Are you interested in learning how to draw? Drawing is a fun and rewarding hobby that can help you express your creativity and improve your artistic skills.

Hi my name is Carrie and I want you to proudly call yourself an artist. Here on Artist Strong I help creatives like you build your skill and develop your unique artist voice. Today we will be covering the basics of drawing, from understanding different drawing materials and techniques, to creating your own art.

First, let’s talk about the materials you will need to get started. 

For beginners, a pencil and paper are a great place to start. Don’t feel like you have to invest in “artist pencils” to be able to draw. Grab the old one laying around your house leftover from your school days – that’s often what I use! 

Pencils come in a range of hardness and softness, with “H” pencils being harder and creating lighter lines, and “B” pencils being softer and creating darker lines. Experiment with different pencils to see which one you prefer. 

Having an eraser will also be helpful. 

You can use an eraser much as you might assume its purpose is to make corrections and clean up your lines, but I challenge you to limit how many times you use your eraser for correction and instead treat it like the drawing tool it is.

Erasers are great for drawing in hair highlights, for example. Ask yourself: what else can you draw with an eraser? Be sure to tell me in the comments below.

Next, let’s talk about techniques. 

The one element of art we often overuse and over rely on when it comes to drawing is line. Line is an important tool to help convey a sense of three dimensions but when used too much it actually flattens the work, making it appear less three-dimensional than intended. 

What we should all spend more time exploring is how we communicate a sense of volume with value. Value is an element of art where we use steps of grey (from white to black) to fill in areas of our drawings. Our understanding of lightsource is really important here and helps us better identify where highlights or lowlights, for example, should be placed.

Another technique to keep in mind is perspective.

This refers to the way objects appear to get smaller and closer together as they move further away from the viewer. Using perspective can help add depth and realism to your drawings.

Many people in the Artist Strong community are not new to drawing, but it’s often easy to overlook these considerations. In fact, even artists who went to art school don’t always have foundational drawing education! This is one reason I created my program Self-Taught to Self-Confident. It’s a comprehensive drawing program to help everyone fill the gaps in their learning that hold them back from making their best art. Adele told me. “It’s the best birthday money my husband has ever spent. I learned so much. I would highly recommend your course to anyone wanting to improve their skills.”  Be sure to visit www.artiststrong.com and click on offers to learn more.

Now that we’ve covered some basics, I challenge you to draw something.

What you choose should reflect your comfort level, as well as your willingness to challenge yourself. It’s important you don’t choose something SO frustrating that you want to give up: it’s about finding that sweet spot where real learning takes place.

You can choose an image or an object from life. They are two different skill sets and drawing from life is more challenging. 

As you begin, start with really light marks and as you measure and adjust your marks increasingly add more value to the work. I’d love to see what you draw! Tag me on Instagram @ArtistStrong or use the hashtag #artiststrong.

Before we wrap up today I’d like to take a minute to thank today’s sponsor.

Today’s video is brought to you by The Artist Strong Studio, our patreon community who believes in and wishes to support this space. If you: 

struggle to find regular, meaningful feedback from your peers, 

live somewhere that has limited arts programming,

Or maybe it’s hard to get out a lot and you still want that creative accountability and support of artist peers,

Artist Strong Studio is a digital studio space for makers. If you create art, craft, and you want meaningful connections and support, welcome!

Currently we meet twice a month on zoom to help each other show up in the studio and make more art! There is also a private community space away from social media (our fb away from fb) and a quarterly Q&A all for the cost of one coffee a month. To learn more visit www.patreon.com/artiststrong

Remember, drawing takes practice, 

so don’t be discouraged if your first drawings don’t turn out exactly as you had hoped. Keep practicing, and you will improve over time. The one thing I wish I understood as I started drawing was any of the skills I felt I was lacking was absolutely possible to achieve when I knew how to practice and what techniques to use. Mistakes are the pathway to success.

Thanks for watching! Be sure to subscribe to Artist Strong then share below any ahas or tips you have for improving drawing skillsI hope you found this beginner’s guide to drawing helpful. Happy drawing!

Remember: proudly call yourself artist. Together we are Artist Strong.