Art Drawing Ideas: 40 Subjects That Build Real Skills
For about six months, I kept a sketchbook that I filled with drawings I was proud of and drawings I was not proud of in roughly equal…
How to Draw a Sun: 7 Styles Every Artist Should Try
The first sun I drew with any confidence wasn’t a perfect glowing orb. It was a messy, lopsided circle crammed into the corner of a landscape…
Strawberry Drawing: Shape, Achenes, and Glossy Surface
I drew strawberries for two years before I understood what was actually wrong with them. They read as strawberries the way a silhouette reads…
How to Draw Hair: Mass, Value, and the Techniques That Actually Work
Every portrait drawing I did in my first two years had the same problem: the hair looked like it had been printed onto the face rather than…
Shading Techniques: The Complete Drawing Guide to Tone, Depth and Dimension
The first drawing I made that actually looked three-dimensional came six months after the first one I thought would. I was drawing a still…
Aboriginal Art Styles Explained: Symbols, Regions and the Stories Behind Them
The first time I paid real attention to an Aboriginal painting — not a passing glance at a reproduction in a museum shop, but actual sustained…
Disney Drawing: The Complete Guide to Characters, Techniques, and the Principles Behind the Magic
The first Disney character I tried to draw was Mickey Mouse. Three circles — how hard could it be? Very hard, as it turns out. The head circle…
How to Draw a Magical Garden Scene: Composition, Light, and the Elements That Create Enchantment
The first magical garden I tried to draw looked like a normal garden with mushrooms added. The flowers were real-looking. The path was…
Pastel Drawing: A Complete Guide to Techniques, Materials, and Getting It Right
The first pastel drawing I was proud of was a failure by any objective standard. The values were wrong, the paper was cheap, and I had blended…
How to Draw a Turtle: Shell Anatomy, Scute Patterns, and Three Species Explained
My first turtle drawing looked like a hamburger someone had glued legs to. The shell was the right general shape — oval, slightly domed — but…
Base Drawing: The Complete Guide to Building Any Artwork From Scratch
I spent my first two years of drawing doing everything wrong in the same order. I’d stare at a reference photo, then immediately start…