Drawing Basics (Art-005A)

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

This book was created with support from an Open Textbooks Pilot grant, funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), part of the U.S. Department of Education. However, the ideas and material in this book do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Department of Education, and readers should not assume the federal government has endorsed it.

Drawing Basics is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. This type of license means you are free to remix, adapt, and build on this work—even for commercial purposes—as long as you (1) give credit to the original source and (2) license your new version under the same terms. If you use material from this book elsewhere and need to meet the license's credit requirement, please attribute the original source to the College of Lemoore, in Lemoore, California.

Note: This open license does not cover every image or piece of content in the book. Some material was gathered from other sources under different Creative Commons licenses—such as "ND" (No Derivatives) licenses—which restrict how that specific content can be reused. The license also does not apply to material used with special permission from its original rights holders. Student artwork throughout this book falls into that second category: it is used with permission but is fully protected by copyright, meaning it cannot be copied or shared outside this textbook.

A Note on Images: The images and figures in this book are either openly licensed, in the public domain, or included under "fair use" (a legal principle that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission under certain conditions). Some images are student work, which remains fully copyrighted and is used here with the students' permission—these are labeled accordingly. If you own the rights to any image in this book and did not authorize its use under these terms, please contact the author at kristenkennedy@wccd.edu so the content can be removed.

Cover Design: Created from student artwork produced in Art-005A/B classes (2020–2024), under instructor Kristen R. Kennedy. Cover design and layout by Kristen R. Kennedy.

A Note on How This Book Was Made:

• ChatGPT (versions 3.5, 4, and 4.0)—an AI language tool—was used to draft chapter outlines based on the course's actual learning goals and objectives. It also helped to:
• Generate chapter content in outline form
• Act as a copyeditor and art-instruction assistant, sharpening clarity, cutting repetition, and suggesting additional details
• Generate MLA citations and a glossary of terms
• Format the hands-on assessments
• DALL-E 4.0, an AI image-generation tool, was used to create original artwork 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 ................................................................. 10

Introduction: Learning How to Draw ................................................. 11

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 11
• Historical Perspective of Drawing ................................................... 12
• Drawing as a Foundation for Other Art Forms ................................. 12
• The Importance of Observation and "Learning to See" Skills ........... 12
• The Learning Process ..................................................................... 12
• Limiting Learning to Essentials ....................................................... 12
• Textbook Organization ................................................................... 13
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 14

Chapter 1: Media, Materials & Tools .................................................. 15

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 15
• Introduction .................................................................................. 16
• Traditional Drawing Media ............................................................. 16
• Modern and Alternative Media ....................................................... 19
• Drawing Surfaces .......................................................................... 22
• Tools & Accessories for the Artist's Toolbox .................................... 23
• Techniques and Applications in Drawing ........................................ 24
• Health and Safety in the Drawing Studio ........................................ 25
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 26
• References and Further Reading .................................................... 26
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 26

Chapter 2: Observational Drawing ..................................................... 29

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 29
• Introduction to Observational Drawing ........................................... 30
• Observational Drawing Defined ...................................................... 30
• Learning How to See ...................................................................... 31
• Arrangement of Your Drawing Composition .................................... 32
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 33
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 34

PART II: VISUAL ELEMENTS OF ART ................................................. 37

• The Visual Elements ....................................................................... 38

Chapter 3: Exploring Line .................................................................. 40

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 40
• Introduction to Drawing with Line ................................................... 41
• The Visual Element of Line ............................................................. 41
• Exploring the Nuances of Line in Art: Line Quality, Direction & Characteristics ... 41
• The Role of Contour Line in Basic Drawing ...................................... 43
• Techniques in Mark Making ............................................................ 48
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 51
• References and Further Reading .................................................... 52
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 52

Chapter 4: Exploring Value ................................................................ 56

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 56
• Introduction to Value Drawing ........................................................ 57
• The Visual Element of Value ........................................................... 57
• The Nature of Light and Visual Perception ...................................... 57
• Concepts in Value Drawing ............................................................ 60
• Selecting the Right Tools ............................................................... 61
• Value Shading Techniques ............................................................. 63
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 68
• References and Further Reading .................................................... 68
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 68

Chapter 5: Drawing Using Basic Shapes .............................................. 72

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 72
• Introduction to Drawing Basic Shapes ............................................. 73
• The Visual Element of Shape .......................................................... 73
• Types of Shapes ............................................................................. 73
• Simplification of Complex Objects into Basic Shapes ........................ 74
• Techniques for Drawing Shape ........................................................ 75
• The Relationship of Shape in Composition ...................................... 79
• Example Artists and Artworks ......................................................... 80
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 81
• References and Further Reading .................................................... 81
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 81

Chapter 6: Spatial Depth ................................................................... 86

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 86
• Introduction to Drawing Spatial Depth ............................................ 87
• The Visual Element of Space .......................................................... 87
• Techniques for Creating Spatial Depth in Drawing ............................ 87
• Positive and Negative Space .......................................................... 91
• Artist's Exploration of Space ........................................................... 91
• Conclusion .................................................................................... 92
• Practical Assessments .................................................................... 93

Chapter 7: Drawing Texture ................................................................ 97

• Learning Objectives ....................................................................... 97
• Introduction to Texture Drawing ..................................................... 98
• The Visual Element of Texture ........................................................ 98
• Different Categories of Texture ....................................................... 98
• Techniques for Depicting Texture .................................................. 100
• Drawing Media for Creating Texture .............................................. 101
• Texture of Drawing Materials ........................................................ 102
• Master Works from Art History ..................................................... 102
• Conclusion .................................................................................. 103
• References and Further Reading ................................................... 104
• Practical Assessments .................................................................. 104

Chapter 8: Exploring Color Illustration .............................................. 107

• Learning Objectives ..................................................................... 107
• Introduction to Color Illustration .................................................. 108
• The Visual Element of Color ......................................................... 108
• The Color Wheel .......................................................................... 108
• Properties of Color—Hue, Saturation, and Value ........................... 110
• Color Theory ................................................................................ 110
• Color Mixing Techniques .............................................................. 114
• Color in Composition ................................................................... 114
• Masterwork Case Studies .............................................................. 115
• Conclusion .................................................................................. 116
• Further Reading and Reference List ............................................... 116
• Practical Assessments .................................................................. 116

PART III: THE CREATIVE PROCESS .................................................... 120

Chapter 9: Composition Design Principles ........................................ 122

• Learning Objectives ..................................................................... 122
• Introduction to Design Principles .................................................. 123