Making Your Drawings Look More Realistic

Introduction

• Goal: By the end of the training, you'll know the next steps to make your drawings more realistic.
• Focus: Common mistakes to avoid and key elements for realistic drawings.

Elements of Realistic Drawing

Accurate Proportions

• Importance: Start with an accurate sketch; proportions are crucial.
• Common Mistake: Beginners often sketch with too much focus on small details early on.
• Solution:
  • Work from big shapes to smaller details.
  • Use methods like the grid method or pencil measurements.

Shading and Values

• Definition: Value refers to how light or dark your shading is.
• Common Mistake: Beginners often avoid dark values, making drawings look flat.
• Solution:
  • Use a range of pencils (e.g., HB, 2B, 6B) for different values.
  • Identify light, mid-tones, and darks in your reference before shading.
  • Start with dark values to easily judge other values.

Light and Shadow

• Purpose: To make your drawing look 3D.
• Importance: Accurate light and shadow create form and volume.
• Solution:
  • Identify where the light is coming from and how it affects your subject.
  • Avoid shading with random values; understand what you’re shading.

Edges

• Types: Hard and soft edges.
• Common Mistake: Using outlines instead of edges.
• Solution:
  • Replace outlines with appropriate edges.
  • Understand the difference between hard (sudden change) and soft edges (gradual change).

Detail and Texture

• Importance: Details can enhance realism if used correctly.
• Common Mistakes:
  • Detailing without considering the underlying surface.
  • Sharp transitions between textures.
  • Uniform details that lack variety.
• Solution:
  • Match detail values to their underlying area.
  • Avoid harsh transitions; feather edges instead.
  • Add variety to details (different sizes, shapes, and values).
  • Use layers and blending to integrate details.

Conclusion

• Summary: Mastering values, form, light and shadow, edges, and detail are key to realistic drawings.
• Next Steps: For more advanced training, check out the course "Drawing Decoded".
• Goal: Make your next drawing your most realistic one yet!