Drawing lessons from Pencils.com’s stable of teaching artists. Pencil drawing lessons and techniques for both beginners and advanced pencil artists.

Beginning Artist Mistakes to Avoid

10 Mistakes All Beginning Artists Make

, ,
We all make mistakes, especially when we're learning something new. Below are ten of the most common mistakes beginning artists make, and what you can do to avoid them. 1. Using a pencil that's too hard The standard number two pencil we…
What Makes a Good Color Pencil?

What Makes a Good Color Pencil - The Importance of Pigment

,
The artist has numerous arrows in her quiver when it comes to selecting the medium in which to practice her art. For the illustrator, the arrow of choice is the colored pencil, owing to its ready availability, portability, relatively low cost,…
Pencil Erasing Techniques

Pencil Erasing Techniques to Maximize Your Eraser

,
Maximizing Your Eraser: Five Simple Tips & Techniques Whether you're a serious graphite artist, a casual sketcher or a student who refuses to surrender their trusty #2, you already know how valuable your eraser can be - or do you? Erasers…

Tips for Shading With Colored Pencils

, ,
One look at my bedspread would be enough to tell you that I love colors - all of the colors, at the same time. In fact, my whole room is pretty colorful. Throughout college I took notes with different colored gel pens, and at work I post my…
Charcoal Art

Charcoal Drawing Tips

,
Charcoal is one of the oldest art mediums, having been used for cave drawings by early man. Back then, charcoal was used in the form of the ends of burned sticks. Today's charcoal artists have more modern options: compressed charcoal, vine…
3D Drawing by Fredo

3D Drawing Tips to Make Your Work Jump Off the Page

,
3D sketches take the art of drawing to a whole new level (pun definitely intended). Artists like Alessandro, Ramon Bruin, and Fredo create mind-blowing 3D drawings that appear to jump right off the page through a combination of shading techniques…
Drawing Lessons Importance of Sketching

Drawing Lessons: The Importance of Sketching

Drawing Lessons: The Importance of Sketching Sketching is the fundamental building block for an artist.  It is used to develop a personal visual vocabulary.  Sketches are visual exercises in problem solving and provides the opportunity to: hone…
Drawing Lessons Creating Textures

Drawing Lessons: Creating Textures

Learn how to add texture to your drawings in this entry into Diane Wright's drawing lessons series. Drawing Lessons: Creating Textures So what is texture?  We touch an object and can feel that it is smooth or rough, but how do we translate…
Drawing Lessons Values

Drawing Lessons: Using Light and Shadows to Create 3-Dimensional Shapes

,
Drawing Lessons: Using Light and Shadows to Create 3-Dimensional Shapes What gives objects form and shape?  Light and the shadows it creates.  Since graphite creates only shades of gray, values are all we have to represent light and shadow.…

Drawing Lessons: It All Starts With A Mark

,
In this entry into Diane Wright's drawing lessons, Diane explores the different types of marks you can make using a pencil. The anticipation of making that first mark on a blank sheet of paper for me is exciting.  Each mark builds upon the…