Welcome to the 4th day of my challenge:
21 days to learn how to draw a realistic portrait!
It won’t surprise you, but once again these 15 minutes of “drawing training” will consist of doing graphic exercises over and over again!!!
TEDIOUS! But I’ll say it again, ESSENTIAL!
Today we are ditching the grid paper and picking up a nice blank sheet of printer paper to practice!
I’m setting my phone to the “stopwatch” function and I’m going to divide my time into three equal 5-minute slots to complete these exercises.
Let's go!
Exercise No. 1: Lines
The instructions are simple: 5 minutes of non-stop line drawing
– horizontally from left to right, then right to left,
– vertically, from bottom to top, then the reverse,
– diagonally, in one direction, then the other.
And we fill the entire sheet during those 5 minutes by concentrating on making the lines as straight and as regular as possible!
Exercise No. 2: Circles
Same instructions as before!
For this exercise, which I’m starting to get familiar with, I’m going to focus on drawing circles of all sizes across the whole sheet!
Note: This time I no longer have the helpful guide of the grid, so I’m trying to draw circles that are as “round” as possible!
Exercise No. 3: Gradients
Still with the goal of gaining good line control, I will use this exercise to create gradients by sketching with a pencil held right in the middle, at a sharp angle, to learn how to master the pressure I apply to the paper.
– I start with steady sketching using constant pressure, then I start again while lightening the pressure to obtain a nice, fluid gradient from darkest to
My daily exercises are making my right hand less and less “clumsy” (or as we say in French, less “left”)!!! (Yes, that was an easy pun!!)
My control is improving and I’m starting to master the lines and shapes I draw. These simple little exercises are truly effective, but they are very, very boring!!!
So, 15 minutes a day is the absolute limit for my patience and motivation!
Tomorrow, I start working on shadows and I’ll learn how to draw a 3D SPHERE!!!
See you tomorrow for my first REAL challenge!!!