A Step-By-Step Guide on How to Draw Landscape Art Using Pencils

Irrespective of how much we love digitalization, there is something deeply satisfying about creating art using our own hands. Especially when it comes to , the sheer joy of depicting every element on canvas with pencils can be unparalleled. However, if you are new to drawing and sketching landscapes, it can feel like a tough nut to crack. However, you don’t need to worry anymore because today we are going to provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to draw landscapes using pencils. Let’s get started!

The Materials You Need to Start Sketching Landscape Art

Before you jump on to start drawing, here is a quick checklist of the different materials that will come in handy for you to start the sketch. 

• Range of pencils: You can easily find graphite pencils at any stationery or art-supply stores. You will need a mix of hard (H) and soft (B) pencils. To begin with, you can get 4H, 4B, HB, 2H, and 2B pencils. 

• Drawing paper: You can either get a sketchbook or a drawing paper that has a smooth surface. An ideal size to go for landscape art is A3, but you can also choose another size if you can’t find one. 

• Erasers: The best is to have a putty eraser, also known as a kneaded eraser to make corrections in areas of finer details. You might also need a standard rubber eraser for general corrections. 

• Sandpaper: You don’t need a very large piece of sandpaper, just a small portion will be enough for filing your pencil. If you don’t know how to use it, you can also skip it for now. 

• Blending stump: Many artists instead prefer to use their fingers for blending. You can choose either based on your convenience. 

• Reference image: If you do not have a scenic view around you that inspires your creativity, you can find any reference image online that you may want to recreate.

Start Sketching: Step-by-step Instructions

Now that you have collected the necessary art supplies, let’s get straight to the sketching part without any further ado. 

Step 1: Choose Your Focal Point

While this isn’t mandatory, having a focal point in your art allows you to communicate your views more clearly. Once you choose a focal point, you build the rest of your work around it. In landscape art, it could be a cluster of trees, some building or structure, a herd of animals, or anything else depending on your reference image.

Step 2: Decide the Outline

Now, place your reference image in your peripheral vision so that you can easily refer to it, without making a lot of movements. Now, you must always remember that there is no compulsion to depict a copy of your reference image. You can slightly tweak the elements, zoom in on a particular section, and also add/remove certain elements to create a more synchronized and impactful landscape art. 

Step 3: Sketch the Rough Outline

Now start drawing rough shapes of different elements on your paper using your 4H pencil. Make sure your lines are faint so that they can be erased easily. The guideline will give you a rough idea of how the final landscape will look like, If you don’t like the placement of a certain element, it is at this step that you can modify it. 

Step 4: Start Adding Details

Once you are satisfied with the rough outline, it\'s time to add the finer details to your abstract landscape art. Take your 2H pencil to start drawing more concrete shapes. You still want to keep the pencil lines light so that you can delete them later if needed. 

Step 5: Start Shading

Before you start shading, observe your reference image to see the source of light and elements of higher and lower value. Use harder pencils (2H and 4H) to shade lighter areas and softer pencils (2B and 4B) to shade darker areas. Make sure to shade different levels of light and darkness to add more depth to your work. 

Step 6: Blending the Transition

The final step is to create a smooth transition between your light and dark areas so that they look connected. You can use your blending stump or just your fingers for the same but don’t overdo or it will look unnatural. 

Drawing landscape art can be a highly rewarding and therapeutic experience for you. You can use the time to connect with nature and enhance your sketching skills. Once you are done with sketching, you can go ahead and add the final touches to complete the composition.