HowtoImproveYourDrawingSkills

TwoParts: Usingsimpledesigns Advancingyourdrawingskills

Whileyoumightbegreatatdrawing,whenitcomestorefiningyourdrawingskills,thisrequiresdedicatedpracticeratherthan
sheertalent.Fortunately,therearelotsofthingsyoucandotoimproveyourdrawingskills.

Part
Usingsimpledesigns
1

1 Drawshapes.Trydrawingthefivebasicshapes..

ThefivebasicshapesareSphere,Pyramid,Rectangle,CylinderandCone.Alldrawingsarederivedfrom
thesefivebasicshapes
Drawtheshapesindifferentsizesandproportionsandangles
Practiceshadingwiththeshapes,lightingthemfromdifferentdirections.Thistrainsyouformorecomplex
shapesdownthetrack,don'tgetimpatientwithit
Usedifferentdrawingtoolspencilsofvaryingthicknesses,pens,markers,coloredpencils,charcoal,etc.This
willhelpyoutogetafeelfordifferentmediums.

2 Drawsimpledesigns.Whenyouarecomfortablewithshapesyoucanbegincombiningthem.Acylinder
withaconeontopofit,orinterlockingspheresbegintomoveyoutowardsverycomplexdrawingsinasimpleway
Don'tpresstoohardifusingpencilthisallowsyoutoeraseerrorseasilyasyougo.Youalsotypicallywantto
figureouttheproportionsandtheformsinthedrawingbeforeyoubegindarkeninginlines.
Again,usedifferentdrawingtools,togetafeelforthosethatworkbestforyou.

3 Practiceshading.Whenaformchanges,asdoesthevalue(howdarkorlightitisinthatlocation).Thewayto
makesomethingappeartruly3dandgiveitalotofweightistoapplyvalues(shading)toit.Startbyshadingthe
simpleformsandthenapplytheideastomorecomplexcombinations.
Shadeonlyinonedirection.However,whileshadinginonedirection(asinastraightline)isgoodformost
objects,forthingslikeanimalsorleaves,shadingalongwiththecurvesoftheobjectwillhelpitreadproperly.If
youdonotshadewiththecontoursofanobjectyouaregivingthebraintwodifferentideasofhowagivenform
shouldreadandtheresultisitwillnotlookright

4 Askforhelpandadvice.Donotthinkyouneedtoevolveyourinnerartistonyourown.Askotherartists,art
teachers,friendsandanyoneyoutrusttogiveadvice.Listentotheirsuggestionstohelpyouimprovetheareasof
yourdrawingskillsthatneedit,andtolearnnewwaysofdoingyourart.

Part
Advancingyourdrawingskills
2

1 Drawfromlifeconstantly.Thisisthefundamentalexercisethatwilltrainyourobservationalskillsandbuildyour
skillimmensely
Photographsarenotidealcomparedtolife,aphotographflattenstheperspectiveout,candistortandalso
takesawaythesenseofproportion.Seeingafighterplaneinaphotoisonething,seeinghowlargetheyarein
reallifeisanother

2 Adddetailswithprecision.Butdonotobsessoverthem.agooddrawingwillreadearlyanddetailsonlygoso
far
Thebestwaytomakedetaileddrawingsistostartoffbybreakingitdownintosimpleshapesandlines.make
measurementsbyholdingyourpenciloutandestimatingheightvswidth.Onceyouhavecapturedthebigger
picturegoinandrefinefurther,andthenfocusonthedetailslast.Alwayscapturethebiggerpicturefirstand
detailuniformlyacrosstheimage
 Foranimals,addstripes,spots,scales,shine,fur,longcoatsandbackground.

3 Practicedrawinganimalsorpeopleinmotion.Thisrequiresaddinginmotionsuggestivemovements.Thiswill
takeyouquiteawhiletomaster,sotakeitslowlyandkeeppracticingdon'tbesurprisedifyourinitialattempts
lookawkwardorcartoonish.

4 Drawlargerscenes.Tryalandscapeorastreetscape,withalloftheactivitiesgoingon.Doaroughsketchfirst,
tocaptureeverything,thenreturnandinfilleverythingthatmakesthescenecometolife.

5 Keeppracticingandenjoydrawingasalifelongpassion.Drawingisn'tsomethingyoumasterovernight
moreover,itissomethingthatwillcontinuetoevolveallofyourlife.Ifyoudosomeresearchonartists,you'llfind
thatthosewhokeptdoingtheirartthroughoutmanyyearswouldoftenchangetheirstylesoverdecades,reflecting
newfoundknowledge,newwaysofpushingtheboundariesandsimplyseekingtochangeandimprove.Inother
words,improvingyourdrawingskills,nomatterhowgoodyouarealready,isaworkforlifeandisalwaysinprogress.
Attheheartofitiseffortanddedicationifyoulovedrawing,bothwillcomeeasilytoyou.

CommunityQ&A

HowcouldIbecomeanartistwithoutanyformaltraining?

Practicedaily,andimproveyourworkeasilybydrawingrealisticthings,tracing,andreviewingpreviousworktohelp
wikiHow
Contributor
yourselfimprove.
Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 2 Helpful 33

HowcanIkeepfrommakingoneeyelargerthantheother?

Drawalonghorizontalrectangle,drawtheeyesinit,anderasetherectanglewhendone.
wikiHow
Contributor Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 1 Helpful 24

WhatifIdon'tlikeanime?

Youdon'thavetodrawanime!Herearesometips:drawasmuchasyoupossiblycan,findyourownstyle,enjoythe
wikiHow
Contributor
process,anddon'tevergiveup.Ifyougetupsetandgiveupnow,youwillregretitinthefuture.
Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 7 Helpful 53

Ikeeppracticing,butI'mjustnotgetting"there"withmydrawingskills.WhatshouldIdo?

Itdependsonhowinvestedyouareinbecomingagoodartist.Wasthisjustsomethingyouwantedtodabbleinfora
wikiHow
Contributor
while,orareyoureallycommittedtobecomingagreatartist?Ifthelatterisyouranswer,considertakingartclasses
andsettingasidetimeeverydaytopracticeyourskills.
Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 0 Helpful 9

Anytipsformakingrealisticdrawings?

Justpractice.Maybetrycopyingfrompicturesofyoursubject.Eventracingcanhelpyouimproveyourskills.
wikiHow
Contributor Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 1 Helpful 15

HowcanIlearntomakethenoseperfect?

Drawwithsimple,lightandshortlinesuntilyouhavetheshapeyouwant.Onceyou'veachievedtherightshape,use
wikiHow anerasertoclearawayanyunnecessarylines.
Contributor

Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 6 Helpful 36

HowdoIdrawanimatedpictures?

Animatedpicturesusuallyhavemoreexaggeratedcharacteristics.Ifthecharacterthatyou'retryingtodrawhasafairly
wikiHow largeforehead,thendrawitwithalargeforehead.
Contributor

Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 5 Helpful 32

It'skindahardtodraweyesandhands.But,canyoushowmehow?

Tobeabletodrawsomethingrealistically,youneedtoreallyscrutinizetheshapeofit.Googlesomepicturesofhuman
wikiHow
Contributor
facesandeventuallyyouwillunderstandthatsinceEVERYTHINGinthisworldisis3dimensional,theeyepartially
cavesintothefacearoundthetopandbottomedges,andkindofbulgesoutintheareaaroundtheirisandpupil.The
basicshapeofaneyeisasphere.Improveyoursphereshadingtechniquesandyouwillbegoodtogo.Dothesame
thingforhandsandwithpractice(andpatience!)you'llmastertheseshapesinnotime!
Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 1 Helpful 13

Whatpencilswouldyourecommendforoutlining/sketchingbutnotshading?
 Sometimesusinginkpensarebestforthis,butifyouarespecificallylookingforpencils,Irecommendusing2Hand/or
wikiHow 4band6bgraphitepencils.
Contributor
Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 2 Helpful 17

I'mabeginneratdrawing.WhatshouldIdrawtostart?

Trydrawingsuns,basicfaces,animals,suchascats,andflowers.
wikiHow
Contributor Flagasduplicate NotHelpful 9 Helpful 38

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WhathappensifIrubbedmyeye?

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Tips

Don'tcompareyourdrawingstotheworkofafamousartist.Rememberthattheyareprofessionalsandhavebeen
practicingtheirwholelife.Howeverusethemasinspirationifithelpsyoustaymotivatedknowingyoucandrawlikethem
oneday
Toseehowmuchyou'veimproveddrawing,getoneofyourolddrawingsanddrawitagain.Ifithasn'timprovedmuch,
focusonwhattoimproveon.Youcandothismultipletimes.
Don'tsticktoonemediumallthetimeasagoodandopenmindedartist,behappytoexperimentwithwhateveryoucan
getyourhandson.Allcoreprinciplesofdrawingapplyacrossmediums,Linearperspectivewillstillapplywhetheryouare
usingapencilorcharcoal
Drawingisnotacompetitivesportyouaredoingthistoexpresssomethingyoucareabout,inyourownway,andinyour
owntime.
Artisawaytoexpresssomethingyoucannotwithwords.Whensomethingtrulymeaningfulcomestoyou,drawit.
Don'tbeafraidofdrawingsomethingyouaren'tentirelyhappywith.Someofyourartisboundtofallshortofyour
expectations,butit'simportantnottogiveuporgetdiscouraged.Followthroughasbestyoucanandtakeeverynew
pieceasalearningexperience.Whenyou'redone,reviewyourworkconstructivelyandthinkaboutwhereyouwouldlike
toimprove,thenmakeaconsciousefforttopracticeinthatareaonyournextdrawing.
Experimentwithdifferentpapertypesandtextures.PencilonBristolboardhasadifferentlookandfeelthanpencilon
cottonfiberpaper.Findasurfacethatappealstoyou.
Askforsomeconstructivecriticism.Note:thismeansasksomeoneiftheycanpointoutafewflawsinthedrawing,but
alsoaskthemiftheyknowanywaystoimproveitsotheflawscanbefixedorminimized.
CreateanaccountatDeviantart.comandpostyourdrawingsthere.Youcanaskforcritiqueandgetsometips.
Warnings

Ifyouhaveafriendwhocandrawbetterthanyou,don'tletitgettoyou.Trytoimprovealso,trynottoseethisasacase
of"better"itjustmeansyouhaven'tfoundyourstyleyet,andwhenyoudo,yourworkwillbejustasgood,initsownway.
Sometimesit'sjusthardtodraw,andyoufeellikeyou'velostanyskillsindrawing,otherwiseknownasartist'sblock.It's
normal,sodon'tletitgettoyou.Tryfindingawayto'beattheblock'thatworksforyou.
Don'tstressyourself(emotionallyandphysically)fromfrustration.Everybodymakesmistakes.
Don'ttakeithardifsomebodysaysyourdrawingstinks.Justkeeptrying.
Ifyourdrawingdidn'tturnoutwell,recognizeitsflawsandusethatanalysistoimproveinthefuture.Veryoftenjust
steppingbackandpracticingthecorefundamentalsofanatomy,perspectiveandlightingwillhelpgetoverhurdles

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