The dots are grouped together to create images. Shading and gradients are created by placing the dots closer together or spreading them out. You can get incredibly detailed with stippling, which also teaches you to be conscious of shading.
21 creative drawing styles to try [+12 drawing exercises]
Want to improve your drawing skills? Feeling stagnant in your style and keen to try something new?
Experimenting with different drawing styles is a fantastic way to hone your skills, improve your ability to capture imaginative imagery, and develop your unique style.
There are many different drawing styles to play with, but we’ve compiled a list of epic drawing styles for you to explore and try out.
A note on style
From Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15th century to Pablo Picasso in the 20th century, how artists express themselves arises from many influencing factors, such as:
- Skills
- Technology
- Availability of materials
- Stylistic preferences
- Audience
- Creative brief
- Cultural background
- Interests
- Education
- Networks of influence
- Financial support
The amount of time you put into your drawings also greatly impacts the quality of your creative work. Think of the difference between a one-minute sketch and a one-hour drawing.
Regarding our taste in art, we all have an innate knowledge of what we love and dislike. When roaming an art gallery, we know the pieces that challenge us. These are the types of artworks or designs we tend to stare at the longest.
We may not necessarily like them, but they capture our attention and get us thinking.
Finding the drawing styles you love takes exploration and practice. It’s also influenced by the medium you’re working with. The art mediums you can use to draw are almost limitless—you can draw anywhere with anything.
In ancient times, people used natural materials like minerals and blood to draw on cave walls.
People have produced incredible artworks using sand, pavements, and even a digital drawing process created with actual food.
The most common drawing mediums are:
- Pencil drawing (graphite, watercolor pencils, or colored pencils)
- Ink drawing
- Pen drawing
- Chalk drawing
- Crayon drawing
- Digital tools, such as tablets and software like Linearity Curve (formerly Vectornator)
- Charcoal drawing
If there are particular mediums you love to use, you may choose to experiment with specific types of drawing based on those. Some drawing media are suited to particular 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.
You also need to consider the appropriateness of certain mediums for your drawing surface. To produce detailed drawings, you need smooth paper or other smooth surfaces. A textured paper or rough surface will make it more difficult to capture minute details.
One particular style may interest you more. You’ll adapt your favorite medium to work with it. It’s possible to achieve hyperrealism with watercolor or to create a charcoal effect with pencil drawing.
Industry experts consciously try to keep creativity alive by drawing. Drawing is an art and a technical skill. And some drawing styles are more technical than others.
Learning the technical side of the drawing styles you enjoy most will also help improve your design skills and artistic abilities.
This is because drawing teaches you to focus on detail, precision, and understanding what it takes to create beautiful works of art and design.
Within each drawing style, there are many different possibilities to express that style.
We’ve listed 21 drawing styles that will expand your artistic and technical abilities. See what inspires you, from basic styles such as doodling and continuous line drawing to complex hyperrealism and 3D illusions.
Doodling
This is where it all starts for most of us.
Doodling is an informal drawing style, usually created absent-mindedly (for instance, to keep yourself entertained in class). This could include a rough rendition of objects, small sketches of ideas, stray marks, and other intuitive elements. What you can do with doodling is limitless.
It’s not so much a particular technique as it is a simplistic way of expressing thoughts and feelings.
Everything, from drawing a simple shape over and over to creating characters that spring to life off the page, can be considered doodling.
Many great works of art begin as simple doodles and develop into full-blown drawings. And many people discover their love for drawing by doodling as children.
This drawing style doesn’t have to be treated as an abstract form of drawing, only meant for scribbles. Some designers carve out their unique drawing style around the informal aesthetic of doodles.
A doodle’s simple or unfinished look can be pleasing to look at and work well for certain brands. The doodle freehand drawing style is especially trendy for internet-based companies and SaaS startups.
Doodle whenever you have a moment. It’s good practice for your drawing skills and will help keep your creative juices flowing.
