4 Simple Drawing Tips to Quickly Improve Your Skill
Like a picture, a drawing says more than words. The shape, size, depth, and use of color can all tell a story. But it’s one thing to have brilliant ideas and another to put that into a drawing.
Bringing these aspects together in the perfect drawing takes time and some skills. This piece is for the beginner looking to gain some insights and the pro seeking to improve their skills. With these tips, you’ll be drawing better in no time.
1. Learn From Other People’s Work
Drawing can be complicated when you run out of ideas. The good news is, you don’t have to always rely on your mind to learn. Using reference photos is an excellent way to practice. You can learn how to do the angles or make a drawing look shadowy by looking at how other people draw.
Before you settle on a style, search for free pictures on Google. You can also take advantage of how-to guides. Whether you want to draw an animal, a building or a person, or a fruit, these tips can come in handy in perfecting your skills. If you want to draw a fruit or a pumpkin, just make sure to get a step-by-step drawing tutorial online. It should take you through the various aspects that matter, including the structures, shape, construction, and everything in between. Some of these include:
- Gesture lines and edges
- Angles
- Basic shapes
- Details that add character
At the end of the day, it’s all about how creative and skilled you are in highlighting the important details. To bring your drawing to life, you should also ensure that contrast is taken care of through shading and highlighting shadows.
2. A Sketchbook Is a Must-Have
Learning any skill takes practice. Drawing is no different. Keeping a sketchbook is an excellent way to perfect your craft. The upside is, a sketchbook is portable, and you can draw anything, anywhere. Besides, you won’t forget ideas because you jot them down any time you have a lightbulb moment.
Two, your skills will improve as you sketch regularly. A sketchbook allows you to be as creative as you wish without fear of “bad” drawings. You can draw something that looks messy and keep improving it into a beautiful illustration.
3. Practice with Shapes
One of the simplest ways to master the art of drawing is using shapes, which are the foundation of nearly every picture. Starting with figures is a great way to break down the components of your drawing into smaller items. These come in handy when seeking to enhance your drawing skills.
For instance, if you’re drawing a cat, have the head as a circle, an oval body, and the legs as rectangles. The trick is first to see every object in shapes rather than the complete figure. Then start with light shapes for every object you want to draw and erase any unnecessary shapes when you’re connecting them.
4. Make Your Drawings More Realistic Using Perspective
If you look at the works of some of the best sketch artists, you will notice a common trend. Most if not all their drawings look realistic and are full of character. As mentioned earlier, the angle of perspective is critical in making your drawings appear realistic.
Drawings with a front, center, and background often look more appealing to the eye. Mastering perspective can be a tough nut to crack at first, but it gets into you gradually with consistency and regular exercise/exposure. Over time, you may find yourself drawing more realistic images right from your imagination.
5. Loosen Up
A good artist has a warm-up routine. Why? Such exercises improve your speed and boost your hand-eye coordination. To warm up, try free-form drawing letting your hands move about the page without tension. Set a timer as you doodle different lines and shapes without trying to be perfect. What you create might surprise you.
Another way to let loose is by changing how you hold your pencil. Holding the pencil closer to the top, for instance, helps you have a better flow. Sketching becomes easier and much less messy.
If you’re looking for a hobby, drawing is an excellent way to wind down and improve your creativity. But, you can still perfect the skill and commercialize it. Whatever the case, you need to practice by keeping a sketchbook close by. A good artist also learns from others. Use free photos to see how experts go about it. It helps to loosen up by doodling regularly and improving your pencil skills.
