Design a Pendant

Series Summary

Drawing and sketching refers to two-dimensional pieces of art made by marking on a surface with a variety of mediums. Drawing tools can include graphite pencils, pen and ink, colored pencils, charcoals and chalk and pastels. It is the most foundational skill an artist possesses. The practice of drawing and sketching as an art form became widely popular in 15th-century Europe when paper became generally available. The famous journal of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci contains hundreds of sketches, brainstorms and observations that inspire draftsmen today. Almost every form of imaginable art involves some level of drawing or sketching. In this free video series on drawing, a cartoonist and illustrator discusses drawing for fashion, cartooning and illustrating books. Find out how to draw different types of clothing on a foundational human figure, and learn the basics of creating clothing for any type of fictional character. Understand how to being a comic book, find out how to create a map for a fictional story and discover the lifestyle of a working artist. Begin a creative life through drawing and sketching using this free artist's guide.

Video Transcript

"O.k., folks in this clip we're going to be designing pendants or essentially really fancy necklaces forged from fantasy stories. Alright so we'll start off with shape. Obviously they can have any number of shapes, circular, diamond, you could draw something like a fancy oval shape, I suppose or a pattern of some kind that really doesn't have a clear distinctive shape but many shapes. Essentially figure out what pattern or shape you would like to have at the outset. The next thing you're going to want to do is add a little bit of detail to it. Obviously a pendant going story is supposed to have a certain degree of mystique and personality to it, I mean if you're going to feature it, a design prominently in your drawing and then obviously there's a reason for it. You never just throw in silly little details for no reason. So really take the time when designing each individual pendant to decide, o.k. so why is it that I am giving it this detail? Does it serve some point or purpose? It better because again you're going to be featuring it prominently withing your drawing. So you don't want it to be just some boring design that makes no sense. It better first of all fit the character, first and foremost. It should fit the look and style of whoever happens to be wearing it since it is essentially a piece of jewelry and most people choose jewelry that fits their personality. Second of all, it should have some sort of a visual expression that ties in to whatever the meaning behind it is. I mean if it's a pendant passed down from family to family then it ought to have some sore of sentimental qualities to the structure and the design. If it's supposed to be some sort of magical amulet that has you know, special powers, then it ought to reflect that with like a, the way it emanates some sort of a magical glow or has a twinkle to it of some kind or some sort of an unspeakable power that you can add to it if it's magical. Or if it's simply supposed to be ornate and is a physical manifestation or extension of royalty, something that you know some king or queen might wear, then make sure it's just you know, fits that design as well. Draw the rubies, diamonds in the center and don't be afraid and get in there and just kind of add your own little personal touch to each pendant. And that essentially is how you draw a pendant."