Basics

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! It has been almost two years since I started my journey to learn drawing, and what I have realized over time is that drawing can be one of the least expensive hobbies if you allow it to be. But as a beginner who was in love with buying art supplies (who …

For most of my life, I have struggled to stick to drawing for more than a few weeks at a time, even though it’s something that I’ve always known to bring me joy and satisfaction. Each time I tried to reignite my passion for drawing, I felt a short burst of motivation to see through …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! As you can probably relate, learning to draw can feel overwhelming as a beginner. I started learning drawing about two years ago (time flies so fast! 😲), and it has been quite a journey so far, although not without challenges. So, in this post, I am excited to share some insights, …

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! If you’ve ever picked up a pencil and tried to draw, you’ve probably pondered the eternal question: can you get really good at drawing by learning and practicing, or is it all about having that elusive ‘natural talent’? In this post, I’ll give my take on artistic talent, whether it exists, …

Figuring out what makes a drawing ‘good’ is obviously very subjective, and depends a lot on the aesthetic preferences of each artist. However, I believe there are some fundamental qualities that make certain drawings more attractive to us, especially when judging a drawing from an academic perspective. To illustrate, below are two drawings created by …

Six years ago, I gave up on drawing, convinced I lacked the natural talent or the “10,000 hours” of practice required for mastery. Some time last year I stumbled upon a TED talk by Josh Kaufman titled ‘The First 20 Hours — How to Learn Anything’ that eventually convinved me that drawing, like most things, …

I always dreamt of attending an art school, but unfortunately, my circumstances didn’t allow me to do so. However, since last year, I’ve been trying to make up for that by exploring different ways to teach myself to draw. In this post, I’m excited to share the six most effective methods I’ve discovered for learning …

Hello there, fellow aspiring artist! 20 months ago, I embarked on a quest to master drawing, again, after several unsuccessful attempts in the past. The journey has been quite the rollercoaster, and there is still a very long road ahead of me, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made thus far. So in this …

It has been approximately 20 months since I resumed my drawing journey following a five-year break due to an art block. Though the journey has been quite a rollercoaster, I am proud of how far I’ve come. One crucial lesson I’ve learned the hard way is that while improving your drawing skills can be an …

Until recently, my drawing skills were, well, pretty average. And it seemed like no matter how much I drew, I wasn’t making any progress. But then I decided to take a closer look at my art skills, habits, processes, mindset, and knowledge. I analyzed everything and took small steps to fill in the biggest gaps, …

There are some things all beginner artists struggle to draw. Hands, for example, are universally accepted as one of the hardest things to draw well, even for professional artists. But a lot of what someone finds difficult to draw can depend on the artist’s personal art interests and experiences. Since I am fascinated by human …

There goes a saying in the art world that anyone can draw, and anyone who can draw can always improve. I do believe that to be true, but it’s also a fact that drawing well is usually a struggle for beginners. I gave up creating art six years ago because I felt I was unable …

Six years ago, I rage-quit art for five long years because I thought drawing was too hard. And while the occasional glitch in the universe appears to cause some people to learn and master drawing so effortlessly, I think I am speaking for the majority here when I say drawing is not easy, at least …

Since returning to drawing last year, I struggled to draw more freely. I was too precious of my drawings to the point that it was stopping me from experimenting and getting better at drawing. And if you’re curious, listening to Beethoven while sketching didn’t seem to help either. So recently, I have been trying to …

Like any skill worth attaining in life, learning how to draw can be challenging, especially for self-critical beginner artists like myself. After a long break from drawing, I decided to learn how to draw again one year ago and looking back; I can safely say this has been one of the best decisions that has …

Since returning to drawing one year ago, I realized I needed to gain some fundamental art skills necessary to create good art. I feel like I had been overly focused on drawing faces and skipped some basics that didn’t seem very interesting to me at the time. So, for the past month, I have been …

Earlier this year, I rediscovered my love for drawing as a 34-year-old adult, and I am so glad to have taken it up as a hobby. Although deep down, I want to believe that I can still make it as a professional artist one day, I do feel content in the fact that even if …

Knowing the different types of shadows is important for creating well-structured drawings that look three-dimensional and can also help improve the art composition. Over the past few weeks, I have been doing some value studies to understand how light interacts with objects to create a range of shadows, highlights, and midtones. So in this post, …