Drawing is perhaps the most important skill any visual artist can learn. It's not the only artist's skill, there are hundreds. But, drawing can be used in combination with every other artist's skill to improve your art, whether it be fashion design, ceramics, architecture - drawing can improve your results in all of them. Drawing is also great for planning larger projects, because it's fast, cheap, and you can draw (and take your drawings) anywhere.
Drawing is also challenging, and for many people it's the greatest barrier to becoming an artist. They simply can't or won't try to. For many, it's like relearning to walk, and they feel ashamed as they struggle, especially in front of their peers. I have a lesson on this, The Myths of Talent, that's worth reading. Other than that, there are four tips that will help you get started:
1. Your Lines Don't Have to Be Perfect - Draw Lightly
No one draws perfect lines right at the start. Art is a process of making mistakes and fixing them. Many artists will draw lightly in one medium, and switch to another for the final stage:
Phoenix, by Eric Canete
The first lines aren't what you see in the final drawing - they are more like place holders. If you draw lightly to start, it's easier to fix your mistakes - people won't even notice them. Look closely at the two drawings above, see how many lines and shapes Eric changed (fixed) as he worked from the initial outline to the finished ink drawing.
2. Observe Your Reference
"It's hard to indicate what you don't know." - Jeff Watts
Constantly look back at your reference and compare it to your drawing. Ask yourself, "What is wrong with my drawing?" And be specific. Which shapes are larger? Which are thinner? Which are wider? Which are round and which are square? Is one person's leg longer than the other? Is one eye larger or higher than the other? Are they looking in different directions? These are all mistakes I have made at some point or other, and I've learned not to do them with practice and observation.
3. Use the Whole Page.
Many beginners assume, however big a subject is in real life, that's how you have to draw it. Something small in real life, like a coin, must be small on paper.
It isn't true. You can and should use the whole page when planning your drawing. It allows for more detail, and adds interest:
4. Sometimes You Have to Count
Every once in awhile, you draw something that requires counting. It may be the number of windows in a row on a building, the number of stories of a sky scraper, the number of steps on a staircase, the number of spokes in a wheel or chair, the number of nubs on a starfish:
This can be a real challenge for a beginner:
The key is to see a pattern - there are always patterns, in nature and in artificial objects. Observe the object in its entirety, for example from above, and look for the pattern:
This star fish has 5 tentacles. Each tentacle has 5 nubs in a line. Then, each tentacle has 4 nubs in a diamond pattern as it reaches the center. In addition, there are 2 nubs between each tentacle. The center itself is a pentagon shape. Now, look for this same pattern from the original angle:
And now that you've counted it, and seen the pattern, you can draw it:
NOTE: I said sometimes. You don't always have to count. At a certain point, there are so many bricks in a wall, or rice on a plate - pine needles on the ground, hairs on someone's head. No one wants to count them all, so why should you? In these cases, a simple indication is sufficient. With drawing, you don't have to recreate the world with perfect precision. It doesn't have to be right, it just has to look right. The difference between real and realistic.
Rendering
At some point in your artistic career, you may hear someone groaning about realism, and the skills involved. They will pass if off - "that's just rendering."
No, it isn't.
A copy machine renders - it looks at an image and records the light and shadow and copies it, rendering different values, tones, textures, and shades to make an accurate depiction of the original - in the exact size and placement. The results are predictable, unexciting. Use any copy machine, the results are the same.
A good artist doesn't do that. An artist, whether drawing from observation or imagination, translates ideas into imagery. Drawing (and all art making) is an act of translation - thought into reality. When you draw, you are processing information in a thoughtful way, not like a machine, translating from color to black-and-white, from 3D to 2D, form to line, choosing what size, vantage point, line quality, mark directions, contrast, etc., will best describe, commemorate, aggrandize, or even ridicule your subject. The results are unique, you can usually tell who drew something just by looking.
Drawing is not simply rendering, and if your drawings look and feel like a photocopy, you're doing it wrong.
A FURTHER WORD OF WARNING
Visual art is a language; learning to make art is learning this new language. Like with any foreign language, first you learn the alphabet, then some basic words and sentences, "I am hungry. Where is the bathroom?" As you learn more, you can begin to read and write in that language - eventually you can read complex poetry and philosophy. As you master it, you begin to appreciate the subtleties of it, the hidden references, insinuations and puns that each word can possess. Your writing style also evolves and changes as you go - the way you write 20 years from now shouldn't be the same as you do now - if you constantly work at it.
Drawing is the same way. The way you draw 20 years from now shouldn't be the way you draw now - and yet, it happens all the time. Artists, even good ones, can get stuck in a formula they've either come up with or copied off of some other artist, and they just stick to that one formula for decades. The work can be great (albeit formulaic), and if it makes people happy, that's great too. It can also get dull, to the point where the artist just stops.
Here's the warning - if you want to avoid this, it's all on you. No one will really push you to improve (not seriously), you have to push yourself. Your family and friends may support you, even financially, as an artist (awesome, thank you!). But, they won't be there reminding you to keep practicing, to finish what you've started, to look up and study from better artists, to see and find mistakes - most of them probably don't know how to (if they do, you're really lucky! Be thankful!). Most of them will be afraid of hurting your feelings - whatever you make is great! Good job! These people are often equally supportive if and when you decide to quit, and pursue something easier and more lucrative.
And that's okay if you do. We can't all be artists, and it doesn't have to be a profession. Art making is a wonderful hobby, a great way to make gifts, and decorate homes. But, even then, remember - you have to push yourself if you want to get better. You have to try drawing new subjects, both from observation and imagination. You have to try new methods, techniques, and materials. The way you draw in pen will be different than how you draw with a sharpie or charcoal, and those new methods will inform and build off each other, so that you find new techniques, tricks, and effects through practice. All art learning is cumulative.
And, like with physical exercise, there are different exercises you can practice to improve your artmaking skills. This course offers a wide variety of exercises to improve your drawing skills.
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