How to get good at drawing

Draw Every Day!
“How did you get so good at drawing?”
Published By Drezz

I get asked this question a lot. The answer is simple. I draw ALL the time. Sure there’s some latent talent that I tapped into, but let’s face it – EVERYONE can learn how to draw. It’s imagining WHAT to draw that is the difficult part. I’ll use a scientific rationale to explain:

The physical act of drawing is merely rendering what you see before you by using the muscles in your arm to translate the positions of shapes and spaces you see visually into a representation on paper. In layman’s terms – you use hand-eye co-ordination to draw stuff. There’s very little magic to it – it’s all about kinesiology.

So how do you go about getting better at hand-eye co-ordination? The exact same way athletes and people other professions that require the use of skilled movements. Consistent practice and repetition. Think about this – Michael Jordan used to shoot hundreds of basketballs outside of regular practice – from different angles, free throws, in-motion, blind, etc. He was building muscle memory, and that is why he was the man to go to on the court when the game was on the line and a shot had to be made. His body was honed to making shots due to the huge number of repetitions, the variety of situations and the consistent actions he performed after practice.

Drawing follows some of these same principles. The only way to get better at it is by physically picking up your pencil, pen or stylus and trying out some basic, repetitive drawing drills. One of the easiest ways of developing that muscle memory is through the use of the daily sketch session. It doesn’t have to be long – simply take 5 minutes and draw the first thing that comes to your mind – and if nothing comes to mind, draw what you see in front of you. Remember, the subject of the drawing isn’t important. You’re simply drawing to increase your skill.

When I have a hard time thinking of a subject to draw, I’ll grab 4-5 random items that are nearby, arrange them in front of me and start to sketch. After doing this every day for weeks on end, it has become a healthy routine. These sessions are my starting point for the day, and the sketches usually end up on any scrap of paper floating around my desk, and once there’s a number of them I’ll collect them like clippings and save them in a sketchbook for later use. Sometimes, the random sketches turn into a solid idea for something bigger later on.

Many of you are thinking – “I don’t have time to sit and draw…” – stop lying to yourself.

You always have time. You just don’t know where to find it yet. Here’s a tip: The best time to sketch randomly will occur at a random time – like when you are just sitting around waiting for something to happen during your every day routine. THAT is when you bust out the sketchpad and doodle. It sounds silly, but it totally works. Eventually, these bursts of spontaneous sketching will creep into your daily life and you’ll have created a set time when you can draw daily.

Here’s an example:

When I get into the office, I’m usually the first one in. I disarm the alarm, bring in the newspaper, hang up my jacket and start up my computer and make some coffee. The idle minutes while I’m waiting for my machines to start up and do their thing are the best time to start sketching. Jason Barton of Almost Sketches calls this the ‘boot sketch’, a sketch drawn while waiting for his computer to fire up. You don’t have to do this while you’re waiting for the computer – others do their daily drawing work during their lunch breaks (here’s a great example – Derek Benson’s Lunch bag art where he draws on a lunch bag each day for his kids!) or before bed, or any time where you have 5 minutes sitting idle (I’m sure there’s someone out there who doodles while hanging out in the bathroom!).

Don’t forget to keep all your sketches and scribbles, doodles and drawings as clippings in a folder for later. Or start your own blog and post them online! Eventually you’ll have a huge library of hidden gems you can rifle through later. Don’t think that scribbles and sketches aren’t worthy of keeping. Use them as a creative outlet and inspiration for bigger things.

Andrés ‘ Drezz ‘ Rodriguez is the new guy here at Webcomic Alliance and is the author of the modern noir Online Graphic Novel entitled El Cuervo. In his spare time he works as a stunt man on MTV’s Jackass and as a punching bag for UFC Fighter Georges St. Pierre. If you have any suggestions for upcoming tutorials, feel free to connect with him on Google+ or you can follow him on Twitter at @ElCuervoComic

Source: http://www.webcomicalliance.com/helpful-hints/draw-every-day/