Ever since I began to improve my art schools (in early childhood), I was hoping one day to learn how to make a realistic art drawing.
Although, I’ll admit I’m not there yet, but I have learned a lot over a recent short stint back into drawing after taking a recess over half my life.
Realistic Art drawing outline
Probably one of the first steps many artists start with is drawing a light outline on paper based on the object or landscape you are looking at. It’s not highly important to get all the details at this stage, but you should draw enough at this time so you can begin coloring in the image later.
What I have found beneficial in my own experience with realistic art drawing is using a light pencil sketch. that way you can always erase any mistakes afterward. Its very common to encounter misaligned areas on the paper when first trying to photocopy the image you see to paper.
Coloring in between the lines
Ever since the dawn of realistic art drawing, the phrase ‘color between the lines’ has become a traditional statement. It’s very important to color between the lines when using colored pencils so you follow the colors in the area you are drawing in.
Shading your realistic art
To obtain a more realistic look, its quite necessary to get used to shading properly. As I learned in my high school class ‘Drawing and Design’, shading involves first finding the outline of an object. Then see where light penetrates it on various surfaces and shade where the shadows exist at.
So for example if light hits an object from above then shading would appear underneath. If light is coming in from the right or left, then the corner of that object would be much darker.
Creating a blurred illusion
Whenever you have sky, water or some other object that needs to be blurred, I’ve found it helpful to use a cloth, or a paintbrush to blend the colors into each other. This will get rid of the separated color lines that appear more as scribble than art.
With a cloth, apply it to your paper and begin to smooth out the colors by moving your hand in a circular motion. As the cloth starts to pick up more colors, try a side that is more white and begin blending in another area.
Having a handy small paintbrush can accomplish a similar illusion. With the paint brush, apply gentle strokes to the paper with either lotion, small drops of water, or solvent, which is the best method.
Move the brush back and forth the left and right and be sure to follow the colored lines on the paper. When blurring a cloud image, move the brush in a circular motion until the colors blend out nicely.
Eventually you will end up with a new looking picture as you invest more time in your art drawing.