Sketching Techniques: Engineering Basics & Concept Methods

Another take on the basket weave technique, this technique creates the illusion of weaving but with larger grid-like marks. Create horizontal and vertical lines and shade in between the weave to create definition. If you liked the line weight technique, you’ll love this one. Add a fun twist by keeping your lines connected and creating a continuous zigzag. Tighten your zigzags in areas to create a colour scale, loosening to lighten them as you travel across the page. Scribbles aren’t just for filling up space – you can use them to create entire shapes!

Again, observing what you draw is much more important than actually placing the line. Drawing is as much as observing and learning to see, as it is about laying down lines. “They are visually pleasant to the eye and can direct the viewer’s attention to an area of focus,” he comments. When you’re learning how to draw, it’s also worth considering using mechanical pencils alongside traditional ones. “Mechanical pencils are usually better suited for precision, while traditional pencils are great for laying down large areas of texture,” says Von Rueden. “Keep in mind that most mechanical pencils come with HB pre-inserted, which gives you only the middle range to work with.”

Sketching a rectangle

Those with the letter B, for blackness, have softer leads. The higher the number the softer the lead, and the more graphite it will leave on the paper. Another type of eraser that works great for this technique is a kneaded gum eraser.

Your choice of composition can make or break your final work. Where scribbling is more haphazard, circling is the refined version. Use controlled small circular strokes to do some finely blended shading, the circular lines shouldn’t be clearly visible. This requires good constant control over the pressure you apply. Broken Curved Lines – alternate curved lines of dips and hills, vary their lengths as well. With this exercise you can create organic looking textures.

Fix Things In Your Mind Through Drawing

By sketching loosely, you can plan compositions and practice drawing accurately without worrying about making mistakes. Create a loose sketch before you start drawing your final outlines, then you can erase parts of lines that don’t fit with your drawing afterwards. Vertical Lines – draw vertical lines from one end of the paper to the other end.

Make sure you create a good level of contrast by applying pressure for the darker areas of the drawing. Then, to blend, get a paper stump and rub into the pencil. You should see the pencil marks disappear, leaving smooth blended tonal gradations. If you don’t have a paper stump, you could use your finger to blend, although that can get messy.

Cross hatching

You can also tilt your pencil at an angle to create thicker lines with a wider pencil tip that creates the appearance of shadows and shading. Without raising the pencil from the paper, start from one point and draw diagonally, getting longer and then shorter again until you have a square. You can use this technique to create the silhouette of many shapes by following its outline and changing the length of each line. Discover 80 drawing techniques and step-by-step tutorials for beginner to advanced level artists.

• Adding plenty of pressure, apply a dark layer of graphite.
• If you can draw these basic shapes, and I’m pretty sure you can do this, you can essentially draw anything.
• For extra long hatch lines, try keeping your elbow in one position and moving your shoulder to create pencil lines.
• With a softer pencil you will have more flexibility in creating variation in line thickness.
• For adding loose shadows, you can squint slightly to see the values a bit easier.

So by using these different shading techniques, you can create highlights, shadows and give your drawing depth and form. Hatching is the technique of creating parallel lines to give the illusion of light what is sketching and shadow. Draw lines closer together to create dark values, lines further from one another create highlights and mid tones in a drawing. Apply more pressure to the pencil for the darkest areas.

Create Your Account

Vary the line weight, from heavy and bold and slowly working towards light and thin, and then back again. Try to draw them as close to each other as possible to practice your hand eye coordination at the same time. Essentially, you can break down everything you want to draw into basic shapes. Basic shapes are circles (we already practiced those), rectangles and triangles. If you can draw these basic shapes, and I’m pretty sure you can do this, you can essentially draw anything. I find it helpful to do just a few of these warm ups at the start of a drawing session, it helps me to create smoother line work.

In the second case, it’s easier to control the distance between hatches and the pressure applied to the lead, making it more smooth and even. The hardness is denoted on each one with a number and a letter. The higher the number the harder its lead, so it will make a very light line.

essential sketching tips

Lightly sketch lines parallel to the original block outlines from the marked points on the front and side surfaces, as shown in Figure 23. Sketch a light outline of the basic rectangular block, using the size measurements given in Figure 21. Mark the number of units indicated along the length (L) and the depth (D), as shown in Figure 22. If you followed these sketching tips, we’d love to see what you made! Show us by tagging @montmarteart on Facebook and Instagram.

Think back to the mark-making exercise and remember the different marks and lines your pencil can produce. Try to think what kind of texture will be most fitting for your subject and add a bit of detail – sparingly, not all over. Now, you want to know how you can finish your drawing, right? At this point, you‘ll want to make your sketch a bit rounder, a bit more finished. Do not proceed to this step when your basic framework and the right proportions aren‘t in place, rather make another drawing or correct the one you have. As a second step, you‘ll want to refine what you have drawn through a solid outline.

Warm up + practice hand-eye coordination

To be successful at the hatching technique, hold the pencil in a loose fashion. This means instead of pressing hard on the lead and using your wrist to draw, try and draw by keeping your wrist straight and moving your elbow. This will create longer, lighter, more sweeping strokes for the hatched lines. For extra long hatch lines, try keeping your elbow in one position and moving your shoulder to create pencil lines. It may seem basic to reassess how you hold a pencil, but especially if you’re a self taught artist, basics are easy to miss out on.