Watercolor- Drawing Tips For Beginners

Some people are by nature, creative some are not so but want to. Either caused by genes, early childhood exposure, natural inclination, precocity, sudden inspiration, there are people who could create art better. It always will be. Whatever the cause though whether born into it or not, we learn from practice. The fact is, the best artists devoted more time to the discipline of practice. Inspiration is then sparked more because as the practice continues, the better the artist becomes. It is often said that we are not fully human until we learn to create. For the creative spark that is within each of us, here are the following drawing tips.

Practice – No matter what subject you have in mind, the important thing is to keep on practicing first. Doing so will help you to start judging proportions and translating it into paper. There is no shortcut to this. Practicing makes the hand pressure more sensitive to the paper and the hand movements more attuned to the subject that you have in mind. Only spiders are born that could immediately build a house, we alas has to keep on trudging. The more pencil shavings you have, the more you convert the ideas into the art. It does not matter what you draw because as with everything else no effort really goes to waste.

Having said that, fine artists start their composition by imagining. Look at the big picture, get the general idea, and start sketching. You can add the details later on. Often while working, the picture that we have in mind does not translate accurately on the paper. That is often the case; In fact it is good that it has to be because by then improvisation takes place which is really the beginnings of the mark of true art and individuality. Many masters agonized over that but worked through it and came up with unique pieces of art. If you work at it long enough, you will discover that not over thinking but letting yourself go with the flow of the work does it better. But of course that would come later.

In the meantime, start by drawing thumbnail sketches. When you have a good idea of the composition of the picture, start drawing. It is good though when starting to reduce the picture that you have in mind into smaller shapes. Reducing the figure into smaller simple pieces makes the canvass more manageable. Start your sketches with light strokes but keep it as detailed as you want. Always start near the center of the page.

If the main interest of the subject if not exactly at the center, it must be on a location that will immediately catch the eye but never start from a corner working your way in. The same principle applies when applying the strongest tonal contrast. This is what you call the center of interest. It is here that most details are made. Start with large and bold movements using soft pencils when starting a sketch and then proceed to drawing the fine details using finer point pencils. For finishing touches, apply small and tight strokes.

Another drawing tip that you would want to apply is to work first on large sheets of inexpensive paper. Working on inexpensive paper is a good way to gain confidence with practicing hand strokes.