Teaching Basic Drawing Skills

Teach Students How to Draw and Develop Your Skills Too 

With only a pencil and paper, students can participate in visual arts activities daily to help build visual discrimination and develop an understanding of spatial relationships and proportion.

The following exercises can be practiced daily to develop drawing techniques. They build from basic skills (drawing tornadoes and spheres) to more complex abilities (sketching a still life). Skills embedded in these activities include rendering values, understanding pencil pressure in creating contrast, understanding properties of light, dark, and shadow, and identifying the effects of a light source.

Activities for Developing Basic Drawing Skills

DRAW TORNADOES

Shade a triangular form from dark to light. Encourage students to practice applying pressure while drawing, using light and strong pressure to create different values and contrast. Invite students to identify the light and dark sections. This idea can be practiced with left-right progression for visual tracking.

DRAW A SPHERE

Sketch a circle. Shade the inside of the circle using the previously practiced tornado technique. Participants can use the appropriate pencil pressure to create light and dark shadows. Decide on the direction of the light source, noticing where the light reflects on the sphere and the placement of shadows on the ground. Notice the symmetry of the sphere, and observe how shading creates a three-dimensional effect.

CHANGE 2-D SHAPES TO 3-D FORMS WITH SHADING

Practice drawing three-dimensional objects like cones, cylinders, and cubes. Then apply the shading to bowls, cups, or bottles. Notice how the light responds. Identify the effect of the light source and the shadows. Notice the reflected light, the cast shadow and the core shadow. Reflected light refers to the way light bounces off the focal object (or object being drawn). Cast shadow is the darkest shadow on the drawing, and is created by the focal object blocking the light, which casts a shadow on the surface away from the light source. Core shadow is the darkest part of the object, and the point or line at which light and shadow meet.

PLACE OBJECTS IN COMPOSITION

When staging something to draw, consider using an odd number of objects. Breaking down the image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, is also helpful. This creates a grid of nine, wherein objects can be placed properly along one or more of those lines, or at one or more intersection points. This informs proper placement of objects within the space and is called the rule of thirds. Considering perspective and the location of a focal point will also facilitate a cohesive composition.

DRAW A STILL LIFE

After placing objects in composition, students and teachers can carefully consider the size of the objects to be drawn and choose a place on the paper to start drawing. Observe proportions between objects. The closer the object is to the artist, the lower it belongs on the page. Shade the darker side of each object first. Finish each object completely before moving onto the next. Add each line, one at a time. Teachers can use positive, encouraging statements: "Make a curvy line like a smile," or "Use light pencil strokes so it’s easier to erase other lines later."