How to Draw: Part 2 (3 Steps)

So, once you believe you can draw, how do you go about actually doing that? This can seem really overwhelming, especially if you’ve never had ‘artistic talent’ before (which isn’t true by the way). Luckily for you, art is subjective and everyone has their own unique style; so it’s very difficult, if not impossible to call art bad. Assuming you start at zero, what are the steps to learning to draw?

Step 1: Draw

I mean this step is pretty simple and self explanatory, but if it wasn’t on here, it would be basic enough to be forgotten. Now I’m reluctant to even call this a step because it’s more like a railing- it should be going on throughout all the steps. The only way to physically improve this skill is to practice. I highly recommend drawing something everyday. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but if you draw at least one thing a day, there’s no way you won’t get better. Also, the sooner you can make this a habit, the sooner it might grow on you- this is especially helpful for reluctant artists. If you come to enjoy drawing (or already do) you’ll improve much faster because you’ll be more passionate towards it.

To actually begin this step, it might be helpful to have a sketchbook or folder to organize all your drawings so you can see your improvement. That said, since the greatest benefit of drawing everyday is in the practice; if you can’t or don’t want to keep track of your drawings that’s fine as well. I know I have lots of drawings on old homework sheets that came spontaneously as well plenty in pages in sketchbooks, so it can really go either way. As for mediums, (mediums- what you use to make art with i.e pencil, oil paints, markers) if you have no experience you’re probably best off starting with a regular pencil and paper. This will help you develop some base skills to build upon if you choose to branch out and try different mediums like painting or charcoal in the future. It even helps to have experience with hand drawing if you choose to move into digital illustration, so this is probably your best bet.

Step 2: Develop a style

This can’t really be forced, but your artistic style (Artistic style is the way your art looks that’s specific to you. While it can be transcended or copied, your style tends to be unique to you and similar throughout all your art. It is what gives your art value and it can be very different from others. Think Hello Kitty’s artistic style compared to something like Polar Express) should come pretty naturally if you’re drawing everyday. Again, drawing everyday will really help with this one. You might start to notice how all your drawings, whether they be of a cactus or cell phone have something in common in how you tend to draw them. This could be anything from simple shapes to thick outlines; you’ll know it when you see it. Your artistic style is not permanent, it can evolve, especially as you learn to draw and continue to improve your skills, but it usually stays with you in some form regardless. Therefore, it can be helpful to identify yours early on. This can’t be forced, but there are some ways you can make it easier to find your style.

Draw More

Drawing is the most natural way of finding your style but by drawing even more, you can help speed up the process. For example (this is really simplified and not directly how it works) if it takes you ten drawings to find your style and you do one drawing a week, it takes you ten weeks to find it. However, if you do one drawing a day, you cut that time down to 10 days. If you draw two things a day, the time gets cut in half to 5 days and so on.

Copy

Be careful with this one, but one way to help develop your own style is by looking to other artists you admire and mimicking their style. This is not to say you should be exactly like them, but since you draw inspiration from other artist styles you like naturally, by temporarily copying their style in an illustration or two, you can help speed the process up.

Change Mediums

For most people pencil and paper is the right place to start, but if that just doesn’t click with you after you’ve tried, maybe another medium is better suited for you. I know I was originally dead set on doing all the illustrations for Princess Pretend and The Not Knight with pencil and watercolor- and I was driving myself crazy in the process. At the time, I had yet to learn that it helps to have practice and better watercolors than the ones you buy with kiddie coloring books. It got to the point where I was ready to throw in the towel on doing the illustrations by myself. However, a few days later, amidst my research for professional illustrators, I discovered digital illustration and it was love at first sight. Sometimes a change in mediums is all you need.

Step 3: Learn New Techniques

Once you get the basics down, if you want to advance your art skills even more, you can learn new techniques and methods like shading or perspective. This could involve taking an art class or a simple internet search. Fortunately we live in a time when you have access to millions of articles and videos at your fingertips for help, and from personal experience I can tell you it’s possible to learn almost anything online. You don’t have to figure out every little thing for yourself because there are lots of tutorials online and in books to guide you in the right direction.

Well, that’s all for now! Thanks for reading! I hope this post has inspired you to learn to draw! If you have any questions or things to add, drop a line in the comments below!