Drawing Essentials: Techniques Every Artist Should Know

Anthony Morha
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Feb 12, 2024

Whether an amateur artist keen to improve your skill set or someone more experienced looking to refine your talent, embracing a few handy techniques can take your drawing skills to the next level.

From investing in art materials to learning tried and tested techniques, the right essentials will equip you to create everything from cutesy drawings, perfect for gifts, to masterpieces worthy of gallery status.

In this guide, we delve into the necessary skills required to master the art of drawing. Read on to learn more.

Investing in the Right materials

The right tools can make all the difference to your drawing techniques. Thankfully, there are many to choose from, meaning there is a medium to suit all tastes and styles. To assist you in ensuring you have the correct components in your toolbox, we’ve listed a few must-haves below:

Paper: When perfecting your drawing techniques, paper is a crucial component. For pencil drawings, look at paper with a smooth yet slightly textured surface.

This will ensure your pencil glides over the paper, whilst the graphite still has enough to attach itself to. Keen to create a larger piece of artwork? Opt for the likes of recycled A2 card. Not only will this provide you with the perfect surface on which to practice your skills, but you’ll also be doing your bit for the environment. Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S. we all need to start doing our bit to protect the planet.

Pencils: Next up, pencils! These are the most prevalent tools for amateur artists to invest in, as they allow you the freedom to erase any mistakes using an eraser.

When selecting pencils for your craft, note they come in various hardnesses, ranging from 9B, which is the softest, to 9H, the hardest. Soft pencils create deeper lines and are better for shading. Hard pencils are perfect for fine lines and initial sketches.

Charcoal: Pencils are not the only tools in a budding artist’s arsenal. Charcoal is another drawing medium to invest in, especially if experimenting with a wide range of textures and tones. This is available in powder and stick form.

Ink: Ink is ideal for outlining, drawing, and shading. The most popular ink styles include fountain pen ink and Indian ink. They come in several hues.

Rulers: Often overlooked, rulers are a godsend when measuring proportions and ensuring straight lines.

Erasers: Unlike the erasers you may have used in pre-school, art erasers come in many shapes and forms. From gum erasers, ideal for removing graphite to kneaded erasers, these can be molded into various shapes - there is a style to suit all artists.

Drawing Boards: They help to create a smooth, steady surface. They can be tilted to an angle of your preference and prevent paper from moving around, which results in fewer mistakes.

Blending Tools: From blending stumps to Powder Paint, various tools can assist you in creating numerous textures and tones, which help to add excitement and depth to your artwork.

Drawing Techniques

Now we’ve discussed what you need for your toolkit, it’s time to look at some drawing techniques:

1. Basic Techniques

Mastering the basic drawing techniques will assist you in creating a solid foundation. Once mastered, they will allow you to adopt more advanced and complex techniques.

Shading: Want to avoid flat, lifeless drawings? Shading is a must. It allows you to embrace dark and light values to create depth and realistic forms.

Line: Although basic, line techniques are crucial. Learning the art of the line will help you to convey movement. It will also help you to define edges.

Contour: Similar to shading, contouring can define form and shape. It creates both volume and depth.

Composition: This is associated with how you arrange elements in your drawing. This tool helps create harmony, balance, and a visual aesthetic.

Scale: This refers to the composition in its entirety and can be used to create both depth and distance.

Proportion: Within a drawing, proportion refers to the relationship and size of objects - a top tip to learn if you wish to create accurate visual representations.

2. Advanced Techniques

Once you have mastered the basic techniques, you can move on to advanced drawing techniques. These can be adapted to create more expressive and complex works of art:

Blending: Using a blending stump or tortillon, you can bring your drawing to life by shading and smoothing out lines.

Cross Hatching: This shading technique requires you to draw sets of parallel lines. These must cross over each other. The result? Depth and texture.

Marbling: This unique drawing technique involves embracing a marble-like pattern. How? By floating paint or ink on a viscous liquid. The pattern achieved can be transferred to paper, using a brush, stylus, or comb.

Color: Although scary, adding color to your drawing can bring it to life. There are various tools you can use to do this. These include traditional colored pencils and watercolor pencils.

Highlighting: This technique involves taking an eraser and removing pencil lines. This creates the illusion of light bouncing off the page.

The Bottom Line

Whether new to the world of drawing or a pro, art engagement can help to boost confidence, feel more resilient, and lessen feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression. Besides these benefits, it’s a fun solo and joint activity. It can also be embraced at any point in your life.

Choosing recommended materials and tools for drawing is crucial for achieving the desired results and bringing your artistic vision to life. Mastering the basic techniques will assist you in creating drawings that communicate your artistic vision effectively.