5 Tips to Improve Your Drawing Technique

As an artist you probably know the frustration of being stuck in the boundaries of your own skill set. I sure do! For years I only drew black and white illustrations because I did not understand the colour theory and was too scared to give it a try. Oftentimes it is that fear of failure that stops us from leaving the comfort zone (and let’s all admit it, it is really cozy in here😅). Nevertheless, it is new and challenging things that help us grow in the first place.

What many people don’t realise though, improvement doesn't always require 100% of your effort 100% of the time! Even the smallest changes in your routine and art processes can make a big difference in the results you see, while only taking a few minutes of your day.  

It is not always easy to know where to start though, so here are a few tips that might help you while you are figuring things out for yourself:

1. Consistency is key

You’ve heard this one before, and just like in any area of your life, practise makes improvement! If you don’t have one yet, pick a habit of sketching daily, or at regular time intervals. A great way to make this habit stick is to anchor it to another existing habit of yours. For example, if you read every evening, put your sketchbook right next to the book. This way you are more likely to pick it up once you've finished reading. Spend a few minutes daily doodling, regardless of how sophisticated or good your drawing is.

2. Make it simple

The next time you have a sketch idea but feel overwhelmed by its potential complexity, try only using simple lines and figures, like circles and squares. Not only does this teach you to interpret every object as basic shapes it is comprised of, but also helps to better understand proportions and structure of more complex elements. Apart from that, drawing with basic shapes helps you focus on the composition first. If you are someone who tends to get lost in details and textures too early on, give this exercise a try!

3. Copy other artists

To make this clear, this is not an invitation to commit intellectual property rights fraud! This is merely a call to learn from artists that inspire you by analysing their technique and art style. Many great artists are kind enough to upload tutorials and document the process behind their artworks on Youtube and social media, so make sure you check those out!

4. Experiment with drawing supplies and materials

Sometimes higher quality paper and pens can make a big difference, or perhaps another medium is more suitable to your expression style! For example, painting with acrylics or watercolour has never been my favourite and it was only when I picked up an ink pen and discovered digital drawing that my art started to significantly improve.

5. Train what challenges you

A lot of times it boils down to specific areas that you struggle with, like movement mechanics or certain parts of art theory that you can't quite grasp. Focus on those first! I always hated drawing backgrounds, until I started drawing them more often and figured out I am simply overwhelmed by the required amount of detail. What helped me a lot was using and combining references, as well as focusing on smaller chunks of the illustration and not everything at once.

Here are some more examples of common struggles:

- If you have trouble with perspective and composition, try drawing when in public spaces, for example in transport. Sketch what you see, focus on distances between objects and people and how they appear to your sight. Draw everyday objects you use at home, like your coffee mug, TV, slippers on the floor etc. The more the better!

- If your hand trembles, practice drawing smooth curvy lines - a great exercise is to try drawing without touching the canvas with your palm. Another idea is to get a hand-lettering book (there are training sheets you can buy with printed letters for you to trace) and work on perfecting your lines.

- If you tend to overthink your artworks, train mindless doodling - let yourself go! You can even set a goal of creating the ugliest possible drawing, whatever that means for you. The idea is to avoid correcting and perfecting parts of your drawing that you are not happy with, as well as not planning any direction ahead of time. In one word, improvise!

- If you don’t feel confident in line art and tend to make lots of rapid movements with light pressure, try sketching shapes and outlining them with a strong, single movement (you can use a thicker marker or brush for that). A variation of this exercise is to trace you old art that you love over and over again, until you know the outlines well enough to draw them with confidence.

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