In kindergarten, our seascape ended in blue water and a bright sun in the corner of the leaf. But now hardly anyone will praise us for such "primitivism." It's time to learn how to draw waves in pencil in stages. Learn the first steps in drawing realistic nature and look at the marine paintings of great masters to know what to strive for.
What do you need?
Take special drawing paper or cut the size you want from the paper. At first, A4 size paper will be sufficient. In order to learn how to draw waves, it is better not to take office paper for the printer, as it spoils and tears if you drive too much with an eraser and pencil on it. It is not intended for artists, even for beginners.
Pencils will need hardness from H to 2V. You can take softer ones if you want to draw a gloomy, stormy sea. But if you want to convey soft transparent waves in a calm sea, then begin to draw with a soft HB pencil. You will need it when you draw the foam on the waves - it is white and the lightest.
How to draw waves with a pencil? To do this, buy an electric eraser. The most popular of these is Derwent. It costs about 500 rubles, but you can argue with quality and power. When it first falls to the floor, it immediately splits into pieces, the motor is powerful, but not outrageously. Wiring that transfers energy from the battery may disconnect at the most inopportune moment, so it’s better to carefully re-solder them right away when you purchase - this will be more reliable.
Batteries "Energizer" is enough for 2-3 weeks of regular use.
Buy an eraser in pencil in advance or take a hard one and cut it so that it has a sharp tip. So it will be convenient to wash thin lines, adjust the contour and perform other small work. It will be inconvenient to erase with a soft eraser, as it bends. And we will need to work with them, like a pencil.
How to draw big waves
Using a pencil, draw two smooth lines representing the foam. Draw a short line below - the part of the wave that spins into a spiral and is about to fall into the water. Briefly outline the location of the foam that forms when water falls.
Imagine that a wave is a hollow cylinder with walls of water. You look through it. Transmit this feeling on paper by drawing a concave line inside the wave.
Draw the lines of water flow in a waveform. Do not apply them perpendicularly, they have an elegant curved shape.
Draw waves like clouds of clouds at the junction with the sea. Draw inside, horizontally stripes, the flow of water using lines, in the shape of a wave.
Inside the wave is darker, start from this place. If you dazzle light spots with a pencil, it will be difficult to make contrasting shadows for them. Clearly lead the pencil in the direction of the wave, in a semicircle. Erase the contours with a pointed eraser.
It is better to learn how to draw a wave using a clear black and white reference to study the shape, behavior, shadows, highlights and reflections of water. Own observations and experience are the best assistants in how to draw
sea waves.
How to draw small waves on the sea
Artists who live near the sea, lake or river cannot at least once in their life take advantage of the moment to paint a seascape. But difficulties arise in how to convey the surface of the water. After all, it is not always smooth. In some places, waves are swaying, ripples are visible near the far horizon. Birds sit down, leaving behind blurry water circles. How to draw waves in calm water with a pencil?
To get started, follow the waveform. You will find that they can be schematically displayed using the following strokes.
To draw ripples and swaying waves is simple - shade the sheet with a pencil, highlight the places where they will be, using an eraser. Under the bottom, spend smooth, neat shadows. Track glare and reflexes and draw them in the waves that are closest. Those that move away enough to show horizontal dashes. The farther they go to the horizon, the smaller they become.
Draw a reflection of the sun on the water with an eraser. And do not make perfectly even strokes. The waves are smooth, curved. Like snowflakes, each of them is individual. Somewhere she rose vertically, and somewhere she lies calmly.
How to convey the transparency of water
How to draw waves transparent? In waves that are far from the coast, transparency is not visible. But you can draw an object floating in the water: a person, a fish, or a sunken chest, for example. The figures should be darkened and slightly vague. Do not draw clear contours for them and do not draw to details. Then it will be clear that they are in water that is transparent.
Do not draw too dark water. She has such places, but she is not completely like that. This you can observe at the references.
How to convey the color of water in the sea
In the pictures from the photo stocks the sea looks saturated blue, ultramarine with admixtures of green. This is thanks to graphic editors.
Better learn to draw using unedited photos. On them you will see that the water in some places is blue, in others it is green. And from the game of sunlight, it can acquire ocher hues. In gloomy weather, it becomes brownish. In most water bodies, it has a brown tint, but this does not always mean that it is heavily contaminated.
Famous paintings with waves
Aivazovsky, The Ninth Wave. One of the most famous paintings by the master of the sea landscape. Many of us have heard of her. This is one of the artist's 6,000 works.
Katsushika Hokusai "The Great Wave in Kanagawa." Reproductions of this engraving are widely in demand to this day. She adorns the covers of books, used as wallpaper, print for items of clothing and more.
This wave is both so simple and so skillfully drawn that it will be an excellent tool in how to draw waves on the sea.
William Turner, Fort Vimiu. The picture is amazing with its energy. Without drawing anything, the artist painted everything.
Turner is little known in Russia, but its marinas (seascapes) in other countries are very popular.