Mountains in Pencil
Sketching landscapes is the ideal starting place for beginning artists. Landscape sketching teaches the fundamental principles of sketching, such as dimension and perspective. Drawing landscapes allows you to capture what you see or add elements of your own. Drawing detailed landscapes can be difficult to master, but starting simple and working your way up to more detailed work can produce noticeable results in a short time. Here are some tips and strategies you can use to begin drawing landscapes right away.
Drawing Supplies
There are a lot of sketching supplies you could purchase. Any art supply store offers an array of pencils, drawing tablets, and even books that teach you draw landscapes. A good book on drawing landscapes would be useful, but all you really need are a couple of good quality drawing pencils, an eraser, and a sketch pad. Pencils range from 9H, which is the hardest lead, down to 2H. Don't get too caught up in choosing your pencils. Buy a set of sketching pencils by Faber Castell to get you started. If you want to experiment with flat sketching pencils or graphite, purchase a couple of single pencils and give them a try. Get a kneaded eraser and a drawing pad that has smooth or textured paper, depending upon which you prefer to draw on. A light texture works best for sketching in pencil because there tends to be less smudge.
Find a Subject
Select a landscape you want to draw. Maybe there is a special place you go to look at and you'd like to capture that landscape on paper. You might even find a landscape in a book that you'd like to capture. If you so choose, you might even create a landscape from your imagination, though beginners should probably work from a model at first.
Once you've found your landscape, decide what it is about the landscape that you like. Think about how you want to draw it. Are you going to try and capture it as it is, or do you see something else? Don't be afraid to add or subtract to make the landscape yours. Consider what season you want to place the landscape in. You might want it to rain in your sketch. You're creating art, so let your imagination take you where it will.
Sketching Your Landscape
Start with the horizon. Use it as your baseline and sketch lightly. Gradually add in other elements, still keeping the sketching light. You want to monitor your perspective as you go. Don't worry about adding shading or details yet. Be sure you have any trees, rocks, buildings, animals, or other objects where they need to be. When you are sure you have everything in proper perspective, go back and begin adding dimension with different pencils. Heavier pencils produce darker tones, good for hard lines. Lighter pencils are ideal for subtle depth. Work lightly at first, erasing anything you need to change. You can gradually firm up your sketch when you see it's coming together the way it should.
