Drawing is an art that’s been around for thousands of years. Over time, different techniques and skills have been developed to create artwork.
Today, having the right skills when it comes to drawing is an essential part of creating a successful piece of artwork. Learning the 5 basic skills of drawing will help you get started in drawing and have the tools you need to create incredible artwork.
1. Observation
Observation is the cornerstone of any drawing, no matter the technique or style of the artwork. It’s important to observe the subject you’re drawing with both your eyes and your mind in order to create an accurate piece.
This means to look at the subject’s shape, shadows, and details. You should draw what you see and not what you think the object should look like. It is also important to practice observing things in real life as well as photos, as you will hone your skill of picking out the details that make art accurate.
2. Proportion
Proportion is the relationship between the size of different objects in the drawing. For example, if you are drawing a face, the size of the eyes should be about 1/5 of the size of the face, and the ears should come to the middle of the eyes.
Proportion is important because it allows the artwork to look realistic. If the size and the shape of objects in the drawing aren’t correct, the artwork won’t look realistic. Drawing from references, such as photos and drawings from other artists, is a great way to practice drawing in proportion as they allow you to compare the relationships of the objects.
3. Perspective
Perspective is the technique of creating an illusion of depth and distance in artwork. If a drawing is created in one-point or two-point perspective, it means that all objects in the artwork will be drawn as if they’re seen from the same point of view.
This allows the artwork to look realistic, as the viewer will feel like they’re looking at the art from the same “window” the artist drew it from. It’s important to practice drawing perspective in order to understand the angles and size of objects that appear further away and closer to the viewer.
4. Values
Values refer to the range from dark to light in a drawing. Adding values to a drawing will add depth and realism to the art.
Values are important to understand as they are the technique that allows the artwork to have shading and tones. While observation and proportions are important for the accuracy of a drawing, the values are the skill that truly bring it to life.
5. Shading
Shading is the technique of adding light and dark tones to the artwork. In real life, everything is not the same color and tone, but rather has different levels of dark and light throughout.
To create artwork that looks real and creates the illusion of 3D, shading is essential. Shading helps to create depth and definition to the artwork, and can also be used to create texture. To practice shading, it’s important to study light and shadows, as this skill is all about understanding how light works on different surfaces.
Conclusion
The 5 basic skills of drawing are observation, proportion, perspective, values, and shading. Learning these skills is essential to creating artwork that looks realistic and true-to-life. Observation helps you understand the subject matter you’re trying to draw, proportion gives the drawing the right size of objects, perspective adds a three-dimensional aspect to the drawing, values creates the visual contrast between color and dark and light, and shading adds definition and texture.
Practice these skills on a regular basis in order to become a great artist!