how to draw freeform shapes in terramodel

In fact, if you think that the oval and oblong are just a stretched circle and square respectively, you've actually only three shapes to think about. In fact, you'd probably instinctively simplify even further in your head, remembering 4,6,3,5 & 8 and then just add the hundreds to each one as you quoted them.Īnd that's really all we're going to do here, except we use a pencil and simplify a complex figure to just five basic geometric shapes - the triangle, oval, oblong, circle and square. However, if I rounded them up or down to the nearest 100, you'd find things a lot easier to recall. If I gave you the following list of numbers to look at for five seconds then look away for 30 seconds and then repeat them aloud, you'd probably struggle. The solution can be pretty straightforward and that, as with many things art, is to simplify. Very quickly, the item they’re drawing appears all misshapen and wrong and frustration sets in.įear not. One of the difficulties for anyone learning to draw is that the brain tries to take in all the information and detail it sees in their subject and then in attempting to transfer it to paper all in one go, shapes and proportions become jumbled up and distorted.

However, it’s one of those skills that benefit from periodically re-visiting, as a reminder to those who still struggle and as an aid to those who are just setting out.Įven experienced artists will tell you that regularly doing some little basic doodles like this refreshes their brain and helps them from over-complicating pictures. It’s based upon using a few very simple geometric shapes to construct animals, though the technique can be used for human figures, landscape objects, buildings, vehicles - in fact virtually anything. Many of you may recognise this process if you bought my Watercolour Secrets DVDs in the past, or viewed the lessons more recently on Art Tutor.

How to draw freeform shapes in terramodel