


Musicians don’t learn to play guitar by writing original music they learn to play music from other songwriters. “If you’re a true beginner, there’s no shame in just copying as much as possible.”

“I started drawing by basically copying anime, and that’s still very prevalent in how I draw now,” Louis says, noting that it’s a beginning step on the way to developing your own style. “Focus on a style that you’re most intrigued by,” graphic novel writer and artist Ethan Young says. It’s notable that this advice comes from many artists. But when you’re first starting out, pulling reference images or observing things in real life is super helpful.” If you reference something enough times, you build muscle memory so you’re able to just draw without reference.
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“Every working professional artist I know uses tons of reference. “Beginner artists seem to think, ‘If I use reference, I’m cheating.’ There’s this weird mentality surrounding copying,” illustrator and comic artist Jen Bartel says. Trying to pass off the work of another artist as your own is plagiarism, but emulating the work of accomplished illustrators is an observational exercise that can help you improve your drawing skills. The more you understand proportions, the better you can mess around with them if you want to go super stylistic or more realistic - build that basic foundation first.”īuilding off the work of those who’ve come before you is a great way to learn. “It’s a good idea to understand what goes into building that structure. A lot of cities and colleges offer classes to the public that are actually really cheap,” artist Mildred Louis says. There is no such thing as wasted effort in drawing.” Kindred recommends keeping a sketchbook on you wherever you go so you can practice any time - or even grab your tablet for on-the-go digital drawing. There is no such thing as wasted effort in drawing.”įrom flowers to figures, whether it’s a fellow commuter on the subway or a dog at the park, you are surrounded by models you can use to hone your skills. No matter what you do, your act of trying to capture what’s in front of you will help,” editorial artist Chris Kindred says. You have to start drawing somewhere, and you can start where you are: sketch the world around you. Pull drawing exercises from the world around you. If you have the passion and commitment, you can take your knack for scribbling in the margins to a dedicated drawing practice. In truth, it’s a learned skill, one built over years of consistent practice. For some, it’s a matter of interest, but often that dropoff is fueled by a belief that an ability to draw is an innate talent. Start trading in those stick figures for figure drawing.Ĭrayons and drawing are synonymous with early childhood education, but many people fall away from art over time.
