15 Beginner Drawing Tips on Learning How To Draw People the Classical Way

Ramona by Tony Ryder, 1995, graphite, 24 x 18. Private collection.

My father has been in the construction industry for nearly 40 years. When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was visit him on the job site before a building was finished and walk around, checking out what it took to put a building together. I was fascinated with all the things that needed to be done before a project was complete. It was during those trips that I learned the importance of building a strong foundation, a lesson that I’ve applied to multiple aspects of my life—none of which require me to wear a hard-hat. Art is no exception. When painting, whether in pastel, oil, watercolor, or acrylic, artists are almost always better served when they are building on a foundation of drawing skills. It’s a concept that is touched upon time and time again during our conversations with artists; learning how to draw is a building block to creating more successful artwork.

That’s why our new free eBook is such a useful resource. Drawing Basics: 15 Beginner Drawing Tips on Learning How To Draw People the Classical Way provides readers with the information they need to make better figure drawings and help build that foundation for creating superior art, regardless of medium, In the eBook we present artist Tony Ryder’s three-step approach toward figure drawing: Envelope, Gesture, and Block-In; Contour; and Inside Drawing. The goal of this method is to tame the barrage of visual information presented by the human figure. There are countless traps a person can fall into when drawing people, and these tips will help you stay on course.

So download it now, and get the drawing lessons you need to help build your foundation for better figure drawing and better all-around artwork.