How to Draw Mountains

Step 1. Draw an outline

First, determine where the tops will be placed on your paper. You can place them high or low, depending on how much sky there will be.

TIP: A standard rule of composition is to avoid placing your focal point, in this case, the mountains, across the page’s center. Positioning them off-center will make your drawing more unexpected and interesting.

Make a sketch of the mountain’s general form. Create a faint line by applying just a little pressure on the pencil. This line should be somewhat wavy to resemble various mountain heights as well as differentiate which side will be in shadow. Begin sketching your largest peak first, which is located in the distance. Decrease each one’s size as they get closer to the viewer.

Step 2. Darken the outline

Using TwiMarker’s fine tip, I created a line of consistent width to go over my initial lines. Next, I erased all visible pencil marks.

Step 3. Add the initial shadows

What will make your range look realistic is the placement and tones of your shadows. Determine which side is receiving the most light. In this demonstration, I decided that the right side would be illuminated; therefore, the mountain’s left side would be in shadow.

As you progress through your drawing, use three tones for shadows: a light tone, a mid-tone (or halftone), and a dark tone. To achieve this, start by giving all areas that are in shadow an even layer of color using the marker’s wide tip. Be careful not to go over your previous marks, as layering at this stage will eliminate the light tones later on.

Step 4. Create the mid-tone shadows through hatching

Now, add the mid-tone shadows to define the illuminated side. For this, I used TwiMarker’s smaller tip. To make halftones, a technique known as “hatching” is used. Hatching is the placement of thin lines horizontally, vertically, or diagonally very close together. The closer these lines are placed to one another, the darker an area will appear. You may do your hatches in one or two directions. Hatching partially covers the paper’s surface and looks like a shadow of one mountain sitting in front of another. This adds some diversity to the painting to make it more interesting. Learn more about using markers for hatching by reading our blog, “Fun & Easy Marker Drawing Techniques.”

Step 5. Make the darkest shadows by layering

This stage is where I layer and blend to make the darkest shadows. This contrast is important to really define the ragged edges of the ridgeline and give the true feeling of light shining on it.

TIP: It is important to pay special attention to the ridgeline where the light and shadow meet. This is where the highest amount of contrast will be, resulting in being where the viewer’s eye is drawn first.

To make the darkest contrast, use the hatching method and make multiple layers with the TwiMarker.

Step 6. Add finishing touches

Once again, employ the fine tip end of the marker to draw tiny trees on the illuminated side. Also, add some jagged random lines to further enhance the rugged territory of the mountainside.