Drawing: Realistic Techniques

Growing up I had taught myself how to draw basic and simple things, but I was never very good at drawing. I always had the desire to become a better artist and use more complex techniques in my drawings, but I had never really put the effort into learning how to draw pictures with more complexity. This quarter, however, I hope to change that. I have made a goal that through reading about drawing techniques and practicing my skills and techniques in drawing, by the end of the quarter I will have improved my drawing skills and be able to use more perspective and realistic techniques in my drawings. I don't necessarily hope to be an amazing artist by the end of the quarter, but I mainly hope that I will develop new skills that will help me improve as an artist.

The book You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler teaches you not only the basic skills of drawing, but also the skills that are important in being able to draw more realistic pictures with more perspective. It gives step by step processes that use pictures along with written descriptions and explanations that are easy to follow and help you gain a better understanding of different drawing techniques.

For my first drawing, I chose to draw a human eye. Here is a picture of what my drawing looks like:

In this lesson in the book of how to draw the human eye, one of the main techniques that is used is shading. In this lesson, Kistler says "The next step is shading. This is the lesson step that really pops your eyeball right off the page! There are five specific areas to shade" (Kistler 231). He goes on to explain the different areas to shade and how to shade them. I have always struggled with shading when I would try to draw, but this lesson has helped me improve my skill of shading and has expanded my understanding of how to shade.

What do you think of this drawing? What areas should I focus on improving for my next drawing?


Kistler, Mark. You Can Draw in 30 Days. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2011. Print.