Project - Get Your Tools and Start Playing

17K
Course In Progress

Project - Get Your Tools and Start Playing

17K
Course In Progress

Your assignment is to get your tools. Once you have your stuff, start doodling. Make random marks on the page. If that gets boring, find something nearby and draw that. Or doodle things from your imagination. Just start drawing. Obviously, you have very little information right now to make these drawings look good, but we’ll get there. Right now a big wall that we need to start climbing over is the awkward feeling of not having control of the pencil. The way to get over that is mileage. Draw a lot!

Use the tip to draw thin lines. Can you control how light and dark the line is? Does the pencil feel different when it's freshly sharpened vs after you’ve used it for a few minutes? Use the side to draw thick lines and shade large areas. Can you make a gradation from dark to light? Is the texture of the paper showing too much? Or do you kinda like that? Try your eraser. Shade an area and erase it. Make a darker area and try erasing that. What’s the limit of your eraser? Start to play and get a feel for your tools.

If you make anything you'd like to share with your classmates, post it below. Or if you have questions about your tools, ask the community here. There are too many of you for me to help individually, so please help each other when you can :)

Newest
Nate Ferguson
I've been dabbling through several different Proko courses and sketching when I can, but not really posting anything or engaging with others. I've decided to work this course from the beginning and post my work from each assignment and the speak more with the Proko community as a whole. I'm very excited about taking this course from the top and I'm all set up with the tools of the trade, so let the fun and games begin!
Melanie Scearce
Excited to see your work!
Ken STACKS
Decided to give myself a refresher after going on a hiatus of not drawing for like 2 years (I was still a beginner then), Did not have much since it was at night but I did have a pencil and a blank book lying around so I thought why not follow the tutorial with that, cause I do hope to develop the skills to draw anywhere with ANYTHING in stock, so yeah!
Nate Ferguson
Awesome! I'm glad your back drawing Ken.
Jeff Z
10d
Haven't really doodled in a decade. Got a set of 2mm mechanical pencils. Sharpened them and then practiced shading using an overhand grip. Drew lines with both tripod and overhand grip.
Nate Ferguson
I've never really sketched with mechanical pencils. I'll have to give them a go as well.
Neo Diamond
Just doodled for a while using my different pencils. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it's hard to start something and have it look terrible. First instinct is to give up but I have to push through and keep drawing terrible stuff until it's not terrible lol.
Ken STACKS
The zombie looking face is funny
Leen AW
1mo
I experimented with some of the materials I have, mainly HB and B2 pencils. It's been a long time since I last drew, so I decided to sketch something from my imagination.
@piba
1mo
Since I already draw a little I didnt need to hunt for materials, but I took the chance to sketch on some craft paper to change things a bit. But i woud like to try some collored graffiti eventually. I know my strugles drawing and I think this sketch highlights some 1- Space dimension (ran out of page) 2 - graduation/ transition (to harsh transition of tones or none) If you notice something worth comenting or a advice, its more than welcomed :)
Melanie Scearce
Just wanted to say good luck with the course, looking forward to seeing your progress :)
@b1egun
1mo
I don’t know why, but I love the traditional approach. Every time I spend time working digitally, I get this uneasy feeling that it’s not real. It’s funny and a bit strange, but the physical surface just makes me happy 😊 + Some of my doodles
Martha Muniz
Hey, that's a totally valid feeling! Different materials work for different people, with a lot of people especially resonating with physical and traditional media over digital for the exact reason you mentioned. In that case, I definitely recommend you experiment and have fun with all sorts of different tools, from pencil to crayon to watercolor and charcoal. Trying out the variety of physical media is a great tactile experience that really makes the learning process fun, and lots of people end up finding that they gravitate towards the personality of one or two tools in particular. That, alongside practicing the fundamentals found in the course, can really strengthen you as an artist. You've got some great sketches already, keep up the good practice! :)
Joe Burris
2mo
I cant draw much of anything so I did the one thing I kinda know: cubes. I wanted to see the range from my pencil kit and also see how erasing looked on each. How'd I do?
@piba
1mo
Im sure we will get better if we keep drawing Also you did the hard part thats starting so I would say you did great ദ്ദി(。•̀ ,<)
Chirantan Talukdar
What's the verdict, chat?
Cain Walker
pretty solid start mate, I like the dude in the sunglasses.
Valdez Brown
I got the Drawing Basics course, along with a new gaming pc, and I have an XP-pen 2nd generation drawing tablet on the way, currently drawing with the Wacom Intuous pro tablet. I just started drawing some different stuff, trying to get a feel for drawing on a tablet. I have the following software: Coreldraw 2024, Clip Studio Paint, Davinci Resolve, Wondershare Filmora, and Blender. I am currently on trial period with the following: TVPaint, Moho, and Cartoon Animator 5. I am excited about this journey.
Chirantan Talukdar
Do you want to be an animator?
Tommy Pinedo
Nice! those are great gifts, look forward to what you create with what you learned with this course! :D
Oliver Wan
3mo
Got this course for christmas. Excited to go through it and get better. Just made some random marks and doodles.
Joe Burris
2mo
That's a real nice hand man.
Chirantan Talukdar
How are you so good already? Are those anime eyes?
Tommy Pinedo
Can't wait to see your projects for this course! :D
Lara Castro
Joe Burris
2mo
Really clean lines. Looks fantastic.
Tanya Valkanova
I have a lot of tools but for now it's pencils 2H to 8B. I've been hobby artists since ever, but I'm looking to expand my art knowledge and potentially pursuing a career in art 😊
Shynnel Cumming
I haven’t purchased all the tools yet; however, I did start using some of the tools I already have at home.
Gurshan
4mo
I would introduce myself as an learner! I am in college and trying to get better at drawing almost everyday! I wanted this course so bad,finally got it! Here ⬇️ is my brain dump consisting of drawing from imagination,reference,surroundings,shades etc! I am excited to move forward in this course! Anyone who is reading this right now,I wish you best of luck and appreciate you for striving to improve:)
@hwjones91
4mo
@fomorian
5mo
My doodles after the lesson. Gonna go shopping for materials tomorrow but I was too eager to wait until then.
@siyunkim
5mo
@fomorian
5mo
Little guy on image 2 is great. Keep him around
Barry Arnould
This is me putting pencil to paper! It actually took me back to my childhood where I loved to draw and Stan is totally right, drawing is a form of meditation. I’ve not been so lost in something for many years.
Rachel Dawn Owens
The meditative aspects of drawing is why I enjoy it so much. The more you practice getting into that sort of headspace while drawing, the more you will learn and the better your drawings will come out.
David Hilton
life got in the way so I’m starting over (wasn’t that far into the course) …replaced my sketchbook with a more manageable size (Master’s Touch Spiral Sketch Book 8.5x11) went with a 80lbs(130gsm) but plan on going back to a higher pound after this book is full.
Barry Arnould
Brilliant use of shading, I’m excited to learn more about shading so your picture is an inspiration.
Melanie Scearce
Looks cool! Good luck with the course :)
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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