25 Days to Better Drawings: Drawing Basic Forms
Lesson Description
Lesson Ten of the 25 Days to Better Drawings Course focuses on drawing basic three-dimensional forms—cubes, pyramids, cylinders, and cones. Understanding these forms is essential for every artist, as nearly all complex objects can be broken down into combinations of these fundamental shapes. In this lesson, students explore the structure, volume, and spatial relationships of these forms, and learn to render them realistically using graphite and white charcoal on gray drawing paper.
Understanding the Importance of Basic Forms
The lesson begins with a discussion of why basic forms are crucial to drawing. Matt explains that these shapes provide the underlying structure for every object in the visual world. A chair, a bottle, a tree trunk, or even a human figure can be analyzed as a combination of cubes, cylinders, cones, and pyramids. By mastering the rendering of these simple forms, students gain the ability to approach more complex subjects with confidence and accuracy.
Students learn that drawing forms is not just about replicating shapes, but about understanding how light interacts with surfaces. Each form has its own planes and curves that respond differently to light and shadow, providing opportunities to explore shading, value, and form simultaneously.
Gray drawing paper is used as the foundation for this lesson because it provides a midtone, allowing students to explore both dark and light values effectively. Graphite pencils are used to render the darker areas and midtones, while white charcoal is applied to create highlights. This combination allows students to fully visualize the interaction of light and shadow on each form and practice creating realistic depth and volume.
Matt emphasizes the importance of careful observation and gradual building of value. Students are encouraged to start lightly, gradually developing both the darker shadows and the brightest highlights to achieve smooth gradation and three-dimensionality.
Drawing the Cube
The first form introduced is the cube. Matt demonstrates how to sketch a cube in perspective, defining its edges and planes. Students are taught to identify the different faces of the cube and how each face responds to light. The cube’s flat planes make it an ideal starting point for understanding value transitions and how light affects angular surfaces. Graphite is applied to create the midtones and shadows, while white charcoal highlights the areas where light strikes directly.
Drawing the Pyramid
Next, students focus on the pyramid, which introduces the concept of triangular planes. Matt shows how the pyramid’s sloped sides interact with light, producing distinct highlights, midtones, and shadows. Students practice rendering the pyramid in a simple composition, applying graphite and white charcoal to emphasize its three-dimensional structure. This exercise strengthens their understanding of how angled surfaces behave under light.
Drawing the Cylinder
The cylinder is then introduced, providing an opportunity to explore curved surfaces. Unlike the cube or pyramid, the cylinder has a continuous curve that transitions smoothly from highlight to shadow. Matt demonstrates how to render these smooth gradations using graphite and white charcoal, emphasizing the importance of blending to create realistic volume. Students practice applying value along the curved surface, noting how the light source affects both the form and the cast shadow.
Drawing the Cone
Finally, students tackle the cone, a form that combines both a flat base and a curved side. Matt demonstrates how to map the light source and identify areas of highlight, midtone, core shadow, cast shadow, and reflected highlight. Using graphite and white charcoal, students learn to carefully render the cone’s smooth surface, blending values to convey the tapering shape effectively. This exercise reinforces their ability to interpret both flat and curved planes within a single object.
Refining Shading and Blending
After drawing each form, Matt emphasizes the importance of blending and refinement. Students use blending tools, such as stumps or tortillons, to smooth transitions between values, enhancing the illusion of depth and solidity. They are encouraged to observe the forms critically, adjusting shadows and highlights to create accurate and visually compelling results. This practice strengthens observational skills, hand control, and understanding of how value communicates form.
Building a Foundation for Complex Drawings
By the end of Lesson Ten, students gain a solid understanding of how basic forms behave in space and under light. They learn to draw cubes, pyramids, cylinders, and cones with realistic shading using graphite and white charcoal on gray paper. Mastery of these forms lays the foundation for drawing more complex objects, as every advanced drawing can be broken down into combinations of these essential shapes. With consistent practice, students develop both confidence and skill, moving closer to creating drawings that are structurally sound, visually dynamic, and convincingly three-dimensional.
Lesson Materials
Graphite drawing pencils: H, HB, 2B, 4B, gray drawing paper, white charcoal pencil, and a blending stump.
Lesson Resources
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Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
I don’t understand how to for the form of the shadow. How long is it etc.?
Just completed day 9 and can already see an improvement. Love that I m following a planned system that builds skills. Amazed how much easier it is to work with shapes instead of trying to establish a contour line to describe an object. I am never going to misjudge the size of drawing to paper again! Pleasure to work along with a soothing relaxed teacher and to have something to revise with the e-book on each lesson. Thank you Matt, so glad to have found the right Instructor.
do any of you guys know what white charcoal pencil Matt used in the video? are there different thicknesses or textures that function differently? thanks!
Hi Jennifer, I didn’t see that anyone responded to you but Matt is using General’s Charcoal White. I only noticed it because I’d randomly bought a 2 pack of white charcoal on eBay and then spotted it was the same one as I had!
Thanks for posting this! I was interested to know too because mine acts very differently than the one used in the demo!
I’d also like to know how to determine the shape of the cast shadows. Obviously, one could get a physical model of the shape and shine a light on it, but in the absence of that, is there a way to work it out geometrically? Or is it just a matter of experience?
Hi there, I do have the same question as Carolyn. Why does the shadows appear on the right-behind-side instead if right-front-side, while the lightsource is definded coming from the upper left side. Are there any tips finding the shape of the shadows?
Thanks, Buddy
Hi Buddy,
The light source is actually from the upper left and slightly in front of the forms. This places the cast shadows slightly behind the forms, but also on the right side.
Hello Matt,
Thank you so much for your lessons, just finished lesson 9, it is amazing, as you would say awesome, i made so much progress, unbelievable…
Thank you, Christiane
Hi Matt once again another fabulous lesson I am learning a huge amount from these .
Everyone must had bought the grey tonal paper iv been searching all sites to get a grey pad I finally ordered one guess what yes out of stock due in soon ! So I have it on back order!
I am doing these lessons on white paper I will re visit as soon as my grey pad arrives .
I’m confused. If light travels in straight rays – and it does – put your light at the upper left rear corner of the form. How do you bend the light so the form blocks it from the full left and casts shadow to the full right side of each form. It seems, and other tutorials indicate, that the cast shadow would be more on the front side of those forms than on the left side. Depending on how close to the form the light source is,the cast shadow can spread over into that right side, but I can’t make it feel right if it is completely on the right side. Where am I missing the thinking?
Hi Maryan,
In all four forms, the light source is originating from the upper left corner and slightly in front of each form. I’m not fully understanding what you mean by “bending the light” or why other tutorials would tell you that the cast shadow must be in front of the forms. The location and shape of the cast shadow is dependent on the strength and positioning of the light source or sources. I think you may be assuming that the light source is originating from behind the forms – but it is not. Could this be the reason that it looks strange to you?
Absolutely wonderful lesson thanks Matt. My shapes actually look good, much to my surprise. My cast shadows are a lot better too.
Hi Matt,
Is there a trick to visualizing the distance for the second two lines? I find I can not do it without using perspective, i.e. a horizontal line and two points
Thank you,
Tina
do any of you guys know what white charcoal pencil Matt used in the video? are there different thicknesses or textures that function differently? thanks!
Hi Matt,
Is there a specific reason to draw on the gray drawing paper instead of a white paper?
Thank you,
Shruthi
I believe that my paper is not the write color-white. But, it is all I have at the point. I know that may be a problem; but I have so much of it that it seems difficult to purchase gray with today’s economic issues. My question- does anyone else have trouble with their white charcoal. Mine doesn’t appear white (white paper?) and it also seems to smear the other color around it. I grabbed the Master’s Touch white charcoal pencils when I was out of town until my Amazon order is delivered.
Hi Amanda,
I don’t think anything is wrong with your paper or your charcoal. Typically, white drawing media, like white charcoal, is used on toned or colored papers. It is very hard to see on white paper and is not usually used on white surfaces.
I bought my gray-toned paper, and started sketching the cube with my new drawing pencils. But the set has no white charcoal pencil in it. So I am set back from finishing the drawings until I get a white charcoal pencil. In this small town, that could take 2 more weeks!
if i was doing casts shadows without your help matt and with the light coming from the top left, my shadows would be at the bottom of each object and not to the right.i guess i need to learn more about cast shadows.
Like others I struggled with understanding where the cast shadow was to be placed.
With every lesson i get mote confindent in drawing freehand.
Thank you Matt ☺️
Matt; I don’t see this question posed in the above comments. Why do you lay down a tone with your H pencil and then overlay with a 2B. Why not just start with the 2B?
Hi Marianne,
I usually like to slowly darken values. It’s always easier to make values darker than to make them lighter if you go too dark.
Thanks for the tip.
I’m not understanding why the left side of the box isn’t a lighter tone with the cast shadow where it is on the right. Wouldn’t that mean the light would be hitting the left side (and top) and thus need to be a lighter tone? The pyramid has that face lighter. Thank you.
I am very sorry, but the only thing I learnt with this lesson is how to copy what you are doing. It would have been very useful to have images of each form to show us the effect of the light on them. Like Tania, I don’t undestand why the left side of the box is so dark when you stated that the light came from the upper left corner and sligthly in front. The left side should be in the light.
My paper doesn’t let me mix white over graphite, makes it nearly impossible. Looks great though! Still did the best I could and did the shadows etc