I have seen a lot of people walk away from drawing, though it was their heart’s desire, because they thought they didn’t have the talent for it. If this is you, please read this blog. You see, I have been fortunate enough to have known a good number of developing artists who have transformed themselves into exceptional artists, but without having started with an obvious gift for drawing.If you follow a few, simple suggestions, I can practically guarantee that it can happen to you, too. If you don’t take these recommendations, I can almost guarantee that it won’t happen.
First let me back up and tell you a little story. Once upon a time… oh wait, wrong story. This story is a about a student in art school. There was a student from Denmark who came to the U.S. to study illustration on the East Coast. She was passionate about drawing, but had no obvious talent for it. In fact, I used to give her a few pointers now and then, which made me feel like I knew a lot more than I did. Anyway, this person soaked up everything the instructors taught in each class. Although she learned important skills and techniques, her work didn’t sparkle the way it did for some of the more gifted student artists. You see, she may not have been born with natural talent, but she was born with wisdom. She knew she was in art school to learn a particular skill set. And learn she did. In fact, she went on to become very successful. Unfortunately, she moved back to Denmark without repaying me for a couple of the lunches I bought her.
Think this can’t happen to you? It can. But it takes more than just applying yourself diligently. It’s an attitude. It’s the curiosity to explore various resources, which can give you the tools you need to raise your level. These resources come in the forms of art classes, how-to-draw books, friends and mentors, how-to-draw videos, arts clubs and comic conventions.
And Here’s the kicker: in order to improve, be interested in what others are drawing, not jealous.
So, the take away for today is:
“You don’t have to be born talented in order to draw well, because when you draw well, everyone will assume you’re talented.”
Glad to read this. I used to draw when I was younger and stopped in high school. I really enjoyed drawing when I was young and found it sort of meditative. I am back into drawing and taking courses in college. Many of the students are incredible and I found their work really inspirational and I always praised their work. After one semester I learned so much about how the body works and the proportions and other tricks to make something look more realistic. I eventually just started drawing what I saw instead of just assuming what something looks like. I still have a long way to go but I am addicted to getting better an drawing. Thank you for the blog 😀
I am happy I looked at this! It made me think….. most of the time I am jealous because I want to be as good as another people and when I try to do something realistic it normally turns into a cartoon. (And people think I am good. I think they are crazy!) I also have the push that make me love and want to draw. So thinking about this woman gives me some hope that maybe I will be good someday and I can’t give up on me.
You know, I know someone that had this very conflict and that person is none other than myself. I wasn’t born with inherent drawing talent. In fact, through high school, the only thing I was good at was copying other cartoons freehand. I used to draw Rocko from Rocko’s Modern Life, 100’s of times, in fact! In my early years of art school, I was rejected for Animation and instead was placed in Graphic Design. I sucked at drawing anything and my life drawing skills were non-existent. When I finally had a decent enough life drawing portfolio to get into Animation, I couldn’t draw characters from scratch!
In fact, I failed character design class twice and dropped out of it once! I took the class four times and only on the fourth try, did it finally start to process. But through it all, though I wanted to pack my bags and go home, I refused to just quit. So I paid more attention in classes, went to the extra workshops, slaved away at drawing for hours everyday, tried methods I found in art instruction books and online tutorials and almost literally learned my brains out until I had a huge breakthrough. The rest is history. I continued to practice, try new styles, different mediums and techniques and now, I can draw things I didn’t even have the skill to dream of before!
I’m still learning and thanks to my determination, I even became extremely skilled with 3D! I could never understand and struggled with 3D for a long time but now it’s cake and I’m an expert character modeler. Anyone can draw and draw with skill but it takes great patience and determination. You can’t think negatively and never say “I can’t.” That is the single most devastating phrase you can utter. You have to have faith in yourself and don’t overthink your work, let it flow naturally. If I could become as skilled as I am, anyone can.