# How did you learn to draw? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843 "2013-12-20T19:09:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/21 "2013-12-21T06:42:12Z")
About a year or so ago, my sister and I got [this book](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HJBVB2) and followed it. I can now draw things that are recognizably what I meant them to be. Not complex things, but simple shapes, very simple perspective. My sister (who kept going after the 30 days were up) can really actually draw now. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/22 "2013-12-21T06:55:57Z")
I believe I started out by tracing or copying pictures in books. I later took classes in high school and college which really helped improve my drawing skills. What helped the most I think was simply spending a lot of time practicing. I’m not a professional artist but draw as a hobby. One of my drawings can be seen [here](http://www.trainweb.org/jeffhartmann/EngineerWithOilCan.html). ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/23 "2013-12-21T07:34:24Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > I have a bit of aptitude so I took a drawing class. A book that is really good for getting started which was recommended by the instructor is: > > **The Natural Way to Draw - A Working Plan for Art Study** > [http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study-ebook/dp/B00D45RYPW/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387582940&sr=1-1&keywords=draw+the+natural+way](http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study-ebook/dp/B00D45RYPW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387582940&sr=1-1&keywords=draw+the+natural+way) > > That can get you over the hump so that you can start to refine your skill. _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ is where I started but after I had worked through that, I found this book extremely helpful and fun. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/24 "2013-12-21T12:30:08Z")
If you want to learn to draw then you have to draw. Accept that your initial attempts won’t be particularly pretty and keep going. Drawing is a skill, like all skills it requires practice to master. Many people find it easier to start with inanimate objects. Living things are generally harder, with people being hardest to draw really well. Start by drawing small objects - a leaf, a box, whatever. There are lots of books and how-to videos out there. Try 'em out until you find what works for you. I, too, am a big fan of _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ but it’s by no means the only way to learn to draw. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/25 "2013-12-21T18:11:43Z")
I think I need to buy that book! I never need to be a stupendous drawer, but it would be nice if I could draw some simple things and have them be recognizable. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/26 "2013-12-21T20:51:39Z")
I had a bit of talent as a kid. From there, used [Jon Gnagy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Gnagy) Learn to Draw books and kits from the local PX. Followed by Foster’s Cartooning books and other similar large format drawing manuals. Then in high school, I started with Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. If you’re interested mainly in making quick sketches that are reconizable, then Gnagy’s method of building up from simple shapes may be helpful. [http://www.raisin-toast.com/in\_the\_studio/2009/07/drawing-lesson-by-jon-gnagy-snow-scene.html](http://www.raisin-toast.com/in_the_studio/2009/07/drawing-lesson-by-jon-gnagy-snow-scene.html) OTOH, for more advance work, in preparation for careers in the arts, or as preliminary for painting, I’d recommend Right Side of the Brain and the Nicolaides Natural Way to Draw. Important to draw/ sketch every day, from life. People, plants, animals, indoors and outdoors. Attempting to copy, by rote, pictures and photographs you like can also be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843/27 "2013-12-21T23:06:51Z")
I certainly do remember a time when I couldn’t draw. [Ed Emberly](http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx) was my first introduction to drawing, but I imagine you’re talking more sophisticated than that. I used a bunch of books to learn when I was in elementary school, and took art class in jr. high and high school. By then I thought I could draw acceptably well, and majored in fine art in college. Two years of drawing classes later, I realized that artistically I stank in high school, and was still nothing to write home about. However, my drawing teachers were all surprised to find out I was majoring in photography, so maybe I was too harsh on myself. Either way, I did learn how to draw, and can still work up the skill to about the same level in a few days. I could draw a recognizable portrait by the end of high school, so books are certainly enough to get you where you want to be. I would recommend “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” as well. Like **panache45** , I had learned its contents from personal instruction by the time I encountered the book, but it does a good job of communicating the basics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-draw/676843.md?page=1)