Is it considered cheating ?
polycounter lvl 6
Hey, i'm new to drawing and i am trying to draw circles and straight lines freehand. its difficult since i can't actually draw a good circle or line, i read online somewhere that if you can't draw a circle freehand or a straight line you're not a true artist.
Is it considered cheating using tools to help you create those shapes you can't achieve on your own ?
I am reading andrew loomis - fun with a pencil, he says at the beginning all you need to know is how to draw a circle, it can be messed up as you like.
A quote " don't start out with that old gag, "i couldn't draw a straight line." Neither can I, freehand. If we need a straight line, we can use a ruler. Now please try it, just for fun.
I don't know what to think since i'm pretty new to drawing, what is your opinion ?
Thanks for your time.
Is it considered cheating using tools to help you create those shapes you can't achieve on your own ?
I am reading andrew loomis - fun with a pencil, he says at the beginning all you need to know is how to draw a circle, it can be messed up as you like.
A quote " don't start out with that old gag, "i couldn't draw a straight line." Neither can I, freehand. If we need a straight line, we can use a ruler. Now please try it, just for fun.
I don't know what to think since i'm pretty new to drawing, what is your opinion ?
Thanks for your time.
Replies
Ignoring that this is the silliest thing I've ever heard, anyone who tries to tell you what a "true" artist does is probably a pretentious shit head
if you're trying to be a true artist then good luck, i have no idea what that means.
That being said, while I don't think it illegitimate to use the tools available to you, I do think there are benefits in practicing within certain limitations. I think a lot of people fall prey to using too many of the tools available to them when it comes to digital work, photosourcing overlays, relying too much on custom brushes to try to do the work for them, etc. Not that these practices are "illegitimate", but knowing how to work without them can make your work done with them even better.
tl:dr - No, it's not cheating if you need to snag a ruler for line, or the bottom of a glass for a circle. Learning the "shortcuts" is arguably part of the artistic journey. But practicing drawing them freehand can't hurt, especially if doing things by hand is something you anticipate being a significant portion of your workflow.
wha ... what ??
dude just draw ...
even tracing over an image behind the paper is considered a kind of practice
i guarantee that the person who said the above statement was not able to draw a circle freehand or a straight line at first ..
He's an incredible artist/designer and yet after decades of drawing even he can not draw perfect ellipses and circles freehand all the time. So don't be that hard on yourself. If you want to get better at freehand drawing ellipses and lines, then practice, if you need to use tools that's perfectly fine.
I don't pass them.
They get an F.
Character is what defines the voice of an artist, otherwise known as style.
as AA3D has already said...Just Draw.
(..but draw alot...that is what makes you better. Be prepared to spend years on it.)
Whoever said that is a shithead.
That being said...it might be good to eventually ease off of using rulers and such and try to do it all freehand...with a whole lot of practice you'll get the coordination/muscle memory down. Besides...like Katana said...being imperfect with those things adds character.
Honestly in my opinion there really is no such thing as 'cheating' if you're trying to get a certain result. BUT if you're practicing to become better at making decisive strokes with better control then yeah you'll want to do it freehand. If you need a straight line or perfect circle for an actual piece and you can't do it well freehand then go ahead and do what you need.
If you have a large surface for drawing try using your arm and not just your wrist to make cleaner circles/ellipses. Being able to draw a decent freehand circle/ellipse/line can be helpful for things related to perspective and constructing a form. It's also just a good exercise in general and easy to do for a few minutes before you start on something more interesting.
I have a feeling, because it was one of the major hurdles I had to overcome, that you are drawing things first shot and expecting them to be clean finished products. Draw a fuckload of circles/elipses, set yourself some time limits, and just generally work with them a lot. You don't get a better feel for something without having done that action hundreds of times.
Even paper and pencil artists use rulers and protractors.
this is the 21st century people, practice is good and good lines will come in time, but theres no harm using the tools available to you, the "real" artist creates, overcoming anything in his life- like shitty line control, or those dudes that have no hands so paint with their mouth.
I love assisting software, why wouldn't I want the cleanest lines possible using the tools available to me.
http://100swallows.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/giottos-o/
Neat trick, but it's not bare minimum to be an artist. Also he did use a tool, his posture.
I had a 'friend' show me this back many many years.. except all the sides had additional triangles.
He said it was possible to do without lifting up your pen. I tried to get it to work for at least a year
It haunts me to this day
edit::: i can feel my blood pressure rising, just by looking at that stupid symbol again lol
Sorry took me 2 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPn4c3uO2R8&feature=youtu.be
Unless this is not how it's done?
Op just draw and kick ass, but make sure you learn anatomy and lighting and coloring those are pretty much essential (I found out) to make things looks great in any medium, be it 2D or 3D.
Happy drawing.
Now try this one ::
No double backing, or lifting your pen off.
If you get this one.. i might hurt you lol :icon60:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulerian_path (warning: math)
The real purpose of the excercise is to train your brain and your hand/arm to work together - and to get your muscle memory built up. Treat it like martial arts. Doing the drills over and over in a practice scenario so that when you nees to do it for real your body can make the shape your brain asks it for without actually haning to think about making it.
And any "true artist" who can make a perfect circle in one stroke will only get that circle 1/100 times and less if they dont keep doing those excercises every day. Muscles are forgetful.
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I also read online that Bigfoot was sent here by aliens from the planet Nemesis.
Your crossing the streams, though, i think your not supposed to do that otherwise i'd get that circle one.
Haven't given it time though. :poly124:
serious note. Not even the pro's do perfect circles, but they get close. Then they use ellipse guides. The purpose of being able to freehand cirlces is so that you can do confident lines and not have "hairy" sketches. So the drawings stay clean. Anyhoo, I bought Scott robertsons "how to draw" recently and I can say its probably the best how to draw book i've ever owned. His knowledge of perspective and how to draw ellipses is astounding.
I've also got into a habit of filling pages with circles and perspective doodles on a daily basis. It's helped a lot.
[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaZmwHU7vZo[/ame]
Also, btw... If anyone tells you using any tools or techniques to create something is "cheating" then they are very ill informed or just trolling you. Do you consider using pens, pencils, rulers, markers, photoshop, maya, tracing paper, etc... Cheating?... They are all tools created to help you do something... People say using photos is cheating... Poppycock I say. Use what you like to get results. The better you get the less you'll need the tools.
You do require to learn the foundations of Arts to make arts, so many artists enforce this rule of thumb regarding you drawing a straight line and a circle (does not really have to be perfect,) and not use eraser. They do that to help you easing up your hand from all the stiffness and build confidence.
That being said; You can use any tool that you need to finish the job.