Pencil Drawing Tutorials and Techniques

There are many reasons why you are searching for pencil drawing tutorials. You could be looking to improve your drawing foundation, or you could be looking for more drawing tips that’ll help you improve your overall drawing skills.

Whatever your reason may be, you should at all times, be able to recognize good drawing tutorials when you really see them. This article will help you distinguish the good pencil drawing tutorials from the poor ones.

The first thing that you should notice about the tutorial is whether it has a clear objective. What exactly is the tutorial trying to teach you? If the objective is hard to grasp, I can assure you it’s not going to be a tutorial that you like. Without a specific goal, it’s hard to imagine how the tutorial actually manifests itself.

Also, a good tutorial should only have one specific goal at any one time so as not to confuse or overwhelm the reader.

If it does have a specific goal, the next thing you should be looking out for is whether the problems or challenges are properly defined. How much does the author understand you? The more the author understands you, the better he or she will be able to define the problem.

Only when the problem is clearly defined can we arrive at the right solutions. The defined problems should be in support of the goal. These are roadblocks that need to be overcome. I constantly remind the readers of my Home Study Course of the roadblocks that they’ll come across before presenting any solutions.

Sometimes, you may not even be aware of these problems. Here’s an example. Do you know that there’s a method to capture the proportions of any drawing exactly the way you want it? If you’re not aware of it, you won’t be seeking to overcome this roadblock.

So a good tutorial with clearly defined problems can really help you out. By the way, the key to nailing proportions is to follow a fixed system. But it’s beyond the scope of this article to expand on this.

Coming back to the essence of this article, the final thing that you need to note is that good pencil drawing tutorials should have solutions that are presented in a conversational style.

The conversational style is the most effective communication style. It makes the tutorial easy to read and understand.

So there you have it. Looking for these three elements the next time you’re searching for good pencil drawing tutorials.

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Photoshop Pen Tool for Drawing with Photoshop

Photoshop’s Pen Tool is one of the best creative tools in their arsenal. But most designers avoid using it as they simply do not understand the concept of what it can do. I use the Pen Tool for many different purposes, and in this tutorial I will be showing you a few ways to use it to your advantage.

Basics
The basic mechanics of the Pen Tool is simply that you create two points (called anchor points), and Photoshop will draw a Path between them. The Path can then be used for drawing, or, if the Path is a loop (a series of anchors that start at end at the same point) it can be used to create entire shapes.

Anchor Point: The anchor points are what decides where each Path begins and ends. Think of them of a dot-to-dot picture you used to do when you were a child. To create a Path you must lay down anchor points at various positions, connecting them together in turn.

Path: The Path is the line between the two anchor points that draws out the shape or line you are trying to create. The Paths shape depends on the position of its two anchor points and the position of its handle.

Handle: The handle is used to bend Paths. Photoshop will always draw a perfectly straight Path between two anchor points, so if you wish to bend the Path you must move its handle accordingly. Think of it like a lever. The further away and more of an angle you put on the handle the more it effects the bend of the Path.

If you hold down the mouse on the Pen Tool we have a variety of Sub Tools.

The Pen Tool is the really the only selection I ever make off this selection. If you are careful when drawing your Paths and take your time you probably wont need the other ones.

The Freeform Pen Tool simply acts like the Lasso Tool and creates a Path wherever the Mouse Pointer goes.

As you will see this creates messy inaccurate Paths, and for as long as I have been using Photoshop I have never used this Tool.

The Add Anchor Point Tool does exactly what it says on the tin. You can use it to add extra Anchor Points along any Path you have drawn.

The Subtract Anchor Point Tool simply deletes any Anchor Point you click on.

The Convert Point Tool simply adds handles to existing Anchor Points by clicking and dragging.

Using Paths To Create Lines

Draw a simple Path, such as a letter S. You would simple make an anchor point to start with. Then place a second anchor point, but on doing so hold the mouse button down and drag the bend into it. Then, place the third anchor point and drag in the opposite direction.

This is simply a Path. It is not something that will be visual on our final image. To make it into something solid we must Stroke the Path. To do this we must first choose something to stroke it with. Choose the Brush Tool and set your brush to a 5px Hard Brush and set the color to Red.

Next, choose the Pen Tool again, Ctrl-Click/Right-Click the image and choose Stroke Path.

In the Stroke Path Window you will see two options. A drop down box for the tool you wish to use on the selected Path, and the Simulate Pressure Check Box. The Simulate Pressure option will add tapers to the beginning and end of your Path. By choosing Brush from the drop down menu you are telling Photoshop to fill in the Path with the 5px Hard Brush we just set. Obviously if you are using another tool other than the brush, you would simply set the options for that particular tool prior to running the Stroke Path function.

Creating Shapes Using The Pen Tool

To create a shape we must draw out some Anchor Points like we did before, only this time we must finish on the same point we started with.

Now we have our shape we must make it a Selection, for if we were to try and fill this now we would simply fill the entire background. Choose Window > Paths and choose the Load Path As A Selection button.

This will convert the Path into a Selection. You will see this by the visibility of the so called “walking ants”.

Now this is a selection you can fill it with a color or gradient and can then start to apply Layer Styles as it is now a solid object in our document and no longer merely a Path or selection.

Drawing Complex Shapes

In order to draw complex shapes it is important to learn how to edit the handles of your Paths. If we draw a curve Photoshop automatically adds a handle to the second Anchor Point so that the curve can be continued smoothly into the third point. However sometimes we do not want to continue the curve. To edit the handles we hold down the Alt Key and either reposition the handle, or click the Anchor Point to remove it completely.

This shows the route the Path will take between the three points if we simply do nothing to the handle.
This shows the route when we hold down Alt and move the handle.
This shows the route when we hold down Alt and click the middle Anchor Point to remove the handle.

This allows us to draw much more complex shapes.

Using The Pen Tool To Add / To Subtract From A Selection

When doing complex selections we can use the Pen Tool to accurately tweak the edges.

With the Pen Tool selected draw your Path over the remaining leg. Choose Window > Paths.

Now when we choose the Load Path As A Selection button we hold down the Alt Key first to bring up the Make Selection Options.

Make sure you have the Add to Selection Box selected and click OK. This will convert the Path and add it onto our selection.

To subtract from selection we do everything exactly the same but obviously we check Subtract from Selection instead of Add.

Now you have the knowledge, embrace the Pen Tool. Make cleaner selections, and therefor cleaner work.

Torino Creative is a Web Design Firm that specializes in complete Corporate Branding solutions. Anywhere from professional website design, to Online marketing.

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Pencil Drawing of Child

Happiness and Creativity. They Are One

THE SPEED OF LIFE

How fast life goes by these days! We try to slow it down by recording it with camcorders, writing diaries, scrap booking and journals. We use whatever media available today to capture the events of our lives and to account for our pasts, which were the presents we missed while we were speeding ahead into the future. And, while we are busy showing our videos and e-mailing photos to all of our friends, life is happening. Meanwhile, what about the present? Isn’t that what we are missing by going so fast? Past and present are always there, flashing behind and ahead. It is only the present moment that we can control. And how do we do it? Not very well, because we are always looking at the past for clues on how to make a better future and looking to the future with hopes and dreams, trying to figure out how to get there. We are perpetually out of time.

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST

How can we live our lives to the fullest in the present moment? How can we get off the “fast track” and slow down enough to appreciate every minute? We can meditate, do yoga, or simply spend some moments sitting in a quiet setting and letting our minds calm down, attempting to reduce the noisy, chaotic input that life delivers to us daily. All of these methods are pretty good guidelines for enriching our present moments. But, is there another, less passive and more active, enjoyable way to engage ourselves fully in the moment?Is there a way of enriching our present moments? Yes, there is, and it is through creativity.

LOOKING INWARD

Did you know that by using your imaginative and creative abilities you can slow down time and enrich the moments of your life? How does this work? Simply and easily. In any creative act such as writing, painting, or drawing–you must look inward. When you do this you have a dialogue with the inner creative you, and time slows. Every minute spent in this endeavor is a very rich minute. This dynamic can be compared to traveling the longitudes rather that the latitudes of time. In this delving, vertical movement, you are inquiring, exploring, and discovering rich data in your brain with the idea of translating it into a visual experience that can communicate the amazing intricacies of yourself to others. Through six creative projects you will discover The Artist Within You. Here are two of the six projects:

THE ARTIST WITHIN YOU PROJECT: SOUL NOURISHMENT THROUGH DOODLING

Creating from your imagination, rallying your creative powers nourishes your body, mind and soul. Anguish, anxiety and stress can be released by doodling. And there is much to be discovered by what you doodle–just making lines and squiggles on paper. Are they meaningless? Not in a heartbeat! Doodling projects completed by groups of students reveal images that resonate with personal goals, concerns, dreams and beliefs. Doodling is a powerful and revealing learning context that gently brings students to consult their own creative powers.

The project requires only a pencil or pen and a few sheets of paper. Make swirls, dots, dashes, or lines, whatever you want on the sheet of paper. Take three minutes. Look carefully at your doodles. What do you see? Faces? Animals? An ocean? Often the image is about something you’ve been thinking about. Now, emphasize the images by darkening the lines around them. Add lines to clarify the images.

Now do another doodle. This time close your eyes. Take three minutes and make any kind of marks and lines you want. Now open you eyes and examine your work. What do you see? Be sure to turn the paper upside down to see other images. Emphasize the images you have found with dark lines and add lines or marks to clarify your images. If you are in a group, pass your doodle to the person on your right and ask them if they see anything in your doodle. If you are working be yourself, enlist the vision of a friend or family member to help you see additional images. Ask the person to add darker lines to clarify what they see.

Write about one of the doodle images. You can relate the image to something you have been involved with, a dream, a nightmare, or an idea. Whatever it is, attach a meaning and definition to the image. Explain your writing to the group, friend or family member. Ask them to write a meaning and definition about their image.

THE ARTIST WITHIN YOU PROJECT: VERBAL/VISUAL/WRITING SKILLS

The project requires three photos of you (1) When you were young (2) When you were older (3) A recent photo, plus a few sheets of paper and a small bottle of glue or tape. Write about each photo-how old you were, what you were doing and what, perhaps, you were thinking. Work to clarify and condense your information into three separate paragraphs.

Take three separate sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper. Glue or tape one photo up at the top of each sheet. Write the pertinent paragraph under the photo. Then, below your paragraph, draw a series of symbols or icons that communicate the photo and sentence information. Imagine that the symbols or icons you put down will describe the information to someone who can’t read.

Writing a clear and concise definition of a picture hones your writing communication skills. Translating your memories and experiences into simple pictures acquaints you with the creative process required to depict a certain subject. Additionally, describing the photo in simple and clear terms that anyone can understand (you can share your description with a friend or, in a group setting, discuss the photo with others) develops your verbal skills. In a group, the sharing of this information is always interesting and highly interactive. If you do this on your own and share your experience with a friend, you will be sharing an intimate perspective of yourself that will enrich your relationship.

THE TIME LAPSE PHENOMENA

You may notice, through doing The Artist Within projects, an interesting time-lapse phenomena. Often, the session, which is an hour long, seems to go very quickly. Students often comment that at the same time, it seems very concentrated. They say that they feel that they have accomplished a great deal in a short period of time (and, indeed, they have.) They have been creating unique forms, delving into their thoughts, activating their imaginations and sharing their experiences verbally and in writing to others.

Lois DeWitt is a certified lighting specialist, a cookbook author, “Pop It In The Toaster Oven,” a poet and a Standard Poodle admirer. She cooks gourmet meals for friends, walks along the North Carolina shore with her dog, Charley, and tends her vegetable garden in Wilmington, NC. She also works part time in the Lighting/Electrical Department at The Myrtle Grove Home Depot.

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