Have you ever wanted to draw something but didn't think you could? Here's a little secret I learned in high school art class that might help make drawing easier for you.
First you need to find a photo of something you want to draw. It's best if find something on the Internet and print it or print a copy of a real photo. You'll know why in a minute.
Let's say you choose a 3x5 inch photo of a cat and print it out, its best if you print it in black and white if possible. Now let's say you want your drawing to be twice the size of the photo. Using a ruler, draw a grid of one inch squares all over the copy of your photo. Now get a piece of paper or poster board and measure out twice the size of the actual photo then draw a grind of two inch squares all over it. Make sure you draw the lines on the blank piece of paper or poster board very lightly so they can be erased if needed when the drawing is done.
Now you are ready to begin drawing. Look at the square in the top left corner of the photo and look only at that. Now draw the shapes and shade it exactly like you see it in the top left square on your blank paper. When you have finished drawing everything in that square and it looks just like the square on the photo move on to the next square and do the same thing. Be sure each time you move on to another square that you focus only on that square and what the shapes and shades are in that one square. Don't look at the photo or drawing as a whole picture until you are done. The only time you should `look at any two squares at the same time is when you are connecting the shapes in the two squares together. When you have drawn in every square on your paper you should have a complete drawing of a cat that is 6x10 in size.
The reason behind drawing one square at a time is to force you to focus on shapes and shading instead of an actual object. For some reason it's easier to draw shapes and shadows than it is to try drawing a whole object. It's as if you are drawing an abstract drawing but when you are done all the little abstract drawings form into an actual object.
The reason behind printing the photo in black and white is because it helps you see shadows and light better instead of color.
The more you practice drawing this way the easier it will become to draw without a grid. You will train your eyes to see shapes and shadows instead of objects. You will also graduate into being able to use colored photos and eventually even drawing from real life.
You can draw like this with colored pencils eventually too because you can train your eyes to see colors in your shapes that you might not normally see.
Drawing is nothing more than shapes and shades.
