# How to not be terrible at drawing?



## Generalguy64 (Jul 17, 2016)

I was bored so I tried drawing something.







My favorite Smash character, R.O.B. I just have no idea how to not be awful at drawing. What really screwed me up was the arms, basing it off of this picture:




How do I improve? I almost never draw, so is it just to keep doing it?


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## iMilkIt (Jul 17, 2016)

Practice 
Don't copy, just reference from it, learn from it
and that's pretty much it


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## Casey Fluffbat (Jul 17, 2016)

I never took any lessons on drawing, but I've come to build up skills over two years and now I get recommendations on other forums for some of my fanart I posted. But at a basic level, I still retain some of my old habits when I first started. That there is what makes someone's drawing style unique. Draw like you normally do, keep doing it. But each time, make an observation. For instance, where are the shadows? Is the arm getting closer or farther? Should I draw the screw that is in ROB's robot hand?

See what I'm doing here? You keep building on it.


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## FlannelFox (Jul 17, 2016)

Think in 3D, pay attention to what you can and can't see.  Draw reference lines and basic shapes lightly underneath to help. 
And yeah, practice helps lots.  Also the more effort/time you put in to something, the better it comes out and the more experience you'll glean from it. 
(Notebook doodles got me down in the beginning.  You see artists do something pretty cool really fast on notebook paper and it seems easy, but alas that also only comes with practice)


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## Generalguy64 (Jul 18, 2016)

I tried drawing the devil himself.




Still bad, but not terrible I guess.


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## Voresh (Jul 18, 2016)

I'm in the same boat as you, but what helps me is to repeat the same drawing. I draw the same thing about 5 times and compare each image to the reference I'm looking at. Each drawing I try to get it as close as possible, and look on what has progressed through the drawings and what hasn't. That way you can build up and work on your strengths and weaknesses and apply them to other things that you move on to draw. It's helping me at least, not sure if it'll have the same success for everyone.


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## Generalguy64 (Jul 20, 2016)

Still not good, but I think I improved with this.


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## Generalguy64 (Jul 20, 2016)

I think I improved, but it's still not good.


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## FlannelFox (Jul 20, 2016)

Make them bigger, fill up the page. 
Be prepared to put some time into it and add a little more detail. 
Those are an improvement over ROB up there but you won't notice any real improvement overnight.


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## Casey Fluffbat (Jul 20, 2016)

Generalguy64 said:


> I think I improved, but it's still not good.





"Improved" is *great* to say, even after a single day!

Look, it doesn't take overnight. Let me show you something, just as an example.

I drew this nearly two years ago:






And this was a couple months ago:






I was drawing flat scribbles only 3 years ago! You just got to keep patience and work your heart out at it.


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## lyar (Jul 20, 2016)

Generalguy64 said:


> I think I improved, but it's still not good.


It looks like you draw too small, I recommend you to draw bigger to be able to work on details without the strain. Also this was a big tip from my teacher from third grade that I still use today: if you're using a pencil draw lightly if you are unsure. Its kinda like how people who do digital artwork in layers.


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## Deleted member 64551 (Jul 20, 2016)

I seconded the statement to draw lightly if you're unsure. Use the light pencil line to create a base guideline before drawing over with darker lines. 
Try to be more relax with your pencil strokes.
Lastly, keep drawing until you get better and reference from real life and photos.


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## SodaBubbles (Jul 21, 2016)

Carry a sketchbook everywhere if you can. Draw all the time. You will only improve as fast as you put effort in for. Yes, in part you can change your perception and how you create what you see (or think you see, more on that in a sec), without practice, but it takes a lot more work and a lot more time. 
Changing your perception can be helped a lot with the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Check it out from the Library. Buy it cheap at Amazon, or on Ebay. While we don't really accept the concept of the divided brain anymore, the advice is completely sound. It WILL help you let go of a lot of the perception issues that you have, and learn to draw what you see (or picture in your mind) rather than what you _think _you see. It will explain more where I can't. Use it, love it, reuse it. Look at tutorials. Look at video tutorials. (check out the awesome tutorials here at http://shingworks.deviantart.com/gallery/53430455/Tutorials they are super helpful!). 
Practice practice practice. And good luck.


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## Caraid (Jul 22, 2016)

Same as with any other skill. You do it a lot. You try, you fail, you learn, you try again.

Observe, learn from other artists (the internet is _filled_ with tutorials, videos, process shots etc. for almost every skill level) and observe some more. Persevere. If you can afford it, pay to get mentored (not necessarily at an art school, there are mentoring classes online as well). There's really no easy way to learn how to draw and it's hard to summarize how to just get good at it because there are so many aspects to it. I'd recommend getting a book or PDF of "Successful Drawing" by Andrew Loomis. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend Loomis for his anatomy, that particular book goes into the fundamentals of drawing quite well.

But, aside from studying, don't forget to keep doing what you love to do. A lot of professional artists I know (myself included) get caught up in the race to get better and focus so much on improving that they lose sight of their own creative voice. It's a difficult thing to get back, so if you have a passion or if there is something about drawing that you truly love to do - keep doing that. Develop it, grow your own voice. It can really set you apart from others.


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## Taroni (Jul 22, 2016)

Like most things, play with many ideas and you usually find new techniques and tricks, Personally in traditional drawing I like to use a 2H pencil to thumbnail a sketch I want to use, then an hb or 2b to darken lines. By the end when you are using a smudge stick to do shading it usually covers the lines. Like the attached pic, but I am a crap artist so my advice means nothing.


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