How to Draw Cubist Modern Art

What You'll Need

• •Pencil, fineliner, or charcoal for the initial structure and contour study
• •Mixed-media paper, canvas panel, or heavy digital canvas with room for layered shapes
• •A limited palette of browns, ochres, grays, black, white, and one accent color such as muted blue or red
• •Flat brushes, palette knife, or shape-based digital brushes for structural, blocky mark making
• •Eraser, masking tape, or digital layers for clean edges and repeated shape adjustments
• •Digital tools such as Photoshop, Procreate, Krita, or similar software with layer and transform functions

Step by Step

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   1. Choose a subject with clear structure

   Start with an object or scene that has a recognizable silhouette and interesting internal forms, such as a portrait, guitar, still life, chair, or café table. Cubist Modern works best when the subject has a strong skeleton of angles, curves, and overlapping parts. Look for shapes that can be seen from more than one side, because those forms will give you material for multiple viewpoints. Keep the subject simple enough that you can still read it after decomposition.

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   2. Gather visual references from several angles

   Collect 3 to 5 reference images of the same subject from different viewpoints or with different lighting. If you are drawing a portrait, include front, three-quarter, and profile references; for objects, include top, side, and close-up views. The goal is not to copy every reference exactly, but to understand the structure you will recombine. Sketch quick notes about the most important contours, shadow masses, and directional lines.

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   3. Build a simple armature first

   Lightly make an underlying framework of the subject using large geometric masses: ovals, wedges, rectangles, cylinders, and triangles. Think of this as the hidden architecture that holds the piece together. Place the major axes early, especially if you want diagonal energy; a tilted shoulder, slanted table edge, or angled bottle can create the modern Cubist rhythm. At this stage, keep the composition balanced and readable, not overly detailed.

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   4. Split the form into planes and facets

   Now break the subject into flat planes that turn in space, like pieces of cut paper or stone. Each plane should change direction slightly, suggesting how light and form are shifting across the surface. Use geometric decomposition to separate the face, object, or environment into overlapping facets, but avoid making every piece tiny; larger planes keep the design clear. Preserve key landmarks such as eyes, mouth, handles, rims, or edges so the viewer can still identify the subject.

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   5. Recombine viewpoints with purpose

   Choose a few places where you will show more than one angle at once, such as a face with both a profile nose and a frontal eye, or a vase with a visible rim and side body simultaneously. These viewpoint shifts should be intentional and placed where they help the composition, not scattered everywhere. Use overlap, rotation, and slight distortion to suggest movement through space. This is what gives the piece its Cubist Modern character instead of making it look accidental.

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   6. Design the composition with diagonal rhythm

   Arrange your planes, contours, and background shapes so the eye moves diagonally across the image. Diagonal rhythm adds energy and helps unify the fragmented forms. Avoid centering everything in a static way; instead, let shapes lean, intersect, and echo each other across the page. Background shapes should be treated as part of the structure, not empty space, so the entire surface feels active.

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   7. Lock in a restrained color palette

   Choose a mostly earth-toned palette: warm browns, siennas, olive grays, charcoal, beige, and muted cream. Then add one or two accents sparingly, such as deep blue, rust red, or dull green, to create focal points. Keep the values organized so the piece still reads even in low saturation; strong value contrast can define major forms when color is subdued. Apply color by plane rather than by local realism, letting adjacent facets shift subtly in tone.

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   8. Add structural brushwork and surface variation

   Use visible strokes that reinforce the direction of each plane instead of blending everything smooth. In traditional media, that might mean flat brush passes, dry brush edges, or lightly scumbled layers; in digital work, use brushstrokes with texture and clear edges. Vary the mark making to separate foreground, midground, and background without relying on perspective alone. Keep the surface lively but controlled so the structure remains the main focus.

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   9. Refine legibility and simplify the final read

   Step back and check whether the subject still reads in a few seconds. If it becomes too confusing, strengthen a contour, enlarge a key shape, or reduce the number of competing facets. Remove any details that do not support the composition or the subject's identity. The finished piece should feel abstract and modern, but still anchored by a recognizable object, figure, or scene.

Going Digital

In digital painting software, make the style by working on separate layers for sketch, planes, color blocks, and finishing texture. Use lasso selections, transform tools, and polygonal shapes to create crisp geometric facets quickly, then paint over them with a textured brush to add structural brushwork. Keep the canvas organized with a limited palette, and use clipping masks or adjustment layers to test earth tones and accent colors without repainting everything. To preserve the Cubist Modern feel, avoid overly smooth gradients and rely on sharp value shifts, layered transparency, and intentionally offset viewpoints.

Common Mistakes

FAQ