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  • #448632

    For years I’ve said that drawing is a skill and that talent has little to do with it. As a skill, it is something anyone can learn to do and learn to do well. All that is required is the desire to learn and the diligence to practice. Everyone starts at the same place … Rembrandt, DaVinci or any other artist you can think of. Nobody was born with the skill to draw – they had to learn that through practice.

    As we are getting more and more new drawers here I thought it would be a good idea for those of us with some experience to post comparative drawings from our first tries and then something later after we had built some skills. The idea being to show anyone interested that just a bit of practice and dedication will bear good fruit.

    I started to draw in 2005 with almost no background but I had the desire to learn and I practiced for about a year. Here is the result of that. I know I am best known for drawing cats, but I started out wanting to learn to do human portraits so that is where my early work was aimed. This is my first try at a portrait and one I did about 1 year later after joining WC.

    I invite anyone with similar comparisons to post their work here as an encouragement to any new drawers who might be feeling as if they cannot draw the way they want. Just keep trying!!!

    #531990
    PermieW
    Default

        well, as a beginning drawer, I’d love to see this sort of thing. And it was nice of you to include your time period too, when you started.

        OOC, it’d be interesting too to know how often people here draw. If it’s a daily thing or random acts of drawing.

        And I love your 2nd portrait, what a difference a year made.

        #531922

        Due to time constrictions I was only able to draw on weekends for a few hours each day.

        #531973
        Sarosna
        Default

            Wow this is really encouraging. I work in retail myself and only draw/color/paint when I have the time. I find this to be really hard sometimes.

            Especially after morning or ‘middle shifts’ (8AM-12PM etc.) I feel very tired and very unmotivated to draw. I seem to be able to paint and color just fine but drawing itself is highly stressful for some reason. The fact that work as a shop clerk is somewhat mentally exhausting doesn’t really help.

            I’ve tried to turn drawing into a relaxing exercise but it always turns into achieving. With coloring/painting I’m far more mellow and I can end up coloring for hours. With drawing I start to get restless after the first few drawings. As if I’m afraid of messing up if I continue.

            I guess I just need to sit down and commit to it if I want to get better.

            #531978
            mlovette
            Default

                This is very encouraging and I want to thank SparrowHawk7 for taking the time to start this thread. I am a beginner as well. I have had an interest in drawing for a number of years. In the past I have attempted to begin a drawing habit and failed numerous times. Reasons for not being able to establish a habit generally revolved around family commitments and the responsibilities of life. A few months ago I enrolled in a short introductory to drawing class that was offered by my local art gallery. This time I am dedicated to establishing a habit of daily sketching and completing finished works. As a beginner we all look at established and skilled artist with admiration and respect. It is a wonderful gesture when someone allows themselves to be vulnerable for the encouragement and benefit of others. Thank you!

                Mike
                Comments and critiques are welcome
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                View my blog https://michaellovette.blog

                #531964
                Flycatcher10
                Default

                    Interesting thread Ken, I can relate in many ways. I’ve had no formal training, but started to draw in February 2011 because art always interested me and I wanted to pursue drawing/painting on my own – given time constraints.

                    You are right, practice is the number one thing that will let you grow as an artist – stop for a while and you’ll find all kinds of rust building up. Drawing helps to keep me focused on values – sort of going back to basics, which translates into everything else that I create. I’m only at the beginning of this journey and hope one day I get out of my comfort zone and try new things like drawing loosely or with a pen, etc. I don’t draw as often as I should but when I do it is the most relaxing form of art that I do – love it, so why don’t I do it more often – good question.

                    Here is one of my first drawings 3/2011. The second is from recent times:

                    #531997
                    Dubs
                    Default

                        Wow, what an encouraging thread!

                        #531923

                        One other thing we must keep in mind is the time involved in doing a drawing. I’m sure Mary will concur … in my example, the woman took around 2 hours to draw and I thought it was a long time. The reality is that it was about right for a beginning drawing. The homeless guy took somewhere around 50 hours I think – can’t remember exactly. Realism takes time and there are no shortcuts .. but if you enjoy the process you tend to lose track of time and just “zone” out as you draw. My newer drawings tend to take upwards of 120 hours but I’m more skilled now and I am working somewhat larger. The time, however, does not matter but be aware that you will have the same experience so please don’t use the clock as any measurement. The important thing is to enjoy the journey as you watch the drawing unfold. And believe me, it gets more fun as you build more skill.

                        #531924

                        Here’s a 3 year progression of the same image. The first one met with a bad end – I spilled coke on it and it didn’t end well as you can see. After that I determined never to drink and draw.

                        I’m not the least bit shy about sharing my failures. EVERYBODY has them whether they admit to it or not .. and so will you. It’s normal. When one happens you just dust yourself off and try again (usually a different image though). And sometimes you will do something beyond your abilities which is a lovely experience. Drawing can be very rewarding but don’t let the frustration get to you.

                        #531925

                        In an effort to nudge this thread along a bit … since cats are what I’m best known for – here is one of my first cat scribblings and one I did a few years ago. I was a winner in an international art contest and this drawing was selected to be on the cover of the publication fairly recently. It’s only practice …

                        #531972

                        I fortunately don’t have a record of my very first attempts at drawing:lol:
                        It took me ages to learn drawing until I found out the layering technique using different graphite grades. The zebra was drawn in 2013 and the elephants in 2016

                        Christel

                        #531974
                        Sarosna
                        Default

                            One thing I’d like to ask from you all with such great progress:

                            Did you have some kind of specific study schedule? Or did you just simply, draw? I’m a bit of a neurotic person myself and I keep thinking if I should do something specific. I’m not exactly a realism artist but I’d like to add more life to my characters. I’ve been studying gesture drawing a lot lately and it seems to help but I’ve also keep thinking if I should do something else?

                            I’ve thought about doing studies from existing animation movies like backgrounds and such but whenever I do it just feels like copying and I don’t really feel like I’m learning anything. I feel like I learn better when doing gesture from photos/videos or from real life.

                            #531977
                            CoalTip
                            Default

                                I am pretty much a beginner in drawing and below is a snap shot of my journey from some time in 2012.

                                Below is one example of my bads from 2015.

                                In 2012, I decide to spend more time on drawing as a hobby.

                                I start off reading books on drawings and draw images that attract me. One method caught my attention, to draw 500 hands.

                                Below is #16 & #17 hands. Unable to find my #1 hand but i remember it is rather crappy.

                                I continued practising drawing my hands. #50 below. I think i stopped at close to #100 hands, so did not accomplished my goals.

                                The training seems to help and I try to do more challenging subjects and below remains my favorite. It got a nice coarse feel.

                                I continue to practise and upload to the sketchbooks threads (a number of bads are uploaded as well, I learn more from doing wrong. :) There are so much for me to learn and explore. It has its frustration moments but periods of joys when you are in the state of flow where the act of doing is a reward itself.

                                Critics & Comments Always Welcome
                                SketchBooks[2014[/B]][/SIZE] [2015[/B]][/SIZE]

                                #531926

                                [B]One thing I’d like to ask from you all with such great progress:[/B]

                                Did you have some kind of specific study schedule? Or did you just simply, draw? I’m a bit of a neurotic person myself and I keep thinking if I should do something specific. I’m not exactly a realism artist but I’d like to add more life to my characters. I’ve been studying gesture drawing a lot lately and it seems to help but I’ve also keep thinking if I should do something else?

                                I’ve thought about doing studies from existing animation movies like backgrounds and such but whenever I do it just feels like copying and I don’t really feel like I’m learning anything. I feel like I learn better when doing gesture from photos/videos or from real life.

                                For myself, I like to work from photographs. In fact, I’ve done an entire series on people who lived 150 years ago … and, of course, the animals. So photographs are at the heart of my interest. I started out copying individual photos but moved on to using several photos and doing something of a composite although I tend to use one pose. So each drawing was intentional rather than a random thing that just developed. It also requires that I really like the image before I begin because I know I am going to spend a lot of time on it … and I also know there will be places that are terribly boring to do, But I try to bring life into my drawing … so that the viewer wants to pet the animal or expects the subject to move momentarily. I can’t explain how to do that .. but it’s what I strive for.

                                #531975
                                Sarosna
                                Default

                                    For myself, I like to work from photographs. In fact, I’ve done an entire series on people who lived 150 years ago … and, of course, the animals. So photographs are at the heart of my interest. I started out copying individual photos but moved on to using several photos and doing something of a composite although I tend to use one pose. So each drawing was intentional rather than a random thing that just developed. It also requires that I really like the image before I begin because I know I am going to spend a lot of time on it … and I also know there will be places that are terribly boring to do,

                                    That makes sense. The problem with myself and my own practice is the amount of inactivity and procrastination. I feel like I should be doing this certain exercise even if I don’t want to. This makes drawing feel even more stressful than it is in itself.

                                    I’m actually an amateur photographer myself to some extent and I have a lot of photos which would make good drawings. I think I’ll start going through them as opposed to doing something I think that I should be doing.

                                    It’s pretty hard to learn anything if you aren’t enjoying it.

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