Styles

Primary style...............................Hybrid style.........................................Absolute style

Match stick men........................Adult comics.........................Portrait/photography like

As I said before, you can reach the Absolute Style if your pencil strokes are steady. Forget what you think about the Absolute Style being too difficult, because to be honest, it is not all that difficult. It only requires patience and technique. I can share technique tips with you but patience and discipline are up to you.

Firstly, it would be a good idea to know what you want to do with your pencils. I hesitate in making any suggestion since I don't really know you . . . Ok I'll make a few suggestions just to give you a gentle push. Now is the time to be realistic and leave your imagination for your drawings. How's your control of the pencil? poor, so-so, great. Well if it's great stop reading and move to the next page.

Pencil strokes are not the same as drawing. Pencil strokes are about making all sorts of steady lines. Straight lines, curbed lines. Drawing is putting all those together to form an image. It's the end result. So if your pencil strokes are still hesitant and shaky, keep practicing the exercises.

I know how it feels to look at other artists work and die with envy at their talent and tell yourself that you will never be that good. It is possible that you are right but it is also very likely that you are wrong because you are looking at a style which is not your own and therefore, your mind compares what you can do (now) and what took years to learn and perfect for that artist. In other words, you are comparing a student with a master. My advice: stop it. You can compare styles when you have one (or at least know more about styles).

Now let's explore more deeply those styles which, I will remind you, come directly from my own observations and perceptions. It is possible that someone, somewhere, may have come to similar conclusions. Let's start with the simplest style.

Primary style:

Also called Primitive style (by me). This is where the stairway of drawing techniques starts. Match stick men are probably the best exemple at hand. One circle and five straight lines will make a head, four limbs and a torso. Can't think of a more primitive way of drawing. In this style, the pencil strokes are at their simplest expression and the control of the pencil is at his most forgiving. This however does not mean that the style cannot be expressive. It is likely that you have read some comic magazines/books at some point in your life. With all due respect to the late Charles Shultz, Charlie Brown© is closer to the Primary style then the Hybrid style yet capable of great visual expressions. Simplicity does work sometimes.

Hybrid style:

You could call also call it Intermediary style. This style is the natural evolution of the Primary style. More demanding, more precise and therefore more attractive and pleasing to the eye. Adult comic magazines produced by Marvel Comics© or DC Comics© for example, are closer to the Hybrid style then the Absolute style. Although some are closer than others to the Absolute style. Details in the realism are what determine the level of the style. A word about Anime . Many have seen those big eyed characters, extremely popular in Japan. Anime in its current form, has reach a dead end in the Hybrid style, in my opinion. This particular style cannot evolve within the current strict parameters which define it. The eyes have to be disproportionate, the nose and lips must be done in a certain way, etc...
These strict parameters are accepted by most artists. But some have decided to reduce the size of the eyes, modify the lips and nose and basically change the visual impact of the Anime style. In doing so, they are attempting to break out of the mold. The Anime style in itself is quite acceptable and legitimate. It is possible to draw Anime in a somewhat realistic way using Toning and Blending. However it is rarely done. Many tend to go for that particular style because the faces are more forgiving and much easier to do than real faces. Anime does provide excellent drawing tips on hair, clothes and props though.

Absolute style:

Like the other styles, there are various levels within this one. I would put realistic portraits (faces, objects, animals, etc...) at the top of that style. The closer to a photography, the better control of the pencil is required and therefore, the smaller the number of artists who can claim to belong to that style. We all have seen Bird Watchers guides or anatomical books. Those are done in Absolute style. Artists of that level have their own technique. It is a work of passion/interest/skills. You might want to practice a lot before going for that type of mastery. But as I said, it is not impossible. Know however that this style is the most unforgiving and the most demanding regarding skills. Realism is the best word to define this particular style.

As I said, it would be a good idea to figure out just where you wish to go exactly, with your drawing. In theory, all the styles are accessible. You just have to start at the proper level and work your way up. Try not to bite off more than you can chew at first. Now let's talk about the second type of exercises.

Exercises of style:

Templates with sinous shapes require a different type of pencil strokes. Since the forms are bigger, it will be necessary for you to chose a starting point and move along the line with shorter but more precise strokes. Try to draw the shape instead of simply follow the line. In this case, a pencil stroke is usually just a couple of inches or centimeters long. Once you reach the end of the stroke, move on to the next portion of the form, don't repeat the stroke even if it was not well done. The usual approach is from left to right, upward for right handed and right to left, upward for left handed. Do the whole form, twice and move to another. Use the same speed, touch and focus as for the circle/ellipse templates. Already, this will feel more like drawing.

I assume that like most people, you are aiming for the Absolute Style. Portraits require control, patience and technique. Before you even think of jumping in, I would suggest adding these exercises. Buy yourself children coloring books with subjects that interest you more closely. Flowers, clowns, animals, whatever you like. The idea is to add more realistic shapes. The principle remains the same except that in those exercises, you will have to make your pencil strokes shorter and real. That means you will have to draw and not simply follow the lines in one continuous stroke. Choose a starting point (usually from the center, outward, when proportions must be exact). Use your regular drawing speed and mechanical pencil. It will help you switch from curbed lines to straight lines within the same drawing without the hesitation which is always present when you draw on a white sheet of paper. There is a huge difference between a flower and a face in regards to parameters. Flowers are very forgiving, faces are not. Both can be rendered in the Absolute style yet they are not ruled by the same parameters within that style. This type of exercise is not used to teach you how to draw but how to control your pencil. Do remember that please.

To the risk of repeating myself: do not add Shades & Highlights. This technique requires a different control of the pencil and you should not mix the two together while you are still trying to develop a better control of the pencil. It doesn't mean you can't do any. Just don't do them at the same time as your exercises. Give yourself at least an hour break before you try those, if you have too. As you will see on the next page, Shades & Highlights are a different technique completely.