So I’ll start with the topic of how I started my drawing journey. When I was in school, I would keep drawing on the back pages of my school notebooks, particularly in classes that were too boring for me! I would take pictures from newspapers, magazines, and cartoons on top of our lunch boxes and water bottles and just copy them. I didn’t pay attention to the shapes or the rules of drawing at that time. I only focused on drawing the thing as close to the reference as I could. After some time, when I found out that my drawings weren’t so bad, I started drawing from my imagination too. I had no access to the internet at that time, and drawing lessons were for little kids as a norm in my country. So I had no way of knowing whether my method of drawing was the right way.
After about four years from my initial doodling era, I was given a PC with an internet connection. Then I started going to YouTube and watching drawing videos with loads of buffering. I had a particular knack for 3D hyper-realistic drawings. So when I started drawing fully fledged, I didn’t start with the basics and all that. I started somewhere in the middle and had the feeling that I was missing something. But when I asked some of my accomplished artist friends where I could, “as an adult,” learn to draw so that I could omit all my shortcomings, they said I wouldn’t need art lessons as my art was already advanced!
Despite whatever people said, I knew I had some issues. I struggled with drawing from my memory. I figured out a lot later in my life that I don’t have to draw from my memory. Drawing using a reference is a good practice, and it doesn’t make you a bad artist. I learned that hand-eye coordination is a very important skill, and that you can use your pencil to measure from the reference. You need to focus; you need to pay attention to the details. I also learned that to be an artist, you have to see the world as an artist!
Well, this is my story, but when I look for drawing lessons these days, there are a lot of tutorials and lessons on how to draw as a beginner. I have tried them, and they are very good lessons. If you are a newbie and want to learn drawing, you can learn from these too. But just remember, learning all these methods and rules of drawing will not work if you lack patience. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. All you have to do is practice every day and have the patience to keep going.
I am starting this new blog where I’ll be sharing drawing tips, tricks, exercises, and my experiences for you. I will share free resources for you too. Keep checking my website for my latest blogs on art tips and tutorials!