An Easy Drawing Lesson

By Helen South, About.com Guide

When you see a dark area or shadow, don't be afraid to use a dark tone. Most beginners make the mistake of drawing too lightly. Shadowed areas may be quite black. You will need a softer pencil - at least a B, or even a 2B or 4B - for the darker shadow areas. A kneadable eraser is useful for erasing or 'lifting out' tone if you've shaded an area that you want to be lighter. You can always shade back over the area.

Look over the whole drawing and compare it to your subject, Sometimes a little 'artistic licence' might be used to emphasize shadows and improve the form. This is an informal sketch, not a photo-realist drawing. So I haven't tried to draw all the spots or create a perfectly smooth surface. Pencil-marks are allowed to show and can make the drawing more interesting than if it was perfectly even. My original drawing has a bit more variation in tone than the scan shows. It's not perfect, but I think it's not bad for a quick sketch, so I'll call it finished before I start to mess about with it too much!

Previous

• An Easy Beginner Drawing Lesson
• Drawing the Contour or Outline
• Begin Shading
• Cross-Contour Shading
• Shading Shadows and Lifting Highlights
• A Simple Contour Sketch
• Sketch With A Soft Pencil

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