112 upvotes, 13 direct replies (showing 13)
View submission: How to draw an owl.
I believe "the spark" is a myth. You just have to sit down for a few years and draw every day. Some people have fun doing that, so they actually keep up with it; those become artists. Others try to draw something, realize it looks like shit and never try again.
Comment by wallish at 22/08/2010 at 07:26 UTC
41 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Others try to draw something, realize it looks like shit and never try again.
Comment by zeug at 22/08/2010 at 09:31 UTC
13 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I can't remember who said it, but it was said that everyone has about 10,000 bad drawings in them, and they have to get all of those out before they can produce the good ones.
Comment by [deleted] at 22/08/2010 at 08:59 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I can attest to this. I was absolutely terrible at drawing until sophomore year of high school. I then became really good. Now, I suck at drawing again.
Comment by General_Lee at 22/08/2010 at 09:53 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I think its much simpler than that. You can learn *how* to draw in 12 days of drawing if you have a good teacher, becoming good takes just more practice.
Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain, get that book if you ever want to draw.
Comment by causeproblems at 22/08/2010 at 12:14 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Actually, Andy Warhol's nephew, James Warhola came in to my art class and said the same thing. He was never very good as a kid but when he got older, he just practiced until he was. Now he's amazing.
Comment by [deleted] at 22/08/2010 at 16:58 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm also a fan of the 10,000 hours rule.
Comment by YesNoMaybe at 22/08/2010 at 17:27 UTC*
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I decided I wanted to learn to draw a few years ago. I had lots of how-to books & sites bookmarked and practiced drawing every day for a year. I still stuck. It never began to feel natural.
At 12 years old I picked up a guitar and after about a week or two I could play (albeit roughly) the chords to a few songs. At 14 or 15 I could play better than most people I knew without really having to try to practice. It felt natural. At 36 I can play pretty much anything I want but I don't think of myself as any more *talented* than I was at 12.
At 12 I *understood* music intuitively in a way that many people could practice every day for 10 years and never achieve. There are people who can learn to sketch or paint who will never be as good as the people who just *get* it. That is the *spark*.
Comment by Snow_Monky at 22/08/2010 at 23:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
That's wishful thinking. People have talents, but if they themselves don't work at it they stagnate. Those that do nurture them become the rare individuals that can draw like it's instinctual. Those that work hard and do it everyday for years will get decent at it, above-average, but never on the level of talented professionals.
It's just like almost everything else. Practice doesn't always make perfect.
Comment by [deleted] at 22/08/2010 at 06:38 UTC
6 upvotes, 2 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by pokie6 at 22/08/2010 at 15:22 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I agree completely. Also, it's not hard to write drawing tutorials, just take tons of pics at every step.
Comment by MrSt1klbak at 22/08/2010 at 16:06 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
You just have to sit down for a few years and draw every day. Some people have fun doing that, so they actually keep up with it...
You have actually managed to describe "the spark" right after you denounced it.
Comment by [deleted] at 22/08/2010 at 11:09 UTC
-3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Some of those artists draw for years, make millions of dollars and have raving reviews.
But their art is indistinguishable from a toddlers scribbles.
Comment by [deleted] at 22/08/2010 at 15:19 UTC
-2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That's the kind of logic that leads people with no talent, to years of disappointment and inevitably suicide. The only thing worse than being terrible, is being great.