Good courses that teach how to draw for people who can’t draw? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago by peregrin5@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I keep trying to learn to draw but I simply suck at it no matter what. I’d love to learn how to draw all kinds of things like architectural drawings, or cute designs, etc. But I can barely even copy something if I have the picture right in front of me.

I’d like to take a class that teaches the basics of drawing that I could follow along with using Procreate or something. Does anyone have good recommendations for someone who seems unable to gain any proficiency at drawing?

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[-] naught101@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Get yourself a copy of Betty Edwards' Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain. Her main point is that drawing isn't your problem, seeing is, because the logical component of the brain gets in the way of the visual cortex, and wants to draw symbols for things, instead of the actual shapes and shades. The book is packed with exercises that will flip your brain into understanding how to see. Then it's just a matter of practice, but it feels a lot less daunting then, because it also gives you the tools to better critique your own drawings constructively.

[-] Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I have a copy of that book gathering dust, thanks for the motivation to continue

[-] naught101@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

I'll be honest, I didn't make it all the way through, but the core concepts are explained well on the first few chapters, and some of the early exercises are good enough to give a pretty deep understanding of how it works. The two exercises that really hit home for me were the one where you re-draw the line drawing of the man, and then do it again upside down;, and the excerise where you draw the empty shapes between and around a chair.

[-] Brewchin@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

I really tried with that book, after a similar recommendation on pigboy's site years ago - and it does have some useful techniques and ideas - but I just couldn't get past her magical thinking proselytism. Every other paragraph, or so it seemed at the time.

Without wishing to put everyone off it: her "why" is (demonstrably and unequivocally) bollocks, but her "how" is good.

[-] naught101@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I don't really remember, I guess that wasn't a problem for me. Do you mean the left brain/right brain thing? I think I just treated that as metaphorical...

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

It was big when I was going through art school. I thought it was a big heap of bullshit.

[-] EvilBit@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

There’s an Australian neuroscientist named Allan Snyder who references her while discussing savant-like skills and the systems and processes that impede them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/savant-for-a-day.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/201001/conversations-creativity-allan-snyder

https://www.wired.com/2012/07/unlock-inner-savant/

this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025

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