Drawing

How it is used

A basic word in art schools: students take drawing classes, practise drawing from observation and keep sketchbooks. In museums, drawings are often shown in low light because paper fades. A quick, rough drawing is a sketch.

Example sentences

1. The drawings in this room are shown in dim light to protect the paper.

2. Drawing from observation is the first thing you learn in your foundation year.

Common collocations

• pencil drawing
• charcoal drawing
• preparatory drawing
• drawing class
• drawing from observation

Related terms

• sketchA quick, rough drawing or painting that records an idea or a scene, often made to plan a larger, finished work.
• charcoalA black drawing material made from burnt wood and used in sticks or pencils; it makes soft, dark lines that are easy to smudge and rub out.
• life drawingDrawing the human figure from a live model, often nude, who poses in a studio; also a class where this is practised.
• paintingA picture made by putting paint on a surface such as canvas, wood or a wall; also the art or activity of making such pictures.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• drawing · Civil Engineering & Construction

More terms: Painting & Drawing

• portrait
• landscape
• still life
• brushstroke
• self-portrait
• fresco
• miniature
• triptych