Five Simple Ways to Improve Your Drawing Style

The creativity of men/women can be really amazing. With a pencil and piece of paper, one can craft two dimensional masterpieces within minutes. While some are gifted with drawing talent naturally, others struggle to create half way decent stick figures.

Drawing houses, cars or people may seem like difficult tasks. As a way of counteracting the detail seen in real objects, people tend to go for a more simplified technique. If you wish to improve your overall drawing style, I have five tips that can help.

Drawing tip #1: Study other artists styles.
Sometimes it's best to learn by watching others. As you look into different drawing styles, you will notice key changes throughout. Some drawing styles contain an extreme amount of detail, while others focus on basic features. Japanese animation for example tends to feature characters with long colorful hair and large eyes. Still, there are different drawing styles used throughout Japanese animation

Drawing tip #2: Study anatomy.
If you like to draw people or animals, anatomy should be a top priority. Knowing the average persons build, skeletal structure and joints will vastly improve your skill level. You do not need to know the name of every muscle and bone to improve your drawing ability. You should however learn the purpose and shape of different body parts.

Drawing tip #3: Look at your subject as shapes.
Breaking images down into various simple shapes can make drawing an object easier. Circles, squares and rectangles become a head, chest, abdomen, legs and arms. Drawing shapes help you visualize what you want to create. Using shapes for guidance is more helpful than a simple outline of an object.

Drawing tip #4: Draw an object in different poses or angles.
Most living things on this planet tend to move into different positions , why not depict that in a drawing? If you have toy(car, action figure, etc.), place it at an angle so you can see the front and side. Proceed with drawing what you see. Drawing objects in perspective can help you in showing depth.

Drawing tip #5: Above all else, practice.
Like the old adage goes, practice makes perfect. There are no sure fire tricks to improving your drawing abilities tenfold. As time goes by you will get better, while less errors will be made. If you have a high standard in what you should be capable of, it will take time and determination to reach that goal.

Studying anatomy and thinking in shapes will give general ideas of how certain things can, and should be drawn. Looking into different styles will yield much inspiration. Using perspective can show depth in an object. Your drawing style will improve with practice, given time.