How to Sketch in Pencil
Great painters like Vermeer and Michelangelo all learned to paint by first learning to draw, and learned to draw by first learning to sketch --- to capture the basics of form and movement and composition. As a beginner, it is more important to grasp the concepts of sketching than to have the most expensive or elaborate tools.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Drawing pencils, HB and 2B
- Erasers, gum and rubber
- Sharpener
- Sandpaper sharpener
- Sketch pad
Instructions
-
-
1
Collect your tools.
Buy an HB and a 2B drawing pencil. Drawing pencils vary in hardness; a softer pencil leaves a darker mark. HB is the baseline, and 2B, 4B and 6B are increasingly soft; 2H, 4H and so on are increasingly hard.
A kneadable eraser, which is gray and soft, is ideal for lifting graphite. An eraser is as important as a pencil, in that you use it to "sculpt" your drawing on the page.
A sharpener will put a decent point on your pencil, but most artists rely on a sandpaper block for a finer edge.A newsprint sketch pad is sufficient for most beginners (and most advanced artists). They are inexpensive, and you can switch to better materials as you create more finished work.
-
2
Draw a human figure, perhaps from a photograph. Look for the basic shapes, like cones, rods, balls, egg shapes. If you have seen an artist's mannequin, note that it is nothing but wooden cones, balls and rods hinged together. Rather than attempt to draw a masterpiece, sketch these basic shapes, paying attention to their proportions. Now, erase the interior marks, leaving only the outer edges of your figure drawing; it should look fairly human. Smooth out the edges with your pencil and eraser.
-
-
3
Draw the hand. Pencil artist Paul Calle (who drew for Reader's Digest and the Saturday Evening Post) envisioned the palm as a squarish block of wood, and the fingers as bamboo, with the knuckles as knobs on the bamboo stalk.
First, draw the hand flat; note that the top of the palm is curved, much like the curve at the tips of the fingers.
Now, draw the hand in a gesture --- perhaps pointing, in a fist or waving. The principles are the same.
Use your eraser to clean up the inside of the sketch, leaving the edges.
-
4
Draw the foot. Hands and feet are very difficult for artists. Bear in mind that the foot is shaped much like a door wedge. Draw the ankle as a ball, the calf as a rod that narrows toward the foot.
Draw four simple lines to separate the toes. In most cases, the four toes are about the same width, and the big toe, about twice that width. Neaten up your sketch with your eraser.
-
5
Draw the face. First, draw an inverted egg (its small side on the bottom). Draw one line bisecting the egg from top to bottom, another from side to side. The eyes fall along the horizontal line, the nose along the perpendicular line.
Look for the planes, cones and balls of the face. The nose is roughly a bisected cone, while the chin and cheeks are usually ball shaped.
Draw a figure 8 horizontally, where the two lines meet. The eyebrows typically fall along the top of the Figure 8, the lower eyelid along the bottom of the figure 8.
-
6
Draw other subjects (animals, in nature, still lifes) the same way --- looking for the basic shapes, aiming for proper proportions.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Sketch often. Your first sketches will likely have little sense of movement to them and will be out of proportion. Only with time and patience will you perfect your craft.
