10 Sketching Tips I Wish I Knew as a Complete Beginner (Super Simple & Game-Changing)

If you’re brand new to sketching, trust me, you don’t need expensive tools, years of training, or some magical talent. I started as a total beginner, too, and the truth is, most people overcomplicate drawing so much that they quit before seeing progress.

So today, I’m sharing the 10 simplest, most practical, beginner-friendly sketching tips I wish someone told me earlier.
No confusing art terms. No pressure. Just real advice that actually makes you better.

Whether you’re in school, college, or starting sketching later in life, this guide is for you.

1. Start With Shapes, Not Details

The biggest beginner mistake? Jumping straight into eyelashes, hair strands, folds, and shadows.

Real artists don’t start with details.
They start with circles, boxes, and lines.

Before drawing an eye → draw a circle.
Before drawing a car → draw rectangles.
Before drawing a face → draw simple head shapes.

If you get the shapes right, the details become 10x easier.

2. Never Press Hard on the Pencil

Pressing hard =
❌ dark lines you can’t erase
❌ messy shading
❌ stiff, unnatural drawings

Use soft, light strokes. Draw like you’re “touching the paper, not attacking it.”

Your control improves instantly.

3. Draw What’s in Front of You, Not From Imagination Yet

Beginners struggle with imagination drawing because they don’t know how things actually look yet.

So draw things around you:

• your bottle

• your shoes

• your hands

• your headphones

• anything on your desk

Real-life sketching builds your foundations faster than copying Pinterest references.

4. Don’t Shade With Your Fingers (EVER)

I used to do this too, but fingers leave oil on paper and ruin the texture.

Instead, use:
✔ tissue
✔ earbuds
✔ cotton
✔ makeup brushes

Your shading becomes smoother and more professional instantly.

5. Break Your Sketching Sessions Into 10 Minutes

You don’t need to draw for 2 hours.
Ten minutes a day will improve you more than drawing 3 hours once a week.

Here’s what you can do in 10 minutes:

• draw 10 circles

• draw your hand

• shade a simple cube

• Outline a random object

Small, consistent practice beats long, irregular practice every time.

6. Learn Light & Shadow Before Anything Else

Most beginners try drawing “perfect outlines.”
But outlines don’t make your art realistic , light and shadow do.

Understand these simple rules:

• Light hits one side

• Shadow falls on the opposite side

• Shadows fade, not end sharply

• The darkest areas are rarely pure black

Once you learn this, your art starts looking 10x more 3D.

7. Your Eraser Is a Drawing Tool

Don’t think of your eraser as a “mistake fixer.”
Think of it as a highlight tool.

Lift graphite to create:

• shine on hair

• lights in the eyes

• glow on the nose

• highlights on objects

This makes your drawings pop.

8. Don’t Compare Yourself to Online Artists

This one is important.

The artists you see online:

• have been practicing for years

• only show their best work

• hide their thousands of failed pages

You don’t see their ugly sketches, their drafts, their bad attempts.
So stop comparing your page 1 to someone else’s page 5000.

Your art is YOUR journey.

9. Keep All Your Old Sketches, Never Throw Them Away

Your old sketches are your “progress diary.”

One day, when you flip back and see how far you’ve come, you’ll feel motivated like never before. Seeing growth builds confidence and keeps you going.

10. Enjoy the Process, Not the Result

Your sketches don’t need to be:

• pretty

• perfect

• clean

• impressive

• realistic

They just need to be YOURS.

Sketch for fun.
Sketch to relax.
Sketch to express, not impress.

The moment you stop expecting perfection, you start improving faster.

Final Thoughts

You don’t become an artist by creating a perfect sketch.
You become an artist by showing up, even for 10 minutes.

These simple beginner tips will help you:
✔ draw better
✔ draw cleaner
✔ draw more confidently
✔ and most importantly, enjoy drawing again

If you want, I can turn this into a PDF guide, Pinterest pin, or Instagram carousel to use for your brand.