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CHAPTER SIX 
 

Drawing as a form of Two-dimensional Art 
Uchechukwu Ezeemo, Valentine Ani, Chijioke Asogwa 

 
Introduction 

rawing is the art of representing objects in lines. 

Ndubisi (2010) sees drawing as the act of 

producing or creating a visual object using 

pencils, chalk, charcoal and other related materials. 

Drawing can also be seen as the art of using lines to define 

the shapes of an object in chiding man and animals, 

Egonwa (2012). Again, Read (1972p. 51) describes 

drawing as delineation which remains one of the most 

essential elements of visual arts – even in sculpture.  It is a 

way of training the eyes and promoting visual and 

muscular coordination.  

In drawing, one develops the habit of observing 

which can be achieved through regular practice. 

Observation is very important in drawing. It provides an 

avenue for one to glance at an object, look at the object 

very thoroughly and examine its length, shape, size, and 

surface, and observe the shadows, shades and reflection of 

the light in an object.  

In art, drawing is important to all forms of visual art 

activities. Drawing is basic to other forms of art exercise. 

It is a form of making pictures. Drawing is the oldest form 

D 



Drawing as a form of Two-dimensional art  

79 
 

of visual art expression, Horst (1980). It will enable one to 

acquire the skill of seeing, observing and expressing. 

Drawing also needs interest and patience.  

 
Materials used in Drawing 

Drawing materials are those things which are used 
to make a drawing of any kind. Ngumah, Et Al (2013) 
listed drawing material as; 
 
Paper, Drawing book, Pencils, Drawing set,  
Rulers, Drawing pins, Pastels, Ink, Colour  
Brush 
 

Drawing materials also include; soft lead grades of 
pencils 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, and so on, charcoal, pen, ink, 
markers, chalk of various colours crayons, pastels, and a 
drawing board.  
 
Types of Drawing 

Ogumor (2007) explains that drawings have various 
types such as; still-life, nature, figure and imaginative 
drawings. Other forms of drawing are landscape drawing, 
seascape drawing, and cityscape drawing, Ngumah, Et Al 
(2013). The genres of drawing are explained herein: 
 
Still Life Drawing 

This entails the drawing of man-made objects, 
including compositions. Still-life drawing means drawing 
life-less or still-life objects. Examples of still-life objects 



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80 
 

are a ball, chair, table, bottle, stone, wood, shoes, bone, 
book, bell, musical instruments, cup, pot, spoon, and so 
on.  
 
Nature Drawing 

Nature drawing refers to drawing things from 
nature, more especially fascinating arrangements. Among 
such are plants, leaves, flowers fruits, insects, animals, 
birds, the bark of trees and tree trunks. Such is called 
‘nature drawing’ because the drawn objects are sourced 
from the natural environment.  
 
Figure Drawing 

This entails the 
drawing of posed human 
figures.  Figure drawing 
models can be in full 
pose, that is, from head 
to toe or portrait; that is 
from head to shoulder. 
There are three views of 
the human figure, front 
view, profile view (side 
view), and three-quarter 
view (3/4 view). In figure 
drawing, a person who 
poses to be drawn is 
called a model. 

Fig 1: Figure drawing. Emodi, 2020 



Drawing as a form of Two-dimensional art  

81 
 

Imaginative Drawing 
It is a drawing from the memory. Imaginative 

drawing is done, not by looking at composed objects. 
Imaginative drawing can be based on still life, nature, a 
figure, or a composition of any two or all of the above. It 
can be a composition of an event scene. Examples of 
imaginative drawing are; the market scene, recollecting the 
knowledge of a market, the women in the market, items 
for sale in the market, customers buying goods stalls, 
foreground and background of the landscape. The scene 
can be a typical village one or that of a city market. 
Another good example of imaginative drawing is a local 
festival. Local festivals are colourful and gay masquerades, 
masks and different attires depicting the locality. 
 
Land Scape Drawing 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fig 2: Landscape drawing. Emodi, 2020 



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82 
 

Landscape drawing is the drawing of things seen in 
the environment. A landscape drawing is an outdoor 
drawing. It includes drawing trees, land, houses, roads, etc.  
 
Abstraction 

Abstraction is the most challenging genre of 
drawing. There human imagination fully takes control. 
This entails using a lot of symbols and representations. 
Abstraction drawing is completely that of the artist and 
the artist is also the interpreter of whatever is delineated 
by the artist. 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

 
Fig 3: Uche Okeke, Refugee family 1966, linotype 

 
Seascape Drawing: A seascape is a photograph, painting, 
or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words, 
an example of marine art. The word originated as a 



Drawing as a form of Two-dimensional art  

83 
 

formation from the landscape, which was first used in 
images of land in art. Just like in Seascape painting, 
landscape drawing shows mainly the water bodies, 
reflections, and vegetation around it.  
 
City Scape Drawing 

This genre refers to drawings showing a 
metropolitan area, with high-rise buildings, hustling and 
bustling human activities, and vehicular traffic.  
 
New Directions in Drawing 

With the invention of graphic tablets, graphic tabs 
or digitizers, the art of drawing has advanced with many 
styles and techniques being experimented with by 
programmers and artists, respectively. A graphics tablet is 
a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw 
images and graphics, similar to the way a person draws 
images with a pencil and paper (Carrillo, Cejudo, 
Domingues and Rodrigues, 2013 p. 12). While some artists 
prefer to draw directly on screen with these tools, others 
prefer to transform their drawings from paper to digital 
interphase. 
 
Evaluation  
1. Carefully describe the art of drawing  
2. Draw two (2) objects found in the classroom.  
3. Explain two (2) types of drawing  
4. List the materials used in drawing  
5. What is a graphic tablet? 



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References 

Carrillo, A., Cejudo, J, Dominguez, F,  and Rodrigues, E 

(2013). Graphics Tablet technology in Second Year 

Thermal Engineering Teaching. In Journal of 

Technology and Science Education. 3(3). 

www.dx.doi.org/10.3926/jotse.85 

Egonwa, O.D. (2012): Nigerian Art: Introductory Notes. 

Ibadan: Ababa Press Ltd. 

Ndubisi Ogomma A. (2010) A Hand Book on Textile, 

Emyn Nigeria, Hugetez Publisher.  

Ngumah, H. C, Ayoola, O.,  Dalhatu, S., and Samkay, A. 
(2013) Cultural and Creative Arts for Junior 
Secondary Schools. Ibadan: Evans Brothers Nigeria 
Ltd. 

Ogumor, E. (2007). Certificate Art. 4th Edition. Ibadan: 
Evans Press Ltd 

Read, Herbert (1972): The meaning of Art. England: Faber 

and Faber Ltd. 

 

 

 

 

http://www.dx.doi.org/10.3926/jotse.85

