What you can do with doodling is limitless, and it's not so much a particular technique as it is a simplistic way of expressing thoughts and feelings.Įverything, from drawing a simple shape over and over to creating characters that spring to life off the page, is considered doodling. Doodlingĭoodling is where it all starts for most of us.ĭoodling is a very informal form of drawing, usually created absent-mindedly (for instance, to keep yourself entertained in class).ĭoodling refers to rough scribbles and sketches of ideas. From basic styles such as doodling and continuous line drawing to complex hyperrealism and 3D illusions, see what inspires you! 1. We've listed 11 drawing styles that will expand your drawing abilities both artistically and technically. Within each drawing style, there are many different possibilities for how you can express that style. This is because drawing homes in on detail, precision, and understanding of what it takes to create beautiful works of art and design. Learning the technical side of the styles of drawing you enjoy most will also help you to improve your design skills and artistic abilities. Some drawing styles are more technical than others. While it's truly an art form, drawing is also technical skill. Industry experts consciously try to keep their skills sharp and their creativity alive by drawing. It's possible to achieve hyperrealism with watercolor or to create a charcoal effect with pencil drawing. You might be more interested in one particular style and adapt your favorite medium to work for that. Not all drawing media are suited to all drawing styles for example, crayons might not be the best choice for hyperrealism, and if you're going for something that requires a fine point, like stippling, then messy charcoal might not be the most ideal. If there are particular media you love, you may choose types of drawing to experiment with based on those media.

Digital drawing with tablets and apps like Vectornator and Procreate.

Pencil drawing (graphite, watercolor pencils, or colored pencils).

The most common drawing styles based on a specific medium are: People have also produced incredible artworks with sand drawings, pavement drawings, and even drawings created with actual food. In the ancient world, people used natural materials like minerals and blood to draw on cave walls. You can draw pretty much anywhere with pretty much anything. You can use tons of media to draw, such as pencil, graphite, charcoal, crayon, pen, soft pastel, chalk, oil pastel, marker, fine liner, spraypaint, and air spray.

It's also very much influenced by the medium you work in. Think of the difference between a one-minute sketch and a one-hour drawing.įinding the style you love takes exploration and practice. The amount of time you put into your drawings also greatly impacts the quality of your creative work. Your particular drawing style depends on your skills, preference, audience or brief you might be creating for, cultural background, interests, and education. Image Source: Unsplash A Note On Styleįrom Leonardo Da Vinci to Pablo Picasso, the way an artist chooses to express themselves arises from many influencing factors. There are tons of different drawing styles to play with, but we've put together a list of 11 epic drawing styles for you to explore and try out. I also have a guide to the Best Paper for Colored Pencils.Īs you can see from my colored pencil art on this page, colored pencils can be used to create artwork in a variety of styles, such as photorealism, abstraction, whimsical, and composite (combination of styles).Want to improve your drawing skills? Feeling stagnant in your style and keen to try something new?Įxperimenting with different drawing styles is a fantastic way to hone your skills and improve your ability to capture imaginative imagery and develop your unique style. To learn more about colored pencils, such as the different types and my favorite brands, check out my Guide to Colored Pencils. Colored pencil art can easily rival paintings in luminosity and depth of color! You can basically draw anything with colored pencils that you would be able to depict with paint. more than enough to draw just about anything! But this is where it gets even better - the colors can be easily blended together in endless combinations to create even more shades, tints and hues. Prismacolors come in a range of 132 colors. My favorite brand of colored pencils, which I used to create the drawings you see on this page, are Prismacolor Colored Pencils (this links to Blick Art Materials, and if you make a purchase I get a small commission that helps support this site). They can be sharpened to a fine point to allow for exquisite detail.

Artist-quality colored pencils are light-resistant or lightfast.

Cool pencil art