Welcome back for another tutorial!
The goal of this tutorial is to help you improve your line control and hand-eye coordination when drawing. A common issue for those starting out drawing is using clean, smooth lines. It usually stems from the fear of messing up a shape, but this technique helps overcomes some of that issue.
A line is a basic element of art.
This tutorial was inspired by @artwatch 's and @jimdraw 's drawing challenge. The goal of the exercise was to use one continuous line to make the whole drawing. However their main aim is to improve the speed of drawing and tgey plan to have more various exercises so check them out and the #justspeed tag for more. There is no time limit for your drawings.
These are some additional drawings I made for practice before creating the tutorial. I wanted to draw different elements, to see what they have in common in regards to the technique.
Let's get started!
The tools:
I recommend using a pen, because it's not erasable, doesn't smudge and it's easier to photo.
I used a 0.4 ink pen as it allows me to shade dark areas more easily. .
Paper: try an A5 format as it will take you much less time than an A4, but any smaller size will make it difficult to add details.
Below the tutorial I will also show a second drawing example using the same steps. You can follow along or try applying the steps to another photo study. I'll provide several photos you can choose from at the end of the post.
It's importand that once you put the pen on the paper, you don't lift it until the end of the drawing. If your hand slips or you need a break, it's ok, but please try to continue where you left of.
Don't worry how your drawing turns out! Have fun and at least try it out.
First you have to find the interesting focus of your drawing. The you draw it's outline, but keep it very simple and don't press hard.
It's important to do outlines first, because you can camouflage any mistakes later with shading. Moreover, it's easier to fill in details after the outline is done.
Next you have to outline the rest of the image like the background elements. You do all of this with one continuous line.
Whenever you reach an end of a detail, it's easiest if you follow the previous lines until the next point in the drawing. This step is to make sure everything fits in your drawing. If you make mistakes, simply draw the correct lines. The mistakes will not be noticeable after the shading step.
Now, this step is where the drawing gets it's flair. Shade all of the dark areas, use pressure to get stronger and softer shades. You should also strengthen the outline of the main object to make it stand out better.
A5 size sketch of the same photo
The drawings may look messy and less appealing, but this exercise will benefit you with drawing in general.
After you are done with the drawing, you can try drawing once freehand the same thing and you may notice that it's much easier.
This contest's reward pool was donated by @tonyr, thank you very much for the support!
Prizes
1st Place- 3SBD - I pick based on effort
2nd Place- 2SBD- random pick
3rd Place-1SBD (An extra small reward from me to complete the set)- random pick
You must follow the rules to qualify for prize :)
The rules:
Read the tutorial instructions and follow them to your best ability.
You can only enter with your own drawings.
Make a post with your drawings and use #tutorialpractice as one of your tags.
Resteem and upvote this post to spread the contest.
Your post must contain your drawing. Bonus points if you do more drawings than required.
Deadline: 2 weeks from now, 9th of April. A bit more time :)
Please leave the link to your post in the comments, so I don't miss it!
Important!! You can only use reference that I'm providing in this post, to avoid any art theft.
References
Easy
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/rose-blossom-bloom-flower-nature-2417334/
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/landscape-nature-tree-sky-panorama-3257640/
Medium
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/turtle-beach-water-sand-sea-ocean-3069468/
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/snow-mountain-nature-waters-ice-3257401/
Difficult
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/sculpture-statue-art-ancient-face-3257604/
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/auto-jaguar-oldtimer-vehicle-3258349/
https://pixabay.com/en/architecture-old-travel-water-3256219/
If you enjoy crafts, I recommend checking out my brother's origami contest here:
https://steemit.com/contest/@ivan-g/3d-origami-contest
Thank you for reading and participating!
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TrufflePigYou don't know how much fun I'm getting from this, at first I though the "nolift" limitation was going to be a really hard challenge to come by, but just like in pixelart, limitations can promote improvement and are actually really good! In this case, this particular limitation is actually really fun, I'm drawing all the images you posted, and I'll sure take this as a practice method for my daily sketching.
I'm so glad! As long as one person tries it and learns something it was worth posting :D
I'm looking forward to your results!!
oh this challenge looks very difficult, even the easy pictures xD
Thank you very much for the feedback! I lowered the requirements :) I will also look for a few even easier photos for referenve for those who need. Do you have any other suggestions? :D
Hmmmm something not so hard maybe like a fruit bowl or something like that
Forgot to ask, will you join the contest? :D I hope you do :)
Depending f I have to work the weekend :(.... if I don't have to work the weekend then I'll try to make something not to hideous xD
You can do some incredibly impressive things with one line :O
And I love your dividers XD
Thank you very much! :D
That divider is one of the free for all to use that I made some time ago.
Very handy for me as well xD
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Hello! I find your post valuable for the art community! Thanks for the great post! ARTzone is now following you! ALWAYs follow @artzone and the artzone tag, and support our artists!
The oriental street speed drawing is cool! >u<
Aww thank you! :D
I used reference from a book I bought a while ago about Chinese heritage with amazing photos :)
Hey I hope you join the contest if you can :D
Anyone can join regardless if pro or new ^^
ohh, I just see the reply @@ Let me join the challenge, I am the character with no speed T0T I need to overcome it.
Awesome, glad you want to join :D
There is a week left ^^
Aha! A Pawikan! I will use that if I'm going to join. Hahaha. So many contests here oh my!
Sweet! Good luck! Really looking forward to it!
This is a real challenge. I have saw this technique on @artwatch blog and i myself have tryed it many years ago.
I will give this a new try for the contest but bevore i have to work out an entry for your brothers origami challenge ^^
Awesome :D I extended the deadline a bit ^^ If there are less than 4 entries I might extend for a couple of days more :)
Thanks for the invitation. İt looks quite challenging. I hope have a time to join the contest. Upvoted, resteemed
Thank you very much ^^
I understand. My contests usually last over a week as I know how busy I get. :)
Sorry. I missed this - would have resteemed.
Np, you actually didn't miss it :D I made it 2 weeks because no entries yet.
The new post for this week is below if you wish to enter :D
https://steemit.com/art/@kristyglas/2kqkvv-continuous-line-drawing-tutorial-and-contest-6-sbd-prize-pool