Did you know that there are simple techniques to draw in pencil like a pro? just as you read it! As you read this article, you’ll realize that it’s not complicated at all to learn how to draw in pencil .
That’s right. Before you start, there are some things you should consider to unleash your creativity and put into practice the drawing techniques we are going to tell you about.
We refer to the types of pencils for drawing. what are they and what are they for? If you are wondering the same thing, relax, because in this article you will find the information you are looking for.
In addition, with the help of our teacher Luis Gadea, we will answer two basic questions: what is drawing? and how to learn to draw? If you have no doubts about these points, we recommend you to go straight to the pencil drawing techniques. Now, let’s learn how to draw in pencil!
Personally, knowing how to draw, looking at it from the point of view of a person ‘x’, is not being afraid to express yourself through a pencil, a crayon, a marker or whatever medium you use. If we look at it from the point of view of an artist, to know how to draw is to be able to interpret reality through a drawing. It is not necessarily knowing how to draw reality, but using reality as a means of inspiration to put it on a blank piece of paper”.
|The differences between a person who decided to learn to draw for pleasure and a drawing artist, beyond the results, come down to one very important point: the use of drawing techniques.
how to learn to draw?
Learning to draw, like many manual and artistic activities, requires practice, observation and perseverance. In fact, during our childhood we tend to draw a lot, but what happens later? For Luis Gadea, we stop drawing as we grow up and other activities appear.
“We are all capable of drawing, but as we grow up we stop doing it and focus on other classes that are usually judged as more important.”
So, when you think you “can’t draw,” remind yourself that drawing is one of the first things you did in your life. I’m sure the first pencil drawings you made have already come to mind.
How to learn to draw in 6 steps
Master the line.
Sketch geometric figures (square, circle, triangle and rectangle).
Develop the shapes of geometric figures.
Combines basic shapes and forms.
Reduces objects to simple shapes.
Draw head and face from a circle.
what is drawing?
Drawing is to represent by means of lines or strokes figures of people, animals or things on a surface.
To achieve this, it is necessary to use different tools (pencil, eraser, paper, etc.) and to know some drawing techniques to be able to capture what we see or imagine. Drawing is also one of the oldest practices in the history of mankind, and one of the first forms of human communication
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Types of pencils for drawing
They are generally classified by their grades: from H (hard) to B (soft). The number preceding the letters indicates the degree of softness or hardness of the drawing pencil.
Image: smbhax
H pencil: a pencil with a hard and clear stroke. The “H” comes from the English word “hard”. There are several types of H pencils: from H to 9H.
B pencil: it is a soft and dark stroke pencil. There are also several types: from B to 9B.
Pastel pencil (or charcoal pencil): it is usually softer and has a higher degree of darkness. It allows you to make textures, shadows (with your fingers), etc.
Multicolor pencil: these are pencils that have several tones in the same lead. Basically, they are used for coloring or watercolors. By the way, we invite you to download a free guide on illustration and watercolors.
Colored pencil: it is used to color drawings. It comes in different shades and there are different types: watercolor, metallic, etc.
For character building sketches, Gadea recommends the 5H pencil, and the 5B pencil or pastel pencil for posing scenes. You could complement this selection with the best colored pencils for drawing.
The pencil drawing technique
This is one of the oldest drawing techniques in the history of art. It is also known as the graphite technique and some artists consider it as the least difficult to work with, although it is worth mentioning that simplicity does not take away the importance of drawing techniques.
This is due to its main tool: the pencil, a thin, lightweight rod that can be easily maneuvered. To use it, it is not necessary to have an extraordinary pulse and, in addition, it erases without much effort.
The history of pencil drawing dates back to the Middle Ages, when, on parchment, it often accompanied texts on religion, anatomy or astrology, but it was not until the Renaissance that it began to be considered a work of art.
Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci and Filippo Brunelleschi were some of the artists who made pencil drawing techniques begin to be seen with different eyes.
Image: Albrecht Dürer’s self-portrait in silverpoint, 1484.
The most famous forms of the pencil drawing technique to this day are the sketch, the portrait and the self-portrait.
It is not for nothing that one of the most famous self-portraits in silverpoint (long-lasting pencil with a precise pencil-like stroke) is that of the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer.
Image: Zeimusu / Wikimedia
did you know that the Italians were the first to design a drawing pencil? Artists Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti are known for creating the first version of the modern drawing pencil. They made several versions, until they managed to put together two wooden half-cylinders with a graphite lead inside.
Pencil drawing techniques
We can say then that thanks to the Italians, at least in part, we know how to draw in pencil. But how to do it professionally? what are the most important pencil drawing techniques in the art world?
Let’s get into the subject and see some of the best techniques for drawing.
Stippling
This pencil drawing technique, as the name suggests, is all about putting many small dots on paper. These can be close together, far apart or somewhere in between.
Image: Webneel
You have to take into account that the dots will not be the same with the pencil sharpened, as when you have already made several dots.
With the stippling drawing technique you will be able to add an interesting texture to your art.
Weft
With this drawing technique what you should do is draw a series of parallel lines in the same direction. The lines can be together, apart or somewhere in between.
The pencil is lifted from the paper after each line and put back to create a new line.
Image: Scheppel
Cross Hatching
want to add dimension and texture to your drawing?
With this pencil drawing technique you can do just that. Draw a series of parallel cross-hatching lines, just as in the previous technique, then draw a series of parallel lines in another direction on top of the first series.
Image: Webneel
This way you can shade your drawing and you can also create a much more interesting texture.
Back and forth stroke
This pencil drawing technique is probably the most common when it comes to drawing with crayons. In fact, I’m sure when you were a kid drawing with your crayons you used just this technique. Excuse us for remembering your first pencil drawings again.
Basically, you position your pencil on the paper and draw in a continuous back and forth motion, without taking the tip off the paper. This is a good way to fill different areas of the drawing with lots of solid color.
Image: Webneel
Circulism
As the name suggests, you have to create continuous circular marks on paper, without peeling off the pencil. This is another drawing technique with which you can fill different areas with lots of color. This way of drawing is also very common among young artists.
Tone
Tone technique refers to the degree of lightness and darkness of your drawing. There are several shading techniques in which you can apply tone to give convincing shape and mass to your drawing. You can use small, slanted or circular strokes.
Image: Drawing secrets revealed basics.
Broad stroke
This is a classic. This pencil drawing technique consists of abrading one side of the pencil point on a rough paper, until an angle called a bevel is formed.
This method of reduction takes advantage of the maximum weight of the pencil, allowing you to have a flat surface point to make broad strokes.
However, it prevents the pencil from rotating, as it must be kept in the same position so that the bevel contacts the paper in the same way with each stroke.
Image: Drawing secrets revealed basics.
Scumbling
This pencil drawing technique uses layers of small scrawled marks to generate value and texture.
The irregular strokes vary in direction, adding more interest than a simple circular scribble.
Pencil drawings made with this method appear to have a twisted or tangled wire texture.
Color Gradients
This method is applied with colored pencils. The gradient or gradient is a linear, smooth and progressive transition between two or more colors.
For example: red, orange and yellow. Gradients play with the lightness and darkness of the same color. This pencil drawing technique is very popular, and the results are often amazing.
Image: staedtler.com
Pencil sketching with blending technique
You can make pencil and charcoal sketches by blending the two tools.
To apply the blending technique start by using the back and forth stroke to cover the paper and then rub it in the middle.
We recommend using your finger, a blender (also known as a tortillon or paper eraser) or a tissue.
Another option to apply the pencil and charcoal drawing technique is to use a brush and gradually blend the shades to create the tone you are looking for in your sketches.
Image: strathmoreartist
Pencil drawing with the scribble technique
can a scribble be a great start to a pencil drawing?
of course it can! This drawing technique is one of our favorites, as well as contemporary drawing and painting techniques.
It consists of scribbling by moving the pencil randomly, without needing precise marks. The more scribbles in an area, the darker it feels.
Scribbling imperfectly gives your hand the opportunity to fly on a blank sheet of paper.
Image: strathmoreartist
These are the drawing techniques we recommend you to start drawing like a pro. If you already know how to draw in pencil, it’s a good idea to practice and try them all.
how to improve your pencil drawing technique?
If you want to improve your pencil drawing technique, you will have to practice constantly; but, above all, follow some tips that you can find in some drawing and painting courses.
Learning how to draw in pencil by applying the drawing technique of the best artists will help you to take your artistic skills to the next level.
Many artists started their career wondering: how can I draw in pencil (and not die trying)? Okay, maybe not the latter.
But pencil drawing was definitely the skill that introduced them to the world of art and illustration.
Image: Aminoapps
These pencil drawing techniques cover everything you need to exercise your hand and start working on your artistic drawings.
Get ready to step out of your comfort zone with these exercises that will help you improve your technique and drawing style.
Use the right grip to draw in pencil
The first step is to master how toproperly hold your pencil for drawing.
Artist Chiu, in an article for creativebloq.com, recommends holding the pencil like a lump of coal and using the lead side to draw, rather than the tip. This will help keep the pencil sharper for longer.
Image: creativebloq
To achieve details, this artist holds the pencil parallel to his lines for crisp, narrow marks. He only uses the tip when he’s working on tangled details. One thing or another we can learn from his drawing technique, don’t you think?
Drawings made with lines
The type of tracing you do will shape your line drawings.
How fast you draw a line and how much weight you put on the stroke will change the visual appearance of your sketch.
Image: Jak Spicer
With the drawing techniques and types of strokes we mentioned above, you will be able to achieve better results when making pencil drawings. You just need to pay close attention to the intensity you use.
Drawing for beginners from left to right
A basic rule in drawing for beginners is to plan which area of the composition you will work on.
We are sure you don’t want to rest your hand on areas you have already drawn, which means you will have to work from top to bottom and then from left to right.
It’s no use applying the best pencil drawing techniques if we run our hand over our work.
Easy pencil drawings with blind outlines
have you ever tried to make pencil drawings without looking at the paper? This practice will allow you to improve your pencil drawing technique!
You just need to place any object you want to draw in pencil in front of you. Then, you need to fix your eye on the top, placing the pencil on the paper.
Without looking at the paper, focus your gaze around your object, following its edges and contours and, while doing so, let the pencil follow the same path on the paper.
Image: Coyote Central
The result will look strange, but that’s not a problem. The point of doing this practice is so that you can sketch pencil drawings with confidence and awareness. Also, a great way to overcome the fear of looking at a blank page.
Vary the line thickness of your pencil drawing ideas
Any idea is valid for pencil drawing, so the next drawing tip you can apply is to vary the line thickness of your objects.
Thick lines will help indicate the importance of elements or tell the viewer that something is in the foreground of your pencil drawing image.
You can also use different line thicknesses to distinguish between two separate, overlapping objects: a thicker line on the outside of an object helps differentiate the outer lines from the inner details.
Image: Timothy von Reuden
In the image you can see how to draw in pencil step by step using different line thicknesses in a way that looks three-dimensional. cool, isn’t it?
Courses to improve your drawing techniques
If you already know how to draw in pencil, you probably only need to take one step to improve your work and start sharing it with the world.
The drawing techniques that we have mentioned are a good option for you to practice and improve your art, but to become a professional you may need a couple of pencil drawing courses.
When we talk about the pencil drawing technique, we mention that it is mainly associated with sketching and portraits, so we will tell you what you need to develop in these areas.
Let’s see then what is our selection of pencil drawing courses for you to enhance your skills with pencil drawings.
Realistic Illustration of the human figure online course
This course is designed for those who want to improve their skills with academic drawing techniques, in particular with drawings that are inspired by the dimensions and proportions of the human body.
At the end of the course you will be able to make pencil drawings using real models.
Online course of Portrait Illustration with pencils
If one of your dreams is to draw portraits, then this pencil portrait illustration course will allow you to make your dream come true.
This is an intermediate level course, so it is recommended that you have knowledge of pencil drawing techniques, and some ability with drawing in general.
With Martín Palotttini’s classes, you will learn to draw in pencil like a professional.
Online course of Drawing Techniques for Industrial Design
Drawing techniques are not only used in artistic drawing, but are very useful for different professions such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design.
If you take this course, you will learn the basics of drawing techniques oriented to product and furniture design.
Learn how to draw with pencil and bring to life all those industrial design ideas you have. One click separates you from starting your career.
are you as excited as we are to let your imagination run wild and start practicing these pencil drawing techniques? Don’t let any more time pass and get to work. In the next point, we’ll learn some easy-to-do pencil drawings. let’s go!
are you as excited as we are to let your imagination run wild and start practicing these pencil drawing techniques? In the next point, we will learn some easy to do pencil drawings. let’s go!
Easy pencil drawings to do
good job! We already have a good basis to get down to work and start making simple pencil drawings. You have to start somewhere, so the beautiful pencil drawings that I will show you below will help you to practice and test all the knowledge acquired in this article. let’s draw!
how to make a pencil drawing of roses?
One of the easy pencil drawings to do has to do with nature. If you always wondered how to make a pencil drawing of roses, we will explain it step by step.
The first thing you should do is draw a small circle in the center of the paper.
Then, you should add oval shapes around this circle, which will simulate the petals.
Now it’s time to draw larger petals in a spiral shape around the ones you drew in the previous step.
Once you’re done, add more spiral petals around them, but each time bigger and bigger.
You will see that your rose is almost shaped. Now, you should draw some leaves and small branches to give it a little more life.
that’s it! You now have a pencil drawing of roses. At first glance, you may think the result looks a little strange, but just add some color and you will change your mind instantly.
Image: Practicarte
In the next point, we will learn how to draw another of the most beautiful flowers in the world.
This is how you should draw a sunflower in pencil
Continuing with nature, it’s time to learn how to draw a sunflower in pencil.you’ll see that it’s as easy as drawing a pencil drawing of roses! Follow these simple steps:
Draw a medium circle in the center of the paper.
Now it’s time to draw the petals around the circle. These petals don’t have to be so thick.
Image: Zebra.mx
Next, draw smaller petals between the ones you have already drawn.
Once you have the main part of the sunflower, you should draw a thin stem. Make sure you don’t draw it so much in the center, but slightly to the right.
Draw a couple of medium-sized leaves around the stem.
you’re almost there! Now, we must go back to the circle we drew at the beginning.
What you have to do is draw small circles inside it.
You could also draw small dots inside the circle. While it will take you a little more time, the result will be more realistic.
To make the steps to draw a sunflower in pencil clearer, I attach a tutorial in which they explain in detail how to do it. Although in the video they use a marker, the steps are the same to draw a sunflower in pencil.
The step by step to make a pencil drawing of a butterfly
what is the perfect complement to flowers? butterflies, of course! Here we will learn how to make a pencil drawing of a butterfly, which will be a perfect complement to your roses or sunflowers.
Although there are millions of types of butterflies, in this casewe will learn how to draw a monarch butterfly (side view)in pencil thanks to the creativity portal My Modern Met.
Here are the steps you need to follow to make a pencil drawing of a butterfly:
The first thing we must do is draw a small circle, which will be the head of our butterfly.
To draw the body, we must draw two curved lines that meet at the end. Then, draw a line at the back, almost 1/4 of the distance from the head.
Image: My Modern Met
Once you have drawn the body, it’s time to add the legs of our butterfly. Keep in mind that the legs should have three parts.
Next, draw the eye of the butterfly. To do this, you will have to draw a big circle inside the head.
Also, you should draw the antennae approximately above the butterfly’s eye.
Image: My Modern Met
that’s right! It’s time to draw the big wings of our monarch butterfly. First, you should draw a wing that starts from the butterfly’s thorax and is slightly rectangular. It should be slightly larger than the butterfly’s body.
Then, add the back wing of the butterfly. This should be more oval and should end at the abdomen.
Finally, draw the last upper wing, which should start at the head and end at the middle of the most prominent wing.
Image: My Modern Met
To draw the pattern of the wings, ideally you should be guided by the reference image of a monarch butterfly. As you can see in the image below, you should draw a border inside the wings, as well as add small circles and lines inside the wings.
Image: National Geographic
don’t forget to color it according to the reference image you found! No doubt, your pencil drawing of a butterfly will be 100 points. Let’s continue learning how to make simple pencil drawings in the next point.
learn how to make pencil drawings of landscapes!
Let’s move on to the next level. how hard could it be to create landscape pencil drawings? it’s easier than you think! In fact, I’m sure that in your school days you have drawn a landscape more than once .
do you remember the drawing of the sea with the sunset in the background? it’s one of the easiest pencil drawings to do! So pay attention because we will take the usual landscape to a professional level. Follow these steps:
In order to guide you better, draw a horizontal line in the center of the paper. This line will indicate the horizon.
In the upper part will be the sky, clouds, sun and birds. At the bottom we will draw a small island and the sea, of course.
At the bottom right, draw a horizontal oval, which will serve as the base of the island.
Next, you should draw a palm tree. To do this, you have to create a curved rectangular shape, which will be the trunk of the palm tree.
Image: Practicarte
Above the trunk, you should draw the leaves of the palm trees and, below them, small circles, which will represent some tasty coconuts.
remember the line that divided the paper? Now you must draw a semicircle in the middle of this line. that’s right! That semicircle will be the setting sun.
Your pencil drawing of a landscape is taking shape. Now you just need to decorate the sky.
To do this, draw some clouds around the sun and a couple of birds. that’s it!
Once you are done with your landscape pencil drawing, you should color it to make the result even more amazing.
how to make a pencil drawing of a guitar?
do you like music? then you will love this pencil drawing! Drawing and music are art, so, in this case, our artist soul will come out because we will learn how to make a pencil drawing of an acoustic guitar.
Yes, it is one more level, if we are talking about simple pencil drawings, but you will see that it is not so complicated to draw an acoustic guitar and place it as an ornament in your room. Follow these steps to draw a guitar in pencil:
The first step is to draw two circles. The first one has to be as big as you want the guitar to be. Meanwhile, the second one should be 2/3 the size of the big circle and should overlap the main one by 1/4. Like the image below.
You could draw some lines to serve as a guide. Otherwise, let’s continue with the next steps.
Image: Wikihow
Draw a straight line along the circles: from the bottom of the big circle until it crosses the small circle. Part of this line will be the bridge of the guitar.
In the middle of the two circles, you should draw two more small concentric circles.
Image: Wikihow
Next, draw a small rectangle approximately in the middle of the large circle. This rectangle will be the bridge saddle.
Erase the guide lines (if you drew them) and you must sharpen the curves where the circles overlap.
Now we have the base. It’s time to start with the bridge.
Draw a rectangle so that the line we drew at the beginning is in the middle.
At the end of the bridge or neck, you should draw a smaller, but slightly wider rectangle. On that rectangle, draw six small circles. It should look like the image below.
Image: Wikihow
In each small circle, you should draw the pegs. There should be three per side.
Draw six straight lines going from the bottom small rectangle to the end of the bridge or neck of the guitar. Then, draw the ends of each string towards the pegs. As in the image below.
The only thing left to do is to draw the frets, so we only need to draw horizontal lines along the neck. and that’s it!
Image: Wikihow
When you color your pencil drawing of a guitar you will see an amazing result.
As you can see, to learn how to draw in pencil you only need to follow a few techniques and the rest is practice, practice and more practice.
Remember that, no matter what drawing technique you decide to use, consistency is what will help you to have better results. As they say, practice makes perfect.
see you soon! Much success fulfilling your dreams.