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