Drawing is a rewarding, relaxing, and fun skill that anyone can learn. In most cases, drawing means that you make marks on a surface. If you can manage to write words on paper, you can also draw the items you see.
All you have to know is that most of the artists you admire have spent a lot of time working on several drawing techniques that enabled them to have enhanced drawing skills.
Regardless of your level of drawing, you can improve. You never know; you might discover that you had a talent in art, or you can enjoy witnessing your art and creativity grow.
You can also learn drawing skills by spending time reading through the tips highlighted in this guide. You will manage to draw better animals, flowers, faces, or any other objects that you admire within the shortest time.
How To Start Drawing
1. Materials
Talented artists can make successful drawings of anything by using most of the materials that they can access. However, when starting to draw, choosing appropriate drawing tools can be advantageous to you.
Also, the surface you select will play a critical role in determining your drawing’s final look. For instance, smooth surfaces such as Bristol board or hot-pressed paper can showcase highly detailed line work.
On the contrary, a heavily textured paper such as a pastel board can pull off your instrument’s pigment in a distracting way.
Below are some of the drawing materials that you should have before you start:
Sketchbook
A sketchbook is one of the essential tools that you should have. In this case, you should use a sketchbook that has pages made of heavier paper than regular paper.
Having thick papers will enable you to confidently draw without fearing that your mark will make indention on the next page. You will also have the ability to smudge and rub the graphite for blending and shading without the page tearing or wrinkling.
Drawing pencils
When drawing, you can use the pencil you used in school to learn how to write. However, if you wish your drawings to look professional, you should use professional-grade pencils.
Such pencils come with different degrees of lead hardness. You should know that a pencil with a harder lead will enable you to make a lighter mark.
On the contrary, when a pencil has a softer lead, it will make a darker mark. Therefore, using a pencil with an appropriate lead will make a difference when you want to add fine details to a particular drawing.
Eraser and sharpener
An eraser is one of the versatile tools which you can use apart from removing unwanted lines. In particular, you can use an eraser to create sparkling highlights and lighten the areas for establishing subtle shifts.
There are various types of erasers that you can use, including plastic, kneaded, and rubber. A rubber eraser can enable you to remove pencil marks that you made with medium leads.
On the contrary, you can use a kneaded eraser because you can shape it into any form. Further, the plastic erasers are strong and dense and can erase most of the elements you have drawn, including ink.
Canvas or pad
Before you start to draw, selecting the surface that you will pain is one thing you should consider. For instance, if you choose canvas, it can provide you with a sturdy surface that comes in various sizes.
On the contrary, a watercolor pad can offer you several advantages for water-based painting. Notably, a pad can enable you to paint several works and store them securely protected.
2. Learn to See
Drawing is about seeing. Most people think that they can be better drawers without looking at objects. However, they end up disappointed because their drawings do not look professional.
Therefore, you should look at objects to draw them well. Drawing experts suggest that you should spend at least half of the time it will take you to draw an object to look at it.
Drawing involves at least 50 percent observation. For instance, if you wish to draw your pet, you need to study it. Try to understand why you see it in a particular manner before you draw it. In short, when you draw, look at the item; you will find all your answers there.
3. Practice
The secret to developing your skills as an artist is to continue practicing. You cannot learn if you do not try, and you cannot improve if you do not try again. Whenever you have a dull and quiet moment, you should draw.
Notably, the more you will draw, the more you will improve, and your sketching and drawing skills will become more useful throughout your life. You can begin by drawing simple shapes, attempting different sizes and angles.
Try to shade the shapes you draw and use various drawing tools, including markers, varying thicknesses, pencils, and pens. Through that way, you can feel your style and how you interpret the elements that you see.
Most importantly, you should take your time not to achieve what you want if you rush in the drawing. At first, it will imply that you will require time to develop your skills. Such a case might mean that you will keep on checking a sketch a couple of times and working on it.
Ensure that you look for creative ways on how you can incorporate drawing into your daily activities. In case you work within the arts industry, you should be courageous to handle new and challenging drawings.
Having a list of drawing ideas to hand will mean that you are never stuck for inspiration, there is nothing worse than staring at a blank piece of paper!
4. Learn from YouTube
YouTube is an incredible platform that you can use to learn most of the aspects that you admire in life. In case you wish to learn how to draw, you can find all the information you need on YouTube almost free of charge.
You can start by watching videos of professional artists creating a drawing from the start to the end. You can even access videos on how you should sharpen your drawing pencil properly. YouTube can also be the best option for you if you have an unpredictable or busy schedule.
In most cases, the YouTube videos will include written materials, little questions, and videos. Such videos will have more content than reading books. It is also easier to understand how drawing is done when you hear or seek someone explaining it.
5. Copy Favorite Artist
Copying the work of another artist is one thing that, as a beginner, you can do. In this case, you can practice drawing by copying the work of your favorite artist. Although some people do not believe that there is no creativity in copying, there is a lot you can learn from that.
Most of the best artists created their masterpieces to inspire other upcoming artists. Therefore, you should use your favorite artist’s work as a tool for exploring and learning new drawing skills. Ensure that you look at the piece of art until you see the finer details and understand how they use color, pressure, and lines.
Once you know such details, you can attempt to draw how and what they did. As you learn from such resources, you can begin to experiment with withdrawing your styles.
Also Read: Famous Drawing Artists
However, you should take their original idea and put your personality into it. In that way, you can strengthen your drawing skills and enhance your artistic expression. Arguably, you should only use the arts of other artists for practice.
Drawing itself is a profitable and pleasurable form of art. However, learning to draw can lead to outstanding work in other areas. Having an accurate drawing can form a basis for realistic painting.
Further, improving your drawing skills can boost your art to a new and exciting level. Most importantly, drawing will help you understand shape, value, and shading, and you can translate such aspects into other kinds of artwork.
All you have to do is follow the guide above, and you will quickly start drawing without struggling.