Tag: Drawing Tips and Tricks

5 Tips for charcoal drawing

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
charcoal drawing

Charcoal drawing is a technique which makes use of charred sticks to get a beautiful output. There are some tips with which you can improve your charcoal drawing and we are going to list them down below.

  • Find the essence: It is important to create the main idea or essence of drawing. The main idea is what the image is about, and what you want to say with it.
  • Learn the value of value: Value refers to the difference in light to dark shade on a range of one to ten.
  • Squint: Squint is the idea of simplifying your drawings. Squinting also helps to see simple shapes easily and add more essence to drawing.
  • Explore thick and thin lines: If every line is drawn with the same width it gives a monotonous look. The rule is to draw lines on top of things as thinner and underneath objects as thicker.
  • Use an eraser: Charcoal drawings are easy to control. Use an eraser to easily remove or erase what is not needed in your drawings.

Follow these simple tips and techniques for beautiful drawings.

How to create an illusion of depth in drawing

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
depth in drawing

A depth in drawing refers to the concept of making it look more dimensional and giving it a look of life. A lack of depth in drawing means it will be less than lifelike.

Some simple methods to create an illusion of depth in drawing are given below.

  • Volume: Drawing 3D objects shows more volume and indicates depth.
  • Size: Draw smaller objects farther away to create more depth in a painting.
  • Overlap: Draw images as one overlap over others to create more depth.
  • Position: Draw images as base positioned higher on the surface.
  • Edges: Draw foreground images with hard edges to give more focus. Draw background images with soft edges to look more blurry. 
  • Perspective: Draw images using linear perspective to give depth realistically.
  • Cast shadow: Draw cast shadows whenever necessary and adjust direction to the opposite side of a light source.
  • Horizon: Divide your drawing into the ground and sky by any medium like horizon line will give more depth.

Follow these simple methods and improve your drawing skills.

Metallic Reflections: Some Tips You Need To Know

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
metallic reflections

When light strikes a metallic object, it can reflect onto a nearby object and gives varying degrees of light and shadow. Incorporating these in your drawing can be a great way to add realism.

Some tricks to draw metallic reflections in the drawing are:

  • Place your objects in light: First, select some metallic objects and place them as light falling on one side. Then observe the light and shadowed areas and draw the basic shapes.
  • Get shading: Start shading with the object that receives direct light and then shade the object in shadow. Follow conventional rules of light and shadow in shading objects.
  • Add some shadows: Add ground shadows to your object. The object appears to float at this stage, so needs grounding.
  • Blend and soften: Using an eraser is an easy method to highlight areas where light is reflected. Finally, blend some areas using fingers for the effect. Learn these basics and make drawings beautiful.

Use these tips to get a memorable output.

Ink Drawing: Tips And Tricks You Should Know

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
Ink drawings

Ink drawing is a process of using pens to apply inks for drawing. Ink drawing materials include ink, drawing pens, graphite pencil, eraser, and many others. 

Below are some tips for your ink drawing:

  • Choose the right pen for your drawing.
  • Get your grip right: It is good to hold the pen close to the tip and keep pen and paper at about 45 degrees.
  • Start with pencil sketches: Pencil drawings are easy to erase and drawings are easy to erase after the ink is dry. Give more attention to the eyes when drawing with inks.
  • Explore different textures: Try using different contrasting textures for a visual treat.
  • Try to clump your hair while ink drawing.
  • Try experimenting with silhouettes. You can also try some crow quills for drawing. Crow quills help to create different lines ranging from fine to extremely wide lines. Also, try to use some clean lines for face drawings.
  • The most important thing is to be careful while choosing the color.

Follow these simple drawings and create beautiful ink drawings.

Drawing Pen Art: Tips That You Should Know

achuvs96Leave a comment
pen sketches

While drawing with a pen, even a small wrong stroke can create undesirable blobs and marks that could ruin the whole drawing.

The common mistakes committed while working with pen and ink are detailed below.

Lack of control over the medium when compared to other mediums: Instead of anticipating an error in each step, learn to convert that error into a unique feature. When drawing realistically, the wrong values can make the picture look unpleasant. To solve it, practice consistently. Draw from observation and train your eyes to absorb each detail.

Prevent mistakes at all costs: It’s hard to correct mistakes and even harder to maintain workflow when errors happen. Prevent possible mistakes using a pencil underlining. 

Smearing is never a happy accident: Make sure your ink is dry before moving your drawing around. Using waterproof ink is also ideal for preserving the work.

In case any of the said mistakes happen, it can be corrected in the following ways:

  • Try to make the mistakes a part of your drawing.
  • Use inks, gouache, or acrylics to cover your mistakes.
  • Use gel pens for correcting smaller mistakes.
  • Remove the mistakes with a blade.
  • Avoid this mistakes to master pen art.

Keep these tips in mind before you start with your work.

How To Draw Anime: Tips And Techniques

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
Draw anime

Anime drawings are complex but enjoyable. The key factors which define anime drawings are facial features and facial structure.

Some basic techniques that you should know when you start to draw anime are detailed below.  

First, learn the basics of drawing. Learn drawing simple things like straight lines and basic shapes like circles and squares.

Next is to learn perspective drawing. In perspective drawing, images get smaller as they go in distance. You can practice perspective drawing by drawing three-dimensional objects like cubes and cylinders from different angles.

After this, learn some basic anatomy. Knowing the proportions and placement of different body parts helps you improve drawings.

Learn how to shade as well. To do shading, we need to know how light reflects in different shapes and surfaces. The basic rule is an object facing a light source is drawn more lighter.

Finally, learn how to use color. Learning some basics of color like warm and cool complementary colors will help you make your drawings beautiful.

Cartoon Drawing: Tips And Techniques

rosemoldaviLeave a comment
Cartoon drawing

Cartoon drawings are fun to draw and see. Cartoon characters are made of various components. Knowing how to draw different parts of a character helps you draw more efficiently. Some tips and techniques for cartoon drawing are:

Start with the head: Draw an oval-shaped head with small ears on each side. Draw a horizontal and vertical line in the middle of the head and make these lines intersect to draw facial features.

Draw the face: In the middle of the head, sketch out the nose and place small circles on each side for glasses. Draw a small line below the mouth for the chin.

Sketch the body: From the bottom of the head, draw two vertical lines going down curving slightly outward. Draw these lines wider apart at the bottom than at the top to form a bell shape. Add the arms to the character and then place the legs and add the shoes. Add some accessories to give a funnier look.

When you’re finished, ink your character and give the final look.

Here is a tip to hold the pencil correctly while drawing

Renjith RavindranLeave a comment

Holding the pencil is the first step that should be mastered if you want to become an artist. The way in which you hold the pencil places a huge role in how the final work turns out.

Artist Bobby Chiu has given an important tip regarding the same in one of his YouTube videos. He recommends that holding the pencil like a charcoal can lead to some great results. The idea is to draw using the side of the lead rather than using the point. This can help to keep the pencil sharper for a longer period and also give you a texture that is usually not achieved.

“When covering large areas, I shade with my pencil perpendicular to the line I’m drawing to get wide, soft lines. For details, I hold my pencil parallel to my lines to get sharp, narrow marks. The only time I use the point is when I’m working on intricate details,” he notes.

So get going and try this out the next time you are scribbling.

Do you doodle dots and flowers? Here’s what it means

Renjith RavindranLeave a comment

Most of us doodle and scribble when we get some free time. Most of these doodles might not have a final output but did you know that there is a meaning to whatever you scribble down?

For instance, if you scribble down dots and spots, it means that you are a great organiser. On the other hand, if your dots are linked with lines, it shows that you are probably frustrated about something.

Similarly, if you are someone who doodle flowers, it also means something. It suggests that you are romantically inclined. Most of these work unconsciously without us knowing. So next time you scribble down something, keep an eye out as it could give you indications about your unconscious mind.

Drawing Tips: How to practice active seeing

Renjith RavindranLeave a comment

One of the biggest skills you need when drawing is active seeing. The idea is to see and evaluate visual relationships.

Rather than simply looking at the subject, you should pay attention to the size, tone, colour, scale and angles of your subject. By doing all these, you can increase your general observational skills and this will have a huge impact on your drawings.

Also, it is recommended to compare size relationships. You can ask questions such as ‘How far is the object from another?’ and ‘How tall is one object in relation to another?’ and so on. Override the prejudices that you will have about a subject and observe what is in front of you.