Using Construction
Sketch trial lines very lightly. Use a light pencil line, and erase the lines when the drawing is done. This way you can sketch in lots of light trial lines until you find the right one without messing up your paper. Alternatively, use a blue pencil which does not show up on scans and copies. Many artists use "col-erase" blue pencils.
Study model sheets to see how characters are built. A model sheet has numerous sketches of a single animation character in various poses and expressions. It is used to standardize the character's appearance when multiple animators are working on a project. Looking at model sheets can help you understand how every figure has a particular construction set-up that serves as a base. Many model sheets are available on the Internet.
Use anatomy books as reference for human and animal subjects. Gray's Anatomy, for example, is a classic that can help you learn more about the construction of the human body. You can then apply this knowledge to your drawings of various poses.
Simplifying and Reducing
Ignore details when you start a sketch. Take a bit of time to analyze things, breaking them down into their basic parts. Learn to see through the clutter, and to reduce and draw the essential. Once you've trained yourself to do this, you will be able to draw anything.
Draw upside down. Drawing upside down helps you unlearn drawing what you think you see. Instead, you draw what you actually see. The easiest way to draw upside down is if you are drawing from a photo: simply invert the photo and go from there. Alternatively, if you're working from a reference sketch, you can invert the reference sketch.
Do 30-second sketches. This helps you because it doesn't give you time to bother about detail. Sketch as much as possible. Practice making quick sketches when you're out and about in the world (at the zoo, on the bus, in the park, etc.). This can help you get at the most basic elements of your object and makes useful reference material that you may develop later.
Look around and ask, "How would I draw that?" Get into the habit of visually analyzing your surroundings, even when you don't have pencil and paper available. Imagine breaking things down into their most essential shapes. You might end up seeing the world in a whole new way. Try sketching without looking at the paper. The drawing features will look wonky, but this will help you remove your preconceived notion of what you think things are supposed to look like.
Perfecting Volume
Practice drawing shadows and highlights. Your object has volume and weight, which, when light falls on it, results in shadows and highlights. Instead of drawing the outline of your object, try starting by sketching a well-balanced separation of light and dark areas. Approach shadows as you would a flat, graphic shapes. Some may be darker than others, but within individual shadows there should be a minimum of contrast and texture. Use the side of your charcoal pencil to create these shadow shapes, rather than scribbling in lines. Transition from shadows to highlights with halftones. Here, create gradations of contrast with darks from the shadow side and lights from the highlights. Your highlights may have some texture, depending on the material. There may also be areas without any texture.
When you do use a line to draw, convey volume by varying line weight. Hold a charcoal pencil like a brush. Use the length of the charcoal to produce thin lines, and the side for softer, thicker lines. You can also transition the line from thick to thin to produce a taper (great for lines moving between shadows and highlights).
Pay attention to the direction of the light source and see how shadows fall. If you are drawing from life, walk around the model or object and observe it from all angles.
Make a mould of your subject. If you're having a hard time conveying light and shade properly, make a basic model of your subject with moulding clay. It needn't be perfect: the point is to help you see how light bounces off the shape, creating highlights and shadows.
Practice drawing negative space. Negative space is all the space between objects. Looking at negative space can be very helpful in understanding volume, as well as for measuring distances between things. As an exercise, you can draw negative space only (rather than the object). This is particularly effective when working with a heavier medium like charcoal.
Use dramatic lighting. This is a trick you can use to make your picture "pop": it brings out strong contrast and drop shadows, which often give the illusion of reality.
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