A fairy tale about the girl Emmy, about secrets of drawing people with pencils and felt-tip pens

Once upon a time, in a sunlit corner of the old city, there lived a curious and creative girl named Emmy. With golden hair that shimmered like threads of silk and eyes as wide and bright as the summer sky, Emmy had a special talent for drawing. She loved capturing the world on paper, but her favourite subject was drawing people. Emmy was determined to master the art of sketching faces and figures, and through her journey, she discovered the magical secrets of drawing people with pencils and felt-tip pens.

Emmy’s adventure began one breezy afternoon when she found an old, leather-bound book tucked away in the dusty shelves of the local library. The book was titled "The Art of People: Pencils, Pens, and Portraits," and it was filled with ancient drawing wisdom. Excited, Emmy borrowed the book and hurried home to start her artistic quest.

First Stage: Drawing the Face

The book taught Emmy that to correctly start drawing a face, she should begin with simple shapes. "All faces start with a circle," the pages whispered as she turned them.

Following the book’s advice, Emmy drew a smooth circle. Inside the circle, she added a light vertical line down the centre and a horizontal line across the middle. These lines were the guides for the eyes, nose, and mouth, the soul of the face.

"Place the eyes just above the horizontal line," the book instructed. Emmy sketched two almond shapes, ensuring they were evenly spaced on either side of the vertical line.

Below this, she drew a small, soft triangle in the centre for the nose and a gentle curve beneath for the mouth. As she added details, the face on her paper began to come alive, each stroke of her pencil revealing more character and emotion.

Second Stage: Sketching the Body

Once satisfied with the face, Emmy read on how to sketch the body. "The body is about eight heads tall," explained the book, guiding her to use the head as a measurement unit.

She drew a neck, then a rectangle for the torso, and added circles for shoulders and joints. Lines connected these shapes, creating arms and legs in proportion. The book emphasized the importance of posture and movement, so Emmy practised drawing her figures in various poses, from standing and sitting to dancing and jumping.

Examples and Secrets

The book provided examples of different people, each with unique features and styles. Emmy experimented with these, using her pencils for fine details like hair and eyes, and her felt-tip pens for bold colours and clothes. She learned the secret of shading and how light and dark could make her drawings pop off the page.

As Emmy practised day by day, her skill grew, and so did her confidence. She started to see people not just as subjects to draw, but as stories to tell. Each person she drew had a story hidden in their eyes or a secret smile waiting to be captured.

Finally, one magical evening, Emmy decided to hold an exhibition of her artwork. She invited everyone from her little town. People were amazed to see themselves through Emmy’s eyes. They saw the laughter in their wrinkles, the strength in their postures, and the gentleness in their gazes.

Emmy’s drawings didn’t just capture likenesses; they captured souls. Her ability to see the beauty in everyone and translate it onto paper was her true gift. And so, the girl who once sought to master the art of drawing people became a master of showing people their own hidden beauty.

And they all lived happily ever after, forever captured in strokes of pencils and sweeps of colour, each portrait a testament to Emmy’s art and heart.