Top 4 Tips When You’re Learning How to Draw

Learning how to draw is intimidating for most people. Most won’t even attempt it because they’re absolutely certain that it’s an impossibility. They haven’t drawn anything since they were a child with crayons. And if they do try, they give up way too soon.

Practice, practice, practice! Who remembers spending hours practicing our handwriting on this paper?

But the fact is, drawing is a learned skill. Just like writing is a learned skill. Remember that lined paper we all used in elementary school to practice our handwriting? We all practiced until we became proficient at it.

True, some people have a natural knack for drawing. But unlike writing, for the majority of folks out there, learning how to draw is beyond hard.

Why?

What I’ve observed from non-art majors in school, as well as the average person who wants to learn, is that they skip the following four tips:

1. Skipping the Basics.

The number one reason is that most people skip the basic foundations of art. When you’re learning how to draw, the foundations are the equivalent of the lined practice paper. Yes, the foundations seem super, SUPER basic and they are. But because of that, most people think that 1) they’re boring and 2) that these elements are so simple that they don’t need to pay attention to them.

You can’t do advanced math without learning the basics first. Same goes for art! (Photo credit: 123RF.com)

The foundational elements of art consist of line, shape, color, value, form, texture, and space. These are the basic building blocks for everything you do artistically.

It’s like trying to build a house without a foundation. Or frosting a cake without baking the cake first. You absolutely have to master the basics first.

Your drawing skills will vastly improve once you have a grasp of them. For the complete rundown on the basic elements of art, check out How to Draw: The Very Basics (link for free video course inside!).

2. Trying to Draw Without Properly Seeing.

I can just hear it now. All the WTF’s going on about this one because of course you can see, right? But you don’t know how to see. That too, is a learned skill.

Photo credit: 123RF.com Image 20057128 zmijak

For example, when an artist looks at a tiger, she doesn’t just see a tiger. Her mind automatically breaks that tiger down into a series of basic interlocking shapes. See how that ties back to #1 and why the basics are so important?

Once the basic shapes are down and in proper proportion, she will add or subtract from them until she has an accurate representation of the tiger.

What most people try to do however, leads me to #3.

3. Trying to Draw the Details First.

Continuing with the tiger example, most people get caught up in the details…in this case, the repetitive pattern of stripes. They assume that by getting all the stripes in that the tiger drawing will just fall into place. Again, you can’t build a house without the foundation. The basic shapes should come first and then the details.

Break the subject down into basic shapes before attempting to add any details. (Tiger photo: Photographer unknown)

Let me put it another way. Let’s just say that wrapping paper is the details and the basic shape is the gift box. Do me a favor and try wrapping the gift box without the gift box… Do you get it now?

4. Expecting Perfection from the Get-Go.

I debated about putting this one first because in many ways, it’s the hardest one to do . Be kind to yourself. Nobody was born an expert at anything. And learning how to draw, requires as much practice as anything else.

How many hours of practice do you think people like Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant put in before they reached their elite status in their respective sports? They undoubtedly invested thousands upon thousands of hours drilling the basics no matter how good they got.

Allow yourself the luxury of a learning curve. Don’t be shy about taking classes, whether it’s on an actual brick and mortar campus or online (there are plenty of great free classes or very cheap online!).

Acknowledge from the beginning that you are going to make ugly art. Acknowledge it and be okay with it. Expecting perfection is unreasonable and totally unfair to yourself. And it will lead directly to you giving up without giving yourself half a chance. Enjoy the process. Your mistakes are learning opportunities.

And keep everything, even if you really want to throw it in the trash. Save them and a year from now do a side by side comparison. Past and present. It’s a great way to track your progress.

Hopefully this helps all of you who are just starting out. Be patient with yourself. And use sources like YouTube. It’s free! If you have any questions you’d like answered, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer.

Further Reading:

How Artists See 

Is drawing learned skill or natural talent?

How to Draw: The Very Basics (free video course)