Useful exercises for drawing in 2D

User: We have collected useful exercises for digital drawing with tips from the art director of Skills Up School, Elizaveta Parfenova.  

Linear sketches from натуры

Take several simple objects (a box, a book in hard cover, a mug, a pencil case, a fruit, anything that comes to hand) and place them on the plane of the table. The design and structure of the object should be simple and clear. Task: to perform several linear sketches based on the натуры. Try to capture the proportional relationships and foreshortening, taking into account the main structural features of each object. One sketch should not take more than 15 minutes.  

Speed painting from натуры

Choose one object consisting of one or more materials, based on simple volumetric geometry: a sphere, a cube or a cylinder. Set directional lighting using any lamp to determine the light and shadow. Task: Based on the натуры, perform a живописный etude with minimal elaboration of the environment, taking into account the properties of the material, the object's own color and light and shadow. One speed painting should not take more than 40 minutes.

 

Color arrangement from painting pictures

Choose several живописных landscapes or etudes by your favorite artist (6-9 paintings). Based on these references, perform arrangements using a limited palette of colors (5-8 shades) and a stiff brush/lasso tool. These etudes should accurately convey the main compositional spots, the overall gamut and the mood of the picture. The exercise is aimed at developing the skills of seeing the "whole", generalization, and studying compositional relationships. One arrangement should not take more than 20 minutes.