Ammar

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! It has been almost two years since I started my journey to learn drawing, and what I have realized over time is that drawing can be one of the least expensive hobbies if you allow it to be. But as a beginner who was in love with buying art supplies (who …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! For most of my life, I thought that the white pencil tucked away in my coloring set was about as useful as a handbrake on a canoe. 😂 But these past few weeks, I have been practicing drawing with colored pencils and learning different colored drawing techniques from artists like Chris …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! Recently, I have been transitioning from graphite to colored pencils, and one of my biggest struggles so far has been blending colors. It isn’t as straightforward as blending graphite with a stump because with colored pencils, you’re not just looking to achieve a smooth gradient of values with blending, but potentially …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! Recently, I finally convinced myself to step outside the comfort of graphite and learn to draw with colored pencils (it was about time 😂). After a long time, I’m having so much fun drawing, and I decided to write this post to share with you five of my favorite colored pencil …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! If you’ve been drawing for a while, you can probably relate to occasionally feeling uninspired, even when tackling your favorite subjects. Personally, I love drawing faces, and I can’t imagine ever stopping because I’m super hooked. Still, I find myself from time to time scrolling through the endless stream of references …

For most of my life, I have struggled to stick to drawing for more than a few weeks at a time, even though it’s something that I’ve always known to bring me joy and satisfaction. Each time I tried to reignite my passion for drawing, I felt a short burst of motivation to see through …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! Like most beginners, I initially viewed erasers solely as tools designed for making corrections. Recently, I’ve been studying how artists employ subtractive drawing techniques, aiming to use erasers more deliberately in their art process. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned about subtractive drawing, why it matters, and how you …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! Do you know what’s more complicated than drawing an eye? Drawing both eyes. And on a face! It does not help that eyes are the first thing we naturally notice when we see a drawing of a face, and if something is slightly off, the whole portrait looks a bit weird. …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! While I utterly love drawing people, I’ve had my share of moments when I find myself feeling uninspired by what the Pinterest algorithm suggests, and I crave to draw something that makes me feel more creatively energized. If you can relate to this feeling, I am sharing 7 of my favorite …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! As you can probably relate, learning to draw can feel overwhelming as a beginner. I started learning drawing about two years ago (time flies so fast! 😲), and it has been quite a journey so far, although not without challenges. So, in this post, I am excited to share some insights, …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! Wouldn’t it be great for our sanity if we could just zone out from all the busyness of the day and indulge ourselves in some drawing every day while vibing to our favorite music? But as life would have it, we have to adult, and be ‘productive members of our society,’ …

Hey fellow art enthusiasts! As you’re probably aware, figuring out where the vanishing point goes is crucial for drawing perspective, and messing up this simple step can make the whole drawing seem odd. So in this post, I break down what exactly a vanishing point is, how to locate it when drawing perspective, and some …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! If you’ve ever picked up a pencil and tried to draw, you’ve probably pondered the eternal question: can you get really good at drawing by learning and practicing, or is it all about having that elusive ‘natural talent’? In this post, I’ll give my take on artistic talent, whether it exists, …

Hey art friends! Over the past couple of years, I’ve been on a journey to revive my drawing skills as a beginner. Specifically, I have been reading art books, watching tutorials by experienced artists, and practicing fundamentals to improve my drawing skills. So, in this post, I am excited to share the 10 most essential …

Hey art pals! If you’ve been learning how to draw for a while, you’ve probably heard about value studies, also known as tonal drawings. They’re super helpful in expanding your value range and drawing with more depth and are widely considered necessary practice for anyone hoping to master drawing or painting. Personally, doing value studies …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! As you probably know, pushing the darks in your pencil shading can help improve the depth and realism of your drawing. But that’s something that I have struggled with a lot in the past (and occasionally still do). For the past couple of years, I have been training myself to draw …

Figuring out what makes a drawing ‘good’ is obviously very subjective, and depends a lot on the aesthetic preferences of each artist. However, I believe there are some fundamental qualities that make certain drawings more attractive to us, especially when judging a drawing from an academic perspective. To illustrate, below are two drawings created by …

Six years ago, I gave up on drawing, convinced I lacked the natural talent or the “10,000 hours” of practice required for mastery. Some time last year I stumbled upon a TED talk by Josh Kaufman titled ‘The First 20 Hours — How to Learn Anything’ that eventually convinved me that drawing, like most things, …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! If you’re anything like me, you love to indulge in drawing on toned papers occasionally. I particularly enjoy doing value studies on toned papers because it allows you to focus on the structure, shadows and the highlights in a drawing while the paper takes care of those tricky mid tones for …

Shading, in my humble opinion, is the most satisfying part of the drawing process. It’s where the real magic happens as you render your basic outlines into a drawing brimming with a sense of depth, volume, and form. When I got back into drawing last year, I must admit that my shading skills were seriously …

I first stumbled upon the idea of negative space in drawing while reading “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards a long time ago. It opened up a new way of analyzing shapes, edges, and space for me. Ever since, I’ve been curious to learn how I could use negative space …

Hey there, fellow art enthusiast! Shading is by far my favorite part of drawing. There’s something almost magical about watching your drawing outline transform into a three-dimensional masterpiece when you render some shading to it. Now, I must admit that when I picked up drawing again last year, my drawings looked rather flat. But I’ve …

I always dreamt of attending an art school, but unfortunately, my circumstances didn’t allow me to do so. However, since last year, I’ve been trying to make up for that by exploring different ways to teach myself to draw. In this post, I’m excited to share the six most effective methods I’ve discovered for learning …

Hello there, fellow aspiring artist! 20 months ago, I embarked on a quest to master drawing, again, after several unsuccessful attempts in the past. The journey has been quite the rollercoaster, and there is still a very long road ahead of me, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made thus far. So in this …

When you’re just starting your journey to learn how to draw, it’s easy to feel excited about what you’ll draw next. But then, every once in a while, your motivation to draw takes a nosedive. You get caught up in life, you get sick, and the weather doesn’t seem particularly nice – life happens, right? …

It has been approximately 20 months since I resumed my drawing journey following a five-year break due to an art block. Though the journey has been quite a rollercoaster, I am proud of how far I’ve come. One crucial lesson I’ve learned the hard way is that while improving your drawing skills can be an …

Earlier this year, I convinced myself to splurge on a Moleskine Sketchbook (they’re just so exquisite) and made a promise not to buy any more art supplies until I finish this one (I’ve got a history of accumulating art supplies that I never actually use). So, over the past few months, I’ve been on a …

When I took a plunge into the world of portrait drawing last year, my attempts were about as flat as a pancake, and far from convincing. To give you an idea, once I was being brave and sketching a Pinterest girl in a small cafe vibing to my favorite song thinking I was drawing the …

Lately, I’ve been feeling uninspired by drawing in the same sort of art. So, in an effort to expand my drawing repertoire, I’ve been exploring various art styles that pique my interest. In this post, I’ve put together a list of 13 art styles, encompassing both modern and classic approaches, that resonate with me. I’ll …

Hey there, fellow artists! If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in your art journey, I can totally relate and sympathize with you. For an embarrassingly long time, I felt that my drawing skills had plateaued at the same level despite practicing consistently. But fear not, I’ve spent the last year really evaluating what I …

Hey there fellow artists. These past few months, I’ve been diving into portrait drawing, focusing on the Loomis Method. And I have to say it’s been a game-changer for me when it comes to the art of drawing faces. So in this post, I’m excited to share what I’ve learned about the Loomis Method. I’ve …