Pick up the pencil and start sketching!

Perhaps you have always wanted to learn how to draw. But where do you begin and how? There actually isn't any right or wrongs but there are basics that can Help you improve and will make everything a lot easier for you when you pick up your pencil for the first time. In this article we'll go through some basics and show you how to start drawing!

Basic shapes

Circles, cubes, triangles… These shapes are often where you begin your art journey. There is a reason why they are used in art classes for beginners as well. Basically everyone can draw them! You will get a lot of use out of them as an early artist as well as a more experienced artist.

Maybe you haven't noticed it but the world is full of different shapes.

If you look carefully, you can find shapes everywhere, in everything

As mentioned earlier, there is a reason why it's so common to begin with just basic shapes. You can find them everywhere. To begin drawing can be hard at times but the shapes will Help us to structure our ideas and get them on a paper.

No one is expected to be a Michelangelo from the beginning. No one makes masterpieces out of thinn air. Begin simple - stop caring about it having to look a certain way and just have fun with it!

When you're drawing, take a look at the world and think: what shape would that object translate to? Can you picture it in your mind or do you have to look at a photo? Drawing from your head and drawing from a photo can both be good ways to improve your art.

How does a hedgehodge look like, really? Their snout could be made a triangle and their body could be a circle.

Some ideas on how to start drawing with basic shapes:

Even with more advanced drawings, basic shapes still provides help

Drawing using references

If you've been drawing a lot from your mind, perhaps it's a good idea to try using references every once in a while. You learn a great deal from drawing on your own, that much is true. But many people forget the importance of using references. To achieve the best results in improving your skill it is recommended to both draw on your own as well as using references. It is deeply underrated to use references for some reason. Some people have this wild idea of it being cheating somehow. It is not cheating no matter who says it. The most famous artists in the world have all been using references in their work at some point. The authour of this article - Tismon - uses references more than she would like to admit. It is also pretty unrealistic, considering everything you have ever seen is based on a Reference, all your imaginary pictures in your head are based on a Reference. It doesn't make any sence that drawing with references is cheating, because if that was the case, everything would be considered cheating.

It's not really that hard, keep trying, you're doing good

When you're drawing with references you have the Reference right infront of you - whether it be a photo or an actual object. Try using shapes as we previously discussed - structure the picture using circles, cubes and triangles.

Sometimes it is a good idea to take a moment and think about how the object would look in 3D. How does it bend beyond the flat image? How does it look behind other objects? By thinking about these thing you can improve drastically when drawing on your own since you are starting to understand how everything is pieced together.

Oh! That's how the cushion looks like behind the table!

"Alright", you think "I now have a lot of different shapes on my paper. But what do I do now?! I want it to look like things, not just circles and cubes!"

"No worries I got you fam! Here are some ideas on how to use those circles and cubes with smaller details! And how you then draw the real deal using those shapes!"

It's always a good idea to draw the basic first, make the face before adding hair

When everything is correct you can improve your line art and colour it if you want

Don't forget to have fun!

KLADDA! (=Swedish for doodleing)

It's easy to forget but art should be fun! Everything doesn't have to look good or even decent. Everything doesn't have to have an idea behind it or a final destination. Sometimes it's just fun to sketch lines and see what happens! Sometimes lines doesn't become more than an abstract piece of work. Perhaps you misstakenly draw the dust bunny you have underneath the old cabinet - and that's fine! The dust rabbit is most likely flattered by your art and you got to have fun. The most important part is that you're having fun!

This picture was not even planned. It turned out fun and crazy

Nobody knows what these doodles are all about

I hope you had any use of this article of mine! If you need more Help there are more resources out there, videos and tutorials online, you can also take classes. You can also ask me if you need any Help. If something is unclear, just leave a comment and we'll try to straightened things out. If I forgot to add something, tell me and I'll add it! If there's anything you'd like to learn just request it, all ideas are welcome!