A great practice that many artists take part in is people watching, where you go out and draw the people that pass by you. This helps you see how people really act, what people look like, and give you practice in drawing humans. (Or objects, since there's probably completely different furniture where you're drawing than at your house.) Any practice is good practice, and this can be really fun.
I went to Starbucks yesterday to draw the customers, since I wanted to write this and it had been a while since I had done it. You can do this anywhere you feel comfortable though, and if you feel weird doing it alone ask a friend to go with you! Personally I find everything is easier when you have someone else there, especially if your friend is also into art (unlike mine.)
Who you draw is completely up to you, anyone who draws your interest! Don't worry about them being good (mine aren't) just focus on the practice and enjoying yourself. It tends to be easier to gesture draw people as they move quickly, or if you like a certain aspect of their look you could focus on that. Don't know where to start? If you did bring a friend draw them first, I find that's the easiest way to get in the zone since your friend won't be as weird to stare at!
Personally, I need to do this more. I think this would be a great way to practice techniques I'm learning in my classes once school starts again. Especially when it comes to objects and perspective. Using it as self assigned homework like this may be even more applicable to those of you who are self teaching but still want to start improving slightly faster.
Comments