I Want to Draw: Simple Exercises for Complete Beginners

      I Want to Draw: Simple Exercises for Complete Beginners

Do you struggle with a simple circle from the first step of every tutorial? Do your straight lines keep bending, no matter how hard you try? Do you seem to be unable to draw two points with a given distance between? Do your pictures look wrong even after repeating carefully every single step from a detailed tutorial?

These problems may come from a lack of basic skills that are ignored when learning how to draw. In fact, these skills are obvious for someone who's been drawing a lot, but they also can be easily forgotten after a few years without a pencil in your hand. So are you ready to catch up with the best drawing exercises for beginners?

If you're looking for a pre-game motivational boost before taking on this challenge, check out the accompanying article, What's Your Excuse? Why Can't You Draw?

If you're drawing digitally, perhaps you want your work to look as if it was created with pencil and paper. If this is the case, may we recommend one of the many Photoshop brush sets available on GraphicRiver, including this Classic Art Brush Pack.

Step 1

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Straight line drawing by hand isn't real. It exists only in vector, as the shortest way between two points. You can cheat and use a ruler, but most likely your hand will never learn how to draw a perfectly straight, long line. Even if it starts as something perfect, the longer you draw it, the more mistakes can be made. What does it mean?

If drawing a long line is almost impossible, we can use short lines that our hand is more adapted for. This way it won't matter what tool you use to draw straight lines; they'll usually come out pretty good. Just look at the picture below. The shorter the lines, the closer to the original the picture is.

Step 2

Let's say you want to draw a flower like the one below. You can see it's built of a straight line, a perfect circle, and a few curves with precise angles. I guess you can draw it very slowly, very carefully, driving the lines from point to point, with your tongue stuck out and sweat on your face. But... why? Drawing isn't a chore, it should be fun!

Step 3

Technical drawing (straight lines, perfect circles) requires concentration. It's about drawing things exactly as they are. There's no space for creativity or personal style, since style comes from diversity. Is it really what you want to do? Draw the same things exactly the same way all the time?

If you do, well, there's no tutorial for you. Because drawing—creation—is about keeping your hand relaxed while being focused on a final effect instead of creating a series of perfect lines. That's what you need to learn—how to keep relaxed, sketching quickly and carelessly. Let's try to draw this flower once again, shall we? But this time, follow these simple rules:

• Divide the long lines into short ones.
• The more curves, the shorter the lines.
• Touch the paper very lightly; don't press your pencil hard.
• Keep it fast!

Step 4

Wasn't that fun? If you narrow your eyes, it even looks quite done. Now, fill the spaces between the lines with the ones it's lacking. The rules from the previous step still apply.

Step 5

You can now stress the defined lines with a marker or pressing the pencil harder. This step isn't necessary; you can skip it.

Step 6

It's done! It doesn't look exactly like the original, but you can see some style in it, a bit of your personal character, a real work of your hands! You can notice it even looks more natural than the original, because nature isn't perfect. What's most important, once you cross the boundaries, you can easily change everything!

Paradoxically, the less accurate your straight line drawing is, the more natural the results.

Step 7

Now that you've learned how to draw a straight line, what should you practice?

• Divide the lines into short ones.
• Draw circles made of short lines instead of long, ever-bending ones.
• Draw lightly—this way, your little mistakes won't be visible.