Is it too late to learn to draw?

“I always have that itch to learn; I mean, it’s really an addiction. It’s what moves me day to day.” “But, so what, what does that have to do with anything. All this learning and applying it to what.” “ok, ok ok I hear you.”

These are the conversations I have in my head. I realized that it’s cool to learn; of course, knowledge is power, but I wanted to show and tell how I learned it and what the process was. Maybe I could help people study a different learning method while learning more about myself.

Ok, let me get to the point! I wanted to learn how to draw, and I figured learning would help me make logos and with the bit of graphic design that I dabble in. The thing is, I also wanted something to show for, so I decided to document the process, and here it is.

The Process

How will I learn to draw, and what are the steps I will take to learn?
Wait before I answer that; let me start off by saying I have no drawing or art experience. I have a degree in web design and development which means I know how to design website and application layouts and make them come to life with code, but I’m not by any means, nor do I know anything about art. So, to be clear, I’m starting from zero.

Now, back to the question, how will I learn to draw? Well, I will teach myself through youtube university. Let’s start with a 7-day goal. I gave myself seven days to not only learn but to see if drawing is something I want to continue with as a hobby or maybe even more.

DAY ONE

I started by watching random videos about what supplies are needed to start drawing. Yea, know seems simple, pencil and paper, and it is that simple. I went to a local art store and bought a .05 mm mechanical pencil, an eraser, and a sketchbook. Now that I have everything I need, let’s work. I found a youtube channel with a 30-day learning playlist. I then watched the first five days of this playlist, and it took about two hours. I then watched another youtube channel another day one or first series in a learn-to-draw playlist. What I learned from these videos is that everything is made of three basic shapes; a circle, a triangle, and a square. On day one, I just drew these three shapes and worked on shading and understanding lighting angles.

DAY TWO

Listening to different points of views and teaching style are essential for me and my learning process. So on day 2, I watched more “learning to draw” from the first step videos, and I practiced the basic shapes. I also tried drawing things that were in front of me. Drawing from reference is something that I learned is very important in art, and it makes artists better

DAY THREE

At this point, youtube has changed the algorithm to show me drawing videos as they just play randomly in the background; I draw simple shapes in 3d and try to make them look like they’re in motion.

As I’m watching all these videos on art, a common theme is, draw what you like to draw. That’s when I realize, well damn, I just want to learn to draw. I don’t have any one thing that I want to draw. So, I thought, and I thought, the Boondocks was my favorite cartoon, and I wanted to draw some of the characters. I tried to draw Huey from a reference photo. Then I drew a second one, and it wasn’t that bad. Maybe I have a talent for this, I thought.

DAY FOUR & FIVE

Day 4 and 5, I went pretty hard to drawing from reference photos and things I saw around the house. I even sketched a comic of the Boondocks, and still while drawing basic shapes. I have had an Ex-pen drawing tablet with a screen that I had for about two years and never used it. I had it posted for sale, and it just never sold. So, in the process of letting these videos just randomly play in the background while I’m at home, I stumble across a Photoshop video and drawing with Photoshop. Nothing else to do but connect and set up my digital drawing tablet. That’s how days 4 and 5 ended in Photoshop, making the basic shapes and learning how to use photoshop.

DAY SIX

On day 6, I realized that I had already hit a plateau with my skills, I could kinda draw. Well, I maybe could convince a 12-year old that I knew what I was doing. I needed to work on something that would make me better. What was the next step in the drawing process? If I was going to draw comics and or objects from different angles, like logos, I would need to understand perspective. I didn’t touch photoshop on day 6. I only watched videos on perspective. I was trying to get the best understanding that I could, and it worked out. I completely understand it, but it’s something that will take practice to get good at. I worked on one-point perspective, and it really does make you look like you know what you are doing

DAY SEVEN

Day 7 was the hardest day to get to0. I pulled the drawing tablet back out and played around in Photoshop. Now, I have a better understanding of drawing the process. And, the way I should look at the world as an artist would with circles, squares, and triangles

What I Learned

Talent is something that is always brought up when we talk about greatness, but hard work and practice are far more important. With anything you want to learn, you need to put in the hours to get better point-blank period. There are no shortcuts. Anything can be learned, and you can posse any skill you want. Here is the formula to learning new things; Days x Hours + direction = mastery. I feel that anything is possible if you put in the time.

“Days x Hours + Direction = Mastery “

Myke da mastermind

What’s Next?

I learned drawing is actually relaxing, and I enjoy it. I will continue to document this process of learning to draw. I can already start to see logos take shape in my head now that I’m thinking in basic shapes. My goal is to try to make simple sketch comics and work more on graphic design.

I’ll be working more on my ex-pen drawing tablet and in photoshop.

This was the first step, of many in an ongoing journey in my life. Not only was this about learning to draw, but this was also a step towards productivity. I have done so much, but without documentation, what is it really? What have I been doing with my time, small freelance projects? That’s cool, but it still seems like I have been wasting time with nothing to show for. It’s time to get it!