Are Step by Step Drawing Lessons Dead?
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say some things that are contrary to what I’ve said in the past…
Step by Step Drawing Lessons are not the Best Way
to Learn How to Draw. And Here’s Why…
I’ve taken some heat over the years for using step by step to teach drawing, and the reason why they aren’t that good is because they teach you how to copy but they don’t really teach you how to draw. The reality of the situation is that actually drawing, and just copying are completely different. There’s a lot of thought that goes into a good drawing – even the most simplistic ones; while when you copy something, the thought process and understanding just isn’t there.
Anyone can tell the difference between a good drawing and a bad one, but being able to see the difference and knowing why the drawing is good are two worlds apart, and it’s not until you can really draw, and develop yourself as an artist that you’ll be able to know exactly why one drawing is more appealing than another.
Here are the Good Things About Step by Step Drawings:
- Easy to get started
- You learn how to handle the pencil
- You know exactly what the finished drawing will look like
- Suitable for all skill levels
Now Let’s Look at the Bad Things About Step by Step Drawing Lessons:
- You never know why lines were placed in the specific locations
- You don’t consider the weight and movement of what you are drawing
- There is no consideration for feeling of the subject matter
In short – you will never understand the how and why behind a drawing when you simply follow the steps.
But Why is this So Bad?
This is bad for a couple of reasons. First, you are going to learn how to draw at a VERY SLOW pace because while you are training your hand for pencil control, you aren’t training your mind at the same pace.
Experts say that it takes thousands of hours of practice to become really good or even great at something, but that takes a long, long time. Even if you took on learning how to draw, and did it as a full time job for 40 hours a week, each and every week, it would take you 25 days of doing nothing but drawing to reach your first 1000 hour mark – and who has time to focus on their drawing for that many hours a day?
So, What’s the Answer?
The answer is getting the proper training that’s going to let your mind fill in those gaps that usually you can only get with thousands of hours of practice. It’s going to turn a 1000 hour skill into 10 hours by giving you a system that you can follow along with and exposing you to the material on an ongoing basis so that you keep learning and moving forward day by day.
What’s even cooler is that even while you aren’t physically working on your drawing, your subconscious brain will keep learning and figuring things out for you so that the next time you sit down to draw you’ll be making even more of the right movements with your pencil.
So while I wouldn’t say that step by step lessons are totally dead in the water, what I would say is that you really need to look at what you are actually learning – and this applies to everything you want to learn in your life.
So Here’s the Big Question: Are step by step drawing lessons really giving you what you need to reach your goals?
Christopher 
i somewhat agree with your article. I have learned how to draw by following step to step. I find it hard to go back to that piece of work to edit it since I hardly remember what it was meant for. hehe.. =/
also, learning step by step drawing later causes trouble [in my case] when i try to draw something free-hand. Esp when im trying to draw from nothing [off top of my head]
Though it originally helped me think i can ‘draw’ but later i didn’t know how to improve my work.
brownsmoke
I couldn’t agree with this more… from personal experience, I’ve been trying to learn drawing through step-by-step tutorials and copying others’ work. I’ve definitely gotten better – but only at copying art… when it comes down to attempting an original creation, I’ve not really grown as an artist.
I came to this realization that the step-by-step approach may not be the answer when I tried out Betty Edwards’ book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. This book attempts a holistic approach in teaching how to get a “good feel” of drawing rather than teaching fragmented steps in creating specific drawings.
There’s room for both approaches, and I hope that PencilKings will attempt to create a good balance between the two.
Sabeer
First, it takes 25 weeks to get to 1000 hours, not “25 days” as you state. Second, as a psychologist I doubt that you can short-cut the 10,000 hour rule. Would that you could – in all sorts of endeavors. That’s not to say that some pedagogies aren’t better than others. Nonetheless, mastery is likely to take approximately 10,000 hours of actual practice. Best wishes, Milt
Milton Blood
Why don’t you get a calculator my friend, and realize that IT IS 25 hours and not 25 weeks. Someone needs to learn how to multiply before writing such cocky comment
ps: 40 hours/day x 25 days = 1000
Samantha Rose
Forty hours in a day?
Earf
I worked in some studios where it felt like that
Tim
are you sure about that answer?
(40h/day)x25days=1000
1 full day would be 24 hours.
24hx25days=600hours
24hx42days=1008hours
viviana
Step by step drawing gives my students confidence that they would probably not be able to otherwise obtain. There becomes a point in life when you want to be able to draw something that looks like the object. I agree that step by step drawing isn’t the most practical way to learn to actually see with an artistic or critical eye. If you take the knowlege learned while drawing something step by step and change it in future drawings, you have actually learned something about the elements and principles of design.
Ivy
I agree with you. I’m never happy to copy i always have to make it mine. I do use the training of step by step to size up an object i wish to draw then i use all the techniques practiced to determine how the outcome will be.
Cathy
Step-by-step is the way many of us have started, myself included. I spent countless hours as a kid drawing many of the cartoon characters of my era. That gave me a good gauge of my skill level {I was drawing as well as the Hanna Barbera Artists after all!], so in turn that gave me allot of confidence. And when i went to draw my own characters, I know how to draw things like noses, ears, etc. like them. So it got me started. +1 for step-by-step.
But on the flipside, everything I drew looked like the Flintstones [lots of Flintstone re-runs in the 80's] And I didn’t know how to draw different angles or perspectives. And not only that, when wanted toac tually draw something realistic, I really struggled not to draw the Hanna Barbera way and really focus on learning a new way, essentially ‘un-training’ myself. So I found myself in a rut at a very young age. And that was even before I know what a ‘rut’ was, let alone how to get out of one. So -5 for step-by-step.
So every technique will have it’s +/- points. It is just a matter of what ends up having more positives for the individual, I find. I hope that makes sense
Tim
Ivy I agree. I teach middle school students and their egos get crushed when it doesn’t come out exactly as planned. I have them “read” the step by step though to increase their reading skills and following directions as it is on the tests we need to pass. I use them as “In-betweeners” handouts that keep them drawing in between the larger lessons. It has really worked and they have added their own things in the drawings as well. However, I wouldn’t make step by step the major lesson for my students. It does help with the elements and principles and kills individuality. Each stroke a student makes should be their own and purposely placed by that student as to make it their own, and not copied. I like to see the more interesting “it is supposed to be a bug” when it looks really like something else. I get a good chuckle from them trying!
dotty
Step by step is helpful to get started, but it lacks the reality of drawing what you see when you are outside and want to draw what you see. The two going hand in hand might be good so you won’t get discouraged by not being able to draw Anything without having steps.
I wonder what you think about the idea of making perfect circles and cylinders in order to become better at drawing.
(I have not studied everything on your website and so I dont’ know if you have that on there.)
I read about the circles and cylinders the other day and have been practicing them and getting discouraged.
joyce powell
That is a great comment Joyce and I am glad you brought that up. We’ll address that exact comment directly soon with a new series that shows how almost everything you draw can be broken down into basic shapes. Once you discover that, drawing becomes much, much easier [not to mention more consistent!]
That is an excellent comment though and it is totally a smart approach to adopt. It is a great tool to add to the tool box and I cannot wait to show you very, very soon!
Tim
I think it depends on the tutorial and the person. I’m generally a copier (either life art, or another person’s work) but I do my own stuff as well, and that’s what I find hardest. Once I started to understand properly how to get proportions and such in, I found my doodles were less scribbled out than they used to be.
Miss Understood
First of all I’m 68 years young and just started drawing ,painting and writing poetry-I’ve tried that step by step stuff and find it may give you the fundemetals-but that is all I ever got from it I prefer free flowing natural art,sure it has many mistakes if your’re looking for perfection,but where does it say art has to be perfect,I find it quite the oppsite. art should be fun, not a job, unless that is your field of work. I say enjoy your art be it good, bad or indiffrent, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Just use that thing between your ears that is encased in bone, and you’ll be fine. Well that’s my comment,if you like it fine and if you don’t that’s fine too.
Godbless All
Mr. C.
Ernest Collinsworth
Ernest, if you were next to me, you’d be getting a high five! You couldn’t be more right! I have been drawing since childhood and back then, it was only fun. There is no reason for it to ever change from that.
Even as a career, it still is fun. That is not to say there isn’t pressures attached and there are sometimes obstacles, but the actual ‘drawing’ part of the job always makes it worthwhile.
As for mistakes, sometimes they wear you down but what career or hobby doesn’t have its mistakes?? Although Babe Ruth was the leading home run hitter, he was also concurrently leading the strike out category. So mistakes are inevitable but you can learn from them and they do have their rewards as a result.
Whenever I forget that, I watch my kids draw. They do it for hours and do not get paid a cent but to them, it is entertainment. Drawing is a pretty pure experience.
Tim
I agree that step by step is not a good way to teach drawing. There is no observation of a 3D object and in my opinion when an artist is trying to recreate a 2D picture then the hard work is already done for you. I’m not discounting what photography can do to help an artist draw, but for the most part authentic drawing is done from life. Step by steps kill that.
Amanda
Hi Guys,
Thanks for your comments!
Brownsmoke – I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment just like Sabeer.
There is something to be learned in step by step, but then when you try to ‘step’ outside of what you learned to copy for some reason it just doesn’t seem to come together
Milt: Thanks for weighing in on this with your professional opinion! I wish there was a little life counter on the time each of us had spent on different skills so we could chronicle where we were at what point in our journey. How interesting would that be!
While mastery may be the goal for some, I still firmly believe from personal experience that the level you can achieve when you are exposed to the ‘right’ kind of influence and training or apprenticeship can be greatly sped up than when you try and go at it yourself.
Ivy – that’s awesome that your students get confidence from doing step by step – I think that’s one of the things that crushes a lot of would-be-great artists; lack of confidence.
I’d be lying if I didn’t see a wince of pain in the eyes of my parents when I was in highschool and telling them that I wanted to be an artist. Unfortunately it can feel like the cards are stacked against you in the beginning – especially when the old saying of ‘Starving Artists’ still rings a little too true for too many people.
Still in Shanghai at the moment, so I’m going to sign off here and will get back to anyone else that wants to comment in the meantime. Best wishes!
Mitch
Mitch
Just to chime in, I couldn’t agree with Mitch more. I just would like to add some context.
Step-by-step has its place, but its only for a brief period and then you move on. I think step-by-step is a good introduction to drawing as it allows users to get comfortable behind the pencil but once you are, quickly move on.
Who here has learned how to cook? My Mom was not much of a cook, so most of my cooking instruction came from the side of a macaroni and cheese box. I could make a meal and it allowed me to become comfortable in the kitchen. But would anyone consider me a Chef because I cooked some mac and cheese? I sure hope not. But those ‘step-by-step’ instructions served a purpose, gave me some confidence [and fed me] and allowed me to move on. (and then eventually get married to a fabulous little wife who can cook! I still try to get a few meals in each week.)
So just as ‘step-by-step; can help you at the beginning of your journey, it can also quickly stunt your growth and become a crutch if you stay in that mode for too long. It is something to be conscious of so you know when to move beyond that.
What Mitch and I hope to provide is you with a new set of skills that allow you learn the fundamentals and quickly develop your own style. We want you to be confident and experiment very quickly as opposed to copying just what our lessons tell you to do. Forget the mac and cheese, we want you to become Master Chefs
Tim
I agree totaly – I learned much of what I know fron the book “The natural way to draw” – I teach my students to draw by first teaching them how to “See” – how to feel the line and connect with what they are drawing.
Jimmi
I agree with you at all, about two weeks ago, I fell in love with sketchup pro, and I had been drawing since i was two years old(now I am 58);drawing step by step helped me beat in that moment, I thank Lou Darvas, and Burt Blitz like many others in the collection “How to” with all my heart, but now I realize that my perspective is at zero. And it’s time to continue growing
madogaso
I see your point and agree. I have always been good at copying pictures and following your step by step guides but still don’t feel I can draw well. I look forward to future lessons on the process of drawing as opposed to the step-by-step (though they were great and I enjoyed them alot) Keep up the good work!
Lisa M
I am not an artist yet but I agree with you 200%.
Step by step drawing like giving a man a fish which is food for a day but if you teach him to fish you will give him food for a lifetime.
So don’t give me a fish. Teach me to fish instead.
Walsworth Farrington
Walsworth Farrington
Great quote to use, Walsworth. It couldn’t be more appropriate.
Tim
When someone has an artistic ability and wants to acheive a higher level of ability , I do not think that step by step would fulfill this need, just as paint by numbers would would not help you learn to be an oil paining artist. It may however help those who do not want to take art seriously, and would just like to experience some achievment for crafting. Just my opinion!
Gloria Hager
It’s not too hard. The marvel comics way that I learned years ago is this: thumbnail, scribble, identify, refine. Thumbnail the image to make sure as a concept and composition it works. Start small, then build up the size by scribbling over those concepts. Keep in mind space and form. Use reference and get a feel for why it should be in a particular way. If it feels right, it is right. Use a mirror to check its ok as it makes yu look at things differently.
Identify from all those scribbles the lines which work. Refine those lines into the finished work.
If you are interested in me contributing to your site in the future, give me a shout…
Andrew
I agree with all that you have said,I love to paint,but my problem is I can’t draw,if I could my painting would be better
Marguerite
Like Ernest above I came to art late in life and funnily also dable in writing poetry anyway I don’t see how you can start without step by step basics have to learnt.I bought Mitches caricature secrets and struggled for months but forcing myself to go faster has finaly taught me to trust my brain and get down to 3 mins. Surely we only copy all the time either what our eyes see or an image in our brain
Tim
I agree i think i like the step by step because it helps me see colors right now. Which im having a lot of trouble picking. As for drawing like someone else i agree. I notice things more now by drawing myself like bone structure. When i first starte i did just what you say put a shadow in just because i saw it there. Now im trying (still working on it) to learn why there is a shadow or a highlight. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Terry Howell
The controversy about the differences can be resolved by considering several perceptions. In the past, students copied the great masters stroke by stroke, color by color until the students learned enough to begin developing a distinct style. This heritage of method has been honored by sword makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, house painters, and artists. Different people require different kinds of attention. There are interindividual and intraindividual differences. The interindividual differences include such issues as whether one is left or right-handed, the quantity of color receptors in the eye, etc. Intraindividual differences include the development of changing from left hemispheric to right hemispheric activity, (from alphanumeric characters to lines, planes, textures, hues, etc. In 1975 Betty Edwards in her book: Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, proved remarkable abilities lie within each of us, and six weeks of doing her exercises produced astonishing results in even the least artistically inclined. Each student-artist, whether prodigy or average, requires different amounts of copyist and free-form artistic endeavor. Exercises have been intended to teach the student “to see” as well as to develop the body-knowledge (“hand”) the pencil or brush strokes necessary to accomplish what we historically have called “Art.” There is no one method well-suited to every aspiring artist. We get into trouble when we want to hurry up and learn quick and easy. The panderers who say you can learn the guitar in ten easy lessons at home tell lies to sell and encourage. The truth is actually in the world-wide awakening in 1978 from an awesome news story in California. Then, there was a professor of English who tested out as a retardate. Yep, he had a Master’s yet his recorded I.Q. was about 80-85 when the average was 100. He said that all the time he was growing up, he had to study six times longer than the other children and sacrifice playing outside so he could do his lessons. He said he wanted to be a teacher more than anything else in the world. His true life story turned the academic community on its ear. Many arrogant professors were no longer able to hide behind their degrees. The point was that a person with a “low” I.Q. was able to honestly earn a Master’s Degree, because he had the DESIRE, COMMITMENT, FOLLOW-THROUGH. He did not accept failure, frustration, or negative thinking. In pencil drawing, not all of us are going to be genetically endowed with the fine motor controls we see in superb artists who, with their fingertips, can tell the difference between 1/10 of millimeter while the rest of us can only tell the difference between 1 and 2 millimeters: the difference between surgeon and brick layer. HOWEVER, we have seen again and again when life has forced certain emergencies on us, that the humblest of us have landed planes without prior training, performed emergency tracheotomies (sp?), or done other incredible things. Art is no exception. You can only see what you have learned to see (again controversial) so pick well your visual guides. Yet, your visual acuity may exceed the Master’s and you will see forty lines where the Master saw only 32. If you have trained yourself to see without the constraints of previous knowledge or cultural imposition, and can compare your “seeings” to those previous knowledges and impositions, it then become your burden to further educate the others of us who seek to see also. Mitch’s training is excellent for development to the point where you are ready to strike out on your own, and if anyone wants to criticise him, then my suggestion is to get a copy of Betty Edwards’ book and between the two you will have it all covered. I taught my son and daughter to draw what they actually saw while each sat on my lap, my hands on top of their heads. When either deviated from the actual appearance of the object being drawn, I would gently press my left hand on the top of the left side of each’s head and say: “You are drawing what you remember seeing.” Then I would gently press the right side of each’s head and say: “Now look again and draw what you see.” Each was proficient very quickly. Step-By-Step taught me the basics and I would not trade it. I learned as an architectural draftsman step-by-step, and then spent time learning to free myself from the rigid form of architectural draftsmanship to draw trees, bushes, animals. It is an awesome feeling to be freed from those constraints to draw freely what I look at.
Meticularius
Thank You So Much ! Meticularius, would love to hear more comments like the One’s You have posted! Awesome
evelyn
Hi Mitch,
I have to agree that step-by-step drawing may not be the best way to learn to draw because it can lack full creativity and realism. The reason I opted for the step-by-step approach was to spark the imagination and techniques that I had previously learned, but had forgotten because of inactivity. I feel that step-by-step can fulfill some basic techniques necessary to progress into more creative and realistic drawings. I look forward to learning more skills in the future, thank you!
Amiteil
I think ur totally right Mitch, step by step drawing is mostly teaching ur hands but not ur mind. I know from my own experience that I can draw anything as a copier but starting out from scratch is much harder because I need proper training on perception, artistic way of thinking and imagination. Anyway good luck Mitch in your aim because most of us need to feed our minds some art
riham
I can not answer your question because what I want to say to you exceeded my knowledge of English. you do a good job anyway so I still follow you. keep up the good work
petre bogdan
hi mitch,
i agree that step by step drawing is not the best way to learn but when it comes to realistic drawings it is important to understand the basic things… my teacher use to say if u want to be an artist your observation should be strong so keep your eyes and brain open… (to put feelings in work is very important)i don’t know much about digital art i work with colours and canvas…… you guys r doing great work.Tc
shubhra
As a 69year old person, I am delighted to draw and paint,be they good or not so good. I only wish, when I was young, that I had the opportunity to learn about art, doing things the “right” way. I am grateful to the good people on the internetwho have managed to teach me enough to be able to turn out some art.
Thank you Mitch
God Bless
Deirdre
Deirdre
i think that in order to forget and break the rules you should know them and respect them at first
most of great artists have realised this reality
and then you could follow your own path in drawing
in order to become a good writer you should read and then you should practise writing and to become a great writer you should create your own way in writing but after you read and practice
the same thing could be applied on drawing
mohammed
You are bang on, Mohammed! Did you ever see Pablo Picasso’s works before he went on to co-found cubism? He was a very talented artist who did some very traditional works. He is a perfect example of that. He knew the rules, mastered them and then moved on to create a whole new style. So whether you like cubism or not [many people use the line 'My 4 year old can do better], but you see that his skills were rooted in the fundamentals and he was very talented in both methods. So each of these steps serve a purpose and build off one another.
Thanks for the excellent comment, Mohammed!
Tim
Interesting, especially the variety of comments. I have worked within the art field for years: childhood, education, taught it, published Scientific illustrations, booklets, fine art, as well as step-by-step, etc. Creativity is a highly individual thing, and always fascinating, like many comments here. I found step-by-step to be a valuable spring board as one of many methods. Teaching it to 3 and 4 year olds was a fun experience in that they loved doing something they could “recognize”, then took the shapes and lines we used to draw animals,etc., and used them to draw and create other things and experiment. They “ran with it”, so to speak, because, as young children, it was a simply a new “tool” to draw something they were pleased with, excited about, and they didn’t even think of it as “copying”. For many older children and adults it just may release their “inner child’s” creative freedom from an earlier self-inflicted belief that they “can’t” draw at all. There are “tricks of the trade” even naturally talented artists benefit from learning and when teachers can help beginners believe in themselves by what ever method, their own creativity will take over! And if step-by-step isn’t the trigger for some, use something else, but please don’t do away with any method that has worked for even ONE individual, because for that person,(and those touched by the works of that person!) it was valuable. As mentioned earlier, many great masters learned the “basics” before blooming in their chosen field(s). Keep up your good work!!
marcy
I’ve tried a couple of step-by-step guides and it’s great for confidence and getting started, but I still don’t feel I’m able to really get my idea down quite right, it comes out like someone else’s work! Looking forward to the site Mitch!
Mark
Nice site!
Michael Gagne
Thank you, Michael! Mitch and I are very pleased to open the doors to everyone. We hope to get feedback and continue to tailor it to meet the people’s needs. Just simply hearing a ‘nice site’ comment though is great to hear!
Tim
hi,so it seems no one wants to mention the fact that some people are naturally able to draw ,so if some one could fund a few scientific experments may be even locating the drawing gean,we could develop a pill to enhance all those who are not prepaired to put the hours into practice
ends
Hi Ends,
I’ve seen some people who appear to be naturally gifted, but you know what I found the difference really to be? Those people who were ‘the best’ were always drawing!
The whole idea of natural talent is something that you can really hold you back. I’ll be in touch with more info about this in a little while. Don’t fall into the trap! You can be a great artist if you want to be!
Take care! -Mitch
Mitch
Good day,
I love drawing and painting in watercolor as a hobby. Being a musician, I would compare the step by step in drawing to mimicking a teacher in a music lesson. It might be good for starters just to get used to your instrument, but you have to push the students out of that as soon as possible. Imitating won’t make you learn how to read music, much less interpret it on your own. There is the whole concept of learning the appropriate techniques, and developing skills of course, but beyond that you have to evolve as an artist right from the start. That is the essence of being an artist I believe.
I see astounding drawings “technically” out there on the net, but not that many who make you go ” Haaa ”
:0)
In music that stuff can be teached, it surely can be in drawing as well, on top of learning the “how to do ” stuff.
Cheers,
Bernard Pépin
That is a great reference that you make, Bernard. I too agree that drawing is a skill that is learned. Like many other skills, some pick it up quicker than others but with time, we all can learn it.
In my experiences, a diligent person will trump one with only talent. That being said, a talented person who is diligent is unstoppable.
Tim
First off, I am by far not a pro. In fact, i would even say I kinda suck at drawing, but here is my opinion on step by step. As a warhammer 40k fan, I desperately wanted to learn to draw some of the visualizations in my head. However, as some of you may know,there are many things about 40k that are not…scale to real life, like the space marines. They are a tad different in proportion and all that other stuff. ( You can really see my inexperience now
) So, finding a step by step way of drawing space marines really helped at first. It gave me the confidence i needed to draw more, and it help get a feel for the space marine look. I still use some of the meathods ive learned online, but I’ve adapted them to my own style of drawing. So, they were for me, quite helpful. Nice article Mitch, and keep up the good work.
Chewy
Hi,
I have only been drawing/painting for the past two years, and as I am 65, I have welcomed the step by step tutorials I have followed in both drawing and painting. Both have given me confidence to try things on my own. Yes I still have a tendency or a preference if you like to copy, but I am gradually pulling away from that. My drawings/paintings are no where near perfect but at least I have learned enough to recognise what is wrong. I enjoy and have fun with my art and it gives me enormous pleasure when I produce something I or someone else likes and admires. If its not good, its only paper and pencil or paint and I chalk it up to experience and learn something from it. I doubt I have enough time left to learn everything, so I’m not going to dwell on that. Individuals should make up their own minds as to whether they find step by step a benefit I would think most beginners certainly would.
Jean
I agree with Jean too watching step by step gives me some direction. I dont do the step by step pictures in exact i find my own and do them. However it gives me a direction on how they are accomplishing what they do. After i have had time to think about this. I dont feel i copy them. I gain info from all sorts of things. If it wasnt for the step by step in Acrylics i would never know to put a basic foundation down. Or the colors that were used to put the foundation down. Colored pencils or pastels would be lost to me because there is so much to gain from people . Do i think i should stick to that only NO not at all. I try to draw free hand as much as i can. Right now with out a graph it looks like a childs drawing. Im thankfull for people who share there work it does help us newbies. Once i learn color and applications then i feel i will have more freedom. For instance Doing highlights its interesting how this approach is done. Some things cannot be taught it must be learned. Mixing colors is one of those things. Drawing free hand i dont care how many WIP’s i see it wont teach me to draw i must learn this on my own. I think everyone approches things in there own way and how ever we get where we need to be the important thing is we get there. Those who are more talented look down on those who are not because they do things different and use what others concider as crutches. But i think whats important is the end results.
Terry Howell
Hi I have only recently tried to draw after spending decades telling myself that I could not draw. I found step by step drawing frustrating as I had no way of understanding and improving my drawing.I am finding that principles of measurement, relationships, using negative space and working from general to particular have assisted me with both still life and figurative drawing. I can see improvements in each drawing I do and while my drawings represent the item or model they also show my style.
meg
I don’t agree but of course I’m not an expert. I just know that my whole life I never drew a single picture or any other thing and then one day in my adult life after a stressful event I decided I wanted something to due to make my day a little brighter knowing I could possibly draw something the way I got started on this was I went online and typed in step by step drawing this is were I have learned to draw and have continued to learn this is sometimes the only way people know how to learn is to see and show rather than just reading on how to draw or even through watching videos of someone drawing. I know it may sound silly but step by step drawing lessons have been the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. So thank you to everyone who presents step by step drawings for people like me to learn how to draw.
Kimberly
Hi Kimberly!
Step-by-step courses are totally effective and serve a very valuable purpose. They get us drawing and provide us with an end result that resembles something familiar. That in turn gets us drawing and gets us comfortable with a pencil and builds our confidence- which is key! Now lets say for example that you were asked to draw a portrait of a cat for someone and you have only draw steps-by-steps of other things, never a cat. What would you do?
Now you may set out and hit a home run and nail that cat drawing. Now you are getting well known, so you get more requests for all types of animals, people, landscapes, etc. But your cat drawing was really just a fluke and you are not comfortable with the fundamentals that got you there in the first place and you do not know how to apply them to other areas. It is that gap that occurs frequently in ‘step-by-step’ type teaching. It prepares you for one thing- and only one thing. A professional magician could set you up with a trick that would get everyone amazed, he knows what the room wants and you’d feel like a great success. He could even tell you the little tricks and mannerisms to do. You’d be a hit! But once he is gone and you are left standing alone, would you have the same success? Are the skills he taught transferable?? Are you the great magician or are you just copying him???
Now if you hung around that magician, you’d still learn much and apprenticing has a ton of merit, but there is still the gap. Mitch and I want to help with that gap. When you learn the fundamentals and learn the when/how/why/where to use them, you are getting set up to succeed. We do not anyone to be a ‘one trick pony’ but rather artists rooted in the fundamentals and they know how to use them!
Tim
Thanks Tim I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve been drawing for almost two years now and I have finally got to the point where I think I’m a little more confident about drawing something from my mind instead of what I see on paper I’m not great at it but for being a person who had never drawn before I think it is okay. It still needs a lot of help but its getting there. Thanks for all you guys do. Blessings
Kimberly
I enjoy your step by step drawing . i have been thru classes in drawing and your step by step helps me out with drawing i dont under stand .keep up the good work
peter
I totally agree with you, I’m seventeen now and have drawing and following your step by step tutorials for a while now. They have helped me learn some of the basics such as creating a face and learning values of light. Copying is easy but actually focusing your mind on creating a work thats original can be hassle. I for one am self-teaching myself to learn the proper techniques to become better. Learning from the work of great masters and putting you’re mind to the task can help you achieve greatnees.
Devante
Well, for a beginner, both the methods become complementary in effect.
Ambi
That is true Ambi.
We can split hairs about which is better or worse, but ultimately anything that gets us drawing is good for us.
It is like exercise, anything that gets us off the couch is beneficial but there are definitely more and less effective ways to exercise. Instead of debating them, just go and do something
Tim
I agree with what you are saying to some extent. Personally, I needed the help that step by step lessons offered because at the age of 49 I had never really drawn anything more intricate than a stick figure.
From step by step lessons I learned how to use one pencil to achieve multiple shades of gray, blend, as well as define. My hands do not work as well as most so pencil holding was more along the lines of what worked best for me.
I can now look at a picture and with time and patience I can achieve a very good outcome. I know my drawings will never be of museum quality nor will there ever be a market for them but they are a pleasure for me; my kids and grandkids think they are grand. My eldest grand daughter(11) tells her friends her grandma is an artist! How about that, pretty nifty huh!
What matters most is that your step by steps should be viewed as a tool to build understanding, confidence and the artists personal technique. Once they have mastered confidence the rest will fall into place.
Thanks for sharing your talent, time and experience with those of us who are not natural artists but have a desire to draw.
You are much appreciated!
kayellen
I forgot to mention that I have also drawn “off the top of my head” and have had some amazing results in proportions and balance.
Both brothers and my mother could draw anything, they were naturally gifted. I on the other hand found it had to draw a straight line with a ruler much less a stick figure. Thanks again for all the helps and tips!
kayellen
I believe to learn how to draw or advance skills that step by step is great! I do agree though that more is needed to get from the “copy” stage to the “creation” stage with those learned skills.
Deborah
Hi Mitch,
I wanted to be an artist as a child as I felt that I was good at art. However, practically making a living of it is difficult.
Today after 30 years, I again started drawing after I came across your web and subscribed for it; beginning with Step-by-Step drawing and again learning to draw was a great experience. Personally, I believe that Step by step process of learning is applicable to any subject whether it is Science, Mathematics or any thing. This process of learning takes time according to every individual’s capacity to grasp a subject and clear the basics.
What you are doing is a great job of teaching how to draw any thing in simple steps with out the complications, now it is up to the student and his/her ability and dedication and creativity to use these basics and evolve as an artist. Once the basics are clear, and with dedication a practice, one can apply one’s creativity to no limits.
My conclusion is your Step-by-step courses are totally effective and serve a very valuable purpose.
Keep up the great job! To your artistic success.
Prasad KS
K
I really agree with this article because I’ve done several step by step lesson myself and I really don’t have the freestyles or you would say I can’t put my taste in the drawing otherwise it wouldn’t be the same as what they are teaching and you would think if you add something it wouldn’t be good.
so I agree with it and now I do have my own drawings style wasn’t easy but it comes with a lot of practice.
Thank you for keeping me in touch and I hope my comment can help.
all the best Janshir
janshir langner
I confess I’m pretty messy around my computer, so when I’ve tried to do tutorials outside the keyboard (even where to put matching books) I struggle. Plus remembering seems to need repetion to finally grasp the lesson. And if it doesn’t fit well to where I want a lesson to lead me, I often feel defeated rather quickly. I feel very confident with my imagination and most skills, but definitely in my rut so don’t push myself harder by learning what I have less strength in, like drawing people. But I persevere and maybe it’s the hard way, but mostly I have fun so I look forward to your classes.
Bev. Gordon
Yes! Copying “step by step” is great practice, and fun. But my goal is to be able to create my own drawings: eg: the human figure, animals and cartoons in any pose and action. So is that what you’re going to give us: “…proper training that’s going to let your mind fill in those gaps that usually you can only get with thousands of hours of practice”? Are you going to show us “how” to draw?
Gregg
Hi Gregg – creating your own drawings is the exact reason why we’ve put this new site together. We want to unlock that secret something inside of you that’ll give you both the confidence and the know-how that you need to really come up with some great results. Cheers!
Mitch
I’m an art teacher and I think one of the most important skills I teach my students is the importance of making their OWN decisions. Step-by-step drawing takes away that challenge. Some students may have trouble envisioning why they should put the object together in the way that the person who created the drawing did. They need to be able to decide for themselves where they are comfortable putting all the pieces, so to speak. I think step-by-step drawing can be a less intimidating approach to drawing for some students, but for others who might fail at it, it can put a very sour taste in their mouth when it comes to drawing.
Kristina
Hey Kristina!
Step-by-step provides that instant reward aspect which is key for the early artists success. They want to see that they can draw early on. “Hey look, I can draw Buzz and Woody!” So that has it’s place, that’s for sure.
But you nailed it when you stated that you encourage them to make their OWN decisions. I think every industry uses a similar approach when teaching. A music student only wants to play the songs by their favorite bands at first, but once they become accomplished musicians, the urge to write their own works starts to grow in them. So you can see how a ‘step-by-step’ approach is no longer sufficient if their goal is to ‘create’, not just ‘copy’.
Great comment though, I like your attitude
Tim
Step by step is a good method for someone to understand the basics of drawing and demonstrates fundaments .But once learnt the artist must then put those practices into free form to develop thier skills and observations further
Paul
Dear Mitch,
I agree. I have always told people to start with the large forms and continue to the smaller forms. It is like when you were learning to print and followed the forms of the letters until it became automatic. Seeing the forms around us gets easier the more we do it. Squinting also helps.
Shadow
Shadow Butler
Thanks for that note, Shadow. I totally agree with that approach and we will be using that allot on the upcoming training videos.
Squinting is a terrific tip. Have you ever tried turning your paper upside down? You see the object for exactly what is there, not what you ‘think; is there. [I hope that makes sense]
Anyhow, it is a good tip if you do not already know it. Try it! Draw right side up for a while and after a while, spin your paper so it is upside down. You’ll start to see the exact areas that require more attention. It is a candid way to work.
Tim
SOME CAN,AND DO.
SOME CANT,THEY HAVE TO PRACTICE
RON
Hi there,
a lot of comments were posted already so I try keep my one short… I also think that step-by-step is a good way to get started with drawing, just to know how the others are doing it, but you need another way to create your own style.
And there for you have to use a wider perspective that starts with the overall view of an object, no matter if its a face or a landscape. This is also the way our mind works when it is “confronted” with a new impression and when it remembers an object. First it saves the overall impression – like the colour or how its divided into different sections. That is more or less an unconscious process. When you get into the details it is more or less something that you have to tell your mind to do it. So when you know the techniques from step-by-step it is just a more natural way to start with the overall impression.
I hope for more interesting discussions
Cheers
Armin
P.S. I know it is not a short comment…
Armin
I agree with you I’ve tried step-by-step and I tend to go straight to the finished picture, I don’t trace though I found in an art book “that it’s okay to trace. It teaches you how to get your lines correct”. What I really wish to learn how to draw without using a picture.
Tami Ingersoll
Hi Tami – I think drawing without a picture is really the ‘holy grail’ of drawing. It’s easy to copy, and it’s easy to draw what you see (like in a portrait) but it’s a whole other animal to draw something straight out of your mind.
Mitch
Step by step drawing was actually very helpful for me. Drawing is simply just imagining a picture and then using lines to form that picture; and step by step drawing helped break down the lines for me into simple steps. Now when I’m drawing, I can imagine guidelines and guideshapes that were shown in step by step tutorials and apply them to what I’m drawing.
Andrew
Hi Andrew – That’s awesome! I really think you are onto something with your way of taking what you learned in the step by step and then applying it to new drawings. Now – the next stage is breaking down another wall and drawing something straight out of your mind – any tricks you have for that one that you’d like to share? Cheers! – Mitch
Mitch
i totally agree with the whole copying and drawing difference,but we can also add our own personality to those drawings. Step-by-step drawings aren’t exacttly the best way to draw, but it gives you idea’s and they’re super fun!
J-jay
I have been drawing as long as I can remember, thousands of sketches of every project I’ve ever been involved in – mostly mechanical or constructional. Blueprints show things from different sides, I like to translate those into perspective – 3D – sketches so that form, fit and function can be, to me, more easily understood. I have never been good at drawing living things – so – over the past year I’ve been reviewing everything that I can find (mostly on the web) for the reason and proportions of faces, heads, bodies and the main lines and proportions of scenes, Woodcarving is helping me to understand the inter relationships of facial and body proportions. I’m still not good, I still have a very difficult time making or drawing a recognizable someone (OK, I’ve got dogs pretty much nailed – but not people – yet.) I can’t work on something until it is totslly finished – instead have to have multi tasks in process and skip about. BUT – it is time, practice, repetition and then more of the same. When at “work” drawing or whatever I’m almost totally oblivious to time passing – but eventually get to the point where it’s time to quit and go on to something else. Carving, sculpturing, sketching and drawing work – I have no color sense at all. Painting lessons are somewhere in the future. If I had to be an artist for a living I think that I’d be a pretty poor one – but probably fairly happy.
Digger
Hi Digger – I think there’s a lot of people who have almost the exact same situation as you – not that we draw blueprints, but just that we can follow a plan, or draw what we see, but then when it comes to drawing something original we hit a bit of a stumbling point.
And I totally agree with you that the life of an artist would be a really happy one.
Mitch
I agree also becuase, like Mitch said, you don’t get the idea of how and where to put the features. I started out tracing to and its kind of hard to get out of the habit of putting the paper over the drawing and even just getting the skeleton of the drawing out onto paper. Now, in order to get out of the habit I look at a drawing and then draw it step by step. Instead of tracing the first step and drawing all the others my hand.
Gerhardt
correct answer is 1008 hours of practice in 42 days @ 24 hours per day!
if i have say 2 hours a day i need 5oo days to boast i can draw! also i don’t have any feed back to know what i am doing is right or wrong. are the lines,contours, shading, pressure right? except for my judgment! and i am afraid to show it to off. though i believe given proper cues the subconscious can work on it and make up for the 22 hours lost in actual practice. so if a system of feedbacks can be worked out it will work!
pradeep
pradeep mandhyan
Get this…. When I draw I play piano better. When I play the piano my drawing comes easier. NOT necessarily good but better than normal for ME.
On an unrelated note I was struck by now many ‘older’ folk [like me ] that [re-] taken up drawing late in life. But nobody I know ever admits they are doing it [some of them must be drawing too].
Alfie
Step-by-step is good for the person who wants to be able to draw a few things quickly, but is not interested in the theory and such (like wanting to play a few songs on the piano, not being interested in reading music or music theory).
JP
Great article and totally agree. but then what is the “other” way to learn how to draw? i can appear like a master through my copies, but then still have the same crude terrible kindergarten style when it comes to drawing from scratch. HOW to learn to draw froms sratch? is my big question i’m dying to know!
Winona
Hi Winona – The way to draw from your head is to understand the underlying elements behind good drawing. When trying to create realistic drawings this is a lot harder because there’s so many things to think about, and in the end it’s going to take a lot of work to get to that point. Now if we flip the situation to drawing cartoons – It’s completely possible to get good results quickly with some insights into what you need to put into your drawing to make it pop.
Mitch
Thanks Mitch, cartoon drawing would be great. So is this teaching technique what you guys do with this site? Or do you recommend books and the like? I see you don’t have new members yet, and wonder if there are still ways I can learn from you guys. Thanks!
Winona
I’d like to give it a try! Drawing is often frustrating and very time consuming for me.
Sally
Step by Step method is necessary for beginner to know the minimum knowledge of things like, proportion, look,where to start etc. But after that the artist should try to experiment and get advice from pros for further levels.
RAMAGOPAL
WOW!!! This site really ROCKS!!!! I can’t wait for more!!!
Judy
Step by step…I’m not a young dude I’ve been an art director in adland for 25+. I started as a visualiser & storyboard artist/illustrator. Because I could draw & they needed someone to visualize their ideas on paper. Oh I had some training in drawing, life drawing classes mainly, but I’m basically self taught. I love drawing & painting & drawing styles, all sorts really. As a kid I copied a school mates drawings because I wanted to be like him. To be able to draw. I can’t imagine a life without drawing & painting. I’ve retired from art direction because my first passion, love is drawing & so I have gone full circle & returned to storyboarding & illustrating for a large ad agency after all those years making ads (drawing along the way). Love the creative agency environments hate the politics that goes with it all, but I scribble away, now on a tablet, no longer paper, no time to scan or redraw…fast as, deadlines everywhere & all urgent! Nothing ever changes. After all these years I’m still striving to get to a point in my drawing where I can draw without looking at references & tracing, (some deadlines just force this horrible way to make a deadline…10 A4 frames in 2 hours for a client meeting with people in each frame & a certain amount of detail & finish required has made me fast to the point where I look at reference (if I can find something) & draw from it what I need. So after a long blurb like this, sorry for raving on, my question is what do u think of drawing a face, a running human anything really etc by LOOKING at images of said subject & drawing them. I read & learned techniques from drawing on the right side of the brain, IMHO a brilliant book. I think step by step is useful. I think not everyone needs step by step but it’s like the human form, skeletons , muscle structure etc learn it, know it & that will help u draw anything. Cheers tahnsk & u have a brilliant site here, when I can afford it I’ll be signing up. Many thanks!
Mike