You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less (33 page)

BOOK: You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less
10.49Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
3. Sketch in a foreshortened circle to begin shaping in the curl of the wave.
4. Taper the top of the curl of the wave with a light guide line, again in direction NW. The drawing law of size is applied here to make the larger end of the curl look closer.
5. Draw a guide dot to establish the near point of the curl.
6. Follow the curvature of the curl to create a “flowing” line. Draw from the guide dot, up the foreshortened circle edge, and down the back side; then shoot off in drawing direction SW. Be sure to use your Drawing Direction Reference Cube!
7. Okay, now this is going to get very interesting. We want to create the illusion of water curling over the wave lip. Let’s do this with a guide line in direction NW. Erase your extra guide lines and the Drawing Direction Reference Cube.
8. Start drawing the frothy foam along the NW guide line.
9. Draw the foam all the way back. Notice how I expand the frothy foaming mist toward the back. This is because real “tubing” waves collapse very quickly, peeling across the front (at least all the waves in Southern California did!).
10. Begin “shaping” the wave with flowing contour lines curving down from the top. Curve these more and more as they recede back into the picture.
11. Complete all the curving contour lines for this top lip portion.
12. Let’s define the wave foam by darkening in the nooks and crannies behind the foam.
13. Continue the drawing with more detail in the foot of the wave. Draw more flowing contour lines.
NOTE: At this point I ask myself, do I continue with all the contour lines, do I sharpen up the area, or do I begin a bit of shading? This is part of the joy of drawing, the creative part of illustrating. The following steps, which we have developed over the last few lessons, do not have to be strictly followed:
Lightly sketch, shape, and mold the object.
Refine and define.
Shade and shadow.
Sharpen edges and add focused detail.
Clean up and erase extra lines.
Sometimes, actually most of the time when I’m not teaching but just drawing a personal sketch, I’ll completely ignore this sequence and just work from inspiration and feeling. This is such an exciting point to reach in your drawing skill. This is the transition from being a student, following steps from your instructor, to understanding the process so completely that you confidently and comfortably begin to drift ahead on your own.
14. Draw several guide lines in direction NW. These will help you draw the light reflections shimmering on the face of the wave.

Other books

Under the Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis
The Carpet Makers by Eschbach, Andreas
The Ice Age by Luke Williams
Forget Me Knot by King, Lori