Top 10 Essential Art Skills
Think in advance
Before starting an image, it’s important to know where it’s headed. Lay down the basic tones with an idea of what its final colours would be. In the sketching stage, musculature in the final image was present. Having a solid plan ensures that the image will maintain consistency throughout the painting as it progress.
Composition
Everything begins with the right light and space. Prominent areas are usually well-lit to draw the viewer’s attention. The viewer then will retrace their steps until they put together the story that you want to show.
Light and Shadow
When applying light and shadow, focus on which sides would catch most of the light, some of the light, and none of the light. It’s important to know where the light is coming from as you paint.
Selective Drawing
Lines also define structures. Soft lines typically indicate light, while darker lines are used as a structure descends into shadow. The darker and sharper a line is, the stronger your commitment to arrangement of a structure. Starting with dark, heavy lines leaves you little margin of error. Build shapes using soft, fuzzy lines to establish light and shadow and then commit to dark lines later.
Silhouettes
The best 2D designs still work even if most of the information is missing. That’s a rule of thumb. One way to gauge the effectiveness of the design is to block in the image so you’ll see only the silhouette. It should still be identifiable.
Tonality
Think about color tones. By being aware of the interaction between the tonality of structures in the image when compared to another, you can effectively build good lighting and shadowing scheme.
Linear Structure
This tool lets you remove items from the image or otherwise retouch the image. For example if you have a telephone pole in an otherwise perfect rural image, you can use this tool to duplicate the part of the picture next to the pole and paint over the pole with that section. With some practice, you can edit out glare on glasses, braces, background objects and much more. Related tools include Scratch Remover and Object Remover in some programs. Most structures, even if they have few hard corners, have a top, bottom, and four distinct sides. Use boxes as guide and lay them down in the correct proportion and relative position to each other, and pointing in the right directions. The drawn figure will feel more solid and sturdy.
Tension and Relaxation
Straight, stretched lines show tension while curved lines are more relaxed.
Blind Shapes
Draw from life without looking at what you’re doing. Accuracy doesn’t matter. Develop your hand-eye coordination by concentrating on what you think your hand is drawing. You’ll be able to translate what you see and imagine to paper more accurately when you improve your muscle control as well.