Drawing Pencils

Pencil Drawing Techniques

Using drawing pencils for producing your pencil art require a trained hand. Usually most of the artists follow two approaches while using drawing pencils namely tonal and linear. The tonal approach is more inclined towards use of gradients to describe the various levels of the subject of the drawing. On the other hand the linear approach is more tilted towards using lines and shapes for forming the drawing.

Blending and smudging must be avoided in the beginning and the artist must focus on the use of his drawing pencil strokes to get the desired effect.
The artist must also avoid looking at his unfinished work very often and should try to concentrate more on the completing the drawing instead of finding faults in your own work.

Whether you like your drawing or not, do not destroy it but keep it in your portfolio to keep a history of your progress from a novice to a great artist.
You need to hold your pencil in the most comfortable way. Unnecessary pressure on the pencil point usually spoils the picture being drawn. The grip should be gentle and should not be too tight. This will go a long way in making great drawing using your drawing pencils.
Initially start with outline drawings known as contour drawings. Once you are perfect in this area then move to the next phase.
Then you can start doing blind contour drawing that is to draw the outline by just observing the subject but not even glancing at the paper.
Then you can graduate to tonal drawing where the use of soft pencils come into play for various types of shadings and tonal finishes without using any strong lines for edges.
Dry washing your drawing is the art of using some graphite powder and using a cloth or paper to rub it in places of your need giving a washed effect.

Once you perfect in these techniques you can try negative drawing or upside down techniques which are generally used by experts only.