25 Days to Better Drawings – Day Four – Drawing with Shapes

25 Days to Better Drawings: Drawing with Shapes

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Lesson Description

Learn how to break complex subjects down into easy to draw shapes. Apply this concept to a complex subject with a drawing exercise.

Lesson Materials

Graphite drawing pencil and white drawing paper.

Lesson Resources

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Reference Image

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Course Curriculum

Lesson 1: Materials and Mindset (10:07)Lesson 2: Drawing with Lines (25:29)Lesson 3: Drawing Ellipses (18:26)Lesson 4: Drawing with Shapes (15:56)Lesson 5: Line Quality (13:10)Lesson 6: Cross Contour Lines (11:32)Lesson 7: Shading with Line (38:49)Lesson 8: Value (10:52)Lesson 9: Light and Shadow (11:58)Lesson 10: Drawing Basic Forms (17:25)Lesson 11: Drawing with Forms (21:12)Lesson 12: Texture Study #1 (28:54)Lesson 13: Texture Study #2 (49:20)Lesson 14: Texture Study #3 (17:31)Lesson 15: The Illusion of Space (16:33)Lesson 16: One Point Perspective (46:39)Lesson 17: Two Point Perspective (48:35)Lesson 18: Three Point Perspective (54:30) Lesson 19: Sighting, Measuring, and Mapping (10:02)Lesson 20: Positive and Negative Space (8:13)Lesson 21: The Grid Technique (11:07)Lesson 22: Basic Facial Proportions (41:52)Lesson 23: Figure Drawing (1:03:53)Lesson 24: Drawing in Reverse (16:29)Lesson 25: Conclusion / Final Exercise (3:56)

Comments

25 Days to Better Drawings – Day Four – Drawing with Shapes — 21 Comments

  2. Although I know how to draw, I didn’t practice for a long time. This lesson was somehow frustrated to me. Do you think with practicing this method, I will get better and start to be natural?

  3. First of all happy 2019 to all!
    Thanks Matt for all your great explanations, lessons, exercises etc…

    One the problems for me here was that the cube in the middle is already somewhat distorted – to start from that is quite frustrating.
    Then when I was drawing from what I saw – without pencil measuring – the initial drawing was somewhat longer and I didn’t like it, the second one looked more compact and smaller than the photo – but it was more ok dimension wise.
    Does your eye also plays tricks on you esp. when it comes to dimensions?
    Breaking down to geometrical forms is a great help.

  4. Hello Matt.
    I am using 25 Days as a systematic review of the basics as I think perhaps I have missed out on account of having much early experience learning with Betty Edwards’Right Side of the Brain’approach. I found the object we drew for this lesson a real challenge until I simply started at a point and in a direction of my own choosing. I do enjoy your video demonstrations, though.

  5. Thank you Mat for this great excercise.
    I really like your approach and enjoyed this 4th day.
    And after having observed the object for quite a while I actually noticed that I could have made my life even a little easier, because actually the sculpture contains of 3 lines, that do cross each other and so a) I was able to find the center and was b) better able to keep the right dimensions and the right lenght and right angle. And then I started to work on the actual shapes.
    I hope I was able to explain myself.
    It would be a great help in these cases to upload a picture as this would have made everything clearer.

  6. hello Matt maybe you are not aware how extremely helpful this course is for me. the lessons themselves are a joy the way you are teaching is encouraging and the concept itself is logical. l take my time and try to practice every lesson for a week at least one exercise with own “models” per day. I feel for the first time since i started to learn art on my own this method is really helping me progress in drawing. I am taking my time to exercise along with this course and looking forward to continue with your other drawing courses later on like the graphite course or the portrait course or the pen and ink course.

  7. I am SO happy to be here. THIS is why I can’t get it right!!! I draw with line!! Well, not anymore! Thank you Matt, this is a life-changer.

    I receive your emails with links to more advanced projects, like the marker & color pencil glass of ice and coke, and feel confident that one day I will be able to learn to do that with your teaching. Yippieeeee!

  8. Ditto what everyone said, Matt. I love the simplicity vs. complexity of drawing these objects. Yes, they are difficult but with practice possible, and I am improving. I am also drawing the tree along with you as you draw and enjoy it but not too much at one time. I love your teaching methods and will improve because of them in spite of myself. Thank you for all your time and patience. You give us great hope! Anne (I iam reworking the turtle and am waiting for the shipment of alcohol based markers to complete the frog. Who said being old wasn’t fun? I am having a great time with all my free time!. Anne

  9. Hi Matt,is there a huge difference between this course and the course the secrets of drawing?
    I am a beginner so was wondering about the difference between these 2

  11. Thank you for this lesson. As you stated it was faster and more accurate getting the shapes in place first. I was amazed that my eraser got a rest on this one. This is the first time I have understood how sketch artist can draw so quickly. I normally draw slow and use an eraser way too much.

  12. Hi, I just started with course and i’m loving it. I actually though that watching you tube i will become better. What you say about frustration and disappointment are totally truth, yours lessons are exactly what is necessary to fill gaps . Thank you.

  13. Learnt a lot from this lesson as I was one of those people who used to start at one point and was always erasing because constantly nothing would match up. Thanks for putting me straight! I completed the final drawing in quarter the time I would have normally.

  14. I really would have struggled to know where to start with this complex shape, but with your shape approach it was really quite easy. Brilliant explanation thanks Matt

  16. When you mentioned drawing shapes, the first shapes I saw were the triangles of the spaces.
    Is that something we will look at, the shape of spaces?

Lesson Discussion