Author: Renjith Ravindran

Drawing: Beginner Tips for choosing the right tools

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Drawing is a process that involves so many factors. One of the major factors is the tools that we use. For beginners, there might be confusion on what to use and what not to use when they start drawing.

If you are stuck at such a point, then we are going to help you out.

Below are some basic tools that most of the drawers out there use. Now, this is just a framework and you can change and swap as you draw more and more.

  • Three different pencil grades (usually HB, 2B, and 6-8B)
  • Drawing/sketching paper or sketchbook
  • Soft rubber graphite eraser
  • Basic metallic sharpener
  • Tombow Mono Zero eraser

Once you have these, start scribbling and find out how changing each of these tools can impact your drawing.

Drawing Tips: How to solve Head Proportion problems

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Drawing the head of a person is a daunting task. As there are so many features involved, we often end up messing it. We focus on the features such as eyes, nose, lips, and hair and end up drawing these features too big.

The best thing you can do to avoid this is to take some time out to study correct head proportions. Even though every person is unique, the face is divided into thirds for everyone.

Also, the amount of space that you need to leave for the forehead for adults and children is somewhat easily understandable. Once you understand these two major factors, you might see a big improvement in your drawing.

Drawing Torso: Here’s what you need to know

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Drawing Torso is one of the hardest things when it comes to drawing a person. One thing you should keep in mind is to avoid drawing a balloon torso.

Most of the artists end up thinking that the figure of a person is symmetrical on all sides when it is actually not. Even the biggest artists fall into this trap when they are drawing a heavy and muscular body.

To avoid this mind set, practice by drawing from the skeleton outwards. This can get you an idea on how you should draw the torso.

Drawing: How to warm up before you start

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Drawing is a huge process. It takes a lot of time and you cannot just jump in and start drawing. And this is why it is important to have a small warm up before you start the actual picture that you want to draw.

You can get rid of anxieties and other issues with just 20 seconds of warm up drawing. It would be ideal to use a pad of newsprint and use your phone to set a 20 second timer. Depending on how you feel, you can also change the timer to a long period.

Warming up will help you shake off the rust and at the same time, will not impact your actual drawing.

Common Drawing Mistakes: The use of Hard Grade Pencil

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When it comes to drawing, mistakes are important as it helps you to grow. But at the same time, you should know how to avoid repeating such mistakes.

One of the most common errors that everyone makes is the usage of Hard Grade of pencils. Pencils are important and it can have a huge impact on your drawing. So, if you end up using the wrong pencil, it might result in a disaster.

An easy way to avoid this is to have a variety of pencils at your disposal. Pencils such as a B, 2B, and 4B will give you the darker values you need. This will give you maximum control over the aspects of the drawing and also give you an idea on what each pencil can offer.

Drawing Portraits: 3 Tips you should know

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Drawing portraits is one of the toughest tasks out there. Unlike drawing objects, drawing portraits require a lot of effort. There are certain tips you can follow.

Look at the shapes: The best way to start is to simplify the portrait and figure out shapes. The face will be made up of lot of circles and triangles which can help you get a better image.

How the features align: Observation is the key. Draw vertical and diagonal lines on your reference photo to figure out the alignment of the features.

Draw lines to measure the distance between the features: You can draw lines to figure out the distance between the nose and the ear, the lips and the ears and so on. This helps you to get the face right without overdrawing the features.

3 Tips for improving your drawing skills

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If you are serious about improving your drawing skills, there are some tips that you could follow to make it happen.

1. Draw something and repeat: Just like all the other things out there, practice is what makes drawing perfect. Engaging in an attempt is important for you when it comes to drawing.

2. Look at drawings: Even if it is a simple drawing, looking at it and studying can vastly improve your outlook on the whole process.

3. Draw from drawings: This might sound like copying, but this is one of the easiest ways in which you can get a grip of your skills.

Drawing Tips: What is the 70-30 Rule

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If you are planning to draw something, it is important to know the 70-30 rule. It can be an effective way to make your drawing standout and it is simple at the same time.

The idea is that 30 per cent of your sketch is filled with the main focus and detail, and the remaining 70 per cent is filler. The idea is to direct the attention to the main subject by using the less interesting areas. The rule can be seen in action in many sketches.

At the same time, this is just a guideline and you need not follow the rule if you feel like not following it.

Drawing Tips: How to avoid smudges

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One of the major problems that we face when drawing is smudging. We, ourselves might end up ruining our drawing if we are not given proper attention to our actions.

Artist Brun Croes has an idea with which you can avoid this.

“When shading, use an extra piece of paper underneath your hand. This will minimise the amount your hand smudges your pencil lines. If you’re right-handed, start shading from left to right; if you’re left-handed, start at the right and move to the left. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to make a clean-looking drawing that loses its brilliance and value thanks to smudging. Instead, use smudging to your advantage every now and then to smooth out shading. You can do this with several tools. I use a simple piece of tissue paper to get the job done.” He notes.

Drawing Tips: How to hold the pencil

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Holding the pencil is crucial when it comes to drawing. And there is a tip you need to follow when it comes to holding the pencil as well.

If you position your hand closer to the end of the pencil, you have more control and precision, but heavier strokes which means darker markings. On the other hand, gripping further up the pencil will give you less control and precision, but lighter strokes or in other words, lighter markings.

So it depends a lot on what you want for your output. But nevertheless, you now know how to get precision or light strokes based on how you hold the pencil.