Drawing Using Shapes

For my independent reading project I chose to do drawing and I will be using the book "Drawing for the absolute beginner" by Mark and Mary Willenbrink to help me improve my abilities. I chose to do drawing for my project because it's a hobby of mine that I really enjoy doing, but can also be very frustrating and difficult to me. I take up a lot of time when drawing something and I'm never usually satisfied with the results, mainly because I don't use techniques all that much. I've taken an art class in the past and have learned to use certain elements to help me draw, however I still just draw using only lines in the majority of my drawings so I've picked up this book to help me practice and improve my use of these techniques.

First off, the book explains that drawing "...is a matter of learning basic principles, applying them consistently and training the eye to observe the subject. Observing involves noticing the basic shapes, proportions, and values of objects rather than thinking of them as 'buildings,' 'trees' or 'people'"(Willenbrink 26). Using shapes is probably one of the most basic techniques in drawing and according to the Willenbrinks, thinking of things more as basic shapes can be very helpful. The book also instructs to "Start with the basic shapes and use them to work out proportions..." (Willenbrink 27), which further explains how shapes can help in the proportions of your drawing.

For this exercise, I've chosen to draw a deer:

Reference Picture

Basic shapes of the deer

Here I drew the basic shapes that I saw in the deer while I was looking at the reference picture.

Deer with shapes

Here is my drawing of the deer with the shapes still in the picture.

Deer without shapes

Here is the final product without the lines from the shapes. 

And so this concludes my post. Overall, my experience with drawing shapes was a bit of a roller coaster, sometimes it helped and other times it was in the way, but that was mostly because I'm not used to drawing with shapes. A few nitpicks I have with the final product is that I could've made the legs a little bigger, make the hooves look a little more like hooves, and make the head a little bigger. Hopefully as I continue to practice with this book I'll get more used to these techniques. 

What are your thoughts on drawing using shapes? Do you think it helps/would help you draw better?

Willenbrink, Mark, and Mary Willenbrink. Drawing for the Absolute Beginner: A

     Clear & Easy Guid to Successful Drawing. Cincinnati, Ohio, North Light

     Books, 2006.