Hello! Drawing for most people is difficult and time consuming. It is seen as a thing that people don’t do at all, or they are great at with no in-between. But everyone has to start somewhere, and drawing is a skill that you build on over time and gradually improve at. No one started off as a great drawer. With that being said if you are interested in improving your drawing skills here are some pointers to help you get better. 

1. Shading 

This part of drawing is important to make your art look like it’s popping out of the page. When shading a drawing make sure that -instead of just making certain parts look darker and others look lighter- that you keep in mind where the light source is coming from. All surfaces of objects in a picture closest to the light source should be lighter and the parts of the objects further should be darker. Shadows should be opposite of the light and elongated if the light source is close to being horizontal with whatever you are drawing. To achieve darker color that looks even go over with pencil multiple times.  

1. Color  

Look around you; almost nothing is all one exact color. Depending on how the light hits an object it can add shadows and highlights. Make sure when adding color to a drawing parts of an object closest to the light or high points are lighter and places on the opposite side or shadows are a darker shade.  

1. Perspective 

Just like shading, perspective in drawings can help make your pictures look 3 dimensional. To achieve this a “vanishing point” is important. A vanishing point is a part of an image that helps to guide you to draw your objects smaller the further away they are, (they aren’t always needed but very helpful).  Keep in mind that objects should be smaller the further away they are and larger the closer they are to add depth.  

1. Reference Photos  

When trying to draw something realistically it is extremely important to either have an image of what you are drawing or the actual object to look a while drawing. This will help you understand the proportions as well as the shape of what you are trying to draw. Drawing from memory might lead to problems if your memory is wrong. (This advice is mostly for people interested in drawing realism.) Instead of paying attention to the photo as a whole, focus on the lines and colors of it. Pay attention to the edges of the object and where they would fit into your drawing. 

Now you can practice your drawing skills!

• Disclaimer: Everyone is different and has a different drawing style. The advice stated above is for people who are beginners. Not all advice will be helpful to every person.