Extreme Drawing
(Above: Joseph from the Children series)
Drawing is basically exploration: looking in front of you and beyond, questioning what’s there and finding what isn’t.
This article outlines general information about how to add some zest into your drawing habits, and includes examples of my work to help illustrate some specific points.
Drawing might be defined in very broad terms as the use of a pencil or pencil-like tool with a reasonably pointed tip outlining some representation of a 3D object onto a 2D surface. A good drawing offers the viewer a prime focus area, where enough interest keeps vision flowing across the surface then back to the main focus of attention. Lines and marks in just the places are made with sharp or soft tips, predetermined or not, with heavy hand or light touch, indicating edges of objects and implying filled space. The composition as a whole is attended to from start to finish, and empty spaces where lines are not drawn are to be given as much consideration. Any composition need not be symmetrical, but does need balance.
Everything has its definitions, and anyone who draws, or endeavors to, may want to dispute these definitions and/or add more. Improvement occurs when you do challenge what’s known and sample the unknown, at least when it comes to Artwork. 
The only “how to” to know about drawing is: do it. A person could go on and on defining and describing methods and techniques endlessly, but real learning about real drawing is hands-on experience. Of course proper formal guidance would be given relative to a person’s individual experience and skill level, but this is true for anything we want to learn, and practice is almost everything.
Some of us loved to draw when we were very young, and many didn’t, but we are all capable. There is certainly something to be said for innate abilities, but one thing is very true about drawing: Use it or Lose it! You might inherit Grandpa’s Artistic genes, but all that does is set you on the road being interested and open-minded about the topic. You don’t receive what is commonly called “talent” from anyone but yourself, and the only way to hone it is to practice. 
Every skill needs continual development, no matter what it is, and drawing is no different than learning to play an instrument or climbing a mountain in that respect. Any time spent drawing is not wasted, even if there is nothing to frame at the end of the day.
The character of your work is a manifestation of you, and has more impact on the viewer than an acceptable exact likeness of a subject that any camera could capture.
Many adults have grown up to deny themselves the advantages of drawing because of the word “should”. Drawing, however crude, is an asset. Notice how a quick sketch helps communicate a thought or idea when combined with writing or speech. Simple, graphic stick-like figures are appropriate on road signs; drawing need not be perfect to be effective. Often the “Best of Show” in Group Art Exhibitions are often very, very fine work. There’s an unspoken myth and general misunderstanding even among Artists, that the pinnacle for high-achievers in Drawing is to provide literal Realism. Patience and tidy work habits are definitely to be encouraged and appreciated, but Realism is not the main objective of every Artist or of every drawing. To deem a piece successful, work need not be precise and accurate with every line and tone carefully and perfectly rendered. We each have distinct ways of expressing ourselves, and there are as many style possibilities and potential Best-of-Shows as there are individuals. Mistakes are not always mistakes and need not be erased; in fact scribbles and messy marks can emit much more feeling in a drawing, so give that old pencil the whirl of its life if you haven’t tried it yet.
Drawings have a job to do: to provide viewers with more than just a pretty picture.
The irony of this particular lesson is that this uncommon subject, a Jabiru, is not so pretty upon first glance either, and it’s one of the reasons I chose to keep the drawing Jabiru soft. (Jabiru - 24 x 18 inches, pencil and eraser on paper. Study and reference photos taken at the Dallas World Aquarium.) Jabiru are large South American prehistoric-looking birds standing 4-5 ft. high, with a strong demeanor partly due to the dark, long, heavy beak and contrasting delicate white feathers.
Before starting ‘Jabiru’ I envisioned a drawing based on Japanese principles using fewer lines and shading, with parts of empty page serving an important role in the finished piece. Through the process of this drawing I learned that when we view Art we do more than just look; we sense character, mannerisms and emotions imparted through every little corner of the work whether we’re aware of the extra spaces or not. Therefore, within the limitations that gray scale pencil drawing poses, Artists need to do more than just show. There are tones implied through those tones!
By purposely compromising the values and using a lighter touch, my hope was that the viewer’s response might be “nice drawing” before thinking “ugly bird”. The style I was stubborn about from the start: simple with a lot of space and page left untouched. The media: pencil on white paper. The Jabiru’s feathers are pure white and its head including beak are dark grey, almost black. Whereas photographs utilize the whole range of dark and light values in a picture, a person drawing needs to choose how much of black, white and gray tones to apply in order to acheive a pleasing visual balance. Also, noted earlier and very important: tones/values have an effect on our impressions. The Jabiru’s huge beak strikes a strong sillhouette by shape alone, so to lessen the impact of the large odd shape on a fairly empty page, extremes were avoided even though “realistically” the bird’s beak is quite dark.
Personal tastes aside, a photograph can’t compare with a drawing and drawing can’t surpass photography; they are entirely different Art forms, and are to be appreciated seperately as such. The topic of photo reference is hot with Artists, not arising out of elitist attitudes for most of us, but the legitimate case for arguement concerns the human element. Photographs are products of a machine that has no emotional sensory skills; a camera does what it’s been designed to do. A lot of Artists who use photos as reference try to duplicate every detail, and as highly skilled as those drawings may be, patience and technical ability to their credit, the emotions and individuality reflected in the work are often missing or lacking.
Art is uniquely a human product; it’s us who selects and interprets the depth of beauty there, and us who are able to portray the essence of a person, place or thing through our multidimensional senses, skills and intelligence via camera or Art material, and it’s us who control the results (barring infinite debates and opinions re: serendipity, subconscious reactions, happenstance, the “magic”, Divine intervention, etc. which would easily branch off the topic here, but are nowhere near the point). The plain fact is that humans have “something extra” that cameras do not: emotion… and without some form of attention to this when it comes to drawings, if you wonder why some results appear stiff and flat it’s probably because there has been too much reliance on a photo. If too concerned about duplicating there’s also a tendency to work on isolated areas, so distorted proportions are imminent. Attention to the composition as a whole allows space for changes and corrections (on the page and your mind-set). Details can be gradually added toward finishing once the overall perspective is established. 
Photos can be excellent source of inspiration, or used as reference for accuracy that memory has missed or forgotten, but trusting our own memory and imagination habitually finds us relying less and less on the photo for information. Drawings are unique representations of what we sense as well as see. Have fun, and add things that aren’t even there if it throws us some eye-candy! Copied drawings that attempt to produce an exact replica of a photo lack a certain livliness and warmth no matter how well rendered they are.
Practice will have the best influence on drawing abilities, whether you’ve done two drawings or two thousand.
Yogis and Zen Masters had their students do a lot of mundane chores for years before accepting them to teach, because work alone teaches a person all the secrets they will ever need to know. This also applies to drawing.
The very first steps in drawings are things that all professionals need to remember too: that visually every material form consists of basic geometric shapes. This is why fruit is so often used as the very first subject in formal drawing classes (also in painting. Drawing is prerequisite every single year during University and College Art courses). If those main shapes are sought then established as the first things put on the page, followed by shapes within those shapes, details can be added slowly as things start to take focus. Human figure drawing and Anatomy courses always start with the skeleton and musculature - the external details fall into place when the underlying framework is understood.
The introduction of color to drawings will not be discussed here at length. I’ve seen huge fat books about color theory alone, yet it could be as simple as saying that anyone who masters the Art of black and white values will quickly become a master of color, because the basics of color are the basics of drawing. Once tones are established, all there is to do is add your choice of colors.
For beginners of any age it’s important to continue enjoying the doodling, cartoons, stick figures, abstract designs, painstaking perfection, or whatever you already love doing. The appearance of the results, what you draw and how you do it honestly don’t matter. The most important thing is getting started, because isn’t that always the most difficult part about anything? Practice in our own specialized areas brings up specific questions, then when more structural rules and terms are heard, and when they can be applied to personal work, they make sense. Practice doing what you enjoy has you making your own discoveries about the basics of drawing, and finding your own strengths and weaknesses. One Artist describes this as “coddling”. On the contrary, it frees you from thinking you have to rely on experts to learn (to my mind that’s coddling). Drawing is all about trust and reliance on our own memory and intuition. Practice with a pleasant, interested mind maintains the attention and the enthusiasm, and we’re be more inclined to listen and take notice of things. Critique is necessary, but it’s only effective with an open mind toward using our mistakes. We then apply that knowledge to the present work and jump in willingly to change it. It takes a certain amount of maturity to detach yourself from your work enough to see that things could use some improvement.
Drawing is a personal, stress-relieving activity for all skill levels, and unless we’re ready to understand and apply reasoning, formal rules and critique can be counterproductive, especially for children. We are fairly vulnerable through our work; one line reveals a lot. This accounts for those who don’t like being watched while working, and some who don’t want to share finished work at all. Honesty is all-important though, at least with ourselves, and if an area needs changing but doing so risks the ruin of other sections, it still needs to be changed. It may take some time to know how to make the appropriate changes, but trying does more toward improvement than hanging on to an inferior drawing that you didn’t put a best effort into. Who will buy it then?
Deviate from your usual drawing habits; exit from your comfort zone once in a while no matter which skill level you’re at and invite challenge; go searching for it. Extend yourself and the material’s limitations, and dare to ruin a few pieces. Sound horrifying? 
It is, but stepping out promises to do amazing things for your work, even if it just makes you consciously grateful to get back where you’re most comfortable.
It may sound contradictory to say “break free, try new things, dare to ruin”, and at the same time say “keep enjoying what you’re doing”. The expectations for results that you present yourself with are the difference here. To clarify, pushing for what others may view as perfection, or for an unwavering image in your own mind is a set-up for discouragement. You’re more inclined to experiment if there are not so many expectations to control certain results. Balance the enjoyment of drawing with a little push. There is so much value in allowing yourself to make mistakes. They will always follow us, so we might as well use them somehow when they occur. Mistakes force us to try something we might not have otherwise tried. Every attempt at a resolution brings confidence and the promise of a better drawing next time. What a triumphant feeling it is to have found a way to make a mistake work out better than the original intention! Mistakes are tomorrow’s achievements. (did someone in particular say that?) It’s so true.
Twenty five years as a professional, mainly working freelance (specializing in not specializing!), and drawing has been the basis of every assignment, project major or minor, painting and design. I’ve settled on mainly drawing and painting since moving to Texas, where it’s no longer required that I do so much immediate change and improvisation on a daily basis, but switching subjects, media, and from pencil drawing to color can still feel awkward. Even a new size of paper, or work surface or brush-size can throw the game off, but also demonstrates a new perspective the only way these kind of things can be taught.
I have never been comfortable drawing buildings, measuring and straightening lines, but there’s nothing like a nice crisp corner drawn with a freshly sharpened pencil. The architectural details of older buildings are incredible, especially 1930’s Art Deco era, like many in the downtown cities in Texas. To come full circle on the subject of photography, the enjoyment of taking pictures of buildings during travel has inspired me to start drawing them.
The danger of thinking of ones self as an expert is that we can start thinking there is nothing more to learn. Never ever is that true. We are always beginners with each and every drawing (or piece of Art). Admit that and a lot of the fear dissipates, because the fear is about what we think of as succeeding, and being right, and being perfect. Drawing doesn’t work well that way, and those same stiff, tight feelings show up in the work. Mature Artist or not, developing the habit of risking ruin for the greater good of your drawing abilities will do the most to increase confidence along the way than anything else.
Start a new drawing with a light hand, and if you feel the need to erase, instead allow the build-up of marks and lines left there as the drawing progresses to add character by layering the page with tones, depth and liveliness. They can be smudged in the places you chose and erased in areas you don’t. Try dots and patterns and crosshatch, different strokes, use a new HB lead strength, draw faster or slower, set a time frame or take it away. It’s amazing what a brand new pencil or some other small inexpensive supply can do for motivation. If the tip of a pencil is too intimidating (and it can be), graphite sticks or charcoal offer choices of creating fine lines or large marks. Use your fingers, hands, whatever, and absolutely be prepared to get messy!
Mainly what’s encouraged is: do heed others’ opinions and advice but ultimately trust yourself knowing that each drawing is individual and so are we, do talk and share, and do doing! There are rules, to be sure, and terms to know of, but as any composition needs balance, the less visible forces are equally involved, a certain degree of awe in something larger than our self, and intuition, and heart. Debates about structure and too much advice from others depletes your own creative energy. Let go. Un-learn. It’s a head-thing and a heart thing. Explore, have fun, take risks, scribble, seek perfection but not too much, create and use mistakes. Let your individual mark shine through…your drawing will thank you!