How to learn to draw — and why you should.

i started to draw when i was in my late 30s i didn't go to art school i just bought a couple of instructional books and i started out and it was kind of a disaster the first drawing i did was pretty bad so was the second and it seemed like i just had no ability to draw at all and i almost gave up maybe this has happened to you and you're despairing of ever getting any good at drawing let me give you some reassurance and some tips you can learn to draw i know this because i learned to draw and because i've also taught tens of thousands of other people to draw it's a basic skill like tying your shoe or throwing a ball or driving a car when you first learned to drive a car you were probably pretty bad at it maybe you learned from your dad in the supermarket parking lot sweating gripping the steering wheel a nightmare and look at you today you can drive any car anywhere you're relaxed confident it feels completely natural you're a driver and the same can be true of drawing let's start with motivation why do you want to draw maybe just because you always wanted to or maybe you have an end goal in mind to do drawings of your dog to hang in the dining room but there's a deeper reason for learning to draw it can help you be more engaged with the world around you help you see beauty you might have missed express how you feel about life drawing can reduce stress help you feel happy be more creative solve problems better they're just so many benefits to drawing maybe even as many benefits as learning to drive but at first you can't see all that because you're struggling with some basic technical skills and you're not happy with the results which can lead to self-sabotage telling yourself your drawings have to look perfect just like photos anything less just proves that you suck you have no talent you're wasting your time it's like you just took up jogging and you're beating yourself up because you can't win an olympic marathon art can make us put insane pressure on ourselves and we don't have to to succeed at drawing you just have to draw a lot you can draw badly and that's fine just keep at it because all this drawing is going to do something magical to your body it's going to reconfigure your neuromuscular network you're going to make changes to how your brain handles all that data that's coming in through your eyeballs and sends signal to your arm and your hands and your fingers as you develop these connections your drawings will become more natural and intuitive just like driving a car it'll become more expressive of you as a unique person that's how your style will emerge how do you make neurons grow by building a habit that doesn't mean you have to practice slogging away at boring drawing exercises for hours every day instead find ways of incorporating drawing into your everyday life get a sketchbook and carry it around with you everywhere draw all the things in your life your coffee cup your sandwich your napping dog just ordinary everyday stuff now you might be saying i don't know how to draw a napping dog or a sandwich for that matter and also why do i want drawings of coffee cups and stick with me there are a couple reasons to do this first learning to draw is mainly a matter of drawing a lot to grow neurons there aren't magic tricks and shortcuts no matter what certain youtube videos might promise you but you can do it and second you'll learn by making mistakes every drawing is just a series of challenges and problems that you work through third believe that you can get there and you will you don't need talent you just need to keep making drawings even bad ones even bad ones of tuna sandwiches speaking of one of the many things that beginners struggle with is subject matter because when we look at what professional artists make art about we figure those are the things that we're supposed to make art about too portraits landscapes still lives of bowls of fruit and we assume that there are special skills and tools that you need for doing each of these sorts of drawings we just need to take step-by-step lessons and how to draw portraits of fruit here's a more effective approach learn to draw everything draw the stuff in your life just carry your sketchbook with you and whenever you have a spare moment pull it out and draw anything that's nearby keep things relevant and interesting to you and that way you'll keep doing it waiting for a bus draw a trash can or the lamppost sitting in a waiting room draw a stack of magazines a potted plant the receptionist's shoes it really doesn't matter the more kinds of things you draw the more confident you'll feel that you can draw anything because the secret is you draw it all pretty much the same way drawing is basically a universal skill set lines angles curves it's this rich language that can be used to say anything it's like a skeleton key that will unlock any subject and you learn it by slowing down by looking intelligently and by translating what you're seeing into lines there's so many benefits to carrying a sketchbook with you everywhere you're learning to draw building neurons you're making a record of your life you're living your life more intensely because as you look intensely you're also recording those observations into your brain you're creating much more vivid experiences and memories and when you slow down to draw you're doing the same thing that you do when you meditate or yoga or pray you're focusing your mind you're quieting all these other voices in your head and you're experiencing things more intensely imagine if you could summon up memories from your last vacation that were like 3d immersive virtual reality recordings that include everything that you experienced in detail well you will if you keep drawing all right let's talk supplies all you really need to begin this process is a basic sketchbook and a pen make sure your sketchbook is inexpensive enough that you won't be precious about using it it's just paper but also make sure it's a decent quality so you aren't frustrated by your lines showing through to the next page pick the right size make sure it fits into your bag or your pocket it's going to be your constant companion for the next few months it should fit you any pen is going to do but you might prefer one made especially for drawing they're not expensive and they're made to flow and keep their line consistent remember there's no magic pen though there are magic markers just try them out and work your way through lots of them and why a pen you ask why not a pencil with a big juicy eraser because you want to think about making lines not erasing them commit to what you're seeing and a pen helps you to do that lose the training wheels be brave you may be resisting this but trust me i've taught thousands of people to draw with a pen and they always end up thanking me for not letting them use a pencil okay get started draw when you're watching tv draw while you're sitting in bed draw instead of looking at your phone in time you can think about how to shade and draw a perspective and capture a likeness none of those things really matter now what counts is starting the adventure and building your confidence and while you do this please be good to yourself don't beat yourself up focus on making drawing a part of your everyday life that will be success and it's going to be awesome i can't wait to see where it takes you have fun i hope this was helpful if it was here are three things that you can do to help build your creativity subscribe to this channel i make new videos each week to sign up for my weekly essay it's all about ways to kick start your creativity and it's free and three watch another video thanks a lot you

Channel: Sketchbook Skool

Views: 394,080

Keywords: Sketchbook, art, art journaling, art lessons, danny gregory, draw, drawing, drawing lesson, illustrated journal, sketch book, sketch skool, sketchbook drawing, sketchbook ideas, sketchbook journal, sketchbook skool, sketchbooks, ted talks, advice for creatives, advice for artists, personal development, how to be creative, life hack, inspiration, motivational video, self improvement channels, danny gregory draw with me

Id: fR07wJJIBwI

Length: 9min 12sec (552 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 28 2022