Twenty years after art school, I still come across tips that are really quite 'basic' but that are new to me. I think we've always got room to improve, technically. But being an artist isn't just about technique, of course. We all know that, but sometimes in our quest for excellence, it's easy to forget.

Knowing your technical ability is pretty straightforward. You know if you have a solid understanding of perspective. You can sketch something from life or imagination in a pretty good approximation of one or two point perspective. When drawing the figure, you aren't daunted by foreshortened limbs, and you are able to fit the whole figure on the page, with accurate proportions.

Your drawings use a good range of tonal value. Your darks are really dark, and you aren't afraid to use black. You use highlights appropriately and can get a good range of middle values out of your pencil or charcoal. If you choose to use a high key or a limited range of tone, it's through choice, not accident.You can draw most things from life, make a portrait look like the sitter, and draw any sort of texture with confidence.

Ok, so you've mastered basic technique, what else is there? Read More...

Probably the best way to draw a building in perspective is to trust your eyes and draw what you see. But when you don't have a handy brick wall in front of you, or you are creating an image from imagination, constructing a wall in linear perspective is an excellent way to make sure your bricks are diminishing at the right rate, so that you don't end up with a bizarre optical illusion. So here's a tutorial on drawing a brick wall in perspective. Because it's a complex surface, errors compound, so take your time and draw the framework precisely and lightly. Once you've built the underlying brick pattern, you can then refine the drawing, making it as crisp or as loosely textured as you choose. The latter pages of the tutorial include some examples of various textures applied to the tutorial.

Related Posts:
Brick and Stone textures
Brick Wall in Pen and Wash
Sketching with Pen and Ink

A favorite Mother's Day flower is the traditional Chrysanthemum. The elegant shapes of this bloom lend themselves well to a simple line drawing, which works in its own right, or can be developed with color washes, pencil or marker. This tutorial is very easy to follow - why not use it to create a personalized greeting card, or a watercolor or colored pencil sketch as a gift.
Draw a Chrysanthemum

The title 'Vitruvian Man' sounds a bit like some sort of stone-encrusted Neanderthal remains! But the word 'Vitruvian' derives from the name given to the Roman engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio - though it seems that his nomen and cognomen are in dispute. So Vitruvius it is. The Vitruviuan Man should be familiar to every student of art and drawing - and even if you don't recognize the name, you'll know the image when you see it. Follow the link to find out more about the Vitruvian Man.