Lesson 3: the Drawing Process

In this lesson, we will explain how to control the drawing process and move from the first marks to the final result.

You have learned the basics of drawing and understood what artistic vision is and how to develop it. You now know the theory that forms the foundation of any artist.

The next step is to understand how this knowledge is applied in practice – what principles are used at each stage, how a drawing is built step by step, and how to control the entire process from start to finish.

Drawing is a process with a clear structure, defined steps, and a logical sequence. A beginner artist often draws chaotically, without clear understanding or deliberate intent.

An experienced artist, on the other hand, works systematically, guiding the drawing from the first marks to the final result. They move from large forms to smaller ones, construct the form, develop volume, and constantly check proportions and relationships.

Instead of copying random contours, the artist relies on a repeatable system. The same core principles are applied in every drawing, regardless of the subject.

This approach removes uncertainty: before starting, the artist already understands what forms will be built, how the drawing will develop, and how the final result will be achieved.

Steps of the Drawing Process

Since this is a foundational course, we will not divide the process into too many complex or overly detailed stages.

Instead, it is more important to understand the main sequence and how each step naturally leads to the next.

After learning the fundamental principles of constructing a drawing and completing the exercises, you will be able to apply this skill to any subject or scene, adapting it flexibly.

Step 1: Blocking in

The first stage is finding the overall shape, proportions, and composition. At this point, it is important to avoid details and instead focus on the general mass, volume, movement, and rhythm of the subject.

You should mentally simplify everything you see into basic shapes or large tonal masses. This can be done in different ways depending on your approach – through a silhouette, loose contour lines, gesture, or even broad tonal blocking.

The specific method may vary, but the goal remains the same: to establish a simple and clear foundation for the entire drawing.

Step 2: Constructing Large Forms

After the general mass and movement are established, the next step is to define the main proportions and divide the drawing into its largest parts.

The overall shape now needs to be broken down into primary forms and major elements. At this stage, you determine how different parts relate to each other, establish their orientation in space, and begin to see the drawing as a structured whole rather than a single shape.

For example, when drawing a figure, the mass is divided into the head, torso, arms, and legs. In a still life, the composition is separated into individual objects.

Throughout this process, proportions must be constantly checked, comparing each part both to the whole and to other parts.

Step 3: Subdivision Into Medium Forms

Once the main forms and large structures are in place, they can be gradually broken down into smaller components.

Larger forms are subdivided into more specific parts, such as the head into facial features or the hand into individual fingers.

It is important to develop the drawing evenly, working across the entire image rather than focusing on one area. Concentrating on a single detail too early almost always leads to proportional errors.

All smaller elements must remain connected to the larger structure, following the same planes, directions, and overall construction established earlier. At this stage, comparison and measurement continue to play a key role.

Step 4: Detail Development

After the structure is clearly defined, you can begin adding details. Forms that were previously simplified are now refined and clarified.

For example, the eyes gain eyelids and internal structure, and the hands are developed with more precise shapes and subtle variations.

At this stage, it becomes important to control the level of detail, deciding which parts of the drawing should be more defined and which should remain simpler.

This helps guide the viewer’s attention. Even while working on details, it is still necessary to step back, look at the drawing as a whole, and continue comparing relationships between parts.

Stop 5: Establishing Light and Shadow

Once the linear construction and details are in place, the drawing moves into tone. Just as the form was built from large to small, tone should be approached in the same way.

The first step is to divide the drawing into large areas of light and shadow, avoiding the mistake of rendering from a single point outward. Instead, broad tonal masses should be established across the entire drawing.

If the structure was built correctly, identifying the light source and placing shadows will naturally reinforce the sense of volume.

Step 6: Developing the Shadows

After the main light and shadow masses are established, they can be further refined. Large tonal areas are broken down into more specific values, contrasts are adjusted, and relationships between different surfaces are clarified.

It becomes important to accurately compare tones – for example, the value of skin, fabric, and hair should differ even under similar lighting conditions.

This stage is about strengthening the illusion of form through consistent tonal relationships.

Step 7: Final Refinement

The final stage is bringing the drawing to a finished state. This includes making final corrections, refining edges, adjusting accents, and evaluating the entire composition as a whole.

It is important to understand that a drawing can always be continued, but there is a point where further work no longer improves it.

At the same time, stopping too early can leave it unresolved. The goal of this stage is to bring all parts of the drawing into balance and complete the process in a controlled and deliberate way.

Variations of the Drawing Process

Since there are many different approaches to drawing – line drawing, line with light shading, light-and-shadow rendering, and tonal drawing – the process may vary depending on specific nuances.

The sequence of steps can also be influenced by the complexity of the subject. For example, objects with many small details require more careful subdivision and clarification, whereas a simple box, aside from its basic cubic form, does not involve additional structural divisions into other forms.

In the process of learning to draw, practicing, and creating your own drawings, you will come to understand that the drawing process is highly flexible despite its underlying structure and discipline, and that each case has its own nuances and specifics.

For example, constructing the human figure can begin either with general forms and contours that are gradually refined into details, or with central lines and axes, building up mass first and then moving on to details. Consistent practice is what allows you to develop a clear sense of which approach works best in each situation.

Core Principles of Drawing Process

Awareness of the Drawing Process

This is perhaps the most important drawing principle, because it defines the entire process and, without it, the other principles lose much of their value.

It comes directly from the principles of artistic vision and means that you clearly understand what you are drawing.

You understand the form, volume, mass, proportions, and relationships of the object. You are not simply repeating visible contours on paper or copying a flat surface. You are constructing volume and mass on a two-dimensional plane.

In other words, you should understand not only the side of the object that is visible to you, but also the parts that turn away from view.

You should understand not only the flat image in front of your eyes, but also the changes of plane, the turns of the form, and the structure that lies underneath the surface. This is what separates conscious drawing from mechanical copying.

Constant Comparison and Correction

One of the most basic and important principles in drawing is constant comparison. From the very beginning to the very end, the drawing process must be controlled by continually comparing all parts with one another.

Large masses are compared with small ones, small ones with large ones, and every part is checked both against nearby forms and against the whole.

For example, you compare the width of one eye to the other and both of them to the distance between them.

You compare the height of the head and determine how many head-lengths fit into the figure. These comparisons should go hand in hand with measurement.

In academic drawing, this is often called comparative measurement or simply measuring. Instead of guessing sizes, distances, and proportions, you regularly measure them and transfer these relationships into the drawing.

At the same time, you keep correcting and refining the work, noticing errors, inaccuracies, and small inconsistencies as early as possible.

Even Development and Working on the Whole

This principle is closely connected with the previous one and is one of the main things that separates a beginner’s approach from a professional one.

You should not concentrate on one small area, one detail, or one isolated part of the drawing for too long. Instead, you work on the drawing as a whole, developing all of its parts gradually and evenly.

This means regularly returning to the same areas, moving across the entire drawing, and refining both the whole and the individual parts in turn.

While doing this, you continue comparing all parts with one another and with the overall mass of the drawing.

This is what allows the work to remain balanced and controlled, and it is also what makes it possible to gradually refine every part without losing the unity of the image.

Drawing Process: Exercises and Practice

As always, start with the simplest forms and gradually move on to something more complex. For now, we will not go deeply into complicated or highly detailed drawings.

Instead, focus on learning, understanding, and studying the principle of developing a drawing itself, getting used to what this process is, and applying artistic skills and the fundamentals of drawing in actual practice.

Begin by drawing an apple. Repeat step by step our lesson in which we show that the step-by-step method includes many different variations.

To strengthen both your artistic vision and your understanding of drawing from life, you can place a real apple in front of you and, using the steps from our lesson, draw the specific apple that is in front of your eyes.

Then try drawing a book using our step-by-step lesson, where we also show the sequence of developing a drawing and demonstrate how perspective and symmetry are applied in practice.

In this exercise, you can also place a book in front of you and try to draw it from observation while following the steps in the lesson.