Learn more by checking out How to Draw Perspective.Understanding perspective will also help your shading and cast shadows look more realistic.Simple perspective drawings only have one vanishing point, although more complex drawings might have two or even three. Perspective means that objects that are up close seem to be larger than objects that are far away.The widest part of the path, near the bottom of the page, will seem closest to you, while the vanishing point will seem to be very far away. This can represent a road, a stream, railroad tracks, or any other pathway. Next, draw two angled lines that meet at the vanishing point and stretch down toward the bottom of your paper. To start practicing perspective, draw a horizontal line across your paper to represent the horizon.

Show an object's dimension by learning perspective. You can also read about more advanced shading techniques in How to Cross-Hatch and How to Stipple.

To learn more about shading, check out How to Shade Drawings.

Try blending your shadows with your finger, an eraser, or a cloth to soften them.

Just below that area, add light shading then progress to very dark shadows in the bottom right corner of your page. In that case, the top-left area of your shape wouldn't have any shading.

For instance, you might imagine that there's a lamp shining down from the top left corner of the page.

Keep building up the shading until you have a gentle fade you have a gradient from the darkest values at the parts of the object farthest from the light source to the lightest at the area closest to the light source. Use a pencil to lightly shade in the areas farthest from your light source, while leaving the area closest to the light source unshaded. Draw a simple shape, such as a circle, and add an imaginary light source to your page.

For more information on drawing a straight line, check out How to Draw Neat Lines.Ĭreate a sense of depth by shading in a shape.

For instance, you might try filling a page with two-dimensional shapes such as circles, squares, or triangles.

After you get comfortable with lines and curves, try drawing shapes.

Try to produce wavy lines, zig-zag lines, and tangled, scribbly lines.

Practice drawing lines of different lengths, thicknesses, and textures.

This will help you build up your hand-eye coordination so you can create the effects you want on the page. Try making a series of big loops on the paper, then draw tiny swirls below that. Once you feel comfortable drawing a straight line, practice rotating your wrist as you draw, which should create a curve. Practice holding your hand at different angles to see what gives you the most control over the pencil, along with what feels most comfortable. If you're just learning to draw, start by carefully drawing the pencil over the page in a straight line.

Pencil drawing for beginners