ABC of Art Skills - You Can Draw!

Excerpt from Book One of The ABC of Art Skills - All material copyright to Jenny Gibson www.abcyoucandraw.com

Page Two excerpt.

The ABC of Art Skills
For budding young artists, teachers and adults who’d love to be artists but think they can’t do it.

Complete with photocopy-able worksheets, black line masters and assessment guidelines.

A - ART SKILLS

The power of the line
Fun ways to get a grip
Wrist and arm control exercises with pen in hand
It’s good to learn early that the eraser might be your enemy
Observation exercises
Putting it all together
Discovering and expressing your creative self

Dedication:  This e-book is dedicated to Trevor, for believing in me,
and to my gorgeous children, for being the reason I’ve stayed on track.

Page Three excerpt.

Introduction:
I’ve always wanted to move away from the commonly held concept that putting your ideas down visually on paper is some kind of unachievable mystery.

In the course of my workshops, I’ve been fortunate to see the light dawn on peoples’ faces when they realize they are able to draw something.  Consequently, there was usually an extra teacher or two sitting in on classes with the intention of learning these techniques for themselves.

And so, I’ve created this series using the concept that, just as we learn our ABC skills, we can learn art skills; when we take a measured approach that starts right from the beginning.

What does surprise people is that these problems can be overcome by using a measured approach in much the same way as you learned your ABC.

Page Four excerpt.

Required tools:

PAPER
Photocopy paper or a simple unruled notepad is enough to practice these beginning exercises.

A decent quality sketch pad or sheets of non-bleeding paper (i.e. black ink makes a clean line without bleeding) are good for your final projects.

Remember to choose paper that will suit your final materials.  If you plan to colour your work with inks or watercolours a good paper to go for is Academia.  It isn’t too expensive, but does the job quite well.  A good art supply shop should carry all that you require and the assistant will be able to advise on paper choice.

Colour pencils can be used to great effect, after inking, if your project is on a sketch pad.  Test the paper for ink friendliness.  Draw a few lines and circles to make sure there is no bleeding around the edges.

PRACTICE PENS
Your choice, any or all of the following:

• Biro or fountain pen.
• A fine felt nib pen. – Best to begin with.
• A mapping pen. – Ideal for the next stage of development.
• A pen holder and nibs. – Allows for a great deal of experimentation.
• A felt tipped calligraphy pen. – Great for thick and thin line variation.
• A couple of fine paintbrushes size 000 to 2. – Once your skills are developed a little.

An ideal way to work is to experiment with different pens as you work through each exercise.  Also try a stick of charcoal to see how it feels in your hand.  Fine pastels add yet another dimension, especially on coloured paper.

INK
Any ink is fine to practice with but if your final piece is to be done in ink, think about whether or not you plan to colour it.  If it is to be coloured, will you use water based paint?  Very few “waterproof” inks are waterproof.  A good one that I use is “FW”.  Many other inks are labeled waterproof but they are not.  Be advised to test them first.

Page Five Excerpt.

RULER
A simple plastic ruler with a beveled edge to prevent ink overflow is the best choice.  I usually keep a set square on hand as well but it is not vital for these projects.

Whatever your level of talent, time spent mastering useful drawing skills will improve your results dramatically.

Artwork is often revered as though it has emanated from a magical, ethereal place and at times, the work of a truly gifted artist, say, Michelangelo Buonarroti*, is of this calibre; but all of us can learn certain skills that will imbue us with the confidence to tackle a project with knowledge that has been learned and can be applied.

After half a lifetime of illustrating, designing, painting, drawing, writing and teaching, I’m going to share with you some secret recipes for success, so that you can cook up a masterpiece or two of your own.

This workbook is the first in a series that will shine a light on the ephemeral treasure chest of skills that allow for results that many would-be artists are too afraid to attempt.  Whether you desire to work in oils, inks, watercolours or sketch pencils, confident drawing skills will dramatically improve the end result.

These exercises improve hand, arm and wrist control.  They are also the building blocks of the artwork you’ll create in the final project, so take your time and enjoy the process.

If you have ever said, “I wish I could draw.” Your time to achieve this goal begins now…

* see Appendix for inspiration

Page Six Excerpt.

Secret 1.
CONFIDENCE – The Power of The Line

It’s good to learn early that the eraser might be your enemy.

I learned to draw, as a child, by putting PEN to paper for hours on end, day after day, year after year.

Take ALL your erasers and put them in a paper bag at the back of your cupboard and DON’T let them see the light of day until you can confidently draw a satisfactory piece of artwork with a pen.

How is your focus now?

When you know that every line and dot you put on your paper is there for keeps, your focus will skyrocket.

Imagine you have drawn all the basic lines of your project and have carefully cross-hatched all the shadows and spent an hour or two working on the current piece.

You are about to begin the next element of this drawing.  The knowledge that one wrong line can ruin the whole piece will ensure that you take a truly focused observation of this new element and put the next line PRECISELY where your recreated scene wants it to go.

Multiply this experience by every pen stroke and your drawing skills will grow exponentially.

Let’s begin.

Page Seven Excerpt.

There are two of some worksheets.  Use the 2nd page to experiment with different pens.  Also, photocopy some for extra practice.  Feel free to photocopy more worksheets so you can practice every day.  You will only get better and better.

To complete the exercises, carefully finish each pattern.  Keep the lines at the same angle.  Be aware of the spaces so you can keep them uniform.

First of all draw over the lines that are already there to give your hand the blueprint in advance.

When you’ve finished the row of circles at the end of the first exercise, try some smiley faces.  It helps to make you understand the power of a line.

This is all hand work, not computer generated lines.  There is beauty in the imperfection of hand drawn shapes.

Page Ten Excerpt.

Make sure this starter exercise is done at least twice!

Page Twenty-seven Excerpt.

Using your pen and ink complete the right side of this cartoon drawing.

 

 

Page Thirty-two Excerpt.

Now, in the same way, complete the right side of this drawing.  Practice drawing over the top of the lines on the left before you try drawing the hand on the right side.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this small sample from the drawing workshop.
The full drawing workshops, photographic resources and advanced techniques are available here.

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Here's your ticket to discovering your own surprising drawing abilities.
Let me share the 6 secrets of artist's skills with you.

The ABC of Art Skills

Remember In the system, you get:

1. The 6 self-taught secrets to successful, professional art skills, that have never been offered together before.

2. A step-by-step process that begins at your level of skill. Never again will you sit in front of a blank drawing sheet wondering where to start.

3. A complete set of black line master exercises that you can print out and make as many copies as you require for class use or your own practice.

4. Tips on good materials that do the job well to free you from buying things you don't need trying to achieve better results.

5. Teacher notes to help you assess your class (or yourself!) before you begin and as you progress through the course.

-

"The exercises in this system are simple enough for primary school age students yet valuable enough for university students and adults. This book is the first stage of learning. Even if you cannot draw a stick man you will find your skills improved dramatically once you have completed the exercises. Even if you need to create complex drawings with a high degree of difficulty you will find the 6 secrets invaluable. This is the chosen system to start teaching character animators, game developers, cartoonists, commercial artists and illustrators."

I've taken all of the best information from those workshops; information that has been simplified and refined over the past 18 years—and packaged it to become easy-to-use, step-by-step,
self-paced drawing and teaching course.

Here is your Free Bonus
for ordering today…

The Photographic Resource Kit contains a wealth of specially commissioned reference photographs you need to begin with professional tools straight away. Valued at $107, you get the Photographic Resource Kit FREE when you order the ABC of Art Skills System.

This valuable kit contains reference photographs which were specially commissioned to provide a visual resource for tackling the most difficult creative issues.

You'll get images to help you
grasp:

* foreshortening

* perspective

* detail

* vanishing points

Using the photographs will mean that you can:
Immediately begin working on subjects that you know will train your creative mind. This allows you to recognise these same features in the future. Valuable things that you may well have missed just because you didn't know what to look for.

The 100% No-Risk-To-You Guarantee I personally guarantee that you will be absolutely delighted with my ABC of Art Skills System. In fact, I invite you to use this program and put all the risk entirely on me. If at any time in the next 8 weeks you feel that it falls short in delivering everything I described in this letter, just let me know and I'll be happy to give you a full refund. If for any reason you're not 100% satisfied, I want you to demand your money back. You can even keep the entire ABC of Art Skills System valued at over $311.00 as my way of thanking you for looking over the material.

Now, if you're excited about the idea of being able to draw all those things you've always wanted, but are worried you won't be able to afford your own copy of my ABC of Art Skills System, let me put your mind at ease right now...

Because this system is being made available over the internet I'm testing the world wide market and am prepared to offer the system for the remarkable price of $80.00.

In fact, let me make it very simple for you to take advantage of this information right now. I'm going to give you two more FREE gifts along with the system and the Template Kit, making this entire offer valued at over $300.

Order now and you will also receive:

FREE GIFT #2:

* To celebrate the release of my second book in this series I am offering it as a special gift, for a limited time only. This is a really special offer which has a definite time limit. Book B is based on two workshops that take you from beginner to advanced. Covering linear perspective, 3D drawing, Aerial perpective and colour practice in exercise form your drawing skills will be vastly improved once you have completed these two workshops. These two books make a complete resource for teachers who have art included in their lists. You can begin immediately to pass genuine valuable skills to your students. This offer is to test the market so make the most of it while it lasts.

FREE GIFT #3:

* A quick reference guide to design principles to help you with your layouts for drawing, painting, desktop publishing, interface design or any type of graphic arts you may ever need to do. This invaluable guide saves hundreds of hours of study.

Let’s look at what you’re getting:

I wish you all the very best.

Jenny Gibson P.S. Don't forget, I'm taking all the risk... If after trying my System you don't find a wealth of extra drawing skills, I'll refund every penny. What have you got to lose? Try it now! And remember, you'll be able to download the system immediately. Five minutes from now, you'll be on your way to a one-on-one class with a professional illustrator! P.P.S. Don't forget the "Limited Time Special" price of $29 can be guaranteed for the next 24 hours only. After that it could be increased back to the normal price at any time.

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