How To Draw Natural
Drawing natural scenes is not as hard as it may seem. By developing a few methods and mastering a few fundamental principles, you can quickly and easily create professional-looking drawings of natural landscapes. Here are seven easy steps for beginners to get started.
Step 1: Sketch Constructive Lines
Start by sketching out your scene. This helps to create a framework, or an overall structure of the setting. Sketch out ways to simplify the scene so its proportions won’t be off. For example, divide the landscape into thirds horizontally, and use the horizon line to determine the horizon. This will help bring the drawing together so it won’t be too far off the mark.
Step 2: Outline the Scene
Next, use the sketching lines as a guide to outline the edges of the objects. This will help you figure out which colors to use and ensure the drawing looks clean. Outline the sky, the trees, the grass, whatever is prominent in the scene. This is not only important for later colors but will make the drawing easier to look at.
Step 3: Set a Palette
It’s important to set a palette for the colors you’ll use for the drawing. This includes colors you might use for the sky, trees, ground, clouds, and the sun or moon. If you’re recreating a landscape, use colors from the scene you’re drawing. When picking colors, try to stick to a harmonious palette no more than five colors.
Step 4: Blend and Add Texture
Once you’ve established your colors, use techniques like blending and texture to enhance your drawing. This is as important as selecting colors, as it brings depth to the drawing. For example, use lighter colors to blend with darker colors to create shadows, and use bold strokes to create texture.
Step 5: Capture Movement
When it comes to natural scenes, movement is a key element of immersing the viewer in the drawing. Copying the movement of the waves, clouds, trees, or animals will bring the drawing to life. Don’t forget to use a reference. This can be photos, or even a location you are standing in.
Step 6: Develop Color Theory
Color theory is the science of understanding how to use colors in harmony. You can use color theory to help create the proper emotions in the drawing. It includes using a base hue, using analogous colors for balance, and adding a touch of a complementary hue for energy.
Step 7: Define Light and Shade
When illustrating natural scenes, it’s important to distinguish between light and shadows. Changing daylight will also change the colors of objects in the landscape. For example, at dawn, everything may be cool, while midday may be more warm and sunny.
Step 8: Understand Perspective
Finally, it’s important to understand the principles of perspective so your drawing appears three-dimensional. Perspective is all about recreating distance and depth with lines, colors, shapes, and textures. Pay attention to details like vanishing points, size and placement of objects, and approximate measurements to get the desired effect.
Step 9: Use Negative Space
Pay close attention to the negative space in your drawing. Negative space are areas of the drawing where an object or line does not occupy any energy. That is, there is nothing present. Negative space helps create a sense of balance and composition, and can add complexity and interest to your drawing.
Step 10: Incorporate Details
Don’t forget to add details to your drawing. Depending on what type of landscape you are drawing, this can include adding leaves to a tree, blades of grass on the ground, tracks on the sand, etc. All these details come together to create a realistic, vivid drawing.
