One of the most common mistakes is using the wrong pencil. "Make your marks heavy and dark," is great advice for taking a standardized test but not so much for illustrating. You want a range of tonal values to choose from and a number 2 pencil is pretty hard and creates light shading. For average shading and medium toned areas try a B or 2B. When drawing highlights and light detail use a 4H. Dark areas and heavy shading might call for a 6B or even 8B which are softer and allow for easy coverage.
Another common mistake happens when we try to take what we think we see and draw it. Does your favorite pet have an outline? Then why do you draw one? Outlining shaded drawings kills the effect of the tonal change between shaded areas. It destroys the illusion of depth and dimension. Sure, you can start your illustration by drawing the outlines of simple shapes and build it up from there, but these outlines should be very light and not visible in the finished work.
Drawing every hair or blade of grass is yet another bad plan. You should create the illusion of hair or grass by using good shading technique and by adding details only to the few lightest and darkest individual components. When drawing leaves and foliage avoid using the tiny circles or scribbly ovals technique. Instead draw more crescent shaped marks and add shading in front and behind your marks to indicate the overall shape of the tree or bush.
Shadows are black, not dark gray. Do not limit your tonal range to a small spectrum of grays. Carry your illustrations from the lightest gray you can accomplish to the deepest black. This more closely resembles how we see the world and will make your drawings more interesting.
Remember these mistakes the next time you get ready to start a new drawing and make a plan to avoid them. This will help you become a better artist and boost your confidence.
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