Drawing not only gives us a way of creating a reflection of the world around us, but it also gives us a way of creating a world of our own into existence from nothing.
Drawing is oftentimes the very first gateway we explore as artists, so here are the essential drawing tips to get better at drawing.
Whether you are a beginner or are more advanced at drawing, I have made sure to include pointers that will be helpful for everyone.
I hope you enjoy!
1. Love Drawing!
This I believe is the most important step to get better at drawing: You really need to love art.
It may not seem like much, but as long as you have a passion for drawing and creating, you will always continue to draw.
It’s the easiest prerequisite to improving your drawing skills because passion is what fuels progress.
2. Draw Anything. Draw Anywhere
Keep a sketchbook or notebook with you everywhere you go and just go out and doodle. Make time to draw. And draw everything.
*Tip: Start by drawing the basic framework or overall shape of the object. Then move onto the details. If you start from the details, the rest of the object may become warped or proportionally incorrect.
HERE IS A LIST OF THINGS TO GO OUT AND FIND – AND DRAW
Leaves, branches, trees, flowers, eyes, your favorite animal, fur, hair, books, buildings, a purse, clouds, landscapes, patterns, bottles, an ant, ribbons, a bowl, utensils, people, and more.
3. Observe
Before you can learn how to draw, it’s important that you learn how to observe your subject.
Let go of any pre-formed ideas of what your subject should look like. Try spending more time looking at your subject rather than drawing.
As you become more experienced, you won’t have to spend so much time observing your subject – But if you are a beginner, your artist eye is the first thing you want to develop.
For me, it took years of practice to develop my artist eye.
At first, I was drawing swans that looked like ducks – And I had no clue this was the case until this fact was pointed out.
I kept drawing and drawing and with practice, finally that part of my brain that was “seeing” finally clicked and from then on, I became more objective in what I was drawing.
I was able to – on my own – see the errors in my work and from then on, all it took was some adjusting and correcting.
So observe. Then draw.
With practice, you will develop that part of your brain that objectively sees: Draw what you “see” – Not what you think you see (at least for photo-realistic drawings).
4. Let Go of Perfection
This is a message for people who have developed that artist eye and are able to see all the ways that their art is imperfect: If you dwell on every way that your art isn’t good enough, it’s only going to deter your progress.
So let go of perfection.
Not every piece you create is going to be perfect – And that is okay.
Every artist goes through this stage – and it only signifies the potential of where you can go if you are able to see your drawbacks.
With practice, you will get to where you want to be. You can see it in your mind’s eye – it is simply the matter of building the bridge to translating what’s in your mind onto paper.
So keep drawing. Only practice will get you there.
5. Practice Drawing Techniques
Sketching 101
Hold your pencil loosely when you sketch. Relax your wrist. Draw faint lines to create the overall shape of the object. Darken the lines you want to keep.
Below is an excellent video from Makoccino on Youtube on the basics of sketching.
LEARN PROPORTION AND PERSPECTIVE
Understanding proportions is a crucial basic to the art of drawing.
Take relative measurements of the object and the parts of the object you are drawing.
You may have to start out with a photo and taking actual measurements and gradually learn to “eye” measurements through context in drawing from real life.
Learning perspective is especially crucial if you want to one day be able to draw without any reference – and draw simply from imagination and memory.
Below is an excellent video from Dan Beardshaw on the basics of perspective drawing.
Practice Shading
Shading is an important part of drawing – and it is what gives your sketch that realistic touch. Watch the video below from RapidFireArt to learn the very basics of shading.
And for more advanced drawers, below is a super informative video from Proko to learn how to shade properly.
You will learn more from this video than perhaps some art teachers even teach throughout an entire art course… So watch it!
Avoid Mistakes and Bad Drawing Habits
The beginning of learning how to draw better is first becoming aware of how you’ve been taught to draw “wrong”.
Here is another lesson from Proko to help you identify some basic drawing mistakes you may be making in your own work. Make sure to visit Proko’s Youtube channel for some more amazing drawing tutorials and guides.
6. Follow Tutorials
There are so many tutorials out there for how to draw tips on virtually anything. Use Google or Pinterest and find the tutorial for what you want to practice on drawing.
For example, here is a tutorial on how to draw a realistic eye from OnlyPencil.
See the original post for more in-depth instruction!
7. Ask for Feedback
It truly helps to have a mentor who can give honest advice and feedback about your art.
This can be an art teacher or a peer who has developed their own “artist’s eye.” They should be able to guide you on the areas in which you can improve on.
8. Have Fun!
There may be a lot of information here to take in – but don’t be rushed to learn it all! Learning how to draw is a slow process, so be patient and have fun with it!
I find that above all things, drawing helps to relax me – I get lost in creating my own little world from my art… And perhaps this is the same for you. So go ahead and learn how to draw, but most of all, enjoy the process of it.
Draw to create. The rest is honing your skill.
If you found this post helpful, please like, comment, or share this post with your friends.
If you have drawing advice you would like share with everyone, feel free to comment down below. Thank you for reading – I appreciate every single one of you!
Until next time! xx
Found this post through Pinterest. It is so great that I’ve gone from the first post and clicked on all the live links you’ve suggested and it brought me here. Thank you for your generosity in sharing so much important and incredibly useful information.
Thank you very much . This is very helpful to me. I just started sketching and drawing and these tips we’re awesome. I checked out your 30 cool things do draw and they are also amazing. It’s easier to find at like that in one place rather than going in every website. Thank you again and keep up the work.
Aww thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad it could be of help to you <3
thank you dear 🙂
Thank you for this, It helped me a lot and now Ive gotta hang of drawing and finally getting better! <3