Free PDF: Drawing Tips to Help You Sketch Confidently

Discover top sketching advice for beginners and beyond with this downloadable cheat sheet, and grow your visual library by working from observation

It’s a common feeling for artists: you try to draw something from imagination, but the end result looks nothing like you pictured in your mind! This could be a sign that you need to build up your visual library, so you understand how to draw things spontaneously.

Here, illustrator and painter Mokshini (@ohhey) shares a pep talk for sketchers in PDF form! After learning the importance of keeping a sketchbook to record your surroundings and build a personal visual library, you can download her five top drawing tips to help you battle shyness, overcome feeling stuck, and draw in public.

Why practice drawing in a sketchbook?

With experience drawing in-house for fashion designers, teaching illustration, and working with clients like The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar, Mokshini understands the huge benefit of the sketching process, where you work out ideas and allow a piece to take shape.

She explains that your sketchbook is a safe place to draw the same things over and over, growing and developing your style. It’s easily portable, so you can work at a coffee shop, a library, on the subway, or wherever you wish.

It’s also the ideal place to start a regular practice of drawing from observation. Observational drawing will train your eye to see more details. Additionally, you can also track your growth and see how your style changes, and improve your memory recall by focusing on your surroundings. Building your visual library in this way is the first step to drawing confidently from imagination.

How to choose what you’re going to sketch

People are always moving around and busy—especially in New York, where Mokshini lives. So how do you find a good subject? She recommends starting with someone who is sleeping or reading, or even looking out for statues just to get some practice with basic anatomy and clothing shapes. Alternatively, you could ask a friend to pose for you, so the fear of your subject moving goes away. By starting from stationary subjects, you’ll build a foundation that helps you move onto moving ones.

“Aim for imperfection”, Mokshini advises. Your sketching habit is about discovery, so don’t be precious about what is “good” or “bad”. Try challenging yourself to redraw sketches until you know the composition and poses by heart. Finally, try using photography for inspiration, or to catch a quick detail you can work on later. All of this recording and remaking contributes to your visual library.

Download Mokshini’s quick tips for sketching

In the download below, Mokshini shares her five top tips for getting confident with your sketchbook when out and about. She explains which tools she takes with her, how long she spends on each sketch to keep her mind fresh, and how to cope with nerves about sketching in public.

After clicking the button, you’ll find a PDF titled Free Sketching Tips by Mokshini, in the Downloads folder on your computer.

Sign up for Mokshini’s course Freehand Sketching with Acrylic and Watercolor. In the course, you’ll create a narrative painting based on real life by sketching and painting a scene.

More resources to kickstart your sketching habit

1. Practice drawing different body types with this free tutorial video.

2. For the daily comic doodlers, explore 18 amazing examples of comic strips to inspire your own ideas.

3. Try these sketchbook tips and tools to overcome any creative block.

4. Use gouache and watercolor to create an exploratory sketchbook with this course by Sarah van Dongen.