If you're an absolute beginner who's decided to start drawing as a new hobby, you're probably looking for helpful tips to guide your journey. While learning any new skill ultimately requires regular practice, we want to provide targeted guidance so you're not practicing randomly but purposefully developing your drawing and painting abilities.

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1. Just Start Drawing

Many aspiring artists tell themselves they're not good enough and don't dare to even begin. But no journey starts without a first step. You need to simply start—the initial results aren't important. Practice makes perfect.

Regular practice will inevitably lead to improvement. Drawing is no different from any other skill. Like athletic training, it's crucial not to repeat the same exercises endlessly but to embrace new challenges and specifically practice what you can't yet do well. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone while maintaining consistent practice habits.

2. Choose Beginner-Friendly Subjects

"Find an easy subject to draw" is solid advice. But when you've never drawn before, it's challenging to judge what's truly easy versus what's deceptively difficult.

Generally, subjects consisting of simple shapes with minimal details are easiest. Some excellent examples include:

• Round objects: Balls, apples, melons, oranges—circles are inherently forgiving
• Simple shapes: Bananas, TVs, lamps, basic furniture
• Geometric forms: Boxes, pyramids, cylinders

Avoid complex compositions initially. Instead of drawing an entire fruit bowl, start with a single piece of fruit. This applies whether you're drawing from photographs, real-life objects, or imagination. Master simplicity before attempting complexity.

3. Keep It Enjoyable

If you're forcing yourself to draw and finding no enjoyment, stop immediately and reassess. Ask yourself honestly: if you don't enjoy drawing, why do you want to learn?

If a stressful daily routine is stealing the joy from your practice sessions, don't force yourself to continue at all costs. Drawing should be a hobby that brings pleasure and relaxation, not another source of stress. Find your optimal practice schedule—whether that's daily sketches or weekend sessions—and stick to what feels sustainable and enjoyable.

4. What Materials Do I Need?

Beginning artists quickly face the question of which materials they "must" use. Is a ballpoint pen and notebook sufficient, or do you absolutely need professional artist pencils and special sketching paper?

If you're testing whether drawing is right for you, start with what you have at home. But once you're committed to regular, ambitious practice, proper materials become valuable investments.

Key material insights:

• You don't need expensive, high-end artist supplies to create good drawings
• Even discounted or budget brands produce excellent results
• It's the artist's skill, not the materials, that makes a drawing good
• Avoid extremely cheap online deals—low-quality materials can ruin the drawing experience

Paper recommendations: Invest in good paper above all else. Sketching or drawing paper surpasses printer paper or notebook pages. Quality paper provides a completely different drawing experience than paper not designed for art. Look for paper weights of 90-110 g/m² for general drawing, or above 110 g/m² for more robust work.

Drawing tools: Whether you choose ballpoint pens, pencils, charcoal, fineliners, or other materials depends on personal preference. Each medium has unique charm and offers different techniques and possibilities. Experiment to find your favorites.

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5. Talent Isn't Everything

Some people are naturally talented and find learning new skills easier. Others don't have that advantage. However, talent is not a requirement for learning—even in drawing. So-called "untalented" people simply need to practice more frequently than those with natural ability. That's all there is to it!

Remember: every professional artist was once a beginner. Persistence and practice matter far more than initial talent. Studies show that deliberate practice accounts for the vast majority of skill development, regardless of starting ability.

6. Set Realistic Expectations

You're often your own harshest critic. While self-assessment is valuable, excessive self-criticism becomes destructive. Set realistic expectations based on your current skill level, not where you hope to be.

Mistakes and "failed" drawings are part of the learning process. Every error teaches something valuable. Embrace imperfection as a stepping stone to improvement rather than viewing it as failure.

7. Follow the Right Learning Curve

Some beginners rush immediately into complex subjects with full details and shading, attempting photorealistic drawings before mastering basics. This approach often neglects fundamentals like perspective, proportion, and clean line work.

Progressive learning example for portraits:

1. Practice individual features: eyes, noses, mouths, ears separately
2. Learn head proportions and feature placement
3. Add hair and basic forms
4. Introduce simple shading
5. Combine elements into complete portraits
6. Add advanced details and realistic shading

Regular, incremental increases in difficulty ensure steady progress without overwhelming frustration.

8. Develop the Artist's Eye

The untrained eye sees the photo below as simply an apple. But artists see much more. What do you notice as a beginner?

Regular drawing inevitably develops your eye for detail. You can actively train this skill by consciously observing what makes objects appear realistic:

Observing the apple reveals:

• It's not perfectly round—the shape tapers toward the bottom
• The stem sits in a depression at the top, not on a flat surface
• The green isn't uniform—notice light spots, dark areas, and color variations
• Light creates highlights and shadows that define form
• The cast shadow beneath grounds the apple in space

Recognizing such details in even simple subjects requires patient, attentive observation. Daily life encourages superficial, distracted perception. But drawing demands intensive observation, breaking subjects down into basic forms, understanding perspective, and noticing subtle details.

9. Avoid Heavy Contours

Beginners tend to draw contours too heavily—either pressing too hard or drawing multiple lines beside each other. This creates harsh, unnatural boundaries that flatten drawings.

Better approach:

• Start with light, loose lines
• Gradually add pressure as you refine the drawing
• Practice relaxation exercises to develop fluid line work
• Hold your pencil properly (see tip #13)

Remember: real objects rarely have hard black outlines. Edges are defined by value changes, not lines.

10. Common Mistake: Too Little Contrast

Beginners often hesitate to create deep shadows, resulting in flat, lifeless drawings. While they may add some shading, it's typically uniform gray without variation.

Creating dynamic contrast:

• Identify your darkest darks and lightest lights
• Push shadows to be genuinely dark where appropriate
• Preserve bright highlights
• Create gradual transitions between values
• Use the full range from white to black

More variation and stronger contrasts bring drawings to life, creating depth and dimension.

11. Resist Over-Erasing

Beginning artists with specific visions tend to erase excessively and prematurely. Learn to tolerate imperfect lines, especially when your current skills can't yet improve them. Accept your mistakes as part of the process.

Erasing problems often stem from:

• Too much pressure: Heavy lines are harder to erase completely
• Wrong pencil hardness: Beginners often use HB pencils (medium hardness), which can be too soft. Try F, H, H2, or H3 for initial sketching
• Poor paper quality: Thin paper (80 g/m²) wrinkles easily when erased. Drawing paper (90-110 g/m²) handles erasing better

Consider keeping "mistake lines" as part of your drawing's character rather than pursuing perfection through endless erasing.

12. Don't Compare Yourself to Others

While role models can inspire and motivate, unrealistic comparisons become destructive. Remember that even artists you admire spent years developing their skills. Their current mastery doesn't reflect their beginnings.

Healthy comparison practices:

• Compare your current work to your own past work
• Celebrate small improvements
• Learn techniques from others without expecting immediate mastery
• Focus on your unique artistic journey

13. Draw Without Hand Pain

Writing instruments teach us to grip close to the tip, near the paper. This creates excessive pressure and quickly causes hand fatigue. Additionally, holding too close blocks your view of the drawing.

Proper pencil holding technique:

• Hold the pencil loosely, using its entire length
• Rest it naturally in your hand rather than gripping tightly
• Position thumb slightly higher than index finger
• For precision work, move fingers slightly closer together
• Keep hand relaxed to prevent cramping

Additional tips:

• Place paper under your hand to prevent smudging
• Consider using an artist's glove for digital or traditional work
• Take regular breaks to stretch your hand

14. Never Throw Anything Away!

This crucial tip cannot be overstated: save ALL your sketches and drawings—throw away NOTHING. Older works are the only way to track progress and see improvement. They also serve as idea sources and learning references.

Benefits of keeping everything:

• Track skill development over time
• Identify recurring challenges to address
• Find inspiration in unexpected places
• Create "redraw challenges" to showcase growth
• Build confidence by seeing improvement

Many artists enjoy redrawing old pieces every few years to demonstrate skill development—a popular practice especially on social media.

Bonus Tips from Professional Artists

We asked professional artists for their top advice for beginners:

1. Use reference photos: Even as a beginner, use references. Drawing entirely from imagination significantly slows skill development. Real-world observation teaches faster than imagination.
2. Tracing is acceptable: Especially for beginners, tracing trains fine motor skills, develops shape recognition, and helps identify essential versus optional lines. It's a legitimate learning tool, not cheating.
3. Acknowledge mistakes: Leave the eraser alone and draw through errors. Mistakes often add character and always provide learning opportunities.
4. Draw daily: Even five minutes of daily practice surpasses hours of sporadic effort. Consistency builds skill faster than intensity.
5. Study fundamentals: Learn basic anatomy, perspective, light/shadow, and proportion. These foundations support all advanced techniques.
6. Join art communities: Online or local art groups provide feedback, motivation, and learning opportunities. Isolation slows progress.

Your Drawing Journey Starts Now

Learning to draw is a rewarding journey that combines technical skill with personal expression. These 14 tips provide a roadmap, but your unique path will unfold through practice and exploration.

Complement your drawing practice with our paint by numbers kits to develop color sense and painting techniques alongside your drawing skills. Or create a custom paint by numbers from your own drawings once you're ready!

Remember: Every master artist started exactly where you are now. The difference between dreaming and achieving lies in picking up that pencil and making your first mark. Your artistic journey awaits—start drawing today!

Share your drawing progress with #SwynkLearnToDraw - we celebrate every artistic milestone!