10 Easy Drawing Exercises for Complete Beginners

A blank page can feel surprisingly intimidating when you’re learning to draw. Giving yourself one small task—connecting two dots, sketching an oval, or finding a shadow—makes it easier to begin. You can practice each skill separately before bringing them together in a simple drawing.

These 10 drawing exercises for beginners cover lines, shapes, observation, shading, and proportion. Try a few at a time, then use the final exercise to draw an everyday mug.

Gather a Few Simple Supplies

You can start with materials you probably already have:

• An ordinary HB pencil
• Plain paper or an inexpensive sketchbook
• An eraser and pencil sharpener
• A mug, spoon, and another small household object
• A desk lamp or light from a window

A softer 2B pencil is optional if you want darker shading. Keep your first marks light enough to adjust, and hold the pencil comfortably without squeezing.

Most exercises take two to five minutes. The final drawing can take around 10–15 minutes, depending on how much detail you add.

Build Confidence With Lines and Shapes

1. Connect Pairs of Dots

Place two dots a few inches apart. Move your hand above the paper along the path between them, then lower your pencil and draw one line.

Repeat with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal pairs. Change the distance between the dots as you go.

Aim for a steady movement. If you miss the endpoint, leave the line and try another pair. This makes it easier to see which direction or length needs more practice.

2. Draw Curves and Loops

Fill a small section of paper with gentle waves, arches, and loose loops. Begin with large movements, then make a smaller row underneath.

Try keeping the curves evenly spaced. Let your hand and forearm move together when a curve feels too large for your fingers alone.

If the pencil catches or the marks become stiff, loosen your grip. You’re exploring how different movements feel, so there’s no need to erase.

3. Practice Circles and Ovals

Draw several circles about the size of a coin, followed by larger ones. Next, stretch them into wide and narrow ovals.

For each shape, rehearse the movement just above the paper before making a light mark. One or two passes are enough; repeatedly circling the same outline can make it difficult to judge its shape.

Look for pointed ends or flat patches. Choose one thing to adjust in your next attempt. Ovals will be especially useful when you draw the opening of a cup.

4. Find Simple Shapes in Objects

Choose three household objects and sketch their largest shapes:

• A book might begin as a rectangle.
• A bottle might begin as a tall rectangle with a smaller neck.
• A spoon might begin as an oval attached to a long, narrow shape.

Spend about a minute on each object. Leave out labels, patterns, and tiny details.

These simple shapes give you a starting structure. Once their size and placement look reasonable, you can adjust the edges to match the object more closely.

Practice Looking Carefully

5. Follow an Object’s Outline

Place a spoon on the table. Slowly move your eyes along its outer edge while drawing the corresponding line on your paper.

Look back at the spoon frequently. Notice where a curve becomes straighter, where the handle narrows, and how the rounded end joins it.

This is contour drawing: describing an object through its edges. The National Gallery of Art’s lesson on drawing everyday objects includes contour drawing among several ways to explore pencil marks.

Try a second version without looking at your paper for 30 seconds. Expect an uneven result; this variation gives you practice keeping your attention on the subject.

6. Draw the Space Inside a Mug Handle

Turn a mug so you can clearly see through its handle. Focus on the empty opening and draw that shape by itself.

It may look like a narrow oval, a curved triangle, or something less regular. Follow what you can see.

Next, add the outside edge of the handle around it. This exercise introduces negative space, the empty area around or within a subject. Checking that space can help you spot why a handle looks too thick or too wide.

7. Compare Height and Width

Choose a small object and compare its overall height with its width before drawing.

For a closer check, hold your pencil at arm’s length and close one eye. Align the pencil tip with one edge of the object and use your thumb to mark the other edge along the pencil. Compare that apparent width with the height, keeping your arm extended and your viewing position steady.

Lightly sketch a rectangle with the same proportions, then fit the object inside it. If the object appears twice as tall as it is wide, preserve that relationship even when your drawing is smaller.

Explore Light and Shadow

8. Make a Five-Step Value Scale

Draw five small boxes in a row. Leave the first white, shade the second lightly, and make each remaining box progressively darker.

Value means how light or dark something appears. Aim for five visibly different steps.

Build the shading gradually with overlapping strokes. For the darkest box, add layers and slightly increase pressure without digging into the paper. You can also try closely spaced parallel lines, called hatching.

This pencil drawing practice gives you a reference for choosing lighter and darker areas in your sketches.

9. Shade a Rounded Object

Place an egg or a plain ball under a desk lamp positioned to one side. Keep the object and light still while you work.

Draw its outline lightly, then look for three broad areas: light, middle tone, and shadow. Add the middle tone first, deepen the shadow, and preserve the lightest area.

Use gentle layers to soften the transition where the surface turns gradually away from the light. Then add the shadow the object casts onto the table, following its actual shape.

Step back occasionally. Check whether the shaded drawing looks more rounded than the outline alone.

10. Combine Your Skills in a Mug Drawing

Choose a plain mug with a simple handle. Place it slightly below eye level so you can see its opening, and light it from one side.

Work through these steps:

1. Mark the overall size. Lightly indicate the top, bottom, and sides of the mug’s body. Leave room for the handle and cast shadow.
2. Check the proportions. Compare the body’s height and width before adding details.
3. Draw the opening. Sketch a light oval, matching how wide or narrow it appears from your seat.
4. Add the body. Extend the sides downward and connect them with the visible curve at the bottom. Follow any taper in your actual mug.
5. Build the handle. Draw its inner opening first, then add the outer edge and its connections to the body.
6. Refine the rim. If you can see the rim’s thickness, add a second curve inside the opening.
7. Add light and shadow. Identify the broad light, middle, and dark areas. Shade gradually, checking the mug often.
8. Draw the cast shadow. Observe its direction and shape, then gently remove distracting construction marks.

Pause before adding decoration. A clear shape and convincing shading can give a plain mug plenty of character.

Make Your Next Practice Session Small

To learn to draw, give yourself manageable sessions you can return to. Try two minutes of lines, three minutes of observation, and five minutes drawing one object.

Date your pages and keep the uneven attempts. When you draw the same mug again, compare something specific: the width of its opening, the shape inside its handle, or the transition into shadow. Choose one adjustment for your next drawing and give yourself room to experiment.