How to Draw with Pencil
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How to Draw with Pencil
Anyone can learn how to draw with a pencil. For people who are just beginning to explore their creative side, pencil sketching is an ideal creative outlet.
One of the reasons that pencil sketching is great for beginning artists is because the pencil is such a forgiving medium. If you make a mistake, you can always erase it. This allows you to try and try again until you get it just right.
Learning how to draw with the pencil is just that – a learning process. You can’t expect yourself to be a brilliant artist right off the bat, so don’t pressure yourself. Let your eraser be your trusted friend when you are pencil sketching, and always allow yourself to learn from your mistakes. That is how you become a good artist.
Pencils are cheap and affordable, making pencil sketching a great hobby for absolutely anyone. When you learn how to draw with pencil, you can start by simply using a normal pencil that you have around the house. You can draw on anything you can get your hands on – computer printer paper, lined notebook paper, or whatever you have around the house.
When you are ready to take your pencil sketching to the next level, invest in a set of artist quality drawing pencils. Artist drawing pencils come in a range of softness and hardness, which describes the quality of the lead. A 9H pencil will have the very hard lead, while a 9B pencil will have the very soft lead. The harder the lead, the lighter the line will be. The softer the lead, the darker the line will be – and it will also be easier to smudge.
A typical pencil that you buy for everyday use is an HB, which is near the middle of the range of hard and soft leads. When you are just starting to learn how to draw with pencil, you don’t need to buy too many artist quality pencils – a range such as 2H, H, F, HB, and 2B is enough to get you started with your pencil sketching.
You can also buy artist drawing paper that is archival and acid-free, an excellent choice if you want to keep your drawings for a very long time. Buy a sketchbook that you can do all of your pencil sketchings in. This way you can see how your drawings progress over time. If you buy one that is small enough, you can take it with you when you go out and do pencil sketching at the park, the beach, the bus stop, or anywhere!
When you learn how to draw with pencil, start your pencil sketching lightly, using a very hard pencil (2H – 9H). When you sketch a face, using a harder pencil will allow you to lightly sketch in the proportions and outlines. This is easier to erase than softer pencils. Generally, the darker the line, the harder it will be to erase.
Hold the pencil loosely but firmly – don’t grip it too tightly. Allow yourself the ability to control the pencil without choking it. This may take some practice, but doing some gesture drawings may help you get a feel for the right grip as you learn how to draw with a pencil.
One of the most important (and challenging) parts of doing portrait pencil sketching is getting the proportions of the facial features correct. A handy way to help determine the correct proportions is to close one eye, hold the pencil up to the various features (such as an eye, for example) and use your thumb and the tip of the pencil to visually ascertain the length of the eye. You can then compare this length with other lengths, such as the space between the eyes, and the length of the nose (which are both the same length as the eye, when the person is facing directly towards you).
As your portrait pencil sketching progresses, switch to using pencils with softer leads, between 2B – 9B. These pencils will allow you to create deeper shadows, which will help create a three-dimensional face. Because these softer pencils are easier to smudge, you can deliberately smudge the drawing to blend the pencil marks or to create other interesting effects.
Learning how to draw with a pencil is a fun hobby for budding artists of all ages. It sets the foundation for all other types of art. Whether you’re brand new to making art or a long-time enthusiast, pencil sketching is always a rewarding pastime!
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