I Want to Draw: Simple Tips for Beginners

How many times have you heard that drawing requires talent? That notion has been long debunked, which is great news for you, reader, as learning how to draw can be really simple and fun!

With drawing, you can express yourself without the use of words. Anyone can learn how to do it with enough practice and patience. And once you do, you can bring to life any image you have in your head.

If you wish to learn how to draw in a relaxed, stress-free way, keep reading for some simple tips on how to draw anything you put your mind to!

Getting Started

As within the drawing itself, the details matter. What you choose to draw with can significantly impact the final look of your drawing. So, to get the desired look, make sure you are using the appropriate drawing tools.

Here are some of the suggested drawing tools:

Pencils

Choosing the appropriate pencil is crucial since it connects your ideas to your art piece. There are pencils for various drawing styles.

For instance, H represents “hardness.” The higher the number before the H, the harder the lead is going to be. These pencils are not recommended for sketching or practicing, as they scratch the paper and make every imperfection visible.

The softer texture and deeper markings of pencils with B markings make these pencils great for shading and tonal modeling. Smudging and blending are easy with higher B pencils.

Start with 2B, which has some softness and blackness without being overbearing and a good dark-to-light range.

Erasers

For starters, you can use the basic eraser that is used in school.

However, as you progress in your drawing and you find the need to be more precise, you might want to invest in a kneaded eraser. Those are great for molding and kneading, and you can make them as thin or thick as you need them.

A gum eraser works well for erasing larger portions of your paper or less intricate areas of your artwork.

Paper

Make sure you have the appropriate paper type for your project before you begin sketching. This will guarantee that your artwork endures throughout time, allowing you to hang it on the wall and enjoy looking at it for many years to come.

There are many different types of papers available. The ideal kind for practice drawing is typically "sketching paper," although you may also use acid-free paper to avoid yellowing.

Basic Techniques

Warming up and becoming acquainted with your tools before sketching helps release your muscles and bring your ideas to the paper. Play with various sketching methods to explore what your pencil can do.

Start with Simple Shapes and Lines

Triangles, rectangles, and circles are basic shapes. Those fundamental shapes allow you to sketch almost anything.

But, how?

When you see an object in person, you only need to break it down visually into simpler forms and draw them on paper. For example, you could look at a rose, a house, or a bird and figure out how to break them down into their most basic shapes.

Those basic shapes can make a good underdrawing. Start with light linework and rough outlines, then polish them to a more particular structure and defined shapes.

However, right now it's all about proportions and creating a workable underdrawing. In this stage, don't worry about flawless lines, shadows, or details.

Draw, Refine, Repeat

Step two of this process involves outlining your drawing and then refining it.

Pay attention to the subject's angles, forms, and curves, and keep in mind the proportions you've already explored. Then, simply draw what you see, not what you think you see.

After drawing multiple loose lines in the exploratory stage, choose one contour line and define it with a solid line. Try to follow what you see.

The same philosophy applies when learning how to draw a person. You start with a hand, then an arm, then the upper body, and then the whole person.

But it is important to start small and go from there. It helps you visualize proportions, movement, and shadows and be able to transfer what you see on a piece of paper.

Draw Several Loose Drawings

It might help at this point to just make a lot of quick drawings to test what you've learned. Choose an object close to you and make quick gestural sketches from multiple perspectives.

In my experience, multiple shorter sessions throughout the week are much more effective than one long session in one day. At this point, you are simply building muscle memory of what a hand movement should look like, and you should repeat it multiple times a week.

When you do build muscle memory, the drawing and hand motions will come naturally.

Focus, Contrast, Details

This stage allows you to add contrast, highlights, and shadows, and little details like scattered textures.

This is a great way to lead the eye to a few areas with richer features and textures.

As for contrast and shadows, just add a few darker areas here and there to give the sketch some depth without overworking it.

Furthermore, squinting makes it easier to notice the values while adding loose shadows.

Learning from Mistakes

Making a mistake is inevitable; it's a part of learning. The more you sketch, the more you'll learn from your mistakes, so don't beat yourself up over them.

Practicing makes perfect, and it is the best way to develop muscle memory. At this stage, it is important to trust the process and not get frustrated about the mistakes you are making. The sooner you learn to accept mistakes and learn from them, the sooner you will grow as an artist.

Conclusion

Anyone can learn how to draw with practice, perseverance, and a good attitude. You can improve your drawings and reach your full artistic potential by paying attention to the details and working on your basic drawing skills.

As we mentioned, making mistakes is what makes you a better artist and sketcher, so you should analyze and identify them to learn. Once you’ve done that, practice, as practice makes perfect.

And most importantly, enjoy the process and have fun while drawing!