Art techniques: top tutorials for painting and drawing

Getting to grips with art techniques means mastering composition, light, shadow and more, It's an important part of honing your skills as an artist – as important as learning how to represent the world around you.  

We've invited the industry's most exciting artists to share their best pro art techniques. Whether you're looking to improve your sketching skills, learn how to add perspective or capture movement, we've got tutorials here to help you to add more pro art techniques to your creative arsenal. You'll be able to explore different styles, too. 

We've collated a mix of traditional and digital tutorials below. Regardless of medium, each one provides insight into a wide range of different art techniques that can be applied to any art project. 

Want to improve your art in a different way? We also have roundups of great Photoshop tutorials, general how to draw tutorials and vector art tutorials.

01. 14 art techniques to improve your work

Tiny tweaks and adjustments to your drawings can have a big impact on the final outcome. In this art techniques article, Tran Nguyen offers 14 tips to help you improve your artwork this year. 

02. 7 fundamentals of pencil drawing

If you’re looking to learn new art techniques, a good place to start is by making sure you’ve mastered these seven pro pencil drawing techniques. Artist Bobby Chiu runs you through what you need to know.

03. 10 top speed painting tips

Speed painting – giving yourself a limited time to finish a piece of work – is a great exercise for beginners and experienced artists alike. Here are some tips on how to do it successfully. 

04. 10 sketching tips for beginners

In this article, top artists share their advice for getting started with sketching. It covers everything from how to avoid smudging to how to control your pencil properly.

05. Top tips for drawing in black and white

Your artwork doesn't have to be colourful to pack a punch. Here are nine top art techniques for creating monochrome masterpieces.

06. 15 observational art techniques

Observation is key if you want to capture figures with real life to them. This article offers some top art techniques that will take your work to the next level by observing the world around you.

07. Boost your creativity with daily sketching

Sketching shouldn't just be a means to an end at the start of a project – it's also vital part of developing yourself as an artist. This article explores techniques for daily sketching.

08. Ink drawing: Expert tips to get you started

Ink drawing is one of the most unforgiving mediums that requires particular techniques in regard to texture and adding light and shadow. This tutorial gives you the basic skills to help you to get started. 

09. 10 expert tips for charcoal drawing

Use this tutorial to find out how to get the most out of the addictive medium of charcoal. It's a super popular way to draw, perhaps because of how impressive the outcome is. 

10. How to mix the right shadow colour

Finding the right colour for your shadows is difficult. In this tutorial, artist Rob Lunn shows you how to mix a colour for your shadows that relates to the rest of the painting.

11. How to get harmonious colours in paintings

Colour harmony is the theory of combining colours in a way that is harmonious to the eye. This tutorial explains some techniques for ensuring harmony in your paintings.

12. Mimic oil paint in Corel Painter

There's a certain magic that comes with the unpredictability of traditional media. In this step-by-step guide, Magdalena Proszowska explains how you can mimic the beauty of oil paints using Corel Painter's newest tools.

13. Create an interior using one-point perspective

In this handy tutorial, Disney vis-dev artist Nick Kennedy explores the art of backgrounds. He walks through how you can create a welcoming interior scene with help from one-point perspective.

14. Tonal values: Everything you need to know

Successfully navigating tonal values is a key part the process of creating most pieces of art. This tutorial walks you through fundamental elements of this process such as separating light and shadow, capturing reflected light and avoiding common shading mistakes. 

15. How to hold a pencil correctly

You know how to hold a pencil, right? Well of course you do. But are you holding it correctly to draw? Find out in this handy tutorial. There's more to pencil grip than you might think… 

16. Must-know painting techniques

This article offers the essential painting techniques that will help bring your compositions to life. Here, you'll find advice on tone, colour, texture and brushwork. You'll be painting like a pro in no time.

17. How to use reference images

Reference images can be your best friend or they can suck all the life out of your artwork. Here's some tips for how to use them the right way. 

18. How to paint outdoors

If landscapes are your thing (or even if they aren't), getting out and about and painting out in the real world can give your artwork a new lease of life. Here's how to get started creating paintings en plein air.

Read more:

• The best pencils for colouring, drawing and sketching
• Doodle art: 50 great examples
• How to create pin-up art

Contributer : Creative Bloq