Drawing Techniques

• Pay attention to perspective. Use one-point or two-point perspective to make drawings realistic.
• Familiarise yourself with basic shapes. Almost every object can be broken down into simpler shapes for easier sketching.
• Dabble with hatching and cross-hatching. These techniques involve drawing closely-spaced lines to create texture or shadow.
• Practice contour drawing. This involves drawing the outline of an object without looking at the paper.

Tools & Materials

• Charcoal: Create different effects such as shadowing, hatching, and smudging.
• Graphite Pencil: This is a fundamental tool. The hardness of the lead can determine the darkness of your lines.
• Ink Pens: These are used for strong, definitive lines and precision work.
• Pastels: Soft pastels can be used for colouring and creating various textures.

The Elements of Art

• Line: Use continuous mark to create shape, form and define spaces.
• Colour: Implement colour theory to evoke certain feelings or emphasise certain elements.
• Texture: Replicate the feel or look of surfaces, either visually or with physical texture.
• Shape: Deal with 2D elements including geometric shapes, organic shapes.
• Form: Manipulate 3D shapes and space within a drawing.
• Space: Juggle with positive and negative space within a composition.
• Value: Use varying degrees of lightness or darkness to create depth and volume.

Composition and Perspective

• Framing: Decide what is going to be within your drawing's frame and what is going to be left out.
• The Rule of Thirds: Position the main elements of your drawing along the points where lines would intersect if the frame was divided into a 3x3 grid.
• Foreground, Middleground, and Background: Give your artworks depth by placing objects at various distances from the viewer.
• Overlapping: Suggest depth by drawing some objects in front of others.

Studying the Old Masters

• Vincent Van Gogh: Known for his use of vibrant colors and expressive line work.
• Leonardo da Vinci: Renowned for his observational drawings. Look at his usage of light and shadow, and detail to create realistic representations.
• Michelangelo: Admired for his figure drawings. Notice his draughtsmanship and understanding of human anatomy.
• Egon Schiele: Notable for his unconventional and expressive figure drawings. Analyse the distortion and exaggeration for emotional effect.