Pens are a bit trickier to use for drawing but of course, you can use them. They’re just not as flexible as pencils. And you can’t erase them.
13 Drawing Exercises for Beginners (Absolutely Easy to Do)
You may think that you can’t draw. But I promise you you can get better with consistent drawing exercises, even if you’re only a beginner.
Every beginner is afraid of messing up and not getting the results they want.
Very few people are born with extraordinary talents. The rest of us need to practice and practice.
And by doing some basic drawing exercises on a daily or weekly basis, you must get better at drawing. You’ll see.
Now, let’s see what you can do to improve your drawing skills in your art journals or sketchbooks so you can make wonderful pages and enjoy every second of it.
This post covers
Why you should practice drawing regularly
Well, there’s a thing called the muscle memory. Yep, that exists.
The dictionary explanation breaks it down like this:
“…the ability to repeat a specific muscular movement with improved efficiency and accuracy that is acquired through practice and repetition.”
Imagine yourself doing sports. With time, your body and muscles get better and you improve your skills.
This is because you train your muscles and they remember what they need to do.
The same thing happens with drawing.
The more you draw different things, the more your hand muscles remember the moves and strokes, and you simply improve.
That’s it. Drawing will then become more natural for you and you’ll feel more confident.
Disclaimer: Some links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something through that link, I get a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Refer to our Disclosure.
Simple drawing exercises
Here are the drawing exercises you can do almost every day. Take 5 or 10 minutes a day and do one exercise.
If you feel you need to repeat the same one, do it. Don’t set any time frames or deadlines for yourself. Just enjoy the process of practicing.
You can also choose one sketchbook or a journal and use it only for these exercises.
Line drawing exercise
As simple as it may seem, you need to practice drawing lines: straight, curvy, zig zag, swirls, etc.
Trust me, you need to train your hand to always draw a straight line. This is also true for any kind of line.
Drawing is all about the lines, so if you master this, you’ll be able to draw many things, like faces or animals and flowers.
Straight lines
Take your pencil or a pen and draw straight lines first. Start slowly and later try to draw the lines as quickly as you can but try to make them straight.
If you need more guidance, draw two dots and try to connect them with your lines.
Yes, you can repeat the same line over and over again if you want to practice drawing quick lines.
Then, start experimenting with long and short lines. Begin with short ones and once you feel up to it, continue with longer lines.
Also, what you can practice is the space between the lines. This will help you get the lines straight.
If you manage to keep the space even between all the lines, you’re close to mastering this.
When you draw lines, they don’t always need to be horizontal. Practice drawing vertical lines, too. It’s a bit more difficult, but it’s worth it.
This drawing exercise is a great warm-up exercise before drawing something more complex. Your hand needs to get warm and ready.
So, when you want to draw something, do these simple exercises to help your hand feel the vibe.
Curvy lines
You can practice all kinds of curvy lines. Here are some examples:
These lines are also important. Practice drawing them as same as the straight ones. Start with shorter wavy lines, then draw them longer.
Zig zag lines
They seem very easy to draw, but they can be challenging, too.
I believe it’s important to practice these lines as well. It’s all about making your hand steady and memorizing the movement.
Vary the lines in size, length, and the space between one another.
Here are some zig-zag lines you can practice:
Shape drawing exercise
Shape drawing is as important as line drawing.
Once you practice lines, it’s time to spice them up a little with shapes. You can draw basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and ovals.
It might seem that anyone can draw a circle or an oval, but in reality, many people struggle with that.
For example, when I first started drawing faces, I struggled to draw the basic oval for the head.
But I practiced this shape and now I can draw it quickly and it will always look like an oval on the first try.
Do the same with circles and squares. Repeat the lines of one circle multiple times, then draw another one, but vary in size.
You’ll see how your muscles will remember this and soon you’ll draw any shape on the first try and it’ll be amazing.
Also try drawing shapes in 3D perspective, not only flats. This way, you’ll discover new areas you need to practice, which is always a good thing.
Just scribble
Scribbling is a great drawing exercise, no matter how silly it sounds. Scribbles are often underestimated but I love making them and they really relax me.
So, take a pen or a pencil and draw without any purpose, meaning, or shape. Go all over the paper if you want to.
Experiment with the way you hold your pencil and the way your wrist moves when scribbling. Check the video below:
Draw something new
This means that you should draw something you usually don’t.
From time to time challenge yourself and trick your mind by drawing something you normally wouldn’t. Your brain will be surprised and pay more attention.
All in one take
This is an amazing exercise and you’ll feel like a playful child. Giggles guaranteed.
So, try drawing without lifting your pen from the paper. This makes your brain figure out ways of drawing certain things and sparks your creativity. It’s like a problem-solving exercise, as well.
Your drawing in this exercise will probably look funky and wonky at first but never mind that. Embrace the learning process. This is only a drawing exercise, not a drawing competition.
The easiest way to do this is to decide to draw something simple like a flower. You need a few petals, a stem, and maybe a couple more details.
Start drawing from the inside out, or from the bottom of the stem up. Of course, you can repeat the same lines more times because your pen must stay on paper the whole time.
One thing in two ways
Try drawing one thing in two different ways, eg. a face that’s happy and one that’s sad, a fresh flower and a dying flower, etc.
You don’t have to nail these drawings so they look perfect and realistic, stick figures will do, too.
If you expect perfect results, you’ll never survive these simple drawing exercises. They’re made to be easy, simple, and for practice.
This exercise will spark your creative thinking and who knows what ideas you’ll come up with. It’s so much fun to think of new ways of doing something, right?
Sketch what you see
Sit in any room you love and just sketch out everything you can see. You can do this outside as well.
Imagine your view in a box/container and sketch everything you see. The important thing is to sketch, not pay attention to details. Just go with the flow.
Don’t worry if your perspective is distorted, mastering these things takes time.
Draw patterns & mandalas
Drawing patterns is a great way to practice your drawings. This exercise makes you repeat the same lines and shapes over and over again and they slowly become your second nature.
Also, drawing patterns is always fun and you can make amazing designs with lines and basic shapes.
Remember how important it was to practice lines? With patterns, you’ll feel like you moved to the next grade of drawing skills.
Drawing mandalas is similar to drawing patterns. They’re round designs with repetitive elements.
So, start from a small point that will be the center in the end, and build around it. Fill the white space with smaller elements.
The easiest way to start is to draw a circle and then divide it into equally sized triangles that grow from the center to the outside of the circle.
Then, draw more circles inside the big, main circle.
Finally, fill each space you created with identical patterns and connect them to one another.
Magazine images transfer
What you need for this are some magazine images of faces and carbon paper. I say faces because that’s the easiest and the most common thing in magazines to copy.
Every face consists of the same features, that’s why I didn’t tell you to copy buildings, for instance.
There are so many different ones that your muscles won’t remember what you drew.
To start, just follow the lines on the magazine image and transfer them to your paper. Later, you can add more details to the paper drawing.
For example, if you copy 10 eyes like this, your hand will remember how you drew the eyes so it’ll be easier later. This is also true for any other shape.
This drawing exercise is easy to do and you can make as many as you want.
Wrist game
Try holding your pencil in different ways to see how this changes your drawings. Maybe you’ll figure out a way of holding your pencil that better suits you.
Even if you don’t, you can always play with this exercise and create new and interesting drawings.
For fun
This drawing exercise is very common among artists. All you need to do is draw with your non-dominant hand.
I know it sounds daunting, but it costs you nothing to try. I promise giggles with this one, too.
Your perspective will go crazy, your eyes will be all over the place, and your brain…totally and utterly confused. But it’s a great thing to step out of your comfort zone.
Sketching flowers is one of the most rewarding ways to hone your artistic skills of drawing while contemplating the beauty of nature. If you love this idea as much as we do, then you’ll love our FREE eBook on how to draw flowers.
With the drawing exercises featured in this free eBook, you’ll be all set to take on any flower drawing you choose. Here’s what you’ll find inside:
- Tips for getting started, with information on what medium to use
- Expert advice on what kind of surface will suit your flower drawing and why
- A list of tools you may need for any type of flower drawing you want to sketch.
- 6 unique flower drawing chapters, including azaleas, gerbera daises, hydrangeas, water lilies, magnolia blossoms, and roses
- Plus, an extensive master color list for the illustrations in the eBook, so that you can pinpoint the colors you see in each step-by-step chapter.
What are you waiting for? These tutorials are all in this fresh and colorful eBook on how to draw flowers!
Download Your Free Guide on How to Paint Flowers Today!
The Ultimate Free Guide on How to Draw Flowers
Learning How to Draw Flowers: Tackle One Drawing Technique at a Time!
Plus, along with this free flower drawing eBook, you’ll also receive a free membership to our Artists Network community. This membership provides you with access to our free techniques, blogs, and newsletter; plus you’ll gain the help and support of thousands of artists of all abilities.
Choosing Your Medium
First, you’ll find an extensive section on getting started, with informative information on what medium to use, from colored pencils to oil pencils and water-soluble colored pencils, what kind of surface will suit your flower drawing and why, and what tools you may need along the way to creating your rose drawing or any other flower drawing you want to sketch.
Water-soluble pencils are usually drier and harder than wax or oil pencils. They don’t lend themselves as well to heavy applications of pigment used in techniques such as burnishing.
Oil-based colored pencils work like their wax counterparts and mix easily with them.
Choosing Your Colors
Also included in this free art lesson is an extensive master color list for the illustrations in the eBook, so that you can pinpoint the colors you see in each step-by-step chapter and see how you can vary colors according to your own preferences.
Refer to a customized color palette for each flower drawing mini-chapter, so that you can match your progress with what you see in the eBook.
Step-by-Step Instructions for How to Draw a Rose, Plus 5 Unique Flowers
From there, you’ll find six specialized flower drawing chapters, one for each popular flower that you will discover sketching techniques in this eBook. Azaleas, Gerbera daisies, hydrangeas, water lilies, magnolia blossoms, and how to sketch a rose.
Each mini-chapter unfolds with step-by-step instructions on how to draw flowers just as you see them and, what’s more, you’ll also find that the chapters have several visuals that will show you the transition from the first sketch to finished flower drawing.
What’s most exciting about learning how to draw roses or any other flower is that when you draw flowers you are harnessing nature’s beauty with your art. It’s an incredible way to show your appreciation of the natural beauty you may find around you and you get to learn to draw flowers in the process.
Learn how to draw flowers today with this FREE guide!
If you’ve ever wanted to learn about drawing a rose or creating a flower drawing that you could give as a gift, this guide will put the skills you need in your hand. The step-by-step instruction makes drawing flowers a cinch, and you’ll be amazed at the lovely results you’ll get with each stroke of your colored pencil. Learn how to sketch flowers by downloading your free eBook from our shop.
Are you getting excited about the myriad ways you can use a flower drawing in your art? As a subject matter in and of itself, drawing flowers can be incredibly rewarding. It’s a refined and sophisticated way of creating flower drawing art that goes back centuries. But you can also decide how to sketch flowers in new ways. Basically, you can take the flower-drawing instruction that you learn and use it in any way you want.
Use the Button below to download this PDF tutorial
Materials to Draw a Flower
- Drawing Paper. This is the good stuff you can buy in bulk for a good price.
- Pencils. I like how this brand always makes nice dark lines.
- Black Marker. A permanent marker will give you a dark black color.
- Crayons. The larger packs are nice for more color choices.
- Note: All of the above are Amazon affiliate links.
Step by Step Directions for a Flower Drawing
Time needed: 45 minutes
How to Draw Flowers
- Draw a bumpy grass line near the bottom of the paper.
- Start the left flower with a stem and petals.
- Draw another layer of petals around the first.
- Add some leaves to the stem.
- Start the right flower shapes.
- Add some leaves below the petals.
- Add a smaller flower in the middle.
- Finish the drawing with some cute insects.
- Trace the drawing with a marker and color.
