Is it a good idea?

[ralph]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but here it goes. The wife suggested that i should try to learn to draw. I think it would be a good idea maybe it would help with my abing. Now, if it is a good idea i could use some input. Like what kind of pencils, paper etc. I did some homework and for the hell of it i bought a cheapo drawing kit for $7 bucks. It came with 10 graphite pencils ranging from 2h-8b. I guess i'm asking what the certain pencils are used for. I did see colored pencils to, but i thought i'd wait and see if i can draw first.
If it helps i'd like to draw scenery, forests, beaches woods,etc. I hope i'm not biting off more than i can chew,between learing how to ab and learning how to draw. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated
Thanks Ralph

[lsabourin]

Ralph, what I do when I'm on vacation is to draw what I see on big pads of paper using graphite pencils like the ones you got. I pay attention to areas of shading and highlights as if it was AB. Ise the pencils and "color" in shadows and erasers for highlights. It might help! But don't lose your feel for that trigger!

L

[aixguy]

Originally Posted by ralph

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but here it goes. The wife suggested that i should try to learn to draw. I think it would be a good idea maybe it would help with my abing. Now, if it is a good idea i could use some input. Like what kind of pencils, paper etc. I did some homework and for the hell of it i bought a cheapo drawing kit for $7 bucks. It came with 10 graphite pencils ranging from 2h-8b. I guess i'm asking what the certain pencils are used for. I did see colored pencils to, but i thought i'd wait and see if i can draw first.
If it helps i'd like to draw scenery, forests, beaches woods,etc. I hope i'm not biting off more than i can chew,between learing how to ab and learning how to draw. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated
Thanks Ralph

Well, you think you could get the state of Texas in your mouth? If so then you will be fine
Learning to draw goes hand in hand with painting. You may trace the subjects reference lines but you are really drawing the picture when you apply the paint. So in a way, you are learning to darw as you learn to paint.
Drawing with pencils is just using another medium, you can trace the outline of your reference using any of the many techniuques, then you draw the rest of the picture (shading tones) in the case you speak of using pencil. This is just another medium. You can draw with charcoal, pastel, ink, colored pencil etc.
If you mean "I want to be able to sit down an make what I see in my head on the paper" that is a completely different thing. That is something that takes years of practice and hours and hours and hours of time to get good at.
I can not draw from my head, I can paint and draw with charcoal if I have a reference to go from. I use a projector to enlarge and trace the refernece lines, then going from the refrence apply the medium to create the image.

So would it help to be able to just look at something and draw it HELL YEAH!
Does it take long to lean HELL YEAH!!
There is a very good website with all free lessons from begginer to expert mainly dealing with pencil techniques if you want to give it a try Drawspace.com - Drawing lessons It won't be fast, I have done a few of the lessons, but I don't have a lot of time, so I would rather spend it drawing or painting and just keep utilizing my projector.
Not sure if you have seen any of the charcoal drawing I have done, I start with reference photos and project the image on the paper, trace the darkest areas and then do the drawing with the photo in front of me or on my monitor just like I do with paint. Here are the last couple of pieces I did, as you can see, knowing how to draw from your head is not required to produce nice looking images. This still takes time to lean and you have to keep at it, there is no magic bullet.. only time.

BTW I can not sit down with a blank piece of paper and a refrence and draw out the refrence line with nothing more than my drawing skill. I could maybe make it the same size as it is in the refernce but it would take forever.. so can I draw or not.. it all depends on what you mean by drawing!

[voodoojas]

I cannot draw a lick --- but I think since i have been airbrushing,
I have been learning to draw as well ---

I always use a projector to get the outlines but I have noticed that
i am doing much better drawing in the details .

somehow I am magically learning to draw ( lol )

actually i am drawing with the airbrush and just didnt really know it!!!

just keep practicing a/b ing and drawing and pretty soon your gonna say
wow !! pretty good!!!

Good luck

[smokeway4]

ive been drawing my whole life and recently got into abing but it doesnt matter what u use when u draw. I jus use a regular #2 pencil (the cheao yellow ones) and draw on whatever the pencil will show up on.

[derkdaigler]

well i myself have been drawing my whole life . and basicly self taught . (reading and listening to people) i have always wanted to ab because of the many different surfaces and looks you can get with it . but when i started abing i learned very soon from being on this site . that i cant draw everything with the ab . meaning i couldnt pull off stuff just so easily as with prismas or coal. i am still having a hard time trying to not put so much of what i know about my paper and pencil methods into my painting . because painting is painting and drawing is drawing although some things intertwine . whew abing to me just comes slower i guess than anything else ive done . ill shut it up now lol sorry for the motor mouth