I roll my eyes at spending hours and hours behind a canvas. I can’t draw a perfect human figure from scratch. The truth is, I consider myself more of a remixer than an artist. To draw something unique, you don’t need to have thousands of hours studying theory and practicing just to create something visually inspiring. Knowing just enough to be conversational requires around 60-80% to get by.ĭrawing is similar. You don’t need to be 100% fluent to get around. Learning to draw is like learning a language. Stay consistent and take it easy on yourself.Add depth by choosing a light source (Optional).Brainstorm a collection of visual ideas.Here are the 10 steps I’ll cover to help you draw. Copying is a shortcut to increasing your drawing skills.
My dad even had a projector that would reflect a photograph upwards through a piece of glass, which would shine through a piece of paper if placed over it. I would record cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then pause the recording while we drew out the scene. Even as an artistic kid, I was always looking for shortcuts. I spent much of my childhood drawing and playing sports. They were worth almost zero cents as a collectible, but I couldn’t believe artists were paid to paint sports players. In the ’90s, most sports card sets included a number of cards that were painted portraits of star players. (It’s hard to imagine that as a team name now, isn’t it?)
I even had an unfinished, headless life-size portrait of Chris Webber on my bedroom wall before he was suddenly traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Washington Bullets. I was obsessed with drawing sports figures. “ Huh?” was accompanied by the crooked head. It was as clunky as the ordinary, “what do you do?” question we get as adults now.īack then I’d answer, “Professional sports card artist.”
I remember never having a simple answer for this basic question. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”