Learn
How To Draw - Top 20 Drawing Tips For Beginners
Learning any new form of art is always a challenge, and as a
beginner, I am certain you have many questions about drawing. We
all need a helping hand when just starting out, so I put
together this list of handy tips to help you on your way to
becoming a better artist.. I hope you enjoy!
1 - If at all possible, always draw from life and not
photographs.
2 - When drawing, less is sometimes better. Do not attempt to
draw every line and detail that you see or you will give your
viewer too much information to absorb.
3 - Do not try and get all of the information in your drawing
completed at one sitting. Drawing is a process. Layout the
general idea of your drawing and then slowly add in your details.
4 - Do not be overly judgmental about your drawing before it is
completed. This may cause you to become discouraged and give up.
5 - Do not take on subjects that are too complicated at first.
This will certainly cause you to become discouraged if the
drawing isn't as good as you expected it to be. Start with
simple subjects that you know you can complete and then progress
to more complicated ones.
6 - Forget everything you already know about a particular
subject before you start drawing it. Draw what you see in front
of you and not what you know already about that subject.
7 - Make sure you have excellent lighting. Nothing is more
frustrating to an artist than poor lighting. If you can't see
you can't draw. If you do not have a well lit room with natural
sunlight to work in, then check your local art supply store or
search online for full spectrum lighting products that mimic
natural sunlight.
8 - Get yourself a pad of newsprint paper. Its very cheap and
great for practice and doing preliminary sketches.
9 - Keep your pencils sharp. There are drawing techniques that
require a blunt pencil point , but for the most part, you should
keep your pencil points sharpened.
10 - Vary the weight of your lines. You should keep a conscious
effort to use a variety of different lines in your drawing by
pressing harder or by lifting your pencil. This may seem like an
obvious thing, but when an artist becomes deeply focused in a
drawing, they can sometimes forget to use this simple technique.
11- Keep a sketchbook with you wherever you go. Whenever you
have a free moment, practice your drawing. It doesn't matter if
the subject is a light post, an insect or a garbage pail. The
more often you draw, the more observant you will become.
12 - Do not over use smudging and blending techniques to achieve
values in your drawings.
13 - Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat portfolio
of everything you draw. This is an excellent way to see your
progress over time.
14 - Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure you are
constantly focusing on the subject and only glancing at your
drawing. By doing so, you won't constantly judge your drawing,
or think something is wrong or out of place. Focus on the
subject and draw what you see.
15 - How to hold your drawing instrument - Hold your pencil in a
way that is most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just
as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. Others
hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and index
finger, with the rest of the pencil resting under the palm of
your hand. Whichever method you use for holding your pencil,
make certain that you do not hold the pencil too tightly.
16 - Practice the contour drawing technique - This very basic
technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without
any shading to indicate form.
17 - Practice the hatching technique - This drawing technique
uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the
same direction, which gives the appearance of value.
18 - Practice tonal or value drawing - In this approach to
drawing we are indicating the various changes of light and shade
in our picture without the use of strong edges and lines.
19 - Practice the blind contour drawing technique - Similar to
contour drawing, only you do not look at the paper. The point of
this exercise is to force you to better observe what it is you
are drawing. You should have no concern over the outcome of your
drawing so it is important not to peek.
20 - Practice the upside down drawing technique - Drawing upside
down is a wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your
brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are making it
somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This forces you to draw
what you see as opposed to relying on your memory to draw
something.
