Need a single-word term for "an artist who produces drawings"

Question

All my life I've been looking for a single word in English to describe someone who draws. It would be the equivalent of "a painter", or "a ceramicist", or "a sculptor".

"Draftsman" has a technical slant to it. "Illustrator" implies that the drawing accompanies text or implies a particular meaning.

A "Drawer" is part of a piece of furniture.

Haven't found anyone on either side of the Atlantic who has a good answer.

Sample sentence:

Hello, everybody! My name is Emily and I am a ______________ (someone who draws pictures, as in produces drawings as an art form).

Answer 1

I believe, the only generic apt term would be drawing artist which isn't a single word. (You can hyphenate as drawing-artist if you really want to use a single word). Many drawing art and job websites use this term. There are more specific terms like pencil artist, portrait drawing artist etc. also.

As already mentioned, the only generic single word is drawer but it is not that useful to use this term for one who draws. Additionally, it depends on what you draw and on your occupation/art etc. so there isn't a generic and useful single word. There are even cartoonists who are technically a drawing artist.

The reason why the term drawer is not common like painter and sculptor might be that painting and sculpting were prominent and established art forms in the history and there were popular and influential artists of this art form; thus there are generic and common single word terms as painter and sculptor for the artists. Drawing was more like a technical occupation throughout the history as in draftsmanship where there are specialties like architectural drafters, mechanical drafters etc. In art, it was rather an artistic practice than an established art form so we could say that a painter is/was a drawer already. Traditional drawings were simple compared to some modern drawing forms where they may look like a work between drawing and painting; and drawing has become a more established art form with more categories, online platforms, digital art softwares and creative works in recent history.

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Beside online platforms, I've found the term drawing artist used in some art books about drawing:

From Drawing by Daniel Marcus Mendelowitz (1967):

To illustrate the extent to which color has served the drawing artist, sixteen of the 314 master drawings in this book have been reproduced in full color.

From Drawing media & techniques by Joseph A. Gatto (1987):

The endless combinations of media and surfaces make it virtually impossible to explore the complete spectrum. Yet non-traditional media are not entirely different from traditional drawing media. Both offer broad artistic challenges, fresh with each drawing you begin. Both should be experienced to enable you to achieve your greatest potential as a drawing artist.

From Contemporary Drawing: Key Concepts and Techniques by Margaret Davidson (2011):

The first concept discussed in the chapters that follow is the drawing artist's deliberate choice of surface. What the surface is determines the nature of the mark. Furthermore, a focus on both the surface and the mark and the relationship between the two is one of hallmarks of contemporary drawing, and one of the most fundamental abstract issues drawing artists deal with.

_{Note: The author uses the term throughout the book and calls herself a drawing artist also.}

Answer 2

Drawer

Oxford dictionary definition 3

A person who produces a drawing or design.

Examples

‘The fact that these three are expert drawers and painters doesn't hurt either.’

‘The drawer's signature will be executed just above it.’

‘Jordy had always been a good drawer, he could draw trees amazingly.’

‘You've spoken about being a drawer, painter, writer too, as well as composer.’

Answer 3

Well I am no expert and late to this question - so if it has been offered and I missed it sorry - but I call one who draws a sketch artists or a sketcher. Works for me as drawer is to easily confused and breaks the stream of consciousness for the reader when used in context of one who draws. This answer may be a little sketchy ;>.

Answer 4

The OP in a comment said

Before stating that "drawer" IS the best possible term, try saying to yourself - as though in an introduction including your hobby - "I am a drawer". Then I think you'll see the problem. For one thing, simply saying that you're an "artist" is an uncomfortably pretentious declaration. Being termed "artist" is what others are to say ABOUT a person. The person doesn't usually say it of himself. And IN WHAT ART they participate? Bernstein, Picasso, Fellini, and Michael Jackson were ALL "artists".

First, it's obvious, according to dictionaries, that drawer IS the right word. I agree it sounds strange to my ears, but that doesn't make it incorrect. For some reason it doesn't seem to be in common usage. So let's start using it, & correct this oversight.

Second, there's nothing pretentious about calling yourself an artist if you are one, any more than calling yourself a musician, an athlete, a writer, or a politician is pretentious. If you feel self-conscious about calling yourself an artist, either gain some self-esteem to be comfortable about who you are & what you do, or change careers/hobbies.

Answer 5

Although many dictionaries define 'drawer' as 'someone who draws pictures', I understand the OP's frustration when trying to use it as in her introduction. The culprit that makes it sound unnatural is in part the fact that such usage is not very idiomatic, and in part the fact that the meaning of 'drawer' is not specific enough to convey the exact meaning she wants to get across.

Since she wants a single-word term for "someone who draws pictures, as in produces drawings as an art form", I'd suggest picture-drawer:

Hello, everybody! My name is Emily and I am a picture-drawer.

By adding picture- with a hyphen, you could make the term a single word that's specific enough to use in introductions.

There are many examples of "a picture drawer" on Google Books with or without the hyphen.

Answer 6

The word is: sketcher

He was a brilliant sketcher and in his journeys made some clever and humorous pencil drawings of scenes which took place on the road.

Hello, everybody! My name is Emily and I am a sketcher.

Answer 7

I propose the conception of a new word. Drawing inspiration from my native language Danish, we have the word 'tegner', having the sole meaning of "one who draws". The word is created from the noun 'tegn', which means 'sign'. Too "at tegne" is a verb and means "To draw". So what my immediate proposal would thus be: 'Signager'. But not really. Contemplating the above information might bring the desired results on your part.

Answer 8

I Draw

Hello, everybody! My name is Emily and I draw.

My thought is a ceramist has to use ceramic as a medium to be called a ceramist. A painter has to use paint to be called a painter. Or rather, they can be defined by the medium they chose to work with. Hence, there is a proper term for them.

A person who draws can draw with anything and on anything and about anything. Simply by saying I draw is empowering. It encompasses everything and anything.

Answer 9

The United States Department of Labor uses the term "Illustrator" as a subtype of Fine Artist:

27-1013.00 - Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

Sample of reported job titles: Artist, Automotive Artist, Blacksmith, Fine Artist, Ice Carver, Illustrator, Muralist, Painter, Portrait Artist, Sculptor

Answer 10

People have used

pencil artist,
pen artist,
pen and pencil artist,

Certainly, pen and pencil artist conveys the ideal of somebody who draws with different media, even if it isn't a complete list of all possible drawing media.

Answer 11

Not sure if it counts as a "single-word", but I'd use

visual artist

in your example sentence.

Answer 12

1) Hello, my name is Emily and I am an artist who draws [x.]

That is how to say this in English.

For example:

He is an artist who draws, paints and sculpts the Native American Indian in a rustic impressionistic style.

enter link description here

2) Hello, my name is Emily and I do drawings of [whatever].

like this:

The obvious crowd pleaser in the show is The Great Travelling Art Exhibition by British artist Ben Long’s DVD of his drawings in the dust on the backs of delivery vans parked in the car park at Covent Garden Markets in London. He does drawings of horses, little girls with puppy dogs, blue finches, Spitfire fighters – all the kinds of things people like to see done in well executed drawings.

do drawings

The word artist in English can be further qualified. There is no good word for a person who only draws (pencil or charcoal) pictures of stuff.

Even languages that have words like dessinateur or dibujante, French and Spanish respectively, require clarification in context. It is not obvious on their face that these words refer to art(istic) drawing.

So, English is not the only language that doesn't have a good noun for the person who does drawings. And I don't think it's worth belaboring this point further.

However, please note this description of who was probably the greatest artist of all times: Michelangelo. Below is a review of a show of his drawings. They say draftsman and designer but also artist collocated with the word drawing.

Here is one art journal (from Boston University) describes the MET show of his works:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s wide-ranging exhibition “Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman & Designer” examines the artistic production and development of the Renaissance master through his drawings. The exhibit is a result of the recent scholarly interest in drawings and their importance within the artistic process. [...] 200 works of art in diverse media: sculpture, paintings, architectural models, and drawings. On view are 133 drawings by Michelangelo, from fifty public and private collections in the United States and Europe, including studies of anatomy, preparatory sketches, as well as highly finished compositions. The exhibition celebrates Michelangelo as a disegnatore, draftsman, and demonstrates his extensive use of disegno, drawing, from his early days in Florence until his death in Rome.

[...]

Through his drawings, the exhibition effectively displays Michelangelo’s versatility as an artist as the works relate to all the artistic fields in which he was active. Beyond that, the exhibit shows him not as a solitary artist, but rather as one operating within a greater artistic network of patrons and artists.

draftsman and designer