Draw from a Photo
Drawing from a photo isn't difficult - in fact, most artists say that it's even easier than drawing from "real life". That is especially true when you're drawing people and animals, because unlike a still life, they move. This is the basic outline for drawing from photographs, as you increase in skill you may find different tricks to add to your arsenal.
Contents
Steps
Preparation
- Find your photo. Ideally, when you first start drawing from photos, you should have a fairly simple image. Although drawing the wood grain may be tedious and hard for beginners, the rest of the picture is straight forward and quite easy.
- Think about what is in the background. The object might be easy but if you have a room full of other objects in the background, it will take hours longer. Or, decide to ignore those completely.
- Prepare your canvas or paper on which the photo will be transferred to.
Transferring the photo
- Draw a grid on your photo. For the sake of this tutorial we'll be using the computer, but with a ruler this step is a cinch by hand. Make sure the sizes of your boxes are even. This is crucial if you want an end-result you can be proud of! The best size for the boxes is 1" by 1"; very large images may need to use 1.5" by 1.5" (or larger, even).
- Determine the scale between your photo and your canvas. If you drew a 1" by 1" grid on your photo, and the paper is the same size, you can just draw the same grid on your paper. However, if you're drawing a larger picture, you must increase the size of your boxes on the blank sheet so you have an equal amount of grid squares.
- Copy your photo onto the canvas, going square by square. Or, you may consider drawing main angles and lines first, and going square by square second.
Drawing
- As you draw, keep in mind that things in the background are almost always darker than things in the foreground. If your drawing looks two dimensional, try to add some more shading.
- Aim to get the proportions accurate. When you are working on little details, you might not notice you are drawing something completely the wrong size (for example, a head slightly too big for a body), so keep checking the bigger picture to see whether everything looks right.
- Don't get caught up in details. You don't have to include every tiny detail on a big picture. If you are drawing a tree, for example, you don't have to drawing every single leaf. It's the artist's job to choose what is going to look good, so if you thing something looks better left out, try it. Also, you might be forced to miss out some details if you have a time limit on the piece of art.
Tips
- Keep referring back to the photo for small details. Don't attempt anything from memory.
- Don't rush; you'll produce poor work. Take your time and try your best, you don't have to do everything all at once.
Warnings
- It is possible to plagiarize images. When using source photos, it's best to have several and to draw from a new perspective rather than copying one; otherwise you risk breaching copyright.
Things You'll Need
- Photo
- Canvas or paper to draw on
- Pencil, marker, charcoal, or other artistic medium
- Ruler
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