Learn pencil drawing with online free tutorials and tips

Whether you're an art teacher, art student, or just a hobbyist you will find the step by step free online tutorials, tips and techniques will give you the ability to bring those images in your mind into paper reality. Becoming skilled at drawing requires several factors coming together. Some of these factors include desire, instruction, practice, time, and more practice.

Pencil/Graphite drawing is one of the easiest and least expensive ways in which to begin your art lessons. All you will need is a number #2 pencil and some paper. All people, young and old, have the ability to improve their drawing skills. Most people don't believe that! The main secret in improving your ability to draw is the ability to see correctly.

Few tips to start learning and improving pencil drawing skills

• The most important thing is just to draw something, and keep drawing everyday if possible. Even if you only spend 5 minutes or 10 minutes a day on drawing you will begin to see improvements.

• Remember to enjoy the process of learning and don't be too hard on yourself if your drawings don’t turn out to be masterpieces.You can improve your pencil drawing skills by carefully considering your pencil and how it hits the page. Controlling and exploiting the possibilities of the mark is an important step in developing as an artist.
• For most pencil drawing, keep your pencil sharp. 

• Brighten the point by rubbing the side of the pencil on scrap paper between sharpenings. If you need a darker line, use a softer pencil, and be aware that a softer pencil goes blunt quickly.

• Use a Variety of Line: When drawing lines, either in a linear drawing or within a texture in a tonal drawing, note that you can vary the weight of the line by lifting the pencil or pressing harder.

More tips at: Draw sketch at 'about'
If you are really serious about drawing, you can also try and find a teacher who can help you. Ask your teacher which books he or she recommends and you may even be able to borrow some materials from them as well.

How to draw learning activities are fun, but they also help children develop many important skills. These skills, eye-hand coordination, color concepts, picture comprehension, form the foundation for early learning success. Children who color generally acquire and use knowledge more efficiently and effectively.

Online links and resources to learn pencil drawing:

* J. D. Hillberry's site 'Charcoal and Penci Drawings' is a useful resource for
- Site link: Learn How to Draw

 A pencil drawing by Dueys draw

* Home school arts offers some basic but useful lessons

A pencil drawing by Dueys draw

* Basic information to start Pencil Drawing

* Dueys draw is created by artist Brian Duey, offering drawing and art tutorials.

* Learn how to draw with step by step guides show you how to draw at:

Drawing Coach
* A lot of Drawing Techniques, Lessons, Tutorials, Tips, and Resources for Artists and Illustrators.
- Site link: artshow.com
* Free art tutorials - lessons and demonstrations in graphite and coloured pencils by some of the world's leading artists.

- Art Graphica.net

* Drawing lessons at Art is Fun

* Pencil Drawing tips

Collecting hobbies and fascination behind collecting things

Collecting hobbies are very popular among all age people around the world. People enjoy keeping collection of their favourite things like fountain pens, match boxes, coing, currency notes and the list is endless.

Wikipedia says: "The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. These collections of things are often highly organized, carefully cataloged, and attractively displayed. Since collecting depends on the interests of the individual collector, it may deal with almost any subject. The depth and breadth of the collection may also vary. Some collectors choose to focus on a specific subtopic within their area of general interest."

Some people however enjoy collecting items and turn it into a hobby. Many hobbyists collect certain items such as stamps, coins, and Currency collecting and other types of things. One alternative to collecting physical objects is collecting experiences of a particular kind. Examples include collecting through observation or photography (especially popular for transportation, e.g. train spotting, aircraft spotting, metrophiles, bus spotting; see also I-Spy), bird-watching, and systematically visiting continents, countries (and collecting stamps in their passports), states, national parks, counties etc.

The different items that can be collected are endless. Even bizarre materials can be a collector’s item. One Russian countess collected bedpans that had once belonged to rich and famous people. One United States attorney has a collection of over 200,000 railroad nails.

Fascination behind collecting
The Encyclopedia Americana says, “People pursue hobbies for many reason but mainly for fun. Hobbies are relaxing and offer a change from daily routines.”

People take collecting hobbies as enjoyable and a satisfactory part of their life. It may even bring back memories of places or people that mean the most to them. The reason may also be for financial gain. Some collectible items are antiques and are worth a good deal of money. Even if it is not expensive, it may be a hard to find item and someone may pay you to obtain the item. However, you must be careful when you begin collecting items.

Discernment is needed when purchasing collectibles and even when re-selling them. Be careful that your newfound hobby does not occupy too much time, energy, and money. Spending money or obsessing over your collectibles is not healthy. No hobby should become so consuming that you go to extremes to get what you want at a high cost.

List of Ebooks and Guides to Learn About Blogging to Download for Free

You don’t need to buy ebooks to learn about blogs or blogging as there are a lot of blogs which offer free tutorial based post, basic blogging lessons, guides, useful tips, techniques, and tools to help you. Check these free ebooks which are quite enough to learn basics of blogging, make money online techniques, traffic tips etc. This post is about list of free blogging ebooks or guides which you can download for free.

The links at the post would take you to directly download page or if it is a PDF file, you many download it by clicking right mouse button and save as—

Read more at: List of Ebooks and Guides to Learn About Blogging to Download for Free

Importance of Hobbies and Leisure Activities for Kids

Hobbies and leisure activities play an important role in our lives and all age people can get benefits from these recreational activities. Our kids are usually busy with watcing tv, playing video games, or online social networking sites, but if you check their daily routines they don’t have time for hobbies which can stimulate their mind and body in healthy way. Watching tv, playing video games or internet can be good pass times but these activities are not a good alternative of ‘Hobbies’

Some facts about hobbies and leisure activities:

People who have a hobby are generally healthier." This comment is from director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University. Not only in sense of emotional or physical health, hobbies are good for us in many ways.

"When people do things that make them feel good, like a hobby, it activates an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens that controls how we feel about life", said Dr. S. Ausim Azizi, chairman of the department of neurology at Temple University’s School of Medicine in Philadelphia who studies brain activity and cell signaling. "Activities you enjoy also stimulate the brain’s septal zone — its “feel good” area — and that makes you feel happy", said Dr. Azizi.

Read more at:Importance of Hobbies and Leisure Activities for Kids

Benefits of Gardening As a Healthy Hobby for All Age People

Gardening is one of those pastimes which brings happiness and health for all age people. There are a lot of benefits of gardening which show the importance of this hobby. The physical benefits of fresh air and exercise are perhaps the most obvious, but emotional and psychological benefits cannot be ignored.

"Ever wonder why God placed Adam and Eve in a garden?" Upson said. "The reason is that gardening is good for you!".

Steve Upson, horticulturist for the Ardmore-based Noble Foundation says, ‘The older I get, the more aware I become of the importance of physical activity in maintaining my health," Upson said. "Numerous studies show that regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature death, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke, and certain types of cancer."

Gardening contributes to physical health, since activities such as digging, planting, weeding, and harvesting are all part of three types of physical activity: endurance, flexibility, and strength.

Read more at: Benefits of Gardening As a Healthy Hobby for All Age People

Pencil collecting as a hobby and how to start it?

There are many people around who love to collect pencils, you can also start collecting pencils as a hobby.

How you can start?

There are various kind of pencils like wooden pencils, mechanical pencils, art pencils, and plastic pencils.  For starters, collect wooden pencils. The shafts (longer part of pencil) may display sport teams, tourist attractions, banks, colleges, safety slogans, and even Bible verses.

You can also collect old pencils, but it is rather difficult, as people usually throw them away.
This article offers you links and online resources to get more information about pencils and pencil collecting. A good place to interact with pencil collectors is pencil collectors organizations or online communities. Online blogs of collectors are a good place to get inspiration and collector ideas.

Useful links and online resources:

American Pencil Collectors Society a not-for-profit hobby organization devoted toward the exclusive interests of establishing and maintaining communication among pen and pencil collectors and the dissemination of information relative to writing instruments.

* The Philosophy of Pencil Collecting

* Pencil talk is a blog devoted to exploring woodcase pencils and related topics. Of course, it is also more than just that – it is a meditation on the basic tools used by writers, artists, students, and office workers, and how these tools influence us.                    

* 'Debbie's Pencil Collection'

* Beaverton man looking for a home for his collection of 73,980 pencils
* Explore the World of Pencil Collecting

* Pencil Points A blog about collecting brand name woodcase pencils.
* Collecting pencils at Writing Instruments blog

* A community of pencil collectors

Old known pencil in existence
This carpenters pencil is the oldest known pencil in existence. It was found in the roof of a 17th-century German house, and is part of the Faber-Castell private collection.