Fundamental drawing exercises to study form

June 22, 2024

I’ve been carrying a notebook in my back pocket for the past couple months, just a dollar store book with a nice blackwing pencil tucked in it and a pocket knife on my keychain to sharpen it.


My goal has been to just draw every day, have fun and learn fundamentals. Here are the fun ones first:


Fun drawing exercises

  • Warm up doodles - Just draw whatever to get started. Don’t worry about it!
  • Frankenstein Drawing - Sit near a busy street and draw one body part from everyone going by, all combined into a single freak! This helps you loosen up and observe shapes.
  • Phone Tracing - Take a picture and edit the photo to be super
    high contrast. Use the accessibility settings on your phone to make the
    touch screen lock, blast the brightness and trace outlines and major
    forms into your notebook! Draw it again freehand on another sheet of
    paper and you’ll see how fast you learn.
  • Gesture Drawing - Quickly sketch the essence of a subject,
    capturing its movement and flow. This exercise is great for loosening up
    and improving your ability to depict motion and energy. Use it for
    drawing people, animals, or even abstract shapes.
  • Scribble Drawings - Start with a scribble and then turn it into a
    recognizable object or scene. This exercise boosts creativity and helps
    you see shapes and forms in abstract patterns.
  • Folding Cloth - This one is weirdly fun! Draw all the different
    types of folding cloth. Start by lightly sketching the shape, then
    adding shadows and blending it. If you can use a pencil blender it
    helps! This exercise helps with drawing flowing forms and smooth shading.
  • Flowing Magma - Similar to folding cloth but even more relaxing, just draw waves of volcano blobbing over each other.
  • Cliff Edge - Another fun one, just drawing horizontal lines bending over each other to create a cliffside scene!
  • 2d Shape Practice - Draw basic geometric shapes like circles,
    squares, and triangles. Focus on making them symmetrical and accurate.
    Then combine these shapes to form more complex objects like blobby snakes.
  • 3d Shape Practice
    - This is what I did in math class. Draw circles, squares and triangles and turn them into cylinders, cubes and pyramids. Then turn those simple 3d shapes into houses, ice cream cones and robots.
  • Crosshatching 3D Forms - In real life there are
    lines that follow the form. This site has exercises where you
    crosshatch 3D shapes. Experiment with blending those crosshatched lines to make smooth surfaces but don’t spend 4 hours on the upper lip.
  • Shadowy Skull - Use a sharpie and draw a skull using only
    shadows. Don’t outline the bright areas, leave them blank. This will
    help you learn to leave bright parts of your drawing blank.


    • Fundamental (boring?) drawing exercises

  • Scales - Create a value scale from light to
    dark using a single pencil. Now draw a bunch of different lines that are light dark, thick and thin. This is the most fundamental exercise because controlling a pencil is a lot of what you do as an artist.
  • Timed Drawings - Set a timer and draw as much of a subject as you
    can within that time limit. Start with 10 minutes and gradually reduce the time. This helps you draw faster and finish pieces which is surprisingly important to improving.
  • Thumbnail Sketches - Create small, quick sketches to plan out
    larger compositions. This helps you explore different ideas and layouts
    without committing too much time. It’s a great way to experiment with
    composition, balance, and visual storytelling.
  • Draw an Egg - This is about light and shadow. You’ll notice how
    the light wraps around the edge of the egg and where the shadow gets
    darkest. Details that seem obvious but need to be studied.
  • Light Source Exercises - Draw the same object under different
    lighting conditions. Change the direction, intensity, and number of
    light sources to see how it affects shadows and highlights.
  • Grid Method - Use a grid to break down a reference image into
    smaller, manageable sections. This helps you focus on detail and
    improves accuracy in your drawings.


    • Drawing from the right side of the brain

    The following exercises are from a book that emphasizes drawing without labeling what you see. Instead, focus on observing shapes and ensuring every line is accurate. It’s challenging but highly effective for improving traditional sketching skills.


  • Contour Drawing - Focus on drawing the outlines of objects
    without lifting your pen or pencil. This exercise will help you improve
    your observation skills and hand-eye coordination.
  • Blind Contour Drawing
    - Similar to contour drawing, but without looking at your paper while
    you draw. This forces you to trust your instincts and pay closer
    attention to the details of your subject.
  • Blind Shading - Similar to blind contour drawing, but focus
    on shading without looking at your paper. This exercise helps you
    develop a sense of where shadows fall naturally, enhancing your
    intuitive understanding of light and form.
  • Negative Space Drawing
    - Instead of drawing the object itself, draw the space around it. This
    technique helps you understand the relationship between positive and
    negative spaces and can improve your overall composition skills.
  • Upside-Down Drawing
    - Choose a reference image and draw it upside down. This helps you
    focus on the shapes and lines rather than the overall object, improving
    your observation skills.


    • More challenging drawing exercises

  • Drawing from Life - Spend time drawing real-life subjects instead
    of relying solely on photographs. Drawing from life improves your
    observational skills and helps you capture the essence and immediacy of
    the subject.
  • Perspective Drawing - Practice drawing scenes with vanishing points - one, two and three-point perspective. Start with simple geometric shapes and move to more complex scenes. Place people in these little worlds and add details. It’s actually quite fun.
  • Texture Studies - Draw various textures like wood, metal, fabric, and glass. Focus on capturing the unique characteristics of each texture through shading and line work. This will improve your ability to render realistic surfaces.
  • Proportional Studies - Practice drawing objects and subjects
    with accurate proportions. Use the measurement technique where you hold
    your pencil at arms length to compare parts of the subject and be sure
    they relate correctly to each other.
  • Figure Drawing
    - Practice drawing the human figure, focusing on proportions, anatomy,
    and poses. I enjoy the Loomis method, though it’s a bit stiff! Use
    reference images or live models if possible. I like to find a sneaky
    bench and draw people going by.
  • Foreshortening Practice - Draw subjects in extreme perspective,
    where parts of the subject appear much larger due to being closer to the
    viewer. This helps you understand and depict depth and perspective more
    effectively.
  • Organic Forms - Draw organic, free-form shapes and objects like fruits, vegetables, or stones. Focus on capturing their unique contours and textures.
  • Drawing Hands and Feet - Practice drawing hands and feet from different angles and poses. These parts of the body are often challenging and require careful observation and practice.
  • Reflected Surfaces - Draw objects with reflective surfaces, like metal or glass. Focus on capturing the reflections and how they interact with the object’s form.
  • Portraits - Draw your friends! You’ll find most people actually don’t mind being drawn. If you’re struggling to make them look good, take a picture and use it for reference.


    • Ok hope you have fun with this. I know it’s a lot but with a notebook in your pocket it’s just something fun you can do when you’re bored.

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