Learning to Draw

We think this information will be useful for the beginner artist, startup company, indie game development company, or anyone looking for a push into something new. We are going to show you how we develop skills that we don’t have and how we leverage the skills we do have. We are going to share our hurdles and obstacles and what we’ve learned from this process.

In the Studio

This week in the studios we explored several game concepts. At the top of the list is the idea of a traditional children’s book with interactive elements. I finished the rough draft of the children’s book this week. It is about a young family that recently moved and must learn how to live close to other people.

The other idea is a role-playing game. We will explore the feasibility and passion of this idea during our upcoming meetup with our joint studio. We are working to ensure proper procedures are put in place to manage and mitigate risks from Covid-19. The game would be made with smaller story arcs and possibly more dialogue elements and other game mechanics. I wrote a few of the scenes and story options which we can use to decide on the direction of the game.

We also started working on our art skills, specifically drawing and watercolours. We are leaning towards a watercolour art style for our first game. This would give us some basic real-world skills before moving digitally. Our basic drawing skills are what you expect from an average grade 1 student. This is exciting because we expect to see a huge amount of progress! If we were already good at this it wouldn’t be as epic of a climb, right?

Watercolor: Learning the Basics

I’m going to share with you some of the art I made and explain a few of the things I learned. In watercolour I completed exercises exploring the fundamental elements of the medium. The purpose of these exercises is to help you become familiar with the way the watercolours work. I practiced painting on dry paper, wet paper, and blending and mixing colours. I also studied the impact of adding layers of a colour after each layer dries.

Watercolours can have an unpredictable element and the movement of the water on the texture of the paper has an impact on your painting. I believe watercolour painters must learn when to apply control and when to let the watercolour do something unexpected. I am trying to learn how to avoid some of the blotchy lines and apply the correct levels of water and pigment.

Another key point I learned this week was the process of creating a painting from light to dark. In miniature model painting I would start with base colours and build shadows and then highlights after. In watercolour, at least as far as I can tell, I will be starting with highlights (the paper) and making the painting darker. The paper acts as the highlight and by adding greater levels of pigment I can build up the darker tones. This doesn’t seem to be a hard rule, but I find the process changes across mediums interesting.

I have been learning watercolor from Paulina Maciel at Domestika. This week I will be learning botanical painting techniques so look forward to some beginner watercolour of leaves and, if I’m feeling adventurous, I may paint some fruit. Fantastic.

Drawing: Fundamental skills

In drawing, I have also been learning the basics. I have done several exercises to learn different shading techniques, both with pencil and pen. I was practicing the basic elements of art and dipped into some work on perspective. After some research I settled on working my way through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. The first few chapters describe “seeing like an artist” and I have started exercises to work on this skill.  I also created some baseline work that included 3 drawings: someone from your memory, a self portrait, and a drawing of your non drawing hand.

If anyone would like to start developing their drawing skills, I recommend starting with these 3 drawings. Date them and later you can look back and know the extent that you have improved.  I found the process of drawing my face horrifically scary and I ended up making a horrifying drawing. It looks like a concept sketch for a Disney villain’s sidekick. Setting a baseline can be important when trying to improve in any area. Before starting an exercise program, we are often directed to take our weight and measurements first.  Measurable progress can be highly motivating and setting a baseline measurement will give you an objective source of information to show that progress. By measuring your level of skill in an area you can better manage the rate you learn that skill. In business we would call something like this a Gap Analysis and I believe you can apply this technique directly to your life to improve whatever you can apply yourself to.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain teaches essential skills important to everyone. Betty Edwards makes a strong case for the development of the “right brain” which can be taught through learning the key principles of drawing. Basic skills which should be taught to all humans as part of our fundamental visual language.

This book is not about creating art. It’s about learning the building blocks of drawing. Reading is made up of phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. By developing proficiency in these elements, one becomes proficient at reading. Similar to reading, drawing is made up of 5 basic elements that must be understood:

1. The perception of edges (the shared edges of contour drawing)
2. The perception of spaces (negative spaces)
3. The perception of relationships (perspective and proportion)
4. The perception of lights and shadows (shading)
5. The perception of the whole (the gestalt, the “thingness” of the thing)

I agree with the author that drawing is a basic skill everyone can learn and benefit from. Although, I believe learning to draw is far easier than learning to read and you’re already proficient in that skill.

I will note that anything with “left and right” brain should be thought of in terms “ways of thinking or perceiving”. I would argue that the science currently does not support the idea that the right and left hemispheres neatly correspond with logic/abstract reasoning or other characteristics. I think the applicable information is still correct and measurable just not related to geographical locations on the brain. I’m explaining a somewhat moot point, but I don’t want anyone to read the first chapter or this article and dismiss the book as nonsense.

Practice makes Progress

I have been watching Peter Draws on Youtube and other amazing artists. I encourage you to check out Peter Draws or other Youtube artists for tutorials and tips. He creates these ink line drawings that remind me of the meditation and free flow exercises I have seen other artists do. He appears to just improvise this remarkably interesting imagery that pours onto the paper. I tried to create my own version because I think just drawing and practicing is a great habit to get into. At my skill level it’s challenging to just jump into a drawing detailed landscape or portrait. I’m trying to focus on learning the most basic building blocks. When learning a new skill its important to stick with your skill level. Have you ever compared yourself to someone at a different ability level and become discouraged? Work on the biggest gap first. Ignore the rest…for now.

I just wanted to be able to spend time in the act of drawing and this activity allowed me to practice different techniques without stressing about “getting things right”. Some sections “worked”. I liked how they turned out. In other areas I tried things that turned out poorly. Cross hatching shadows in the middle of some tube looking things was a decision that didn’t work at all and it blended into the background. The activity was enjoyable because I could move on and keep trying different things. Getting a section wrong doesn’t have the same consequences as a really bad tree in the middle of an otherwise good watercolor landscape. I think this is why expectations are so important to manage. I’m not expecting to create an emotionally moving landscape, I am expecting to learn and experiment. Do you look at what you created and have your likes and dislikes? I think it’s just as important to critique and examine the gaps as it is to understand what worked. Scratch that, understanding what works is arguably more important and often overlooked.

Iterate – Plan Do Study Act

These habits of iteration and critique are an important part of how we operate Darkhat Studios. We apply these principles to everything we do. What did you learn? How have you applied what you have learned so far? Will you adjust your actions to include this gap at this time?

This approach was developed operating and managing in manufacturing facilities and working with software development teams and I think this mindset can apply to all aspects of your life. All too often people will chase the issue that was last observed. “Will you adjust your actions to include this gap at this time?” I have seen that question cost companies millions of dollars. Just because you recognize issues, does not mean something has to be done about them. If you must do something about the issue you identified, document it so it can be properly prioritized and addressed.

– Azelzor