Q&A for How to Draw

You can definitely make a ton of progress in a month, but proficient might be a bit of a tough goal to achieve. So far as the passion goes, visit museums. Go to art gallery openings and talk to artists. Watch movies about famous artists. The more you can do to surround yourself with the culture, the more your interest will grow.

This is why most artists start by lightly sketching in pencil. Even if you want to outline the final version in ink, start in pencil! That way you can erase whatever you don't get right first time.

You can draw at any age. You just have to have the right mindset about it. Keep working. Don't tell yourself you can't do it. A little effort and creativity and I'm sure you can reunite with your talent.

There are lots of things you can draw! You can start with sketching your favorite animal, or drawing an object that means a lot to you, like a ring or old book. If you're really stuck for things to draw, set a timer for 2–5 minutes, look around the room for a still object to draw (it could be a pen, a lightbulb, etc.) and draw it until the timer goes. As you practice drawing, learn how to draw new things! Have you tried drawing penguins yet? Or an expressive human eye? How about a kitten? Or your favorite book/movie characters? There are many things to draw, and trying new subjects will prevent you from getting bored.

You can practice and improve your drawing skills without any fancy materials! Feel free to just use normal pencils and lined paper or printer paper to practice with.

Practice makes perfect, and you shouldn't just give up because you don't think you good.

Sketch with light lines using a hard pencil (3H or H). Once you've got the shape, erase every stray line and smudge. Go over the final drawing with a finely-pointed, sharp pencil (HB, or a 2B or 4B for bolder lines).

Many artists have the desire but not the talent to begin with; this is normal. The fact that you acknowledge your limitations is good because it shows you're willing to improve. Choose to draw the things or beings you care about or that interest you the most. Then, ready plenty of books on how to draw those things or beings, picking up the techniques they suggest. After this, the best thing you can do is practice, over and over again, until something good begins to form. It will take a long while but once you cotton on to your own technique, you'll never look back and your unique style will help you to stand out from the less humble and those who cannot be bothered practicing.

This is a natural and expected part of learning to draw well. Nobody draws perfectly the first time, otherwise everyone would be drawing. Good drawing comes with practice and from going over bad drawings to learn about why it didn't work and how to make changes to that to improve. Beginners have to start somewhere, so don't be upset, just use the "stupid" to inform all improvements in future drawings.

The more you draw, the more you'll improve. Try to do at least one drawing a day, even if it's just a tiny sketch. Invite your friends to do the "Drawing a Day" challenge with you.

Get familiar with the shape and guidelines of the face. Then start to learn the steps to draw the parts of the face, starting from the eye to the lips and mouth. Then learn to assemble them in the face using the guidelines.

Try taking a walk outside, and finding something you like to draw. You can also look up photographs on the internet, and draw from them.

Try not to erase so much and think before you do.

If it's hard for you to concentrate on one thing for very long, the key to improving is to draw for short amounts of time, very often. Set a timer for 2 minutes every day and draw until the timer beeps. If you get bored a little later on, set the timer and again draw for 2 minutes. Once your mind gets used to this, set the timer for a longer time. It also helps to try drawing new things instead of the same one over and over.

For sketching, it's up to you. If you know your subject quite well, opt for a softer pencil (like an HB or 2B). If you aren't sure what you want to draw, go with a harder pencil so the lines will be easier to erase (try an H or 3H). For shading, use soft pencils. The darker and more expressive the shading, the softer the pencil (for ultra deep shading, use from a 6B to a 9B). However, the softer pencils also have more range of tone, so if you want a light shadow that you can smudge to blend well, use a 4B or 6B, pressing lightly. To blend, carefully smudge the shadow around with your fingertip.

If you are going to use markers and wet things for your drawings then use bristol board. It sucks up all the ink and doesn't bleed or go through the page. Bristol board also works excellently with pencil.

Always having a sketchbook handy will allow you to capture any scene that caught your eye. If you don't have a fancy handbag to carry your sketchbook in, you could download a suitable app onto your phone instead, if you don't mind digital drawing.

When you are brilliant at drawing and you know it's pitch perfect (by asking others if they'd buy it if it were for sale), you could try to sell some drawings your neighbourhood, in the streets, in your local park or anywhere where there is sure to be lots of people around. Set up a small stall on the sidewalk or somewhere, being sure to have checked local regulations on sales for that place (it is illegal without a permit or just plain illegal in some places to set up selling operations). Art fairs and street markets are another option. Use reasonable prices, be ready to talk about your work (be interesting and passionate) and interested people may just buy your artwork.

Keep practicing and use references. You can also trace the references for practice.

Keep it strange! Sometimes changing up the style a little bit helps improve your skills overall. Plus, you can look back on it to see your improvements!

Backgrounds are usually smaller, depending on which part of the drawing you are talking about. The foreground is the bottom of the drawing, the middle ground is in the middle, and background is at the top. Foreground is usually bigger, and the subject of the painting. Middle ground is typically a little smaller than foreground. Background is usually the sky in a painting; the smallest of all of them.

You can start out with babies whose features are much softer and easy to sketch and proportion. Then move on to harder stuff. You can also watch YouTube videos on the subject.

Usually that is mentioned on the pencil itself (the ingraved or ink printed phrases), or it is on the packaging of the pencils.

Don't be annoyed. Just keep on practicing and drawing. You will soon realize that your skills of drawing are improving.

A balloon or a book.

Try starting them off just drawing the basic shapes of things with very few details. Make things as simplified as possible for them, so they are easy to draw. Once they get a little older and more experienced, have them slowly start putting more and more details into their art.

Do the best you can with what you have. Art isn't about having fancy materials, but about putting effort into something you can be proud of.

It is completely up to your personal preference.

You can try sketching it out lightly in pencil, and get darker as you get closer to your desired image.

Practice. When you start drawing, you aren't going to be drawing lightning fast. No one starts drawing fast. The more you start drawing, you will get into a routine and will start drawing faster.