Tips for Better Drawing and Design

Take these steps for better drawing and design in your next sketch. Improving the composition is the way to take 3 steps forward in your artwork. I mean 3 huge steps forward to better design. The first step is to use perspective to lead the viewers eye into the scene. You can actually control where you want the viewer to look by taking a few important steps.

• use linear perspective to lead the viewers eye into the scene
• connect those lines to the horizon
• use shapes to control the eye
• use the foreground to get to the focal point

As you can see from the drawing above I used perspective in the road and the fields to lead the viewer into the picture in this landscape drawing. Wide in the foreground and gradually getting narrow as you get further towards the horizon. The telephone poles use the same perspective to create depth in the full width drawing shown below. Larger in the foreground and smaller as they recede into the picture. Use those shapes to control where you want the viewer to look.

This farm landscape has big fields surrounding the barn and outbuildings. I used line and shape in the foreground to lead the viewer from the fields and road into the barnyard, and you can feel that depth. All the lines lead to or relate to the horizon line in this drawing. The horizon line is back where the barnyard and farmhouse is located.

It gets a little tricky to use these tips when your trying to replicate a scene, but with practice it will get easier. Take your sketchbook next time you leave the house and draw a scene from life. Try to use these tips in your sketch and you will have a better drawing and see an improvement in your design.