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Question: Drawing good detail help!?
im trying to practice how to draw better but when i see a landscape i get intimidated!. all those leaves, all those rocks on the mountian, all those blades of grass, all those shading diffrences in clouds, and all the diffrent ripples in wate, can somone help me simplify, or am i supposed to exactly draw every little detail, if so can somone give me tips on it!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
You can simplify every medium by working in a limited number of colors, or in your case, with pencil, by looking at your scene and breaking it down into 3 to 5 values!. Here is one artist's example of value study thumbnail sketches!.
http://lh3!.ggpht!.com/_1dc3I3i3w2o/Rhfp58!.!.!.

So when you sit down outdoors with your sketchbook, you look first for the darkest value and lightest value, with the darkest usually being a deep shadow somewhere and the lightest being the sky, usually!. Then you see which is the mid value!. Here is an example of a value study in watercolor or ink:

http://www!.artacademylive!.com/images/Ste!.!.!.

Most artists who work outdoors drop 2 or 3 of the darkest values off the scale to compensate for the bright, outdoor light!. Once you have the basic 3 to 5 values, adding detail becomes a whole lot simpler!. Remember that the most detail will be on your focal point or what you want the viewer to be drawn to most!. One principle of good composition is that your focal point will be where your lightest light and darkest dark are concentrated!. This is because contrast calls attention!. However, if you put too much contrast throughout the drawing it will just look chaotic !. !. !. so learning to arrange your values to make a pleasing design is the key to becoming a successful artist!.


See this simple architectural values study!? http://www!.robertbecker!.com/LansingAirP1!.!.!. Imagine how it would become a detailed drawing by adding some windows and sharpening up the lines!. The beginning (and sometimes veteran) artist is often overwhelmed by the available detail when setting up to draw outdoors !. !. !. which is why it is good to learn to choose a limited scene, narrowing down the detail you have to work with, and selecting a scene with a good, interesting attention-getter in it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Drawings are an interpretation of your mind distinguishing the lines and forming them to make a picture!. Try to not see the lines, blure your eyes and then draw what you see!. This is an abstraction of the view of reality!. When you draw using this method your canvas will still apear as the original!.

Use the charcoal instead of pencil and make things simple!. Your eye really doesn't see every blade of grass or every rock!. only when you pan your head to absorb every image do you see it all!. Think of drawing as a blured vision!. This should help you to draw the landscape!.

And above all have fun!. A transfer of a 3d object to a 2d medium is an illusion, not an actual picture of the subject!. So don't try to treat it as one!. This is why people have a hard time drawing what they see!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

that depends on what do you want the viewer to focus on!. when they see your picture, should they concentrate on the trees, leaves, or is there something else!. sometimes less is more, so you don't have to draw every vein on every leaf in the tree!. trying to hold the pencil, charcoal, crayon, etc!. at different angles can also give you some cool effects and textures that aren't deliberate but add character!.Www@QuestionHome@Com