Use the technique of lifting pencil marks from the paper, to reveal white highlights. You don’t need to press too hard on the paper when trying this technique. To create a looser drawing, hold the pencil further up the casing and sketch with sweeping strokes moving your elbow instead of your wrist or fingers. You could optionally erase messy lines and add in details afterwards, or you could leave the drawing as a sketch. With this approach, the aim is to focus on the big picture-the composition and interplay of different elements. Create a loose sketch before you start drawing your final outlines, then you can erase parts of lines that don’t fit with your drawing afterwards. It’s a useful technique to try, especially if you’re a beginner and only used to trying to achieve precise fine lines.īy sketching loosely, you can plan compositions and practice drawing accurately without worrying about making mistakes. This is an approach to sketching which will give the effect of a more relaxed and effortless style. If you’re drawing with coloured pencil, you can layer different colours on top of one another to alter the tones and hues. The circles don’t have to be neat, apply more pressure to the pencil for darker areas of the drawing. Scumbling is another shading technique, where small circular marks are layered on top of one another to create a textured appearance. Anything between 2B and 8B would work perfectly, depending on how dark you want the shading to be. Unsharpened pencils create softer lines, it’s also essential to use a soft pencil. To create an even shaded appearance, hold your pencil slightly at an angle and lightly move it backwards and forwards. Apply pressure on the pencil where you want to place the shadows in the artwork. This shading technique is pretty simple and the most intuitive of all the drawing techniques. Cross hatching creates a wonderful texture when you look at the drawing up close, but when you step away, it will appear as smoother shading.

Use this technique in conjunction with others on the list to create a variety of effects. This is a versatile technique as you can use it with pen, graphite, charcoal or pen. Rembrandt used this drawing technique in his etchings, ink drawings and silver point pieces. Perpendicular lines are then drawn over the top of the first lines in a similar hatching style. Cross hatching Rembrandt used a mixture of hatching and cross hatching techniques in this etchingĬross hatching is a type of hatching, whereby parallel lines are drawn next to one another to create light and dark values. It may seem basic to reassess how you hold a pencil, but especially if you’re a self taught artist, basics are easy to miss out on. For extra long hatch lines, try keeping your elbow in one position and moving your shoulder to create pencil lines. This will create longer, lighter, more sweeping strokes for the hatched lines.

This means instead of pressing hard on the lead and using your wrist to draw, try and draw by keeping your wrist straight and moving your elbow. To be successful at the hatching technique, hold the pencil in a loose fashion. Draw lines closer together to create dark values, lines further from one another create highlights and mid tones in a drawing. Apply more pressure to the pencil for the darkest areas. Hatching is the technique of creating parallel lines to give the illusion of light and shadow. So by using these different shading techniques, you can create highlights, shadows and give your drawing depth and form. In art, a value is the relative lightness or darkness of a colour.

These techniques will allow you to create values in your artwork. The following methods of hatching, stippling and tonal sketching are all types of shading techniques. Start with basic shapes to measure proportions, then use these guides to fill in the features of the face. One constructive method of drawing that head that can act as an accurate portrait underdrawing is the Loomis Method. To improve the accuracy of your drawing, you could create a sketch on another piece of paper first, then transfer it with tracing paper or with the grid method. Then build on this layer afterwards with layers of shading. This is especially true for pieces that require more accuracy or time investment.ĭraw a fine, light line to outline the main features of your subject. The underdrawing acts as the first layer of an artwork, it can form the first stage of the drawing process.

Most artists will use this process to plan out where the elements fit before committing to dark lines which are more difficult to erase. The concept of layering in drawing, refers to the process of starting with a light sketch then slowly building in the dark areas to create shadow. Graphite isn’t a transparent medium, so you can create a finished looking piece all in one layer. Layering pencil marks isn’t the same as layering paint.

Cool pencil art