Happy New Year! Drawing Confetti and Ribbons

Happy New Year, everyone!

I thought it’d be fun to kick off the new year by studying something that we all see tons of on New Year’s Eve - confetti and ribbons! Drawing confetti may seem difficult and overwhelming, since usually a) there’s always tons of it, and b) it seems to go everywhere… but all you need is some patience and an understanding of a few basic principles to help guide you along the way. Just take one step at a time!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Drawing Confetti

Let’s start with the smallest bits, since it’s easier! I personally like to draw the tiny random square kind in my illustrations, but you can choose whatever shapes you like. Begin by drawing several pieces in various simple positions, so you can get used to drawing them. Don’t stress too much about getting the perspective or angles right - this is practice, anything goes!

If you want to get fancy, you can use a more complex shape for your confetti. However, choosing something like stars or flowers is going to be considerably more work, and imperfections in angles/perspective is going to be more obvious! For this lesson, I’ll just stick with simple square shapes.

Next, you want to think about randomness, since confetti falls in random patterns. This is also where we start thinking about more advanced factors, such as direction, or depth/perspective. Tackle one at a time and get used to the idea before adding something else. You can even try folding them in half or curling them. (Having a simple shape to work with will make this step much easier.)

Practice, practice, practice - one piece of confetti takes less than a few seconds to draw, so you don’t have an excuse! Combine the various types of confetti you drew in your exercises. Because confetti falls randomly, you want to avoid spacing them out evenly - try to draw them in random positions instead to achieve a more natural look.  In the diagram below, I’ve set a source from which the confetti is originating. You don’t necessarily need one this specific - confetti can be randomly blowing from a general direction, for example, or simply falling from all across the top.

When you feel comfortable with how your confetti is coming out, the next step is to think about where to apply it in your drawing. Where is it going to be coming from? Is it going to be falling gently, or will it be pushed around by wind or some other force? It’s good to plan out some basic details before going into your drawing.

Here is an older illustration that I drew as a gift to a friend. In this composition, the confetti bits are bursting out of a popper, so that’s the direction I want to think about when drawing the confetti.

Once you have a drawing ready, add your confetti! It will take some time, but people will marvel at your attention to detail. The other great thing about drawing confetti is that you don’t have to make each one perfect - even if you feel like you made a mistake, it won’t matter, because chances are that nobody’s going to see it except for you!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Drawing Ribbons

Ribbons may seem daunting, but when you strip away all the complexities, it’s essentially a string. This is how we will begin our study of drawing ribbons. For the practice section, you’ll need several drawing tools of different colors - I’d recommend Col-Erase pencils (if you have them), or color pencils or gel pens will do. This is just practice, so it’s okay to mess up!

First, draw several random lines. They can be straight, wavy, curly, or even bent and angular. In fact, why don’t you draw all of the above?

Now, take a different color pencil, and draw an exact copy of the lines, but space them out so that they are parallel but apart, like so.

The next step requires you to imagine what each ribbon would look like, once you connect the sets of lines you drew together. Take a different colored pencil, and now draw in lines where there would be creases, or when the plane/perspective changes as the ribbons bend and curl.

Not too bad, right? Now, you can challenge yourself by drawing more complicated curls.

Let’s revisit my previous illustration - there are several types of ribbon in this image. You have the curly ribbons that are bursting out of the popper, and larger ribbons that are hanging in drapes at the top. How you draw and drape your ribbons will probably depend on the situation - keep things like gravity and perspective in mind, too - you don’t want ribbons that are supposed to be hanging down from something to look like they’re floating away, for example.

It’s time to put everything you learned to the test! Your final challenge is to draw a huge cluster of ribbons and confetti, since that’s usually how they show up in real life, whether they’re piled on top of a present, or bursting out of a popper. I’ve drawn another popper below, for this lesson - each ribbon is also colored so you can follow the path of each one.

Start out by taking a minute to think about how you want the composition to look. Take gravity into account: are the ribbons hanging, or sitting on top of something? Are they moving rapidly in one direction?

Once you’ve decided on the above, draw some guidelines for yourself - simple lines to show the general positions of the ribbons is fine.

Draw one ribbon at a time, and finish each ribbon individually before you move on to the next. Also keep in mind that things that are farther away will look smaller than things that are closer to you (aka perspective, or foreshortening.) A ribbon that’s hanging farther away shouldn’t be the same size as a ribbon that’s hanging closer.  You can see the ribbons increasing in size in my popper sample, since they are flying towards the viewer.

That pretty much sums up this lesson! Remember: everything, even things that can look very complex, can be broken down to individual parts. A bunch of ribbons may look daunting and way too advanced for you at first, but if you deconstruct it, it’s actually just many pieces that have been drawn tightly together. You can produce the same, with patience.

Please feel free to share your confetti/ribbon exercises in your replies, if you decide to make any!

Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Buying Generic Cialis accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Phentermine Capsule “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Order Carisoprodol Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Ephedra Hoodia Fusion symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Cialis Prescription prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Generic Levitra accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Hoodia Star “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Buy Viagra In London England Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Doxycycline Hyc symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Sinemet Prozac Namenda Aricept Medicines prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Hoodia Balance accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Akathisia Zoloft “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Viagra Mexico Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Buy Phentermine Online symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Phentermine Without Prescription prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Natural Herbs Used As Viagra accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Nosebleed On Cipro “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Buy Cipro Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Prozac Suicide Class Action Lawsuit symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Hoodia Patch prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Buy Phentermine Without A Prescription accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Instructions For Viagra Use “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Get Off Prozac Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Atlanta Accutane Lawsuits symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Buy Viagra On Line prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Zoloft Dialating Pupils accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Female Viagra “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Nexium Generic Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Viagra Uterine Thickness symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Hoodia Diet Patch prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. No Prescription Phentermine accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Zoloft Drug Interactions “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Viagra And Alternatives Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Cytotec Vs Pitocin symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Low Cost Cialis prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Buy Phentermine Cod accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Accutane Diary “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Clomid Sucess Stories Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Hoodia Gum symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Viagra Or Cialis prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Nexium 40 Mg accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Drug Interaction Prozac Sulfamethoxazol Trimethoprim “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Cialis To Buy New Zealand Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Phentermine Without Perscription symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Retin A Hair Loss Treatments prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Cialis Vs Viagra accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Womans Viagra “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Phentermine Order Cheap Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Phentermine Pregnancy symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Phentermine Line prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Atlanta Accutane Attorneys accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Discount Phentermine Online “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Lamictal And Prozac Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Phentermine Studies symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Pure Hoodia prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Phentermine Weight Loss accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Phentermine For Sale “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Order Viagra Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Acomplia symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Phentermine Price prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Generic For Lipitor accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Phentermine Diet “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Rx Cialis Low Price Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Viagra Australia symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Hoodia Gordonii Dangers prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Geberic Nexium accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Buy Pure Hoodia “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Prednisone And Dialysis Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Hoodia Buy Cheap 34546 symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Desert Burn Hoodia prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Strongest Phentermine accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Watermelon Viagra Affect “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? 37.5mg Phentermine Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Danger Of Phentermine symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Who Should Not Take Nexium prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Generic Zoloft accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Where Can I Purchase Phentermine “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Buy Clomid Online Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Clomid And Twins symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Viagra England prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Buying Viagra Online accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Viagra Pills “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Viagra Spray Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Viagra Talking Photo Cube symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Pregnancy On Prozac prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Online Viagra accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Cheap Phentermine No Prescription “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Price Of Viagra Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Generic Cialis Cheap symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Buy Phentermine On Line prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Phentermine No Script accutane timeline
symptoms of zoloft working Color Of Phentermine Caps “lipitor drug cost”
prednisone stopped taking side effects? Female Viagra Cream Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978.
accutane timeline Online Cialis symptoms of zoloft working
“lipitor drug cost” Buy Cialis Soft Online prednisone stopped taking side effects?
Difference between lexapro and celexa discount nexium 978. Phentermine Dangerous accutane timeline