Q&A for How to Improve Your Drawing Skills

Use a mirror when you draw! Every once in awhile, stop and look at both your drawing and the thing that you're drawing in the mirror. Leonardo da Vinci recommended this—it's a great way to see you drawing in a new way and catch any mistakes.

Draw a long horizontal rectangle, draw the eyes in it, and erase the rectangle when done.

Hold your artwork up to the mirror and examine it reflection to ensure it's got proper perspective.

To be able to draw something realistically, you need to really scrutinize the shape of it. Google some pictures of human faces and eventually you will understand that since EVERYTHING in this world is is 3-dimensional, the eye partially caves into the face around the top and bottom edges, and kind of bulges out in the area around the iris and pupil. The basic shape of an eye is a sphere. Improve your sphere-shading techniques and you will be good to go. Do the same thing for hands and with practice (and patience!) you'll master these shapes in no time!

Practice daily, and improve your work easily by drawing realistic things, tracing, and reviewing previous work to help yourself improve.

It depends on how invested you are in becoming a good artist. Was this just something you wanted to dabble in for a while, or are you really committed to becoming a great artist? If the latter is your answer, consider taking art classes and setting aside time every day to practice your skills.

If you can master making a circle and line, then you should be fine. Remember that nothing is exactly even. Just try your best and study real faces to help you.

Just practice. Maybe try copying from pictures of your subject. Even tracing can help you improve your skills.

You don't have to draw anime! Here are some tips: draw as much as you possibly can, find your own style, enjoy the process, and don't ever give up. If you get upset and give up now, you will regret it in the future.

Draw with simple, light and short lines until you have the shape you want. Once you've achieved the right shape, use an eraser to clear away any unnecessary lines.

Animated pictures usually have more exaggerated characteristics. If the character that you're trying to draw has a fairly large forehead, then draw it with a large forehead.

Draw them in one smooth motion -- don't do it too slowly or the lines will be bumpy, but don't go too quickly, either.

Sometimes using ink pens are best for this, but if you are specifically looking for pencils, I recommend using 2H and/or 4b and 6b graphite pencils.

Try drawing suns, basic faces, animals, such as cats, and flowers.

A good way to make your shading look more realistic is to observe light, since shading involves the absence of light. Practice drawing a sphere and shade it as if there was a light source on the paper. It helps to note where the light would be coming from and add shade to your subject accordingly.

You could practice using lined graph paper to help you get proportions right.

Draw the basic shape, then draw the shape of the rocks, cliffs, trees, cars, etc. Then add details, shading and color.

Practice as much as you can and pay attention to the details and proportions of what you're drawing.

Try to imagine where a light source is, and use photos for reference if it helps. Shade the shadowy areas darker and pay attention to where the light hits. That area should be the lightest part of your drawing.

Draw more portraits. Examine the proportion of eyes, nose, lips, ears, and the overall shape of the head. Note the length and style of the hair. Compare with a real photograph of the person. You can get experience by doing image searches on celebrities and practicing.

If you are able to comfortably use the pencil in the way that you hold it, then it should be fine.

Keep drawing and experiment with different styles until you find something you like, then make it your own!

You can learn by beginning with a ruler. Gradually reduce the use of a ruler and continue to practice your lines!

Add depth to you picture by shading instead using hard outlines. focus on the flow and direction of the line work to enhance the realistic features of your artwork.

Yes! There are many ways to make them. I start by drawing the iris, then make a half circle over the iris. Do that to the bottom, too. Also, eyes are sometimes flatter, depending on the emotions you're trying to convey.

If you have a picture that you drew a while ago that you used to like/still like, get that out. Redraw whatever is in the picture, and see how you've improved.

I also have sensory processing disorder. I usually start with tracing and getting the hang of what I'm trying to draw first, and then trying to draw freehand after that.

When shading, it is important to focus on the different values on the object and note the different colors or tones. Recognize the dark values and the highlights on the object. Start out with a mid-tone over the whole thing, use an eraser to add highlights in the places with glare or reflection, and then use darker strokes on the other places. It is important to have contrast to really make it look 3D, but it should be blended using your finger or other tools to make it look seamless.

No, but they would help. If you can't, just keep practicing.

Anybody can work to improve their drawing ability. It takes a lot of practice and commitment, but anybody can do it!