My latest drawing, which is part of my guide for realistic painting.

Drawing is the best way to begin with if you want to paint.

Drawing helps to master brightness values, edges, accuracy, perspective, and so much more.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the most important aspect of drawing and painting.
If the form is not accurate, there is no realism.

If you struggle drawing from observation, read my guide on how to draw from observation.

Values

Brightness values is one of the methods to create the three-dimension illusion on a two-dimension surface (like paper or canvas).

In the next example, all the details (like craters) in the painting (oil painting) are added with values (dark and light areas).

The key is to pay attention to how dark or light each area you want to draw or paint is.

Contrast

Values are not enough.
If the dark areas are not dark enough and lights are not light enough, the drawing looks flat and dull.

Shiny objects have a strong contrast.

Another example:

For round or cylindrical objects, visit my round objects drawing guide.
It is a bit advanced.

Edges

Edges are critical for realism.
Pay attention to how each area ends, either in a sharp way or a soft way.

In the next example, see how the front trees and leaves have hard edges.
The background trees, on the other hand, have soft edges.

Transitions

Transitions are everywhere. Without a transition in values, a surface looks flat.

Transitions are not just in values.
There are transitions in texture, edges, color temperature, saturation, colors, and more.

In the next example, pay attention to transitions in temperature.
See how the left side of the sky are with greenish blue, the middle with a natural blue, and the right side with a bit purplish blue.

Color Temperature

Warm colors are red, orange and yellow (and many more, like some pinks, gold, brown, peach, etc.).
Cool colors are green, blue, and purple.

That said, each color can be warmer or cooler.

Lemon yellow is a bit cooler, it is greenish.
Cadmium yellow is a bit warmer, orangey.

In any case, yellow is warm, but it can be warmer or less warm (a bit cooler).

Look at the wall next to the door in my apartment.
Can you see the color temperature of the wall?

Now take a closer look.
See how the top part of the wall is warmer, while the bottom part is cooler (due to light from the sky, which enters via the window).

Although it is a sunny day, look at the temperature of the shadows.
It is purple, due to light from the sky.

Colors

Colors have 4 attributes:
Hue, the color family, i.e.: blue, red, yellow, green, etc.
Value, meaning how dark or light it is.
Saturation, how rich or gray it is.
Temperature, how warm or cool.

Each object is built from pigments.
These pigments are like its fingerprint, so it is important to be accurate with the color.

Saturation

Saturation is how rich and vivid colors are, or how dull and gray they are.

Nature is a bit grayish.
Colors that come out of the tube are usually way too saturated for painting realism.
You need to mix them to the right color, and reduce their saturation.

If you are new to color mixing, visit my color mixing guide for oil painting.

I stared with the sketches of the elephants.
I used more contrast and sharper edges for the elephants, which are the focal point.
For the background, smudged it to have softer edges, and reduced its contrast.