Basic Forms

Welcome to this tutorial! I personally feel like this is the one foundation skill every artist needs to learn if they want to draw things that have dimension and depth. This is the one skill that I wish I had learned earlier in my artistic journey so I am really excited to share this with you!

If you want to learn how to draw in 3 dimensions then learning to draw the basic forms is the quickest way to improve. In all my years of drawing, I always come back to these shapes and use them daily to simplify down complex subject matter. This makes it much easier to draw from memory because you can construct the object or element from its basic forms. 

In the example image, you can see how I have simplified down the arm into two cylinders, three spheres and a variety of boxes (some triangular and tapered in nature). Now that I have this simplified understanding of the arm, it becomes much easier to draw the arm from memory. 

There are more forms you can add to this collection like a pyramid, but starting with these 3 and getting comfortable with them will help you a ton. I really wish I had started learning these forms from the beginning because it would have saved me years of practicing the wrong way.

Make sure to download the practice sheet and also draw these forms in your sketchbook on a regular basis. Pretty much all my tutorials revolve around this method of drawing so practicing this foundational skill will make everything else easier.

Once you have gotten comfortable with the basic form you can start to practice organic forms. The point of these exercises is to create dimension on the page. We want to create the illusion of something 3D on a 2D surface (your paper/canvas).

Start by drawing a rounded shape and then add contour lines over the top of it to give it dimension. Pay attention to how I am curving the lines towards the edges to give it the sense that it is curving into space.

In the second exercise, we repeat the same steps, except this time we create dissections in the form. Add shading to give the cuts more definition. Pay attention to how this organic form feels like it exists within a 3D environment, it is almost like you can imagine it being an object in your room.

Do these exercises regularly, it’s a great way to learn how to draw in a short period of time. Thank you for letting me be part of your creative journey! :D