decided to try again, but without creating
an actual image. But just take my pen and you
didn't swells and zigzags. Just maybe my pen all
around the page in one continuous line and fill
in any spaces that I say. This was actually
quite relaxing today. I really enjoyed this exercise. There are no mistakes here, so just let your pen flow
where it wants to go. And who knows, you might even
end up with a masterpiece.
5. Exercise 2: Doodles: For this exercise
is really simple. We're just going to fill
out the entire page. We have a doodles. This is very relaxing today. And if you're anything like me, and we're just doodle on random bits of
paper or notebooks, then this will be really
fun for you today. I started from the middle
just making different shapes, fit in in the spaces
and mixing it up with rounded edges like
circles and swirls, and sharp edges like
triangles and zigzags. You can also start from the corner and make your
way down if you like. I went into this with no plan or idea of what I was
going to draw. It may feel a little
bit overwhelming to start just looking at the
blank piece of paper. But I would just put your pen down and see where it takes you. That's exactly what I did. And as I went these ideas, but different shapes and lines, they just came to
me as I, as I went. Just let your hand
create as it goes and don't overthink it or wonder
if it looks good at all. This exercise should be fun and relaxing with no expectations. It can really help gain
a line control and can improve your concentration
and your creativity. After you finished, you will see what designs and patterns
you have drawn the most and what shapes or lines that you have
repeated a lot. All of these elements
actually helped form and build up
your own art style. When I started this exercise, I actually started doodling, feel a little bit stuck
with what to draw. And so what came out was just
the basic shapes and lines. But then as the
exercise went on, I really got into it. More and more designs
were flowing out of me. I just started to
feel more creative. I was starting to draw designs that I enjoyed
and I can definitely see what elements that
I repeated the most.
6. Exercise 3: Eyes closed: This next exercise
can be a fun one today and you can also have
a laugh at what you create. We're going to draw
with our eyes closed. I am trying to draw some faces here if you
can't tell what it is. And then after
that, I'll just try and draw a simple house. If you're not sure
what to draw or what it would look
like from your mind. Definitely find a reference
to something nearby, like an object in the
house or outside. Just study it for
a few minutes and then use your memory
to recreate it. You can draw something
really simple to start, like a cup or a piece of fruit. And only try and focus
on the main shapes here. And don't focus on all
the small details. Unless you are really good at this exercise, then go for it. This exercise really helps build muscle memory and can
really help you loosen up. So now I'm just drawing my
little house illustration. And for some reason I keep on drawing everything to
the right hand side. But with practice and doing it over and over again
a few more times, I will start to build
my muscle memory a lot better and I'll start
to get things in place. So definitely give
this one a try and maybe you'll
have a laugh too.
7. Exercise 4: Upside down: For this exercise, we're
going to draw upside down. It's pretty simple,
but it can definitely test the mind because
everything is back to front. And it forces you to think more carefully to what
you are drawing. So that when you flip it around, it will look in
proportion still. When you draw upside down, it activates the other
side of the brain and helps you recognize the
image in a different way. This is like when I recommend flipping your Canvas
horizontally, if you use Procreate, your brain gets used
to draw in one way, when you flip an image, the errors can really show up. I started with a simple plot
here for this exercise, but then I felt it
was a bit basic. So then I attempted to do
a face for the second try. It definitely got me
pause in a little as I drew the face
because I had to really think which way around things we're doing this
exercise though, really helps you focus
on only what you say and not what you're
used to draw in.
8. Exercise 5: Opposite hand: Whether you're right-handed
or left-handed, we are now going to draw
with our non-dominant hand. So for me that's my
left hand and I'm starting by trying
to draw an eye. This is a great
practice to do as it helps strengthen
connections in our brain. As we're not used to focus
in without left side. You can choose a certain
thing like I've done to draw. Or you can just go into
the page and create whatever and just let your creativity flow out
and see what happens. It will probably
feel shaky at first, but just create with
no expectations. And this isn't going
to be perfect, so just allow yourself
to be more creative. I've also chose to draw a
simple house drawing again, but feel free to make it as
complicated as you want to, whichever joins that
you want to try. As you start building new muscle connections
in your brain, it might actually be surprised
at what you can create.
9. Exercise 6: One colour: In this exercise, we will create a drawer in using
just one color, which is also known
as monochrome. Again, I have chosen
an eye to draw, and I'm only using this
pink pencil to create it. You can use this
exercise with coloring, coloring pages as well, where the image is
already drawn out for you and then you
just can color it in. The objective here is to create variety of color using value, which is basically how
light or dark the color is. We want to create
depth and bring the drawing to life other
than keeping it looking flat. So my next door and I'm
doing a simple flower here. I'm imagining where the dark
and light areas will be. I would suggest going
in light first with your pencil and darkening
areas if needed, as you could always
build onto this. But if you go too dark first, it will be harder
to lift that back up or rub it out and go over it. This will help train your
brain to think about where the light will go before
Mark in the paper. And it just goes to show that
you don't need a million of different colors to create
a really good drawer in. There's a lot of artists
who actually draw in monochrome and just choose one color and you can actually
make it really effective. So definitely practice this and have a go and see what kind of cool illustrations you can create just by
using one color.
10. Exercise 7: Ink: In this exercise, we will be drawing with only an ink pen. You can use any
type of pen really, as long as it's one that you
can't erase from the paper. I've chosen a
reference photo that I found on Pinterest
to copy from. So you can just do the same or you can choose
an object near you, or just draw it from
memory if you like. It's a really good way
to practice because you can't keep redoing parts
to make it perfect. And once you make a
mistake, you can see it. So it's more likely to
train your muscle memory. For next time you are. Remember to make the changes you need to create
a better drawing. The more that you
practice this exercise, the more confident
you will be drawing, and the less errors that
you will tend to make, I would definitely recommend
switching up your pencil or your digital drawings
for the occasional ink. Just to really help
improve your skills.
11. Exercise 8: Timer: For this last exercise, we're going to tie
them ourselves. I'm going to choose an object
near to me and use it as my reference to draw whilst
I set a timer on my phone, I'm doing a three-minute
time if this exercise, but you can do one minute if you really want to
challenge yourself, or if your subject is a
little bit more complicated, like a full length character, maybe five or ten minute
timer would be better. It also depends on how much time you can
squeeze in that day. I think it's so beneficial to
try this every single day. So even if you can only
manage like one minute, one minute sketches, then
that's better than nothing. It will keep the
momentum going and your drawing skills will start
to improve so much faster. The sharpness ended up being
a little bit simple and I could have finished it before the free minutes
was actually up. Next, I tried some
girl drawings. I went on Pinterest and picked
out a hairstyle I liked. And then the last drawing, I decided to just make
that up from my mind. They go with braids
was definitely a bit more challenging
for the free minutes. For those type, I'd probably do maybe five or ten minutes. By trying to complete drawings
within this time-frame, it really forces you
to concentrate on the larger shapes and avoid
all the tiny details. Because you want to get the majority of the
drawing done in time. You won't have time to
spend ages on details. And I think this is such
a great exercise to do, is actually one that
I do regularly. And it really does help
to build your skills and momentum to keep being
inspired, to keep drawing.
12. Bonus Tips: Just some extra
tips then to help you keep on being creative
and improving your skills. I'd definitely recommend
sketching every single day. So keep on practicing even if it's just a
five-minute sketch. I did this at the beginning
of my art journey. I would sketch or draw and
paint every single day. I would carve out the
time and just do it. As long as you being
proactive every day, it's really going to
help you build skills. And also just a little sketch is fun because there's no pressure
and making it perfect. I would suggest taking part
in some drawing challenges. Like there's loads of Dorian challenges that I know of now. There's ones that are held every year in October, Mermaid. And then this lays of all is that host our own prompt lists. Like if wherever it's like
a 30 day drawing challenge. Just like random summer prompts, like 30 summer prompts, just to help you draw. Like when I started my journey, actually started an
alphabet challenge where I drew one letter of
the alphabet every day. And I just had to make that
letter like creative artists do hold drawer in the stall challenges
where they do their own character or drawing. And then other
artists can redraw that art piece in
their own style. And that one, you don't really have to think about
what you're doing because the art pieces
already created for you, but you just draw it in
your own way and style. So it's really fun and I
really enjoy those myself. And it also just helps
build your skills. Can you learn from the way of artists draw it kind
of helps you gather together like what you like
and what you like to draw and how your style starts to come together
if you're a beginner. So it's a really good
thing to take part in. If you're feeling
bored or stuck, then I would suggest
changing up the medium. Sometimes it might
just be what you need to get that creative
spark flowing again. And also try and mix like
different mediums together. And you can do watercolor
and gouache or pencils. Let you can mix all these
things together and just have fun with
it and be creative. To keep the inspiration going, I suggest keeping a list of
things that you want to draw. If you're getting
inspired one day when you're out and about. And you know that there's
a certain plan that you've seen that you
really want to draw or turn it into a pattern, write it down in your
notes on your phone. That's where I
usually write things. And because it's not on the go. Also, Pinterest is such a
good inspiration place. And if I see any photos
that inspire me that I want to refer back to for something some colors or
oppose or something. I will pin them into
boards so that I can refer back to them
if I need them. And I've also saved I'm folder on my phone
before for inspiration. So when I'm out and about
to take the photos of the plants and the colors, I see anything that inspires me and then
I collect them into my phone folder that I can just go back
to whenever I need. I was also suggest tidying
up your creative workspace. Put in some art pieces around
and just making it really inspiring for what
inspires you to draw like whatever style you like. If you want it near the window, make sure you set
up near the window so that when you go to
sit down and be creative, you can put your music on, maybe light some candles like whatever gets you in
that mode, in that zone. Then set up your
workspace so that is really exciting and
inspiring to them Bowtie. And then lastly, I would
suggest joining courses, classes from other artists. So going on Skillshare,
like you are now, learning from other creatives, stay in their processes and
their way of doing things. And I'm just doing it. Other artists
memberships as well. A lot of artists do run memberships where you can
join on a monthly basis. And then they do like live
workshops, live classes. They share resources
to help you, like keep accountable
for being creative and get inspiration
and all that stuff.
13. Thank you!: Thank you so much for
taking my class today. Don't forget to post any of your little sketches and doodles on in the class
project section below, I'd really love to see
the out-of-body hope you had fun in this class. Don't forget to follow my
Skillshare profile so you can get notified of any
future classes I make. And yeah, thanks so
much for joining me today and I'll see
you next time. Bye.
Beach Life Studio, Illustrator
