25 Days to Better Drawings: Texture Study #1
Lesson Description
Lesson Twelve of the 25 Days to Better Drawings Course marks the beginning of an exciting new stage in artistic development—learning to draw textures. While previous lessons focused on foundational skills such as form, value, and structure, this lesson shifts to surface characteristics that give objects their unique appearance. Texture plays a vital role in making drawings believable and visually engaging. In this first exploration of texture, students learn to observe and recreate the organic patterns of wood grain using graphite pencils on white drawing paper. This lesson emphasizes close observation, controlled mark-making, and the thoughtful use of value to capture the illusion of texture.
Understanding Texture in Drawing
The lesson begins with an overview of what texture is and why it matters in drawing. Texture refers to the way a surface looks or feels—rough, smooth, patterned, or irregular. Matt explains that even though drawings are flat, artists can create the illusion of tactile qualities through careful manipulation of marks and values. The ability to represent texture convincingly not only enhances realism but also enriches the expressive quality of an artwork.
Students learn that drawing texture is not about copying every tiny detail but about capturing the key visual patterns that allow the viewer to recognize the surface. By identifying repeating structures, subtle variations, and the way light interacts with textured surfaces, students can communicate a believable impression of texture without unnecessary complexity.
Observing the Characteristics of Wood Grain
Before beginning the drawing, Matt guides students through a careful analysis of wood grain. Wood offers a rich and visually interesting texture with flowing lines, knot patterns, and gentle tonal transitions. Students learn to study not only the general layout of wood grain but also the smaller details that give it character—such as the density of the lines, the rhythm of curves, and the contrast between lighter and darker areas.
A key point discussed is that wood grain has direction. Understanding this directionality is essential because it guides how the lines should be drawn. Students learn to look for subtle variations in thickness, spacing, and curvature, all of which contribute to a convincing rendering of wood.
Beginning the Drawing: Establishing the Wood Structure
To start the drawing, students lightly sketch the overall shape of the wooden board or surface they will be rendering. This provides structure and boundaries for where the wood grain will be developed. Working lightly allows for adjustments and refinements before committing to darker marks.
Next, the primary grain lines are drawn. These long, flowing lines serve as the foundational pattern of the wood. Matt instructs students to work slowly and deliberately, allowing their hand movements to mimic the natural rhythm of wood grain. This initial stage focuses on capturing the major curves and flow rather than minor details.
Adding Detail and Variation to the Grain
With the foundational lines established, students begin adding more detailed grain patterns. Wood grain is made up of multiple layers of lines, so students gradually build the texture by adding variations—thicker lines, thinner lines, tightly spaced sections, and areas with more open space.
Matt emphasizes the importance of avoiding overly repetitive patterns. Real wood grain contains irregularities that give it character, such as knots, subtle shifts in direction, and changes in line weight. Incorporating these irregularities helps the drawing feel natural rather than mechanical. Students also learn to observe how grain lines behave around a knot, curving and wrapping to create a distinct visual rhythm.
Using Value to Enhance the Texture
Texture is not created by line alone—value plays a crucial role in completing the illusion. Students learn to apply graphite shading to emphasize darker grain areas, deepen shadows around knots, and create a sense of dimensionality within the surface of the wood. By adjusting pencil pressure, layering graphite, and blending selectively, students make the texture appear more three-dimensional and lifelike.
Matt also discusses how light interacts with textured surfaces. Even a relatively flat board has subtle highlights and shadows due to the dips and grooves in the grain. Recognizing and shading these variations helps bring the texture to life.
Refining and Completing the Drawing
In the final stage of the lesson, students refine their drawing by strengthening the darker areas, sharpening selective lines, and enhancing the contrast where needed. This step ties all elements together, clarifying the texture while maintaining the natural feel of wood grain. Matt encourages students to step back periodically to ensure the texture reads effectively at a distance, not just up close.
By the end of Lesson Twelve, students gain a strong foundation in drawing texture through careful observation, controlled mark-making, and thoughtful use of value. The wood grain exercise becomes the first step in a broader exploration of texture that will continue in upcoming lessons, deepening students’ ability to bring richness and realism to their drawings.
Lesson Materials
Graphite drawing pencils: H, HB, 2B, white drawing paper, and a blending stump.
Lesson Resources
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Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
Thanks for the lesson. I was surprised at how easy the drawing became by focusing on the values present.
It is quite cool! Never thought of drawing a wood texture possible. I am excited with my first try and would love to practice more.
Wow, Matt. Paradoxily, your drawing looks much more like a piece of wood than the reference does. Despite it being a tidious exercize, I look forward to give it a go. You are an excellent teacher.
Thank you so much for these courses!! I’m a self-taught visual artist and already, as a new person here, I have way more confidence and skill. <3
Awesome Gretchen!
Thank you Matt! This course is filling in some big holes in my skills and really boosting my confidence.
Wow! I am really enjoying your teaching methods and your knowledge. This is my first course and several times I think….wow! That looks hard. Don’t know if I can do this. But as you assure your students and demonstrate the techniques, low and behold….I can do it!thanks so much. Learning so much already.
Reiterating what everyone else has said here..you are such a fabulous teacher! I love listening to your tips as you draw and am rapidly building basic skills here! As a former homeschool mom who is now embarking on new adventures in learning of my own, I truly appreciate the manner in which you encourage and build confidence with insightful fundamental truths about the learning process. 👏👏👏👏👏
To my surprise, I really enjoyed it.
I love watching you draw. I Love doing animal drawings. I have some trouble making chubby short haired dogs. How do you make chubby rolls look real??? You had a class on making material folds look real. Cant’t seem to find the class? Thought it might help me.
Thanks for all your help!
Maxine
when i first saw the reference photo i was ready to run. thanks for extra comments to slow down, sometimes i am to eager to push on
I have to say, I can not believe how easy it is to follow your instructions. I look forward to carving out time each day to keep progressing through the program.
I am shocked at how my texture really does look like a slice of oak lumber. Thank you Matt
I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pull this off, but with your excellent step by step instructions, my wood texture drawing came out rather nice.
Thank you Matt, this exercise helps me to experiment with different values, I could use it in a pastel of a puppy, You gave me the courage to concentrate on contrast. Much better than the Robins. It is a joy to work with your instructions. Thank you
Awesome, thanks Albertine!
This might be a obvious question but … Is it the layers of pencil from light to dark what makes the depth of the black? Is it like colored pencil in that it is a layered process? One shouldn’t expect the same with say with a 4b only and not starting with the H ? Thank you for the class
Great Matt I just watched this lesson, going to now give it a go it looks as if it could be so therapeutic also satisfying! Can I ask how do you keep the blending stubs clean do you sharpen them ?
Jan
This looked quite difficult to do but with your clear instructions it looks quite realistic. Thanks for the lesson Matt.
I enjoyed this exercise. As with the skull in the previous exercise, when I first looked at the photo reference, I didn’t think I would be able to draw it. It seemed so overwhelming. I love the way you talk through each exercise as you go, it is so helpful. I learn things from your narration as you work. Your voice is so soothing and calming too. It’s almost like you’re in a zone and the exercise becomes quite meditative.
When I first blended, the drawing ended up a blurred mess. I obviously used too much pressure on the blending stick. I then went back with the H pencil and started again over the blended drawing. In the end, it looked pretty good.
I’m really learning a lot from this course Matt. Thank you so much!
Thanks, really, you should start from the basics so that the endings are beautiful
I really liked this exercise. The wood in my completed drawing looks very realistic. Thank you.
Thanks for your excellent instruction. I adore wood and have been trying to get it to look right and after this lesson, I feel it came out pretty good. I’ll practice this one all day. Thanks again.
Hi Matt
I find myself using what you are drawing as my model rather than looking at the picture and trying to do it from that. Is that a good approach, or is it better to do it on my own and not rely on your interpretation as my model? With the skull in the previous exercise I didn’t easily see the things you were talking about until I saw you draw them.
Hi Richard,
If it helps, you can draw from the drawing. At some point, you’ll want to start looking at the reference photo so that you can begin to recognize the shapes, lines, values, etc. on your own.
I find the best method that works for me is to watch the entire video all the way through once. The second time through, I stop, look at the reference, look at how YOU are interpreting that same reference, and then I try it myself from looking at the reference. This exercise in particular, I ended up not looking at the reference enough- and the result was obvious. While it looked kinda/sorta woodlike, i wasn’t happy with it.. I made a 2nd attempt, this time forcing myself to stop, look again at the reference MORE often throughout, and the result was much much better. It proved to me that I need to SLOW DOWN. Thanks for a great lesson!
Thanks Peter! This is a good approach to learning from the videos.
Can an Acrylic wash be placed over a Pencil drawing?
Hi David,
Yes, absolutely.
Thanks for emphasizing PATIENCE! Something I really need to embrace.
this was great! Loving the calmness in your voice. I was surprised that white pencil wasn’t used and that you used white paper although it did look gray to me 🙂