Editing Drawing (section)

{{Short description|Marking a surface to create images}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'' ({{circa|1485}}) [[Gallerie dell'Accademia|Accademia, Venice]]]]
'''Drawing''' is a [[Visual arts|visual art]] that uses an instrument to mark [[paper]] or another [[two-dimensional]] surface. The instruments used to make a drawing are [[pencil]]s, [[crayon]]s, [[pen]]s with [[ink]]s, [[brush]]es with [[paint]]s, or combinations of these, and in more modern times, [[Stylus (computing)|computer styluses]] with [[graphics tablet]]s or [[gamepad]]s in [[Virtual reality|VR]] drawing software.

A drawing instrument releases a small amount of material onto a surface, leaving a visible mark. The most common support for drawing is [[paper]], although other materials, such as [[Paperboard|cardboard]], [[vellum]], [[wood]], [[plastic]], [[leather]], [[canvas]], and [[Lumber|board]], have been used. Temporary drawings may be made on a [[blackboard]] or [[whiteboard]]. Drawing has been a popular and fundamental means of public expression throughout human history. It is one of the simplest and most efficient means of communicating ideas.<ref name=SBTCModule6>{{cite web|last=www.sbctc.edu (adapted)|title=Module 6: Media for 2-D Art|url=http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Module-6.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809171125/http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Module-6.pdf |archive-date=2012-08-09 |url-status=live|publisher=Saylor.org|access-date=2 April 2012}}</ref> The wide availability of drawing instruments makes drawing one of the most common artistic activities.

In addition to its more artistic forms, drawing is frequently used in commercial [[illustration]], [[Traditional animation|animation]], [[Architectural drawing|architecture]], [[Engineering drawing|engineering]], and [[technical drawing]]. A quick, freehand drawing, usually not intended as a finished work, is sometimes called a [[Sketch (drawing)|sketch]]. An [[artist]] who practices or works in technical drawing may be called a [[drafter]], draftsman, or draughtsman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/draftsman|title=Draftsman Definition & Meaning|work = Dictionary.com|access-date=}}</ref>