Scroll Drawing Tutorial
Let’s grab some supplies and get ready to have some fun learning how to draw a scroll.
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Art Supplies
Scroll Sketch Practice
Doing some practice sketches is a great way to warm up your drawing muscles, and get familiar with your subject matter.
Learning to draw is really just learning to see. And we seldom truly look at objects with a critical eye. Instead we make assumptions about what we’re seeing.
If you’ve ever taken any drawing classes I’m sure you’ve heard, “Draw what you see. Not what you think you see”.
Doing a scroll sketch practice exercise will help you see things better. And it’s a great way to work through some ideas as well.
All you have to do is bring up some reference photos. Get some paper and a pencil or pen. Then set a timer for three or five minutes.
Then do as many quick sketches of scrolls as you can before the timer goes off.
Another option is to do as many quick sketches as you can before your paper is filled and you’re out of room.
How to Draw a Scroll Step by Step
Learning how to draw a scroll is really pretty easy. They seem like they’d be difficult to draw. But they’re not.
There are many different ways to draw a scroll, but the method is very similar regardless of how you want your scroll to look.
We are going to begin with the right side of the scroll. Draw a curved line with spirals at both ends.
The spirals are where your paper is curled on the ends. You can make your scroll look more, or less, curled up by changing these spirals.
Now draw the top edge of the scroll by making a line that goes from the top of the spiral towards the left side of your drawing paper. Draw this line at a slight angle going down.
Next, draw the bottom edge of your scroll by adding another line that is angled up slightly.
It should be the same length as the line for the top edge of your scroll.
Now draw two more lines coming from the other edge of the spirals. These lines should be parallel with the first two lines that you drew.
Then draw curved lines at the ends of those lines to indicate the edge of your scroll. These lines should match the curves on the opposite side of your paper.
Next, draw the far edge of the side for your scroll. Again, this should match the curve on the opposite edge.
The next thing we need to do is to finish up the inside where it’s curled up. Where your spiral is, draw a line coming off the end. And then another line coming off the top where it bends.
These lines should be parallel with the other lines for the top of your scroll.
And then repeat that process for the bottom curl.
You can finish your scroll drawing by adding in some rips or blemishes to the paper to make it look old.
You could also add some lettering to your scroll Drawing. Or maybe a treasure map. There’s all sorts of option for what to do with your scroll.
Scroll Outline
Making your scroll outline is really easy to do. You just trace over your pencil lines with a black pen or marker.
You could use a color other than black as well. Brown might be a good option to choose.
You can make your lines thin, thick, or a combination of line weights. This will depend on your personal style and what look you’re going for.
If you’re not sure what your style is, keep practicing and it will develop over time. Experiment and have fun. Don’t be afraid to mess things up. You’ll learn from everything you create.
Working on Artist Trading Cards is a great way to save time and get more drawings done in less time.
How to Draw a Scroll with Markers
Learning how to draw a scroll with markers isn’t a difficult as what you might think. And there’s only a few things you need to keep in mind.
First, you want to make sure you’re using alcohol based markers if you want to blend your colors together. Bic, Sharpie, and Copic are all alcohol based markers. There are many others as well.
Second, you need to work while your markers are still wet. Once the alcohol has evaporated, the colors won’t blend anymore.
So just make sure you’re working on small sections at a time.
Third, you will want to use markers that are similar to each other.
For example, if you try blending dark green with light green, you’ll have a harder edge than I’d you used light, medium, and dark green.
When drawing your scroll with markers you can use a lighter brown and maybe a yellow-orange color.
Try your colors out on a scrap piece of paper before using them on your artwork. I always keep a stack handy to try my colors on.
For this example I decided to add a galaxy to the background. We have a full tutorial on How to Draw a Galaxy with Markers.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Now that you know how to draw a scroll, what’s the next step? What you should do next is to practice making more scrolls.
The more consistently you practice, the better you will get. Even if it’s only for a few minutes each day. Those minutes will add up over time and you’ll see some big improvements.
Try to make your creative time part of your daily routine. Literally schedule it into your day. You’ll be happy you did.
Art and drawing are skills that anyone can learn and improve on. By practicing regularly and using repetition you can improve your art and drawing skills, as well as your creativity.
Challenge yourself to a series of scroll drawings this week and see what you can come up with.
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