The graduation hat, officially called a mortarboard, is one of those drawings that looks complicated until you break it down into its actual shapes. A diamond on top. A dome below. A cord and tassel hanging to the side. That is genuinely all it is. Once those three elements are in place the drawing is … Read more
Finding a shell on the beach is one of those small specific pleasures that never really loses its appeal no matter how old you are. You pick it up, turn it over, notice the spiral or the fan shape or the ridged texture, and for a moment the complexity of the thing is genuinely surprising. … Read more
Most people learn to draw a circle before they draw an oval. The circle has a pleasing mathematical perfection to it. An oval feels harder because there is no single center point to anchor the compass and no simple rule like “the same distance in every direction.” But ovals show up everywhere in drawing. Every … Read more
A hood does more for a character than almost any other single piece of clothing. It can make someone look mysterious, cozy, dangerous, wise or vulnerable depending on how it is drawn and how it sits on the head. Fantasy rogues wear their hoods up and forward, leaving the face in shadow. Travelers in medieval … Read more
The lotus flower is one of the most drawn flowers in the world, and once you understand its structure it is easy to see why. It has a clear layered architecture that rewards methodical drawing. Start with the center. Build the inner petals. Add the outer petals behind them. Add the stem and leaves. The … Read more
Drawing a person is the thing that most people attempt first and give up on fastest. The proportions feel impossible. One arm ends up longer than the other. The head is too big or the legs are too short. And then the whole thing gets crumpled and thrown away. The issue is rarely ability. It … Read more
Most people can draw a rough stick figure without any help. The legs go straight down and that is more or less fine until you want the drawing to look like an actual person rather than a diagram on a fire escape sign. The difference between a stick figure leg and a convincing leg drawing … Read more
There is a particular kind of anticipation that comes with putting up a Christmas tree. It is partly the lights and partly the ornaments and partly the smell of pine if the tree is real, but mostly it is the moment when the whole thing is finished and you stand back and look at it. … Read more
Something about sharks commands attention in a way that few other animals manage. They have been swimming the world’s oceans for approximately 450 million years, which means they existed before trees, before dinosaurs and before almost everything else that currently lives on land. They survived every mass extinction event since. Whatever sharks are doing, they … Read more
Horses are one of the most requested drawing subjects and one of the most genuinely difficult. This is not a discouraging observation. It is an honest one. The reason horses feel hard to draw is specific and fixable. Their proportions look simple until you are actually on paper. The legs have joints that bend in … Read more