This was written March 04, 2024 as part of the 2024 Learning to Draw People Challenge
Yesterday, while I was walking around, I suddenly started thinking about all the things encompassed in a drawing, and what lays ahead of me in terms of learning to draw. Once I got to a cafe, I decided to take out my tablet and write some of those elements. I figured it might be a good idea to get a notion of what’s ahead and what I’ll eventually want to focus on. Here’s roughly what I noted, divided into sections, in no particular order. Note that this is not an exhaustive list and that is specifically related to drawing characters:
- Head/Face:
- Basic with accurate proportions and positions
- Different Angles
- Hair
- Eyes
- Ears
- Mouth
- Nose
- Varieties (E.g.: different styles of hair, nose, mouth, eyes, ears, shapes, weight, etc..)
- Body:
- Basic with accurate proportions and positions
- Different angles
- Hands
- Feet
- Different poses
- Varieties (different sizes/ages, weight, muscularity, etc..)
- Misc:
- Clothing and accessories
- Shading
- Coloring
- Motion
- Depth
- Interactions with other people, objects or environment
So, taking a quick glance at this, it immediately feels daunting and overwhelming (At least to me). But that’s exactly the point of this post. While it’s useful to gauge these items to get a sense of what to work on, it’s important to not get bogged down by the details, and fall down a rabbit hole, or have your motivation wane. I could just focus on how long it could possibly take me to go through all of this, and whether it’s even worth it. But ultimately, my skills are still at their infancy, and getting good at a skill (let alone mastering it) requires a lot of time and effort. Thus, it’s important to take it one step at a time. Here is a related Youtube short that I think illustrates how to approach this well. (Note that it’s related to game development)
Moreover, while there are a lot of elements on this list, a lot of which include many different aspects (further branching out), it’s important to note that working on some of those will help build fundamentals that in turn help improve others. A lot of these are connected and interrelated. For example, working on different angles will help get a better understanding of 3d positioning and depth, which in turn should help with a few other elements on this list, such as poses. Moreover, working on more “global” elements, I get to practice smaller elements. For instance, while working on a head portrait, I already get some practice on the hair, ears and eyes. Similarly, while working on a full-body portrait, I get some practice on the hands, feet and even the head and its elements. However, I think having deep-dives are still valuable to better understand these element and improve these different aspects.
On that note, learning something is never easy, and usually requires a lot of time and effort. Yet, I think it still tends to be rewarding. I know for a fact I’m currently enjoying seeing my progress and am relatively proud of it, even if I definitely struggle from time to time. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by all the steps needed, just immediately start somewhere. There is no point waiting for the perfect time, since it’ll never come (I’ve been patiently “preparing” this kind of challenge and recording of the process for years, and I regret not just starting right away). Also, continuous practice goes a long way. If there’s something you’ve been meaning to try your hand at for a while, I urge you to just step away from the computer, take a deep breath, and take the first steps towards it. Feel free to share here afterwards!
And have a nice one everyone!
This post is followed by Learning to Draw People Challenge – Day 13 (2024/03/03)