drawanyway.com

Early this morning I got a head start (heh) on my Draw Anyway post when I snaffled a seat near the back of the bus and started drawing people’s hair. Sitting behind your subject is ideal for this task, for a few reasons:
> They don’t know what you’re doing.
> You can get an unimpeded view […]

I’ve mentioned before the idea that in order to draw well from the imagination, you have to build up a stock of knowledge by drawing from life. This might be complete rubbish, but it’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.
Certainly when it comes to drawing people, I rely on the many hours I […]

Drawings done entirely with a tentative, weak line tend to look like they’re drawn by nervous beginners. I don’t recommend it.
But a faint line does have its place. In fact, with a little experimentation, you’ll find that you become confident in using a mixture of strong and weak lines to achieve various effects.
The most useful […]

Your artworks might not be appearing in the National Gallery any time soon, but have you ever thought of exhibiting them?
If you’re a nervous or novice artist probably not: exhibitions are the kind of thing ‘real’ artists do. But if you like your work and you are proud of it, then why not?
There are plenty […]

Do you doodle? The chances are, you do - those with an artistic bent often find a pen and a piece of paper just too tempting to leave untried.
Whether you go for the classic doodles - cubes, circles, abstract shapes - or something a little more ambitious - say, sketches of the people around you, […]

What would it take for you to call yourself an artist? You might remember the post named You are an artist, the basic thrust of which was that there are so many talentless people out there calling themselves artists that you really ought to give yourself permission to do the same.
If you’re a regular […]

Regular readers will know that each Sunday, I like to provide a link for your delectation and general inspiration. This week, I wanted to find a site about the illustrator Paul Hogarth, whose work epitomised almost everything Draw Anyway stands for - joie de vivre, a don’t-care attitude towards proportion and exactness, pictures that look […]

This is a picture of the view from my window when I was staying in Yaroslavl, Russia. Click to see it at a larger size.

 
As you can see, it’s a daunting view, and I spent the first few nights looking out the window and thinking “That’s an incredible view. I wish I had the skills […]

Pin men are supposed to be the preserve of those who can’t draw, and yet it strikes me that I begin almost every picture of a person in just that way.
Here is the lady who was sitting across the aisle from me on the train today:

You might be able to see some faint lines there. […]

Yesterday’s post got me thinking. Drawing in sand is very liberating, because even as you draw, you know that the sea or the rain will erase your image. If you have a toddler with you, they might destroy it before even that has a chance to happen.
Ironically, the best drawing is sometimes the stuff you […]