Drawing with Basic Shapes

Silhouette drawn with fine pens on a watercolour background.

Often, at first glance, things will appear to be complicated and most beginning artists will not attempt to make a drawing of what they see.

If you start looking closely you will notice that almost everything is made up of basic shapes, such as circles, dots and lines. 

Drawing becomes much easier if you are able to recognise the shapes in simple as well as complex pictures.

The secret is to build onto the basic shapes in a step by step process.

Why is it easier to draw something when you first draw the shapes?

Because we can all draw basic shapes. See below for examples.

There are many more shapes in geometry as well as nature. Take an old magazine, choose a picture and see how many shapes you can identify. Deconstruct every picture and you will notice how easy it will be to draw that picture. Be aware that the basic shapes might be hidden. Also remember that you might need to change the basic shape slightly to draw the hidden shape, e.g a lopsided oval or triangle.

Be creative and explore basic shapes!