Questions about art and how to learn drawing

Questions from Zaletto

I have been drawing now and then for around 6 months however the last 3 to 4 weeks I really wanted to improve. I have a few questions if you dont mind me asking regarding drawing.

Do some people have natural aptitude or “talent” with art? Like do some people have the ability to effortlessly grasp certain techniques and lessons more efficiently than others?

Another question is do I need to draw with a drawing board or table with the paper at an angle? I heard that artists shouldn’t draw with the paper flat on a table or desk since it could distort proportions, however when drawing with the paper up at an almost vertical angle, jt seems to make my lines inconsistent and uncontrollable. I seem to prefer drawing flat on a surface.

Last question, again apologies for the loaded, sudden questions, but are the courses project based? Do the videos include projects and work assigned for the student or is it just demonstration videos?

Thank you,
Regards
Zaletto

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Dear Zaletto,

Thank you for your questions.

When someone has a natural inclination to some activity, for example drawing, such a person would spend more time drawing and sketching than others, which will result in better skills. This is when others will call it “Talent”.

It might take over 10,000 hours for a hobbyist to self-learn certain drawing skills by trial and error. The learning curve can be smoother and faster by taking good art classes under guidance of talented and professional art teachers. Such an education can reduce timing to under 3,000 hours.

Some self-studying and taught students will be more dedicated, willing to invest more effort in learning. Such students will overtake the rest. This is not an inborn talent, but hard work and practice multiplied by time and good tutoring.

Regarding horizontal vs vertical drawing board position; when you draw from life, your sight-line will be more or less horizontal, so the drawing board should be perpendicular to the line of sight to minimize distortions. Vertical board allows drawing while holding a pencil with the “candle grip”, which makes it easier to draw long lines and allows you to sit or stand at an arm’s length from an easel. When drawing from memory or imagination on a small scale, the writing grip is more convenient and horizontal or slightly tilted drawing surface is acceptable.

It sounds that you are a complete beginner with no formal art education. If you cannot draw a straight line this means that your hand is not “set up”. and you have undeveloped eye-hand coordination. This skill is down to muscle memory, which can only be obtained with practice.

To answer your last question, yes, all our art courses come with assignments. However, art projects won’t help you to improve your drawing skills. Without the necessary basic yet fundamental skills, you will be doing such assignments on an amateur basis, struggling all the way and not understanding why your works don’t look good. It’s like trying to play a piano concert without knowing basic things about music like notes, solfeggio, etc.

Self-learning won’t get you far. You need a good art teacher to guide you step by step from basic to more advanced topics and point out your mistakes as you go along. If you are serious about getting strong drawing skills, consider taking the Life Drawing Academy Correspondence Course, the best drawing course available today on the Internet:

https://lifedrawing.academy/correspondence-course

Why this course is the best and unique is explained here:

https://lifedrawing.academy/life-drawing-academy-news/eight-reasons-to-take-personal-tutoring-at-life-drawing-academy

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Vladimir London
Art tutor

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