In an attempt to find a great tip for a beginner, I decided to look through some of my very first drawings in hopes that it would jog my memory and help me think of some things that I found helpful at that time.
And I found it!
This is a tip that I would only recommend to a VERY beginner but, for those artists, I think it could be extremely helpful. It was for me. Try using another artist’s completed drawing as your reference photo. What??!! This might sound controversial at first, but hear me out before you judge:)
When I was first learning to draw with colored pencils, I was completely overwhelmed when I looked at a reference photo. I didn’t know which colors to choose or which details to include or leave out. At the same time, I was learning about my materials. I didn’t know how to blend pencils or which paper to use. I didn’t know ANY techniques and I had 0 drawing skills. As I was learning all of this, I found it much easier to draw based on a completed drawing or painting rather than a reference photo. The other artist had already narrowed things down for me. I could see how they had tackled a tricky area. I could copy their choices.
Some of these drawings are what I now jokingly refer to as my early ‘forgeries’. I would never post them or show them to anyone, sign my name to them or claim them as my own in any way. But, I learned SO much from drawing them. Most of these were just done from images I found on Pinterest. They were for practice purposes only.
Some of these drawings were from tutorials where a photo reference was provided as well as a finished drawing from the artist. Instead of following along with the tutorial by using the reference image, I followed along with the tutorial by using the completed drawing provided.
I am not suggesting that you do this forever. I probably copied 5-10 paintings and drawings before I started working from actual reference photos. It was an opportunity to learn how my pencils worked and blended and to learn about the paper I was drawing on. It was an opportunity to practice the drawing techniques I was learning without the added pressure of deciphering a reference image at the same time.
Here is the negative- I felt bad about doing this! But, at the same time, I was so excited about how quickly I was learning. At some point, it dawned on me- when I was learning to play the piano, did I feel bad about copying Mozart? Nope. Did I learn a lot from copying Mozart? Yep. Did I claim to have composed The Marriage of Figaro? Nope. Why should it be different when I am learning to draw?
A young ballerina copies her instructor’s exact movements over and over. This is how she learns. But, for some reason, artists aren’t always given that same leeway. We are often expected to create our own artwork while simultaneously learning to draw.
So, I hope this helps some of you who are in the very early stages of learning. It might help you to work from one of my drawings rather than the reference I provide. We learn from copying others! I am giving you permission to not feel bad about that.🙂
To learn more about how I create my botanical colored pencil drawings, check out my Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/JenniferMorrisonArt.
And, for a complete list of my available colored pencil drawing tutorials see jennifermorrisonart.com/patreontutoriallinks.
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