Drawing is basically a form of visual art where an artist applies tools to mark an outline or other two dimensional surface with a pencil or pen. Drawing tools include different types of brushes, pen and graphite, different types of paints, liquids, erasers, pencils, markers, chalks, sticks, stamps, vinyl letters, and even metals like brass or aluminum. Some people have to take special classes to learn the art of drawing. Children learn how to draw by observing their parents or other adults who already know how to draw. This is usually the time when the child begins to imitate his or her parent or elders.
Most people think of the process of drawing as merely a way of transferring images from a medium to another medium, but it goes much further than that. Drawing is a practical and necessary skill for an artist to master since it not only makes one more creative but also improves the quality of one’s artistic production. Drawing involves the application of ideas from the imagination by way of abstract pictures or impressions that are made on the most stable of surfaces – papers, wood, cardboard, glass, metal, or clay. Drawing also requires the application of ideas from the senses, that is, sight, touch, and hearing.
Drawing, in the widest sense, is nothing more than the spontaneous act of arranging light, color, shape, line, and other external factors so that an idea, a picture, or a drawing emerges. In everyday life, most of us take for granted the ways by which we arrange things to make a living and these ways are passed on from generation to generation. While it is impossible to duplicate all of the hundreds of thousands of natural ways of arranging things on our own, a glimpse into a few simple do-it-yourself tips can assist in the creation of some wonderful work of art. When beginning a fine art or drawing practice, start simple by sketching your first thoughts or impressions in watercolors, pencils or other mediums of choice. While this may be the easiest way for you to get started, it does not mean that you should stop just there; continue on creating until you have achieved the look you want.