The Drawing Club

(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook

05-C70789 #175 Dtp:204 Page:106

001-144_C70789.indd 106 5/13/14 10:53 AM (Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
#175 Dtp:204 Page:107

001-144_41057 2.indd 107 24/4/14 7:20 pm

106 The Drawing Club

(Text)

Practice leads to consistency,

confidence, and control

It’s safe to assume that all of the artists in this book got to

where they are now through a lot of drawing mileage. It takes

time, patience, and dedication to develop the consistency, confi-

dence, and control to get really good at drawing.

Coming to The Drawing Club clearly is a form of practice,

but there are all kinds of ways to do it. Being a teacher, I have

handed out plenty of assignments to help people practice. But

what if you don’t have access to a class or workshop such as The

Drawing Club? For years, I have learned of some great solutions

from people all over the world who refused to feel left out and

found their own way to practice drawing characters in costume.

One group of artists I know threw a costume drawing party

where everyone showed up as a different character and took

turns posing for everyone else. Brilliant! I can’t really think of

a more fun and interesting way to practice drawing characters

Allow yourself to make mistakes and

you will grow even faster, feeling more

and more fluent in the language of

drawing.

from life while having a great time hanging out with a bunch of

other artists. Who says drawing mileage has to be boring?

Another great way to practice is to freeze-frame live television

and draw directly from the image on the screen. I know it’s 2-D

to 2-D drawing, but it works in a pinch. Some of my friends like

to do this when they get home from work. They tell me sports

highlights are good because of the action poses. I would think

any footage would be beneficial if you really think about it. See-

ing people walking around and acting naturally would be just as

important to practice as freeze framing a movie with a superhero

in it.

Finally, you can always just go out with your sketchbook and

draw. Carry it around with you, and draw whenever an oppor-

tunity presents itself. I have seen great drawings done in the

subway station, at the cafeteria, on the bus, at the coffee shop,

The Cowboy, charcoal pencil on paper, Mike Barry Steampunk, marker on paper, Miguel Angel Reyes

(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook

#175 Dtp:204 Page:106

001-144_41057 2.indd 106 24/4/14 7:33 pm

107

(Text)

from life while having a great time hanging out with a bunch of

other artists. Who says drawing mileage has to be boring?

Another great way to practice is to freeze-frame live television

and draw directly from the image on the screen. I know it’s 2-D

to 2-D drawing, but it works in a pinch. Some of my friends like

to do this when they get home from work. They tell me sports

highlights are good because of the action poses. I would think

any footage would be beneficial if you really think about it. See-

ing people walking around and acting naturally would be just as

important to practice as freeze framing a movie with a superhero

in it.

Finally, you can always just go out with your sketchbook and

draw. Carry it around with you, and draw whenever an oppor-

tunity presents itself. I have seen great drawings done in the

subway station, at the cafeteria, on the bus, at the coffee shop,

Steampunk, marker on paper, Miguel Angel Reyes

Chapter 8: Mileage

Jedi, conté pencil on paper, Bill Perkins

(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook

#175 Dtp:204 Page:107

001-144_41057 2.indd 107 24/4/14 7:33 pm