You Can Draw!

 

I am come that they might have life,

and that they might have it more abundantly. 

I am the good shepherd:

the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

- John 10:10-11


 

Lesson One    Beginning - Draw with Colored Pencils

Your First Drawing
 

" Can you draw?"

"I am not an artist, how can I?" You say.

"Do you want to learn then?"

"Oh, no! I don't have that gift!" You say.

But let's just forget about being an artist or not, and about the gifts! Whether you are an innocent child, still full of curiosity about everything around, or you are already a grown-up and drawing only invokes a faint memory of childhood, no matter what, if only you like drawing, and you happen to have some colored pencils and blank paper with you, you can draw!

Let's see some pictures first:
 

 

Do you like them? If you like,  take up your pencils and draw them down.

Maybe your proportions are all wrong, maybe your lines are all out of the place, but do not let these trifles bother you and discourage you! Do not use your eraser too much! And even though you may feel awful about yourself, do not stop nor give up, hold on until you finish your drawing.

Now, look at your drawing, not too bad, huh?  At least it must be much better than what you had supposed right? If only you like it, you can draw!

Investment and Rewards


Drawing with colored pencils doesn't cost much. A box of 24-colored pencils, a sketching pad and a good eraser, will cost no more than 10 dollars, however they can produce so many such beautiful pictures and so much fun! If you take a little more time and thought to make your drawings into bookmarks, paper cards, calendars or paper handbags, and give your friends as little gifts, you will even be rewarded with surprised thanks and heartfelt appreciation.

These are some drawings made with ordinary 24-colored pencils on drawing pad paper.

 

I also like to draw on blank name cards, on the other side I would copy my favorite Bible verses with fluorescent pens, and make them into bookmarks. The texture on the name cards can produce a canvas-like effect, which looks very nice.

 

If you download a calendar from the internet, and print it on the lower half of a A-4 paper, then draw on the upper half, you will have a home-made calendar, like these. To make it more endurable, you can laminate it in a photo shop.
Well, do you like them?


 Learning Points

Maybe you will say, "Oh, it's too difficult, I can't draw so well!"

You're right, it maybe difficult now, but to do anything one needs to put out the first step. First one learns some simple basic skills, then more and more difficult and complicated. It's the same with drawing, start with some simple lovely pictures, gradually more difficult ones.

There are some points self-learners need to heed:

1. Never give up a drawing in the middle. No matter how bad you feel, always finish a drawing. Most of the time, your final work will be better than you thought. Moreover, if you put it aside, after some days look at it again, you will be surprised to find how beautiful it looks actually! Then you will be glad you had held on and hadn't thrown it away.

2. Do not require your drawing to be 100% like the original. No two persons' drawings look the same. Everyone's drawing reflects his/her own characteristics, personalities and tastes. Make effort to produce your first impression of the original, but do not feel discouraged because of the differences between yours and the original. In those very differences are hidden your own unique style!

3. Pay attention to the effect on the whole, do not attend too much on local details. Draw the whole  structure first, gradually fill out the details.  It's not necessary to sketch with pencils first, you can draw with colored pencils directly.
If you dare to try, if you can hold on, you will succeed! Hope drawing may bring to your life some fun and new enthusiasm.

 

Pictures to Imitate

 

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