Calling all non-artistic, non-creatives
who say, "I can't draw", but who really want to,
today's video will help you get started in drawing and give you the secrets
to hiding all those mistakes you're afraid of making.
I'm Sarah Renae Clark and I make adult coloring pages,
so as much as I love color, I also love drawing in black and white.
In this video, I'm going to teach you how to draw some simple drawings step by step.
Then I'll show you how to combine them together to create beautiful accents
for your journalling, coloring pages or just to expand your creativity.
This video is sponsored by Ohuhu, who have sent me these gorgeous,
fineliner drawing pens to use in this video today.
I've only had a quick play with these so far, so we'll see how they go today.
But so far I'm pretty impressed and I
think I'll definitely be using these more often.
I'll pop a link in the blog post if you'd like to check them out.
I'm also using the bleed-proof marker pad
they previously sent me, which I also used in my last video,
or I use the alcohol markers to show you how to create various skin tones,
which you can check out by clicking the "i" at the top of your screen now.
Let's get drawing and stick around to the end to hear my extra tips.
We're going to jump right in with a simple banner drawing.
I like to start any banner with a quick pencil sketch first.
Start by drawing a curvy line to represent the movement of the banner.
Then we join up the edges and start
outlining each section one panel at a time.
Let's try the same process again with a different style banner.
We start with our sketch, connect the lines, then block out our shapes.
You can also change the style of your
banner by creating straight edges instead of curves.
This is actually a little easier to draw
and looks like a folded piece of paper instead of a ribbon or material banner.
In this example, I've created two front
panels, but you can create as many folds as you like.
You can add different edges or accents
to change the appearance of your banner like the edge
I'm drawing on this example. If you'd like to try these for yourself.
I've included some step by step drawings
on my blog post with some more examples that you can copy.
For now, let's move on to drawing some simple flowers.
There are so many different flowers you
can draw, but they'll also take a while to learn.
So I've got a quick flower hack today that can
help you create hundreds of varieties of flowers with
my very simple design.
The only flower you really need to learn to draw is a simple flower like this.
Start with a circle in the middle,
then try to draw petals with roughly the same lengths on each side.
They don't have to be perfect and they don't have to be any particular size.
In fact, changing the size of your bud
and the size of your petals can be one way to create more variety.
Keep practicing the simple flower until you feel confident drawing it.
And if you're struggling with proportions, try drawing a circle first with pencil
to use as a guide for how long your petals should be.
Once you've got the simple shape,
you can create a huge range of flowers and styles
by decorating the petals and changing
the details. You can change the number of petals,
the petal shape, the buds size and you can add patterns.
Now patterns are obviously something you won't see in nature,
but because we are doodling, we get to break the rules and have some fun.
I love adding patterns to simple shapes
like flowers as a fun way to create interest and make drawings instantly
more interesting.
Sometimes I like to use a smaller marker size for the patterns inside,
especially if I've used a thick marker like I have today for the main flower.
But this isn't essential.
Now I also wanted to include a few more
complex flowers in this video, and they aren't as hard as they look.
So let's start with this succulent.
The key with most flowers like these is
to start from the center and just draw one piece at a time.
The inside pieces will usually look more
rounded or closed, and the shapes don't need to be defined very much.
As you get towards the outer layers, you can focus more on the shapes
and overlap your petals, are they called petals for succulents?
Anyway, the positioning and sizes don't have to be
perfect, but I find it helps to try and add from all sides and focus
on keeping the overall shape as round as you can.
We can apply the same process for drawing other succulents or similar flowers.
Again, start from the center and just keep adding petals.
The drawing steps are the same.
The only difference is the shapes you are using.
This even works very simple rrose, and my rose
here isn't the best rose,
but you get the idea.
You can add as many petals as you like to make it bigger or smaller,
or you can get creative and add patterns like we did for the simple flowers.
In fact, the cover of my 2020 coloring planner included roses like this,
where I added a simple line around each edge.
So here's a quick look at how you can draw a rose like those you saw on that cover.
With all of these drawings we're talking
about today, I've also put together a small printable booklet on my website
with examples, step by step pictures and space for you to try these for yourself.
I've crammed a lot into this little booklet, so I hope you enjoy it.
You can grab yours at the link in the description below.
Now, if you make a mistake, don't panic.
Obviously, you make less mistakes as you practice.
But at the end of this video, I have a little secret to share.
Next up, let's draw some leaves.
Much like flowers, we can use a few simple leaves and create a crazy number
of variations with patterns and shapes, giving us endless designs to use.
I recommend using a smaller pen for these
patterns, especially if your main lines are thick like mine.
We can also change up our shapes and make
things more interesting by introducing tweaks and branches.
Twigs and branches can look great in a drawing.
They can be simple or complex.
They can look realistic or just kind of cute.
So let's try a few.
I always start my twigs with a simple line, then choose the shape of my leaf
and simply start drawing until I reach the top.
Working along a curve generally looks
better than a completely straight twig and try to make your leaves slightly
smaller towards the top compared to the base.
You don't have to just add leaves,
you can also add swirls, circles,
buds or other random shapes to make it twigs look fun.
You can also add more branches if you're
doing this, try to keep your angles sharp, kind of like a V shape and generally
pointing in the same direction, no more than maybe about a 45 degree angle,
so they don't look awkward.
Let me just interrupt for 10 seconds to remind you to press the subscribe button
and leave a comment below telling me what you'd like to learn to draw next.
I'll wait....
OK, so we've got some drawings now
what else do we need?
I want to talk quickly about patterns.
We've already gone over a few basic patterns to fill out flowers and leaves.
But let's look at some more patterns,
because these can help you to fill out the shapes, to create interesting
backgrounds and break up big empty sections in your artwork.
Most patterns are made up from a few very simple shapes.
If you can draw simple lines, squiggles and circles, then you can draw patterns.
Check the blog post of the link below for some of these patterns I've created
and see if you can copy them on your own paper
before we bring everything together.
Let's have a quick look at some other easy
shapes and accents we can add to our drawings.
It's worth practicing simple shapes like hearts, stars, circles,
spirals and dots because these can be great little details to fill empty spaces
in your pages or like everything else, you can take these shapes and fill them
with patterns to create even more drawings and variations.
OK, now that we've learned how to draw
some of these elements, it's time to put them together.
There are a few different approaches you can take here.
The great thing about doodling is that there are no rules.
You can take what you've learned and just
draw them on their own or you can choose any item and just start drawing.
So here are three ways that I like to start.
First, drawing in clusters. As I'm doing here,
this is where you just start with a main
object and just keep adding objects around it.
You can overlap objects behind each other and add as few or as many as you want.
There are no rules here and this can be a very therapeutic
activity if you're just wanting to practice your doodling or just want
to mindlessly draw something to reduce your anxiety.
Mosko!
Time to go cat.
Now, you'll notice I've chosen to use a smaller marker for these drawings
compared to what I've used throughout this video so far.
The thing with doodling is that you can do it with any size marker.
I actually love drawing with a thicker marker, but when I create my coloring
pages, it's not very practical for people to color in.
So I started drawing a lot of my lines
much smaller in my more recent coloring books.
So give some different sizes a go and find one you enjoy.
Smaller markers will allow you to create
more details, but a smaller marker will also show more mistakes.
Second drawing with guides. If you are using your drawings as
decorations, you might want to follow a bit more structure so you can use simple
pencil guides to help arrange them in shapes or lines.
A simple way to do this is to think about the main objects you want to include
and draw some basic shapes in pencil to represent them so you can see how
the overall picture is balanced before you start.
You can also use circles or lines
to create general guides for direction or shapes of your overall piece and then use
this as a boundary for your drawings, like I'm doing now.
He's a fun bonus challenge to improve your skills, grab a photo or drawing
from a professional that looks balanced, then draw some lines and shapes around
the main elements of the image, then copy these lines to your page and try
using them as the guides for your own drawings.
And third, drawing with frames. These drawings can be a great accent
to planner pages or journals, especially around your page titles or borders.
So try creating a frame with pencil first, then start doodling around that frame.
Keep most of your drawings behind
the frame, but try adding a few pieces that come out in front of the frame, too.
When you're done,
draw the rest of the frame with your marker and you're finished.
As you can see, once you learn some simple
shapes, you can combine them to create amazing coloring pages or pieces of art.
Let's finish up with some quick tips.
First, if you don't know where to start, start by adding drawings to coloring pages
or other artwork that already exists instead of a blank canvas.
Second, remember that it doesn't have to be perfect.
Doodling is imperfect.
That is half the charm. And third mistakes.
How do we cover them up?
It's time to spill my big secret! When you are doodling the key to
hiding mistakes is to just keep doodling.
The more art on your page, the less anyone will notice your mistakes.
I could take any project like this ukulele that I did in a previous video and point
out at least 10 pretty embarrassing mistakes if you looked closely.
But nobody notices them because they get
lost in the overall picture when you just keep drawing.
That's the wonderful thing about doodling and drawing.
It doesn't have to be perfect and it's
a great way to create art without worrying about making mistakes.
Sorry if that was not really the answer you were looking for,
but I'm a perfectionist, so if I can let them go, you can to.
# Let it go, let it go #
We've discovered a few examples in this video, so please check out the blog post
for more by step examples and a copy of my ebook with hundreds of reference
images and practice activities you can use to take your drawing further.
All the details are in the description below.
Thank you again to Ohuhu for this fineline drawing pens,
I was actually really impressed with how good things were for the affordable price.
Please subscribe if you enjoyed this video and stick around for another video right
here or pop down to the comments and tell me what you would like to learn to draw
next and if you would like to see more videos like this on my channel.