There are an endless number of styles and approaches to drawing and sketching. Despite the numerous variations, there are only two key skills which dictate how well a sketch or drawing turns out.

Getting the outlines of the picture right ensures that the drawing looks the same as the subject. If you're drawing a portrait it ensures that the drawing has a good likeness of the person your drawing. It is an important skill to master regardless of what style you chose to do the drawing in. If your drawing has a good likeness of the subject it will look good no matter how you chose to shade the picture. On the other hand, a well shaded drawing that doesn't resemble the subject will not look good.

Drawing accurate outlines for a picture requires the artist to accurately judge the distances between each part of the picture. For portraits, this will involve making sure that the main facial features are the correct distance from each other - the eyes the correct distance apart, the nose the right length, etc.

This is very difficult skill to master. However, below are some methods that should help you to begin improving.

Gridding

It becomes apparent that there is little more to drawing these outlines than judging these relative distances. However, this is no easy task to master and can only be improved by focussed practise. A key point to remember is that when judging the distances between the parts of the drawing, the angles between each part of the drawing should also be the same. That means that the angle between the tip of the nose and the eye should be the same in the drawing as in the photo, regardless of how much bigger or smaller the drawing is. This is shown more clearly in tutorial 1.

There are many methods or strategies for improving ones ability at this, and it is important to realise that it a skill, which can be improved like any other type of skill with focussed practise.

Tutorial 1 shows some ways to start improving.

Once you have begun to master the drawing of outlines, the next stage to concentrate on is shading technique. There are many different types of shading, and the method you choose will determine the style of the drawing. If the outlines are accurate though, the sketch will look great whatever style of shading you use. It is important to note that these two elements are the most important part to almost every drawing.

Shading brings the outlines you have drawn to life, and determines the style of the drawing. When dealing in black and white, all shading is doing is making every part of the picture a certain level of brightness. There are no right or wrong ways to shade, so I have included a range of techniques. All off them have the same key underlying features.

Guidelines

Shading techniques & Styles

1. Loose charcoal shading

2. Fine realistic shading

3. Hatching and cross-hatching

4. Other variations

Remember, all of these shading techniques above require you to analyse which areas of your subject are light and which areas are dark, and then to represent these areas on the drawing as dark or light. Many people find it difficult to decide how light or dark a coloured object is, and then to put it into black and white. If you do have difficulty, it might be worth taking some black and white photos and working from them until you have a better feeling of how light and dark things should be.

 The more levels of light and dark you use usually gives a drawing more depth because in the real world there is an infinite level of graduation between the light and dark areas.

What if I don't want my sketches to look realistic?........

Tutorial 2

These basic rules apply to all types of drawing and will enable you to improve the quality of your drawing no matter what the subject. The next few tips and techniques are aimed at improving specific types of drawing. 

Drawing Faces:

 start with the most critical regions - eyes, nose, then mouth

Drawing compositions:

Rule of thirds, dynamic range,

Adding 'energy' to a drawing