Drawing Tips

1) Get Ready: Use clean, white paper for your drawing. Computer paper works well. Get some pencils. Use colored pencils if you want to, but regular pencils will work. Use hard pencils (such as 2H or 3) for stars and softer pencils (such as 1 or 2) for cloudlike areas. Make sure you have an eraser to fix your mistakes. Then, get the object you need in your telescope or monitor.

2) Look: Spend a few minutes just looking at the object. What is its shape? How big is it? How bright is it? When you are ready, draw the object's general outline.

3) Draw: Look at the object again. What details do you see? Draw them. Begin with the biggest, clearest details. Work your way down to the smaller, fainter details. Make sure you show each part of the object in the right place on your drawing. Draw the stars around the main object, with the brightest first. Just touch your pencil to the paper for the faintest ones.

4) Check: Compare your drawing to what you see in the telescope or monitor. Erase and redraw to fix any mistakes. To make the cloudy parts look more realistic, try smudging the drawing a little with your finger.

I hope these tips will help you become interested in drawing the night sky like I have. I would be happy to offer any further help, and to see the results of your work.

With regards,

Michael Geldorp