How to create a Meaningful Pencil Drawing
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to go to art school to create meaningful pencil drawings and become an artist. It certainly does help to have those tips and tricks you learn throughout your art classes, but they aren’t the only things that will help you create art that resonates with other people.
At the core of every piece of art is the hope that people care about your work. Art doesn’t always have to invoke negative emotions! Be it a positive resonance with the viewer, or a negative one, as long as you manage to touch people’s hearts, you have succeeded as an artist, and this is by no means an easy feat to achieve. If you are more adept at pencil drawings, this may be trickier for you.
Now you may be wondering, what makes a drawing meaningful? And how can you create your representative works? Here’s a guide to creating meaningful pencil drawings!
Practice, practice, practice!
It seems like a pretty obvious tip, and yet it’s one that many end up ignoring for its simplicity. Drawing is a skill, and it’s essential that you keep practicing and trying out new motions for your art to improve. To create a drawing that speaks to people, you have to be familiar with your subject, and for that, you’ll need a ton of practice!
Forget about others’ opinions.
At the heart of a meaningful pencil drawing is an artist’s intention. If you want to create a great final piece solely for the trends or money, you can bid goodbye to the emotional aspect of the job. Instead of focusing on other people’s opinions and what they think you should draw, pour in all your energy into creating a pencil drawing that means a lot to you – that emotion will automatically translate into your work as well!
Use references but ignore the trends.
There is nothing wrong with using references. To create an incredible drawing, you will need to know the ins and outs of your subject, and references are your friends! However, make sure you are at a safe distance from trends. They might get you the short-term engagement you’ve been craving, but they will rarely end up being pieces that genuinely mean something to you, and by extension, the audience.
Draw from reality
What’s better than some references you find online? The real thing, of course! Another tip for creating meaningful pencil art is to go out into the world and take your environment as a reference. Although references are helpful, they rarely show you what’s going on behind a picture. Drawing from reality will allow you to translate that picture onto your art and learn a lot more, too!
Know your medium
In this case, your medium is a pencil drawing. Know which pencils are best for specific subjects and what type of paper you will need to produce particular results. It would help if you learned the basics, although the technique and tricks will come from experience. Try different warm-up exercises for your wrist and your brain. Switch out your usual pencil for a different one – for instance, a lead pencil for a mechanical one. Test what you’re comfortable with, and experiment with what you’re new to.
Experiment
Last but not least, never stop experimenting – be it with different materials, new ideas, or fresh themes, don’t tie yourself down to what you’ve been creating. Keep moving and learning, and you will find what makes your art meaningful in no time! All that’s left is to put it to paper!