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In this article I'd like to show you that even though drawing is hard, sometimes
you make it harder with your own mind. These mental obstacles stop you from
learning and bring needless frustration. If you understand them, they'll
disappear and you'll finally be free to learn!
Where does that belief come from? When you were a child, you drew a lot. And
you were able to do it, there was never any doubt. At least until you noticed that
some children were praised more often than you. You understood that for a
drawing to have any value it must resemble something from reality. Your
drawings didn't, no matter how hard you tried, so with time you came to the
conclusion that you couldn't draw.
It's as if the value of drawing has been sealed into your definition of this
activity—just as when you say "I can't cook" you mean "I can't cook well", which
isn't the same as "I can't swim" or "I can't play chess".
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With every skill there is a spectrum of proficiency. First, there's a border
between 0 ("I can't") and 1 ("I can a little"). Then there are other levels, each Advertisement
harder to achieve than the previous one. Let's say that 10 is perfection, as
impossible to reach as the speed of light. You can pursue it, but the farther you
go, the slower. Translations
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Surprisingly, most people see drawing as a skill with only two levels: 0 ("I
The truth is that, just like with cooking, there are many levels of proficiency in
drawing. Level 0 would be for a person who can't hold a pencil and make marks
Why do we "squeeze" all these levels into a pair? Because it's easy to tell a
drawing you like from a drawing you don't like. When you're a beginner, that's
all you can see. It takes a slightly more skilled artist to notice a difference
between styles and spot mistakes in apparently beautiful pictures. As a
beginner, you can't notice a mistake, because you don't know what a drawing
mistake is! So, all that remains in terms of drawing stages is "I wish I could
draw like this" (10) and "even I can draw like this" (0).
I've raised the issue of talent in many of my articles, because it's the most
destructive belief of them all. It makes you hopeless from the start. It's the
belief that if you tried to draw and weren't praised for the effect, then you're not
talented and you will never be good at drawing. Just... stop trying.
It adds a weird meaning to every "I wish I could draw like you" compliment. Isn't
that just an expression of sorrow that you weren't born gifted? It's even more
sinister when you compare it to the sorrow of a person who lost their sight.
They can't draw—do you think you have exactly the same level of inability?
Notice that the levels after 4 are more active: "gather", "perform analysis". It
doesn't "happen" anymore, so an artist needs to put an effort into this. This is
why talent can actually become an obstacle. If you were actively learning
So, do talented people have it easier at the start? Yes, but it's not such a huge
advantage as we tend to think. It's more like having a +5 points advantage
when it takes 100 points to be good. Even if you assume that a person was
born on level 4, don't forget that these first four levels are the easiest to learn!
It's not so hard to catch up with them, if you only accept the fact that you must
learn it—it will not be given to you.
If you expect that drawing skill will come to you automatically when drawing
and it doesn't happen, you blame talent. But drawing anything has little to do
with learning to draw. You can draw a hundred hands and it will not make you
any better if you didn't analyze the structure of a hand first. Don't wait for skill
to magically come to you—start learning instead!
The truth is things "turn out" only when they're imprinted in our minds, just like
walking or speaking. They don't require our attention, because we put in
enough effort to learn them in the past. The first few levels of drawing skill are
based on things we might have already learned, and that's why they come so
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easily to some people. For example, holding a pencil may be based on the
same skill that was required to hold a spoon.
The higher we get in the spectrum of drawing skills, the more detached from
reality they get. Why would you try to remember what a cat looks like (level 5),
when you can always go and take a look? Why would you analyze how a human
knee bends (level 6), when yours works just fine? Skills based on these actions
don't have the chance to be developed, so your mind can't use them to make a
realistic drawing "turn out" without your help.
However, with this approach you can only get to level 4, because only these
few first levels are based on manual and "mind" skills—the ones that are
possible to learn unconsciously. If you have an exceptional memory, you can
even reach level 5, but this is where it stops. You can't modify reality if you've
never tried to understand it.
You can tell a talented artist from a skilled one by one simple fact: the latter is
not attached to every sloppy sketch, because they know they can replicate the
effect or even draw something better next time. A talented artist draws a lot,
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and when from time to time something quite realistic "turns out" (by accident,
not by skill!), they immediately fall in love with it. They don't know how they
drew it, so they wouldn't be able to replicate it.
The worst thing about it is that when you have no idea what made the drawing
better than others, you can't learn from this. For a skilled artist there are no
drawings that don't turn out—there are only mistakes that can be fixed in the
next one.
Don't wait for a drawing to "turn out"—ask yourself why it didn't instead
If your drawings sometimes turn out and sometimes don't, it's time to change
perspective. Stop waiting until your hand and mind work together to draw
something for you. Take a drawing that turned out well and compare it to one
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that didn't. What's the difference? What can you learn from it? What can you
use for another drawing?
And if a drawing didn't turn out, ask yourself why. What made it look bad? Why
don't you like it? If you were drawing a wolf and its legs seem too long and
crooked, go and find out what wolf legs really look like. Don't trust your
memory! If your manual skills are all right, and a face you draw looks terrible,
it's probably because you think it looks like this. Don't you? So, are you able to
describe it from memory, without drawing?
Your mind has been learning how to draw on its own for years, and it has led
you to where you are now. If you want to get any higher, it's time to help it!
How many times has your pride in a drawing been put out by an unfavorable
comment? The joyful hours you spent working on it, and that satisfaction you
felt when you finished, they all vanish... because some stranger didn't like it as
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much as you did. Maybe it would be best not to show your work to anyone, but
you still do it, hoping for a favorable comment that will make your day.
The fun of learning, the satisfaction of creating something, they're all worthy
on their own, even when nobody sees the effect. It's natural that you want to
share your satisfaction with others, but when it's your only motivation, the
beginning will be a path of constant frustration.
When you get that "I wish I could draw" feeling, ask yourself what the reason is.
Make a list of motives, and see if any of them is worth the effort. It's not easy to
learn how to draw well, and it takes a lot of time you could spend elsewhere, so
you need to decide if it's really what you want. If "being admired" is number 1
on your list, maybe it's better to focus on something you like doing—admiration
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will come when you get good at it.
Drawing in many cultures was created to emulate reality. It's obvious then that
the more realistic it is, the better. However, since the invention of photography,
we don't compare drawings to reality anymore—we compare them to photos
instead. You may think there is no difference, but in fact cameras, with their
lenses and hardware, capture a different vision of reality than us, with our eyes
and brain.
The images created by a camera are realistic enough for us to believe that this
is how reality looks. We don't notice that these pictures are only one of many
representations of reality. Even a movie, with motion and sound, isn't a
complete vision of it. Photos made us think that reality looks like this:
Considering this, why would we limit ourselves to only one style, one being a
manual copy of a photo? There are so many ways to describe reality, and you
can make a drawing more complete than a detailed photo simply by including
the side of perception. Why stress over every deviation, when we can use it to
send a message through our drawing?
Can we call such a person an artist? Do they create anything? They surely put a
lot of effort into this and it may be worthy of respect, but in this case, is a
person covering a building with post-it notes an artist, too?
Stylization isn't easier than realism, and neither is it a method of creation for
lazy or unskilled people (as long as you don't copy somebody's style). If
anything, it's actually harder. It's like creating a new kind of realism—
something that doesn't have a counterpart in reality, but we do recognize it
anyway.
Just to clarify, it doesn't mean you don't need to understand reality to draw in
your own style. Every style is a modification of realism, and every style is
based on rules. If you post a drawing that "turned out" quite well in your
opinion, but someone critiques it for not being realistic, don't use the "It's my
style!" shield. Style is intentional; if your intention was to draw realistically, or
you didn't have any intention at all, don't lie to yourself.
Both these people are practicing, but while the first one is waiting for the skill to come, the other one is asking
And maybe you didn't even try to learn, in any way. Maybe you sat in the car
and when it didn't drive on its own, you just got out. It may happen when you
believe in talent! In this case all you need to do is to change your expectations.
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You need to put some effort into this, and if it's easy, you're probably not
learning!
And maybe it really is not for you. Maybe you have some disability that makes
drawing impossible. In this case, you can still choose some other method of
creation, if this is your motive: painting, sculpting, needlework. And if your
motive is being admired, then, again, stop pushing yourself into the
impossible! There are easier ways to get admired by doing something more
pleasant for you. Don't choose drawing only because it looks easy—it isn't.
Until level 5, drawing skill seems to be quite unified and objective. But once
you reach level 5, you need to decide what to focus on. Creatures? Humans?
Backgrounds? Vehicles? Outfits? Buildings? Weapons? Then in each of these
you can find other sections. For example, creatures may include fantastic
beasts and animals, and later dinosaurs, mammals, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and then all the families and species... There is so much to learn!
Specialization works like a fractal; you can go deeper and deeper, discovering
more and more branches every time. And it never ends! You can look at this
like a development tree in a RPG—you can invest a lot of points in one skill, or
use them more sparingly here and there. That's why you, a beginner, may be
better at drawing animals than a famous expert on weapons.
There's a grain of truth in this belief, though. A good artist can't draw anything
they want, but they can learn anything they want. They have experience at
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learning, and they know what to expect and how to plan their development.
Still, it's better to stay focused, at least until you feel you are decent at your
chosen category. Don't jump from human anatomy to backgrounds, only
because you've seen other artists drawing them. You're not supposed to be
good at everything that can be drawn!
The other type is more tricky. Usually, in its first chapter we have a long
discourse about tools. The author assumes that if someone wants to use a
pencil only, they'll reach for that first type. So here they talk at length about all
the kinds of pencils, erasers and kinds of paper, adding information about tools
you had no idea have something to do with drawing, like ink or charcoal.
You're reading that first chapter, holding your HB grade pencil and a cheap
eraser, in front of a thin sheet of printer paper, and you get your doubts. It's like
trying a new recipe, not having any of the ingredients and thinking which
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substitutes to use. It's making you quite concerned about the result!
The same happens when you see people drawing on a graphics tablet, and all
you have is a pencil. They can use layers, they can undo every mistake, and
they have colors, too. How could you be that good with a pencil only? And if
you already have a tablet, but it doesn't have a built-in screen (like Wacom
Cintiq), you too feel frustrated seeing how sloppy your lines are because of it.
I've got one inspiring answer for you. Look at the sketches of Leonardo da
Vinci. He most certainly didn't have a graphics tablet, not to mention a Cintiq!
And you can create sketches like this with any pencil, or even a pen! All you
need to do is to focus on the topic you're learning, not the tool. An HB grade
pencil will do just fine, if you let it do its job.
I've got good news for you. Even a talented child will never be better than an
adult who learns drawing consciously and actively. Once again, look at the list
of levels. The first four of them require little or no conscious practice. And this
is how children draw—they just do it. But then a talented child, instead of
reaching levels 5 and 6, starts a guessing game that's a continuation of
unconscious learning. It's unlikely such a child will be better than a person who
is aware that drawing must be learned!
Yes, first you may need to catch up with these children in terms of these first
few levels. You've probably forgotten a lot of manual skills, and maybe you
even need to get familiar with holding a pencil again. But it doesn't mean that
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you can't do it! It is no different than learning how to play an instrument—why
would it be too late for you? Because it's hard? It's supposed to be hard!
Drawing isn't any special skill you can develop as a child only. Drawing is
associated with young age, because young people have fewer duties and more
time to do things just for fun. When you get older, you just get more critical
towards your outcome, so drawing stops being pleasant on its own. You may
be bad at many things, like basketball or video games, and still enjoy playing
them with friends, but drawing seems to lose any value when it's not
impressive.
"Even children are better than me!" is frustrating only when you think that everything children can do is easy
Being an adult, you notice two types of people drawing: children and skilled
adults. You're neither of them, so you're hopeless. But you stopped drawing,
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because you stopped improving, and you stopped improving, because you had
no idea that after some point drawing must be learned, not only continued.
Now you know it, so why wouldn't you come back to drawing?
If you haven't practiced for all these years, your drawing skills are those of the
child you were when you stopped, or even lower. And there's nothing wrong
with that! You are a beginner, so it's normal that you suck. You feel bad only
because of your pride and ambition; you must forget about them and just start
learning, just as you'd learn any other skill. It's not school anymore—older
doesn't mean more skilled, so there's nothing to be ashamed of!
Your other objection here may be a lack of time. Now you have more duties
than school and homework, so you can't spend the same amount of time on
drawing as kids. I can't possibly know your situation, but usually it's a matter of
priorities. If there are other things you like doing, like watching TV or playing
video games, and you find time for them, but not for drawing, it just means you
gave drawing too low a priority.
So it's not "I wish I had time to practice drawing", it's "I wish that drawing was
more important to me than other hobbies I find time for". Still, there's nothing
wrong with it. You just need to accept that you could be better at drawing, and
it's your own choice that you aren't. Your busy life isn't to blame, and nor is your
age or lack of talent.
Drawing and painting aren't the same. If you consider yourself talented/skilled
at drawing, and after switching to digital art you can't use colors properly, it
doesn't mean you're actually bad at drawing. You're coming into another area,
and despite years of experience and beautiful sketches, you're now a beginner
again—a beginner at painting.
Some of the skills included in drawing and painting overlap; those are the
"creation" skills that apply to sculpting, too. Others are closely related to their
field only: for example, precision is more important in drawing than in painting.
If you think "I wish I could draw like him" when seeing a painting, it's as if you
were thinking "I wish I could cook like him" when observing a confectioner. He
may be good at cooking, but you can't know this!
Drawing is based on lines; short or long, thin or thick, but they're always lines.
Sometimes you can blend them by using cotton buds, but mainly you'll need to
make the blending manually, with methods like crosshatching. And this is what
you should expect when learning how to draw.
When learning how to draw, it's best to ignore the color issue. Your sketches
don't need them to look amazing, so focus on making them look so. Lighting,
on the other hand, is something you can use when getting more advanced. But
the general rule is: don't go too fast, and make sure you've mastered one skill
before trying another.
Conclusion
The biggest misconception about drawing, the one that all others derive from,
is that it's easy. So easy that children can do it, and if you can't, then you're just
not talented enough. Once you free yourself of that way of thinking and start to
treat drawing like any other skill, you may finally progress. No matter how long
the way before you, you can step boldly on it!
It's also worth mentioning that you don't have any obligation to draw well. You
may never become a famous artist, or even a good artist, but it doesn't mean
you failed. Learning how to draw is a prize on its own—as long as you enjoy it,
the final goal is not important. If that doesn't convince you, just think that
you're already better than people who are too afraid to learn. Don't let your
ambition stop you from being a beginner!
Monika Zagrobelna
Poland
I'm a Polish artist with a long experience in doing useless, but creative
things. Since I realized how bad I was after all these years, I decided to
take fate into my own hands and actually study things in order to draw
them properly. My tutorials are the result of thorough studies - I hope
they help you as they helped me!
mzagrobelna
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