Sketching Tips

Sketching is a popular hobby which requires regular practice, so that one can become better at the art. If a professional like an artist, an architect or an animator, wants to get better at sketching, along with a lot of practice, observation and study of the particular subject are also required.

Tips on Sketching for Kids and Beginners

Given below are some tips on sketching for beginners. If you want to polish your skills, you can read sketching tips and tricks, for advanced sketching detailed later in the article. To get started with basic sketching for beginners, the equipment required are, a sketch pad, some 6B pencils, eraser and sharpener.

• Before starting a sketching session, always draw circles, ovals and horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines on a sheet of paper. This will help you gain control over your hand movements.
• Start by doodling stuff, like objects, gestures, nature, etc. The sketch doesn't have to be perfect. Just get your hand flowing on the paper, so that your confidence on your drawing skills rises.
• After your hand movements become steady, start sketching with easy subjects like nature, still life and cartoons. You can always refer to books on these subjects for drawing lessons.
• For the above subjects, first practice sketching the form, for example, if you want to draw a house, see that the proportions of the different parts of the house are correct.
• After you get the form right, start shading or texturing the drawing. There are various types of texturing styles like smudging, hatching, cross-hatching, etc. You can buy some illustrated books, to learn basic texturing.

Advanced Tips for Professionals

Many times, professionals or students of arts and crafts get stuck in the vicious circle of perfecting their own art work. For sketching, three things are very important. First is understanding the sketching rules that apply to a particular subject. Second is observation, and the third most important factor is regular practice.

Equipment: It is important that you have the right equipment depending on the subject you are drawing. For architects, it is very important to master perspective drawings. So, things like rulers, technical pens, mechanical pens, etc. should always be kept handy. If you are a fine arts student, it is important that you master sketching subjects like nature, still life and portraits. For art students, basic equipment and a live subject (to pose as a model) are very necessary. If you are studying animation, make sure you have basic sketching equipment and a digital camera to capture moving subjects for gesture drawings and expression drawings.

Books: There are many advanced books for learning the art of sketching particular subjects. 'Perspective Drawing' by Ernest Norling is a great book for improving your perspective drawing skills. 'The Animator's Survival Kit' by Richard Williams is very good book for studying animation drawing. If you are an art student and want to learn anatomy drawing, refer to books by Burne Hogarth.

Observation: Constant observation is an important key to improving your sketching skills. Wherever you are, keep observing. The place can be a bus stop, or an airport, but observation will only make you a better artist. If you are facing problems sketching a particular subject, observe that subject more patiently and precisely. It is difficult to observe a moving subject, so you can refer to photographs or sketches of the moving subject. If you want to learn how to sketch people, then pay observe them and pay attention to details. When observing a person at a public place, observe a person subtly and do not stare at the subject for long as it is considered rude.

Practice: Practice, practice and practice some more, to get better at sketching. Practice is the single most important factor that contributes to good sketching. If you have difficulty at drawing a particular subject or object, practice sketching the subject. Always, keep your sketching equipment handy so that you can sketch at any public place like a bus stop, train station, airport, etc. Do not feel shy to sketch in public, just ignore everybody and concentrate on drawing the subject.

Guidance: Guidance is also important when learning advanced sketching. Show your sketches to your teachers or seniors in your profession, twice or thrice in a week. They will guide you in ways that will help you in getting the proportions and the form of the subject right. Keep asking questions if face difficulty in sketching something. If you are an art student, form a group with your classmates for sketching and seek their help if you are struggling with a particular form of drawing.

These were the tips and tricks on sketching for the beginner and advanced level. So, use the above important tips and let the resulting sketches speak for themselves!