FROM THE DRAWING BOARD

Hi Brett,

I always have trouble starting a drawing off. How do you go from blank paper to the first stages of a drawing?

best regards, Myra.

Hi Myra,

You have to be able to see the overall composition as one big abstract shape and establish its highest, lowest, and furthest left/right edges as one of the first things you do on any freehand drawing. Use only sketching (as opposed to drawing) technique in this earliest stage and make sure all sketch lines are soft and light. Always bring up the initial sketch as a whole, in fact consciously and constantly make yourself move from one point on the drawing to other areas using the minimum amount of sketch lines possible as you go along. It’s counter-productive to be too careful or put too much detail in any one part of the drawing layout early on, in fact it’s