Freehand Drawing for Beginners: Must-Know Tips

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Tired of having to depend on tracing and/or using grids when drawing or preparing for a painting? Do you want to be able to confidently sketch while out and about, in a coffee shop, at a park, while on vacation, etc.? Confused as to how artists are able to recreate shapes and proportions effectively when drawing freehand?



Most of my students and community members know that, even though I enjoy using references when drawing or painting (I use both photos as well as draw/paint from direct observation), I'm not a very big believer in tracing and using grids. 

Why?

Because, after we've gotten to a certain level with our drawing, sticking to those methods for long periods of time and never challenging oneself with freehand drawing or sketching, tends to hinder our progress in a variety of ways. 

For one, tracing and using grids doesn't do much for our development when it comes to our visual measuring skills or our ability to lay down lines confidently. 

Not to mention, these methods primarily teach budding artists to create carbon copies of the reference. This may very well be what certain types of artists are seeking, but for artists like myself who are looking to bring expression, personality and even certain amounts of imperfection into our representational pieces, progress would just come much more slowly. 

Finally, because these methods focus primarily on copying, there's no reason for artists to further their knowledge of the subject on hand when it comes to proportion, 3D form and even perspective, which are all very important Art Fundamentals to wrap our heads around. 

If we don't understand important Art Fundamentals such as perspective and 3D form (and others such as anatomy if we're drawing human figures or portraits), there's just no way that we're going to be able to draw freehand with confidence and ease. 

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For me, if my drawing practice is not somehow preparing me to draw from direct observation (otherwise known as drawing from life), it's holding me back. 

This is just me, though. And I'm aware we all have different goals, styles and ways of working as artists. 

But it's also important to be honest with ourselves regarding the types of practice that will help us get to our goals. 

Even though I like using references in order to have something to jump off from, I'm not going for 100% replicating or creating a carbon copy of what I'm looking at. 

I'm always taking away elements, bringing in elements, manipulating color, looking for ways to bring myself into my work and thinking of ways to improve the overall composition. 


And yes, I do believe that using tracing is a great option for beginners just getting started on their drawing/sketching journeys. It could also very well be a great jumping off point, even when the artist has already developed his/her drawing skills and is getting into a new type of subject. 

For example, when I was getting started with figure drawing, tracing over full-body poses helped me understand shapes throughout the body and develop that mind-muscle memory to a certain extent before drawing freehand. 

I also believe that there is a time and place for tracing and using grids, even when the artist is already highly skilled. Namely, when he/she is short on time, the composition is very complex or large, he/she is teaching classes, working on studies that focus primarily on the painting process, etc. 

Still life arrangement in graphite by Erika Lancaster.

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It's one thing to trace and use grids when one already knows how to draw and quite another to continue tracing and using grids forever, and ignoring the importance of learning to draw because you want to skip straight to the painting process or whatever it may be. 

If you're creating art for the fun of it, then it's perfectly ok. 

But if you're really looking to improve your art skills at a deeper level, it'll hinder you. 


I've said this once and I'll continue saying it:

Drawing is the basis for all kinds of art. 

Even though I sell my paintings and consider myself to be primarily a painter, I'll always continue practicing my drawing/sketching alongside my painting, because I know how much this practice enhances and simplifies my process with everything else. 

And, if you're asking yourself if knowing how to draw is necessary if you're looking to develop a highly abstract style, I would say yes. 

The only scenario in which I'd consider learning how to draw as not necessary, would be if an artist is looking to do pouring type paintings or Jackson Pollock-type paintings, in which the paint in itself organically creates shapes and the composition is more erratic/less planned. 

But, if you're looking to ever leave that, it's essential to know how to draw and learn about Art Fundamentals. 

If you know these two at least on a basic level, not only will moving on to painting be much easier, but you'll be able to create higher quality work much faster. 

This is why,over on the Becoming Artists membership site, I share both watercolor and drawing/sketching tutorials, as well as full classes and assignments on Art Fundamentals. 
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In the following video, I share my preliminary sketching (outline sketching) process for recreating effective shapes and proportions freehand.

This is what I do every time I'm working on a new drawing, as well as before getting started with a new watercolor piece. 

I also provide lots of tips along the way that'll help beginners move forward faster with their freehand drawing. 

After finishing with the preliminary sketching process using regular graphite pencils, I use alternative shading/mark-making techniques (hatching and crosshatching in this case) to develop a wide range of values and create interest/depth. ​

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Freehand Sketching Tips for Beginners
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1. Take time to find a great reference photo and observe it before getting started

In this past blog post, I talk about the main characteristics that a reference photo should have if we're intending to use it for drawing or painting purposes. 

Choosing your reference photo wisely is a must. Otherwise, you might be making the drawing or painting process much harder for yourself than it needs to be. 

A few of the things we have to look for are: great lighting, good resolution, and that no important parts of the subject are cropped out.

Once you've found a great art reference photo, or have prepared something to draw from life/direct observation, make time to observe it before putting pencil to paper. 

Conclude where the light source is located in relation to the subject(s), take note of the perspective you're viewing the subject(s) from, notice any textures you may have to practice before jumping in, and take note of the different sizes and shapes. 



2. Make sure you're drawing lightly (I like using my HB pencil)

Drawing is a refinement process. It's not like when we're writing our name or a sentence, in which we're expected to write everything perfectly right-off-the-bat. 

And when we're drawing freehand, we're going to make mistakes along the way that we need to be able to easily fix. 

We want to draw lightly for a variety of different reasons: this will help us easily erase mistakes, it'll help us avoid damaging/scratching our paper, and if we're looking to create higher levels of realism, our outline sketch won't show through at the end (in realism there are no outlines). 

I always move from harder pencil grades to softer pencil grades in my drawing process. 

I explain all about pencil grades and their use throughout the drawing process in the first class of my Drawing for the Total Beginner Mini-Course, which you can access for free along with the Watercolor for the Total Beginner Mini-Course right here. 


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3. Simplify your subject and use "envelopes" to lay down largest/general shapes

It's essential to be able to simplify what you're looking at and visualize it as simple shapes or forms (or combinations of simple shapes or forms). 

*Shapes are flat and 2-dimensional and forms are 3-dimensional and have volume. 

I don't worry about recreating curves and shapes perfectly when I'm getting started with a sketch, but simply lay down oversimplified shapes that are blocky and more angular. This helps me, first and foremost, make sense of proportions and locations of different elements in regards to each other. 

By starting with largest/general shapes and making our way towards smaller shapes and details, we're able to use our drawing area much more effectively and this also helps our brains compare sizes and widths of different elements more easily. *You can see this entire process in the video above. 

As you continue adding in more shapes, constantly relate and compare different elements with each other in terms of their lengths, widths, locations within space, the angles they create upon each other, etc. 

Visually break elements down into halves, thirds, fourths, etc. and compare them to each other in this way. There's no shame in using a ruler in the beginning! 

As you continue adding more and more elements, you'll likely notice that there are things that need fixing. This is normal, as the more elements you add in, the more points of comparison you'll have. 

Continue comparing constantly and refining along the way. 

Remember that it's important to take the entire composition (the whole) into account and that achieving effective proportions is all about getting the relationships between different elements right. 


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4. Whenever you're drawing smaller groupings of elements, take note of overlapping and edges

Whenever a reference has groupings of similar or small overlapping elements, such as the grapes in the one I'm working with above, take note of their edges. 

Make sure you're noticing which elements are overlapping which, and how they are sitting on each other, in order to avoid a "floating" look.   



5. Lay down horizontal or vertical lines as guides

Our brains tend to and understand straight horizontal or vertical lines a lot more easily than slated or irregular lines.

We can decipher angles, alignments and distances between subjects with greater ease by drawing horizontal or vertical lines (you can use a ruler for this) alongside elements or wherever you feel a line would serve as guidance. 

Lots of skilled artists use plumb lines, which are vertical lines that enable them to more easily achieve proper distance, alignment, etc. among different elements. 



6. Take your time with the preliminary sketching process

The preliminary sketching process is, quite simply, the foundation for everything else. 

You'd never start adding in the windows or painting the walls of a house without making sure that the foundation is solid, right?

Especially when we're looking for higher levels of realism, it's essential to take our time with our preliminary sketch before moving on later parts of the drawing process such as smaller details and shading. 

I know it can be exciting to move on to shading, but remember that no amount of shading, texture or detail is going to fix errors in proportion, shapes and perspective.
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7. Learn about Art Fundamentals such as 3D form and Perspective 

When our objective is to become skilled at drawing or sketching freehand, knowing at least the basics on Art Fundamentals is essential. 

Learning how to use your medium (whether graphite, pen and ink, pastel, watercolor, gouache, etc.) and developing your observational skills, is one thing, but learning the fundamentals is quite another. 

These go hand in hand.

The list of Art Fundamentals will vary a bit depending on where you look, but the basics include: Elements and Principles of Art, Composition Design, Light Behavior, Anatomy, etc. 

I always recommend students learn at least the basics of all of them so that they aren't limited, but once the artist knows the specific subject he/she'll be working with for a long period of time, it's important to delve deeper into the fundamentals that'll help us increase the quality of our work (ex. Anatomy is an important fundamental for portrait/figurative artists, Perspective is important for urban sketchers and landscape artists, etc.).



8. Practice with the 4-Quadrant Method

There is one method that I practiced with a lot when I was just getting started, which helped me develop much needed skills for freehand sketching a lot faster.

I still use it to the day when I'm working with specific subjects and/or want to make sure I'm using my drawing space as effectively as possible. 

This is a method I always introduce to my students when I'm just getting started with them and they've seen great success through consistent practice with it. 

Become an art email insider to get FREE Class on the 4-Quadrant Method!

Check out my FREE Patreon-exclusive tutorial and class samples here.

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As overwhelming and challenging freehand sketching may seem in the beginning, it's important to remember that we're making forwards progress with every piece we work on. 

The more you practice, the more you'll be building up your observational skills, visual measuring skills, and ability to recreate shapes and proportions effectively. 

By staying consistent with your freehand sketching practice and applying the aforementioned tips, you'll be making tons of progress in no time!




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Drawing supplies used in the video:

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