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Drawing Basics – The Complete Online Course

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  1. Module 1 – Introduction

    1.1 – Drawing Basics – Introduction
  2. 1.2 – Drawing Materials
  3. 1.3 – Getting Started
  4. Module 2 – Lines
    2.1 – Introduction to Line
  5. 2.2 – On Drawing Straight Lines
  6. 2.3 – On Gauging Angles
  7. 2.4 – On Drawing Curved Lines
  8. 2.5 – Straight Lines Exercise
  9. 2.6 – Gauging Angles Exercise
  10. 2.7 – Curved Lines Exercise
  11. Module 3 – Shapes
    3.1 – Introduction to Triangles
  12. 3.2 – On Drawing Triangles
  13. 3.3 – Drawing Triangles: Row 1, Number 1
  14. 3.4 – Triangles: Row 1 Remainder
  15. 3.5 – Triangles: Rows 2, 3 & 4
  16. 3.6 – Introduction to Irregular Polygons
  17. 3.7 – Drawing Polygons
  18. 3.8 – Drawing Polygons, Part 2
  19. 3.9 – Introduction to Curved Shapes
  20. 3.10 – Drawing Curved Shapes
  21. Module 4 – Values
    4.1 – Introduction to Value
  22. 4.2 – Value Compression
  23. 4.3 – Quantifying Value
  24. 4.4 – Value and Drawing Materials
  25. 4.5 – On the Value Scale
  26. 4.6 – Drawing a Value Scale
  27. 4.7 – Contrasts
  28. Module 5 – Progressions
    5.1 – Value Progressions
  29. 5.2 – Progression 1
  30. 5.3 – Progression 2
  31. 5.4 – Progression 3
  32. 5.5 – Progression 4
  33. 5.6 – Progression 5
  34. 5.7 – Progression 6
  35. Module 6 – Cube
    6.1 – The Logic of the Light
  36. 6.2 – On Linear Perspective
  37. 6.3 – Structuring the Cube
  38. 6.4 – Introduction to the "Value Study"
  39. 6.5 – Cube: Value Study
  40. 6.6 – Modeling the Cube
  41. Module 7 – Cylinder
    7.1 – Introduction to the Cylinder
  42. 7.2 – Constructing the Cylinder
  43. 7.3 – On "Turning the Form"
  44. 7.4 – Light Side vs. Shadow Side
  45. 7.5 – Cylinder Value Study
  46. 7.6 – Modeling the Cylinder
  47. Module 8 – Sphere
    8.1 – Structure of a Sphere
  48. 8.2 – The Structure of the Light Mass
  49. 8.3 – Structuring the Sphere
  50. 8.4 – Sphere: Value Study
  51. 8.5 – Modeling the Sphere, Part 1
  52. 8.6 – Modeling the Sphere, Part 2
  53. Module 9 – Arrangement of Solids
    9.1 – Arrangement of Solids: The Envelope
  54. 9.2 – Arrangement of Solids: The Block-in
  55. 9.3 – Arrangment of Solids: Lining-in
  56. 9.4 – Arrangement of Solids: Value Study
  57. 9.5 – Arrangement of Solids: Modeling, Part 1
  58. 9.6 – Arrangement of Solids: Modeling, Part 2
  59. 9.7 – Arrangement of Solids: Modeling, Part 3
  60. 9.8 – Arrangement of Solids: Modeling, Part 4
  61. 9.9 – Arrangement of Solids: Modeling, Part 5
  62. 9.10 – Conclusion

In This Lesson:
Practice drawing triangles is surprisingly useful for developing a sound skill set. Not only do they provide an effective training ground for establishing straight lines at specific tilts, but they also form the basis for our primary measuring technique: triangulation.

Key Concepts

Once you’re feeling comfortable drawing straight lines at different angles, it’s time to move on to the next step – shapes. If lines are like elements in our visual chemistry, then shapes are like compounds – constructs made up of individual lines. Understanding shapes – their size, position, proportion and orientation – is critical in learning to draw. Any object, or any part of an object we may want to draw, has a silhouette, or an outer shape. Getting that shape right is an early and important part of drawing anything.

Triangles

There’s a nearly infinite array of different kinds of shapes that we may need to draw. Some are regular, geometric shapes, like squares, circles, hexagons, etc... But most will be irregular and asymmetrical in their appearance – lopsided polygons of various sizes and proportions that correspond to the infinite complexity and variety of shapes we see in the world.

But triangles are special for two reasons. First, a triangle is the simplest enclosed shape that can be created with straight lines, making it a good place to start. Second, triangles demonstrate the concept of triangulation – a measuring technique that we’ll be using a lot going forward.

What is “Triangulation”

Once points A and B are known, we can find point C by gauging the angles from A to C, and from B to C. These hypothetical lines will intersect at C.
Once points A and B are known, we can find point C by gauging the angles from A to C, and from B to C. These hypothetical lines will intersect at C.

“Triangulation” is a concept borrowed from trigonometry that says: Given any two points (A and B), we can find any third (C) if we know the angle of AC and BC.

This concept is unboundedly useful in drawing where we seek to locate salient points of an object or composition. All we need are two known and fixed points on our page, and we can find anything else if we gauge the angles between them correctly. In other words, any three points in a composition combine to form a hypothetical triangle. If we can reproduce that conceptual triangle accurately on our page, we will also have placed the three points correctly relative to one another. It’s a powerful tool when mastered, allowing us to solve just about any problem of size, placement, or proportion of elements in our drawings.

We’ll come back to triangulation in our lesson on measuring, but for now it seems clear that practice drawing triangles might be a good idea.

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