How do you start a drawing?

   Sketching out form is the first step to creating a drawing.  Because it is the foundation of what will eventually be your finished drawing or painting, it is very important.
In the foundation stage you put the structure of your subject down.  Just as a skeleton is the support and basis of the body, the foundation sketch is the basis of a drawing.  If the sketch is not done right, the finished product won't be right either.
 
 

The Three Basic Steps:
   I use three basic steps when creating a drawing:  The foundation sketch, the enhanced sketch, and the final work.

The foundation sketch:
   The foundation sketch does not focus on detail, but rather works to get all proportions correct.  Any object can be simplified to basic shapes.  For instance, a woman's body can be simplified in this way: A head can be an oval, shoulder's as spheres, the arms cylinders, the chest as a barrel.  You get the picture.
   Actually I'll give you the picture (to your right).  This example shows the original photo, my sketch of the woman simplified into shapes, and the same sketch with some refinements.  The shapes that I have drawn for this woman give me the foundation I need.  Doing these shapes will allow you to simplify a puzzling and complex figure into components that are easy to understand.
   Never use a lot of pressure on the basic step.  Keep your pencil strokes light.  You probably will be erasing a lot in this step and a harsh line can cause smudges and permanent marks in the paper when erased.  I've ruined more than one perfectly good drawing this way.
 
 

The enhanced sketch:
   Once you have your structure down you can begin to bring your work to life.  In the enhanced sketch you can start to do a bit more detail, refine shapes, and add some shadow and depth.
   As you can see from the example of the woman, the drawing is still rough but I've worked on perfecting the woman's shape.  Now that I'm happy with her overall proportions I begin on detail and I have some light shading to give me a better sense of how the finished piece will look.
 
 
 
 

The final work:
   Now's the time for final touches.  Refine the picture even more, bring out the articulate details, darken the shadows, and smooth the rough graphite edges (I recommend my secret weapon; the cotton swab and ball).
   If this is just an exercise: pursuit of perfection doesn't really matter.  But if you want your drawing to be it's best, then this is the time to get nit picky.  Study every crevice of your work.  Don't let anything pass you that you are even remotely unhappy with.  Make sure you've made every part of the picture the best that you can.  You can learn more about shading your final drawings by reading my Shading Tutorial.
 
 

Understanding Form:

   So what are you interested in drawing?  People?  Animals?  sci-fi?  Whatever it is, the best way to improve your drawing is to understand what you're drawing.  I cannot stress enough how valuable it is to observe your subject.
   Horses for an example seem to be a big problem area for many artists, as well as human hands.  I believe the main reason they have difficulty in portraying these two subjects is because they don't understand their structure.  The horse has a complex anatomy, as the hand has many parts.  All you must do to master the horse, the hand, or anything else, is observe it, and then practice doing it.
   If you want to draw a tiger, look at photos of him, look at videos on the tiger, go to the zoo and see him in action...study other artist's renditions (quality artists that is ;0).  Look at the shape of his face; his roman nose, the flatness of the upper lid of the eyes, and the distinct corners of his eyes.  See how the whisker pads are full and square.  All these things would be important to capturing the tiger.  Once you understand and practice the anatomy and movement it will be easier and easier to draw him.  This same rule applies to anything you draw.  You'll find me bugging you about this later.  Observe baby,....observe till your head spins.