Drawing Basics (Art-005A)

Author: Kristen R. Kennedy
Peer Reviewers: David Brooks and Diana Meehan
Editor: Kelsey Smith

This book was created with the help of a grant (a sum of money given for a specific purpose) called an Open Textbooks Pilot grant. The grant came from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. However, this does not mean the Department of Education officially approves or supports everything in the book. You should not assume the U.S. government has endorsed (given its stamp of approval to) this content.

License Information

Drawing Basics is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. This is a type of license that lets other people reuse, change, and build on this work — even to make money from it — as long as they give credit to the original source and share their new version under the same kind of license. If you use this content somewhere else, please give credit to the College of Lemoore, located in Lemoore, California.

This license does not cover everything in the book, though. Some material was borrowed from other sources under different Creative Commons licenses, such as "ND" licenses (which do not allow changes to the original work). The license also does not cover any special permissions the author received directly from copyright holders. Additionally, student artwork included in this textbook is used with the students' permission. That artwork is fully protected by copyright and cannot be copied or shared outside this textbook.

About the Images

The images and pictures in this book are either openly licensed, in the public domain (meaning no one owns the copyright, so anyone can use them freely), or used under "fair use" rules (a legal principle that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission, usually for teaching or commentary). Some images are student artwork, fully copyrighted and used with the students' permission. If you own the rights to any image in this book and did not agree to let it be used this way, please contact the author at kristenkennedy@wccd.edu so it can be removed.

Cover Design: Created from student artwork made in Art-005A/B classes between 2020 and 2024. Instructor Kristen R. Kennedy designed the cover and laid out the book.

How Technology Helped Create This Book

• ChatGPT (versions 3.5, 4, and 4.0), an artificial intelligence program, was used to build chapter outlines based on the course's actual learning goals. It also helped organize and generate parts of the textbook, including:
• Writing chapter content in outline form
• Acting like a copywriter or art instructor to make the writing clearer, cut out repeated ideas, and suggest extra details
• Creating MLA-style citations (a standard format for crediting sources) and a glossary (a list of key term definitions)
• Formatting the practical assessments (hands-on assignments)
• DALL-E 4.0, another AI program, was used to generate original images for the textbook.
• Grammarly, an AI writing tool, was used to check grammar and punctuation.

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Table of Contents

PART I: DRAWING BASICS

Introduction: Learning How to Draw

• Learning Objectives
• Historical Perspective of Drawing
• Drawing as a Foundation for Other Art Forms
• The Importance of Observation and "Learning to See" Skills
• The Learning Process
• Limiting Learning to Essentials
• Textbook Organization
• Conclusion

Chapter 1: Media, Materials & Tools

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction
• Traditional Drawing Media
• Modern and Alternative Media
• Drawing Surfaces
• Tools & Accessories for the Artist's Toolbox
• Techniques and Applications in Drawing
• Health and Safety in the Drawing Studio
• Conclusion
• References and Further Reading
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 2: Observational Drawing

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Observational Drawing
• Observational Drawing Defined
• Learning How to See
• Arrangement of Your Drawing Composition
• Conclusion
• Practical Assessments

PART II: VISUAL ELEMENTS OF ART

The Visual Elements

Chapter 3: Exploring Line

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Drawing with Line
• The Visual Element of Line
• Exploring the Nuances of Line in Art: Line Quality, Direction & Characteristics
• The Role of Contour Line in Basic Drawing
• Techniques in Mark Making
• Conclusion
• References and Further Reading
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 4: Exploring Value

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Value Drawing
• The Visual Element of Value
• The Nature of Light and Visual Perception
• Concepts in Value Drawing
• Selecting the Right Tools
• Value Shading Techniques
• Conclusion
• References and Further Reading
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 5: Drawing Using Basic Shapes

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Drawing Basic Shapes
• The Visual Element of Shape
• Types of Shapes
• Simplification of Complex Objects into Basic Shapes
• Techniques for Drawing Shape
• The Relationship of Shape in Composition
• Example Artists and Artworks
• Conclusion
• References and Further Reading
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 6: Spatial Depth

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Drawing Spatial Depth
• The Visual Element of Space
• Techniques for Creating Spatial Depth in Drawing
• Positive and Negative Space
• Artist's Exploration of Space
• Conclusion
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 7: Drawing Texture

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Texture Drawing
• The Visual Element of Texture
• Different Categories of Texture
• Techniques for Depicting Texture
• Drawing Media for Creating Texture
• Texture of Drawing Materials
• Master Works from Art History
• Conclusion
• References and Further Reading
• Practical Assessments

Chapter 8: Exploring Color Illustration

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Color Illustration
• The Visual Element of Color
• The Color Wheel
• Properties of Color — Hue, Saturation, and Value
• Color Theory
• Color Mixing Techniques
• Color in Composition
• Masterwork Case Studies
• Conclusion
• Further Reading and Reference List
• Practical Assessments

PART III: THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Chapter 9: Composition Design Principles

• Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Design Principles
• (Continued...)