About Drawing and Sketching

Drawing is essentially the art of creating something on paper with the use of various kinds of writing and drawing instruments. It is a visual art that allows people to express their feelings, emotions and creative ideas on paper. Sometimes it is merely the process of recreating what you have seen from your own perspective.

Some of the common tools that are used to create drawings and sketches include graphite pencils, pens, wax color pencils, charcoal, chalk, crayons, inked brushes, styluses and markers. Some people eve use various metals like silverpoint. While drawing on paper is the most common form of this art, some people also use canvasses, leather, plastic and boards to create their images. Drawings that are made on blackboards or whiteboards are only temporary in nature. Drawing as an art has also been taken to another level with technology. While the initial drawings and sketches may be done using the traditional method, there are various means by which this can be extended over to the computer to digitize it.

The visual art of drawing is so old that it has no history. The first drawings that were discovered are the ones that were found on cave walls. This signifies that people have made rock paintings and sketches since the pre-historic age. Europe has been known to be a hub of arts and drawing and sketching is one of the niches that this region has excelled in. Some of the most notable draftsmen of the centuries include Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Rembrandt, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Francisco Goya, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.

The art of drawing and sketching also uses shading. This is the technique that can give tonal values to the drawing that has been made. It helps in placing shadows and giving a perception of depth to the drawing as well. Sometimes the shading can be blended by using techniques to soften the shading. This is something that can be done by using a fingertip, blending stump, tissue or kneaded eraser. Chamois can be used to create smooth surfaces.

To be able to produce a realistic rendition of a still object measuring the dimensions and marking it on paper is often required. For such kind of drawing you may need to use a compass. However, this can also be done using the fingertip and measuring it on the drawing instrument. Giving a three dimensional perspective to a drawing on 2D paper is another challenge that draftsmen have. There are also various techniques that can be used to create the perception of depth.

Drawing can be divided into various types. While there are architectural drawings and engineering drawings, the ones that are most often taken up as a hobby are sketching still objects and sceneries.

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