Still Life Drawing for Beginners

Known for being a cheeky and exciting hen party favourite, we’re going to go over the basics of still life drawing for beginners and show you how to channel your inner artist!

This popular activity has exploded in popularity across the UK and abroad in recent years, with more and more people trying their hand at drawing still life. Whether you’re a complete novice or you've had a go at one of our life drawing parties before, we will show you how to draw still life and how fun it can be.

Draw Outline & Construction Lines

When starting your first still life drawing, picture the object or person in front of you as a wireframe outline. This may seem obvious, but this is an essential step that many don’t follow and often results in giving up altogether! Start by marking the subject’s outline, then add supporting vertical & horizontal lines to keep symmetry, midway points, etc. These will act as references and helps you build a structure for your drawing.

Pay Attention to Scene Composition

Whether you’re drawing pears or people, keep a close eye on what makes up your scene. Pay extra attention to shadows, tone, shape, and texture. This may be a lot to remember, so it’s essential to take a little bit of time to study what you’re looking at before you begin drawing.

Remove Construction Lines

Okay, you’ve got a still life object to draw and study your scene. Once you’ve covered the first two steps, you can gently remove the construction lines you pencilled in before. What you should be left with on your paper is a strong outline of your subject/s. Now it’s time to get into the more challenging steps!

Sketch in the Details

Referring to step 2, lightly sketch in the detail lines where shadows and reflections are visible. As you go along with this step, you will find that your still-life sketch begins to make more sense as your objects start to take a 3D form. Remember, the more time and effort you put into this step, the easier the shading process will be.

Add Shading to your Life Drawing Sketch

Now that your detail lines are in place and you’ve defined where shadows begin & end, it’s time to get into the shading process. This step focuses on adding shading to the subject/s rather than the entire picture.

Add Additional Shading Around Your Subject

By this point, you will have shaded in your life drawing sketch subject, so now it’s time to fill in the shadows and reflections in the spaces in between. This step further accentuates your objects, giving them a more defined 3D look. Just remember not to overlook this step, as the shading inside and outside the subject/s is meant to complement each other.

Re-Focus on Shading

This part would be easier if you did an excellent job on step 5! Focusing on tone, contrast and the depth of shadows, shade in the darker areas more than you would in, the lighter areas. Just ensure you don’t go overboard on one section; keep focused on the entire still life sketch, ensuring you don’t neglect any other part of your scene. Remember, each part is equally essential for the final product!

Need Any More Help?

As well as our jam-packed artful life drawing magazine, consider taking the plunge and take a look at our life drawing hen parties for you and the girls to have a go at! If you're looking to improve your creative skills further, check out our tips on easy pencil drawings for beginners!