Foolproof Sketching & Painting Techniques for Beginners: For Pencil, Pen and Watercolors

by Tomoko Kuramae

An inspiring guide to sketching and painting the world around you!

Packed with practical tips and advice, this book shows you how to fill your sketchbook or watercolor pad with a variety of everyday items that catch your eye, such


Author Tomoko Kuramae provides clear step-by-step instructions on the proportions and perspective of basic objects and clearly explains how to draw dozens of items based on cubes, cylinders and flat shapes from a variety of angles. She then shows you how to bring your finished sketches alive with the use of brilliant transparent watercolors.

Genres: Art

96 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2023

Reviews

[Hồ Vinh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book corrects my misconception of the depth of 3D objects due to years of studying solid geometry. Portraying near and far parallel lines that are equal, indeed, gives you an ease in solving math problems but also deceives you of what it looks like in reality. Objects, typically broken down into boxes, cylinders, and flats, have shapes that vary in relation to the viewing angle. By formulating the human eye level to a horizontal line and a number of vanishing points as focus (one, two, or even three-point perspective for massive scale effect), this establishes the frame of reference to give the realistic feel to 3D-shaped objects. The front side you face directly maintains its natural geometric shape, while other sides extend their lines, hitting the same focus points on the horizontal line. This brings out certain effects: sides with the same length appear longer when closer; vertical lines are always perpendicular to the horizontal line; when at eye level, objects appear flatter. To my surprise, when portraying multiple objects, they do share the same horizontal lines, just different focus points. For example, a sandwich (box shape) on a plate (flat) combines single and two-point perspectives.

Given the above knowledge, the sketching flow should be natural and easy to follow. You first determine the perspective with a horizontal line and vanishing points. Use the box/cylinder/flat as the base and mark the outlines with guide points and guidelines extending towards the vanishing points. It's noteworthy the centerline of symmetrical objects should not be in the center to ensure the closer part is wider than the distant counterpart, for example, a T-shirt. You can gradually capture the intended shape by trimming the base or adding new parts. Once the details are adequately filled out, erase the error and trace it with a pen. The final step is coloring with light and shadow in mind.

If the light source is the sun, its rays hit objects in parallel, and so do the shadows. If a small, nearby light source is present, the illumination spreads out, enlarging the shadow. Therefore, draw elongated shadows when portraying objects in the evening or morning. The darkest side is where a shadow is cast on the surface that the object rests on. To give a three-dimensional look, apply colors from lightest to darkest in gradation; subtly adding highlights in the shaded area will strengthen this effect. For cylinder objects, the inner part where you see, or closer to the light source, is to be shadowed. Those objects whose parts do not touch the ground, their shadow should also reflect that.

The book also gives nice tips on giving real-life objects a natural feel. If you draw the finishing lines freehand, the drawing will have an informal, relaxed appearance. Draw fabric articles with wobbly lines. For glass objects, add a few lines to indicate reflection on the lenses to suggest the appearance of transparency and distortion if they contain objects inside. The curve of a pencil head is a convex or concave arc, depending on whether it leans to the back side or forward.