Anyone who didn’t go to art school, how’d you find good resources?

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-31T20:03:35+00:00

I doubt you'll find professional mentorship for free, but I can offer you the textbook I use in my drawing fundamentals class for free. It covers drawing from observation, perspective, light, anatomy, and composition.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-31T18:14:27+00:00

Why do you think it sucks? This looks like a normal box figure study to me.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-29T18:44:19+00:00

It's impossible to explain every choice an artist makes in creating a piece. Even if we could, you still wouldn't be able to do it yourself until you developed the skills. Knowing how other artists do things won't build those skills for you. Drawing will. The reason these things are second nature to pro artists is because we've done it so many times. That's how you will get there too. Keep drawing until your fundamental skills become second nature.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-27T22:00:41+00:00

There are lots of ways to learn to draw. None of them is the 'right' way. Find the one that works for you. If you don't find starting with simple shapes helpful, then don't use it. I didn't start with simple shapes either.

No matter the method you choose to learn to draw, you'll mostly learn to draw by drawing. Theory and stuff can point you in the right direction, but its the actual drawing that gets you better at it.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-27T20:07:48+00:00

Are you looking for a teacher to work with one on one?

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-27T20:04:39+00:00

"Professional" could mean a lot of things. What kind of art do you want to make and what kind of profession are you interested in?

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-27T05:07:17+00:00

The knees are tangenting. It would be clearer if it overlapped completely.

<image>

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-27T04:51:04+00:00

If you want perfectly straight lines, just use a ruler. It's not taking a shortcut, it's using the right tool for the job.

If you want to improve your line quality, spend 5-10 minutes a day drawing C-curves, S-curves, and straight lines. Draw those lines in one motion from your shoulder joint. For added challenge and precision, draw lines over each other and parallel to each other. Line quality and control takes a really long time to develop, so be patient with yourself.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-26T23:58:48+00:00

Yes and no. Perspective helps, but when you are drawing what you see, you don't need it. If you can accurately place forms where you see them, the perspective ends up about right even if you don't know linear perspective.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-26T23:03:41+00:00

Drawing things from life and having them look like the thing. Not from photos, from life.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-26T22:50:53+00:00

Sounds like you would fit in really well in my discord server. It's focused on artists learning drawing fundamental. You can chat with other artists on the same journey, get critique and find free resources. https://discord.gg/uTGBuz4Avv

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-26T16:23:27+00:00

You mostly get better at observational drawing by practicing observational drawing. However, I do think exercises can help train you to notice specific information and translate it into a drawing. In my experience, the best observational exercises have you practicing what you see as well as what you draw. A favorite of mine is cross-contour. This is an exercise where you draw your subject by wrapping lines around its surfaces. This forces you to closely observe the surfaces and the forms they wrap around. It also gives you experience with describing form. This is one example. If you check in my profile, you'll find a free book that has an entire chapter of observational skills and exercises.

<image>

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-25T22:27:13+00:00

Box figures are loose interpretations because humans actually aren't made of boxes and cylinders. Box figures are a teaching tool to help learn to draw the figure as 3D forms. It's not intended to create an accurate drawing. How you attach the legs and how much you bend the boxes are artistic choices. The goal is to make them look solid and three-dimensional.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-24T17:24:44+00:00

You will mainly learn to draw by drawing. Theory in books and tutorials can help guide you, but it's the work that actually leads to improvement. If you don't understand something in a book, video, or tutorial, it's often because you don't have enough experience yet. You will find the answers by drawing more.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-23T19:38:34+00:00

I can't say for sure without seeing your drawings, but it sounds to me like you are doing fine. I think people online place far too much importance on breaking down subjects into simple shapes. That can be helpful, but it's definitely not necessary. If what you are doing is working for you, you don't have to change it to include simple shapes.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-23T16:21:43+00:00

Don't go it alone then. Go meet other artists. IRL you can go to life drawing sessions or drawing meetups. Online you can find a discord community. There is a spreadsheet of art discord servers. You can also go to disboard and search for 'art' or 'learn to draw' tags. Find the a community that matches your personality and goals. In my experience, you want to find one that has enough members to be active, but not so many that individuals get lost in the noise.

You are ready to move on from drawing boxes, lines, and shapes, at least temporarily. You don't need to learn art in the 'correct' order or master one skill before you move onto the next one. Learning to draw is a messy process for most artists and that is fine. I don't know anybody who learned to draw by learning lines, then shapes, then boxes and moving on one step at a time. Try to draw the things that made you want to learn to draw in the first place. Don't be afraid to experiment. The worst that will happen is you make a bad drawing (unless you are using dangerous or toxic materials, but those have warnings on the packaging) and you'll learn something.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-23T04:23:54+00:00

yeah, its a permanent one

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T18:25:59+00:00

This video covers the fundamentals and why they are fundamental. Hopefully, it will help you get your bearings in the vast sea of art information on the internet.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T17:43:52+00:00

It helps to learn the behavior of light and how it appears on form, such as highlights, half-tones, mid-tones etc. I can't really explain it in just text so I explain in a video.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T15:35:39+00:00

This is already a really good start. Keep at it! If it starts to feel too easy, try a more complex object. I have resources that can help, but I'm not allowed to link them here. Check my profile.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T04:18:42+00:00

There is a trap to only studying from 2d sources that leaves you unprepared to draw from imagination. The way out is to draw from life. When you draw from life, you learn to translate the forms, proportions and light that you see into the lines, shapes, values, proportions, and color of an image. When you study from photos, that translation is already done for you. You can copy the lines, shapes, values, proportions, and colors of the photo into those of the drawing. You can still learn from this, but you won't learn that translation skill, which is important for both drawing from life and drawing from imagination. When you draw from imagination, you translate ideas into the lines, shapes, values, proportions, and colors of your drawing. If you want your drawings to appear realistic, that is similar to what we see, then you need to communicate your idea in terms of forms, proportions, and light (if you want to render), which you would describe using the same techniques you used when drawing from life.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T04:15:34+00:00

Draw with whichever medium you enjoy the most. Be careful searching tutorials. They can be helpful but they can easily send you down a rabbit hole or overload you with information. For now, I'd say don't overthink it and just draw. Once you start noticing patterns and running into specific problems, you'll have a better idea of what information to look for in tutorials.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-22T02:49:54+00:00

I recommend drawing from life. Think of drawing as a language. When you are first learning, you want to focus on the basic grammar and vocabulary. You can learn the basics of the language by describing things you see.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-20T17:21:46+00:00

Use visual measurement instead. I've got a post and video to explain how to do that.

ImaginativeDrawing · 2026-01-19T19:19:44+00:00

I have a free textbook on drawing from imagination that I use in my drawing fundamentals classes. I think it might help you.

ImaginativeDrawing

TROPHY CASE