Drawing for beginners: start here

Each lesson builds one drawing in small steps, with a picture for every step and the new lines of that step shown in red. You can follow every lesson here on the website for free, with no sign-up. Pick a lesson that looks fun, check what you’ll need, then choose how you want to draw it.

On paper: keep the lesson open on your screen and copy one step at a time onto your own sheet, or print the lesson and keep it next to you while you draw.

With the app: open the lesson in Pencilbloom, prop your phone over the paper and trace each step with a real pencil, while the camera shows that step’s lines right on your page.

A few tips if you are just starting out:

• Draw light pencil lines first. You can darken the ones you want to keep at the end and erase the rest.
• Keep the paper still. A small piece of tape at each corner stops it from sliding while you draw.
• Take your time. Finish one step before you move on to the next; there is no clock running.
• Repeat a lesson you enjoyed. Your second drawing will usually come out cleaner and more confident than the first.

When your drawing is finished, color it in if you like, then pick the next lesson from this page.