Steppe pencil drawing: a master class for beginners

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Steppe landscape is an image of endless plain expanses without forest. Only small shrubs stand alone here and there. The steppe beckons with its infinity, its grandeur and beauty. It is impossible not to admire her, it is impossible not to love her.

Many artists find inspiration in the grandeur and variety of landscapes. The steppe is beautiful at any time of the year, but there is something special, mysterious and bewitching in early spring: in some places there is still snow, and in some places flowers are already breaking through. In summer, the steppe is covered with a yellow-green carpet, and in winter - snow-white and icy. Steppe pencil drawing can represent any season.

At the master class we will analyze how to draw a steppe with a pencil. Later, if desired, the image can be decorated with watercolors or wax crayons.

Steppe drawing (in pencil) requires some rules to be observed.

Requirements for landscape drawings

The image should have a horizon line that runs where the sky visually ends and the earth begins. Since there are no straight lines in nature, drawing them in landscape drawings should be avoided. To emphasize the depth of space, the artists use an aerial perspective: in the foreground, details are drawn clearly, and in the background, blurry. Drawing the steppe with a pencil is also impossible without aerial perspective. Objects are also moved deeper by muting the color and smoothing the shades.

What should I cook?

• A sheet of thick paper (landscape paper can be used).
• Several pencils with different degrees of softness to convey different tones (it is better to use a soft pencil) - 2B, 4B and 6B, F will be enough (you can draw everything with one, adjusting the pressure on the pencil).
• Eraser.
• A small piece of fabric (preferably suede) for shading.
• Makeup brushes, also for blending.

Steppe pencil drawing (step by step)

1. Prepare and lay out all necessary materials.
2. Determine the composition, think about where and how the drawing elements will be located on the sheet.
3. Mark the horizon line on a piece of paper.
4. After a few centimeters from her, draw another line below. The resulting narrow strip will be the background.
5. Shade the space above the horizon in several layers to create the tone of the sky (1 layer horizontally and 2 layers diagonally).
6. Rub the hatching with a soft cloth wrapped around your finger. You should get a uniform smooth tone. Do not forget that closer to the horizon, the tone should be lighter.
7. If necessary, add 2 more layers of hatching and rub again - it all depends on the effect you want to achieve. The more hatching, the darker and more uniform the tone will be.
8. Use the eraser to mark the clouds. Darken the space around them with hatching and blend with brushes. Since the clouds are not the main theme of the picture, do not focus on them. Only hints of clouds are enough for the landscape.

In the background, draw elements of the steppe with blurry lines - it can be a lonely low shrub or a small mound. Draw grass or flowers with strokes, without drawing details.

Fill a wide strip of foreground with rows of thick grass (single blades of grass should be visible, as this is a foreground).

The drawing of the steppe (in pencil) is ready.