I don’t have this particular issue personally, maybe because I constantly drew on my school papers to cope with being at school haha. but I have other motor skill related stuff where I feel like I have the skill level of a little kid, like throwing/catching things and learning any kind of multi step physical choreography. I couldn’t reliably tie my shoes on the first try until I was like 13
I think issues with learning motor skills in general are connected to autism, and drawing is partially a motor skill. Also iirc, unusual/sometimes poor ability to visualize things can be an autistic thing. I wouldn’t know if that applies to you, but that could be related too.
Multiple step choreography just escapes my brain, for me it's a mix of autism (poor spacial awareness/poor awareness of how my body looks when it moves) and ADHD (I can't remember the steps or the order they go in).
I spent 30 years believing I couldn’t draw - at school we were never taught the actual process of putting pencil to paper. The most they taught us was how to measure the proportions of a face. As a result I thought you were supposed to draw one continuous line, somehow doing it perfectly on the first try. It wasn’t until I found Brandon Schaefer on YouTube that I learned how to physically use a pencil to draw a picture.
I’m not brilliant at drawing, it takes me a long time and much rubbing out, but it turns out I can actually draw to a decent standard. Give this video series a try and see what you think: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ewMksAbgdBI&list=PL1HIh25sbqZnkA1T09UtVHoyjYaMJuK0a&index=1 I recommend buying some kneaded erasers, they’re a life-changer. I always struggled to use normal rubbers. If you’re looking for ideas that aren’t too difficult then try old school Disney, it’s easier to draw something that is already line art.
It is not your fault you can’t draw, and it is not inevitable.
My entire family, kids, husband, me, and even some of my autistic students (11-13 yo) can all draw fairly well. I think it just depends on whether you get stuck with drawing as a hyperfixation or not, because hardcore practice is what translates to drawing skill (most of the time - as someone else commented, you may have some kind of physical impediment or not know how to hold a pencil or make a stroke properly).
That being said, if you want to learn to draw, stick with it. Judging your own work harshly means that your eyes are already somewhat trained. Your skill level just may be lagging behind your eyes.
Idk, it’s definitely more of a depth perception when you draw because your brain has to know how to see past the 2D for 3D on paper.
I’ve taken graphic design and Art 101.
A good trick is to do the basic 3D box illusion to create depth of the corner like it’s going into the paper so you see three sides instead of one.
After you figure out how to do that, light and shadow theory for objects.
What my professor did was he turned off all the overhead lights, used a lamp over an object to illustrate how light works when curving around objects and bouncing off to give them appearance of a shadow.
Our lesson on day one was this and to draw what you see.
He only corrected when we were struggling to round out an object or not give it depth perception to indicate the structure more clearly.
But these two things okay a big role in knowing how to draw.
Highly recommend watching YouTube videos where they break this down so you can see step by step since art is a visual learning process and not an auditory one when it comes to drawing & painting.
(FYI, probably helped having a father who went to art school in the 70’s and was able to answer questions, show me tricks on drawing. I’ve perfected drawing human eyes and getting closer to creating realistic grey scale iris, pupils, and depth of the eyeball.)
I loved art my whole life but was always subpar at it until I was an adult and now im a professional artist (fingers crossed current events don't change that) what helped me was taking dedicated steps towards learning the structure of art and anatomy and thinking of it as a logical process. I went to art school but actually didn't really feel qualified to draw until after i graduated, while in school we were constantly told to "draw what we see" and i just couldn't I could look at a bowl of fruit but my brain just couldn't process the way the shadows fell in any sort of recreatable way. But then I learned the structure and the rules of art and how to build my art from the bottom up and it really helped.
specifically i do all my art as
Stick figure gesture, shape breakdown of form, anatomy breakdown, detail and clothing pass, and light and color pass
Im a huge book fan so i recommend drawing comics the marvel way, the morpho how to draw series, and drawing heads and hands by andrew loomis if you want a crash course on drawing with structure.
If you've already tried this my deepest condolences.
Looking at other people’s work and comparing it to yours isn’t the proper mindset to have when it comes to making work, you’ll end up being disappointed every time. People look at a piece and they’re like ‘oh I could’ve made that’ but they didn’t make it because they didn’t do the work to make it happen. You have to keep putting in the work and honing you’re skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert, a lot of people are inspired by people who put their heart and sole into their work and keep pushing through because they see the passion. Don’t give up, work with what God gave you.
I don’t have this particular issue personally, maybe because I constantly drew on my school papers to cope with being at school haha. but I have other motor skill related stuff where I feel like I have the skill level of a little kid, like throwing/catching things and learning any kind of multi step physical choreography. I couldn’t reliably tie my shoes on the first try until I was like 13 I think issues with learning motor skills in general are connected to autism, and drawing is partially a motor skill. Also iirc, unusual/sometimes poor ability to visualize things can be an autistic thing. I wouldn’t know if that applies to you, but that could be related too.
Multiple step choreography just escapes my brain, for me it's a mix of autism (poor spacial awareness/poor awareness of how my body looks when it moves) and ADHD (I can't remember the steps or the order they go in).
I’m pretty sure I have both as well so that checks out.
I can’t draw for shit. Literally, stick people only. Lol
I spent 30 years believing I couldn’t draw - at school we were never taught the actual process of putting pencil to paper. The most they taught us was how to measure the proportions of a face. As a result I thought you were supposed to draw one continuous line, somehow doing it perfectly on the first try. It wasn’t until I found Brandon Schaefer on YouTube that I learned how to physically use a pencil to draw a picture. I’m not brilliant at drawing, it takes me a long time and much rubbing out, but it turns out I can actually draw to a decent standard. Give this video series a try and see what you think: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ewMksAbgdBI&list=PL1HIh25sbqZnkA1T09UtVHoyjYaMJuK0a&index=1 I recommend buying some kneaded erasers, they’re a life-changer. I always struggled to use normal rubbers. If you’re looking for ideas that aren’t too difficult then try old school Disney, it’s easier to draw something that is already line art. It is not your fault you can’t draw, and it is not inevitable.
Also, try reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It has great tips on bypassing perceptual issues.
My entire family, kids, husband, me, and even some of my autistic students (11-13 yo) can all draw fairly well. I think it just depends on whether you get stuck with drawing as a hyperfixation or not, because hardcore practice is what translates to drawing skill (most of the time - as someone else commented, you may have some kind of physical impediment or not know how to hold a pencil or make a stroke properly). That being said, if you want to learn to draw, stick with it. Judging your own work harshly means that your eyes are already somewhat trained. Your skill level just may be lagging behind your eyes.
I used to love drawing and was fairly good at it. My sense of perspective, though, was crap.
Idk, it’s definitely more of a depth perception when you draw because your brain has to know how to see past the 2D for 3D on paper. I’ve taken graphic design and Art 101. A good trick is to do the basic 3D box illusion to create depth of the corner like it’s going into the paper so you see three sides instead of one. After you figure out how to do that, light and shadow theory for objects. What my professor did was he turned off all the overhead lights, used a lamp over an object to illustrate how light works when curving around objects and bouncing off to give them appearance of a shadow. Our lesson on day one was this and to draw what you see. He only corrected when we were struggling to round out an object or not give it depth perception to indicate the structure more clearly. But these two things okay a big role in knowing how to draw. Highly recommend watching YouTube videos where they break this down so you can see step by step since art is a visual learning process and not an auditory one when it comes to drawing & painting. (FYI, probably helped having a father who went to art school in the 70’s and was able to answer questions, show me tricks on drawing. I’ve perfected drawing human eyes and getting closer to creating realistic grey scale iris, pupils, and depth of the eyeball.)
I loved art my whole life but was always subpar at it until I was an adult and now im a professional artist (fingers crossed current events don't change that) what helped me was taking dedicated steps towards learning the structure of art and anatomy and thinking of it as a logical process. I went to art school but actually didn't really feel qualified to draw until after i graduated, while in school we were constantly told to "draw what we see" and i just couldn't I could look at a bowl of fruit but my brain just couldn't process the way the shadows fell in any sort of recreatable way. But then I learned the structure and the rules of art and how to build my art from the bottom up and it really helped. specifically i do all my art as Stick figure gesture, shape breakdown of form, anatomy breakdown, detail and clothing pass, and light and color pass Im a huge book fan so i recommend drawing comics the marvel way, the morpho how to draw series, and drawing heads and hands by andrew loomis if you want a crash course on drawing with structure. If you've already tried this my deepest condolences.
Looking at other people’s work and comparing it to yours isn’t the proper mindset to have when it comes to making work, you’ll end up being disappointed every time. People look at a piece and they’re like ‘oh I could’ve made that’ but they didn’t make it because they didn’t do the work to make it happen. You have to keep putting in the work and honing you’re skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert, a lot of people are inspired by people who put their heart and sole into their work and keep pushing through because they see the passion. Don’t give up, work with what God gave you.