Is It Possible To Teach Yourself How To Draw?

I’m sure most people are amazed at how other people could draw and we sometimes think to ourselves “man, I wish I could draw too”. I said the same thing. I would probably say the same thing now.

That’s just me being hard on myself, but the good thing about art is that there is always room for improvement for everyone. Either if you’re a beginner or a professional. We all have certain attributes to improve on when it comes to creating art. 

When it comes to teaching yourself anything, it’s possible, but it will take some time. The best thing you can do is start now and practice drawing. It doesn’t even matter if you only draw stick figures.

That’s good enough and that is considered art. Create what you want to create. Draw out a masterpiece that represents you and the style that you gravitate towards. I’m going to give 4 tips on how you can teach yourself how to draw.

Learn What The Eyes Like To Focus On.

What things does the brain like to see? (for example curves) Look at your favorite art and ask, "Why does this appeal to me?" The answer much of the time will be a contrast. Big vs small, detail vs space, long vs short, thick vs. thin, and how these contrasts lead the eye to a focal point.

Learn Shading And Values.

Again the internet will help you. Practice this one daily too. Even if you don't use it very much if you prefer line drawing or cartoons, etc. It's still extremely valuable not to skip this skill. 

Learn Your Subject Matter Or Use A Reference

You will eventually remember things either way. Some artists use references even long after they know their subject matter, and some artists study their subject and then never use references while drawing.

TIME and FINISHING

Finish things and do full pieces of art right from the start. This is the one that separates the amazing beginners from the average person. You can spend 300 hours painting and do almost as good of a job as a professional would do in 30 hours. 

Don't make studying and practicing your main thing. This is the worst habit possible. Finish pictures. You're not practicing so 'someday' you can make good art.

Make good art now, and get practice while you do it. Just take longer on your pieces, work on more than one at once if you don't like that method, etc. If something doesn't look right, solve that problem now, instead of saying, “I’ll draw better when I know more". Learn as you go and finish everything you start.

Remember the point of making art is to enjoy art. Because you enjoy seeing something beautiful, you want to make something beautiful yourself.