Cash67

i've always loved drawing, and you know how you made those chicken-scratch colored-outside-the-lines masterpieces for your parents when you were 4? yeah, we all did that (right?). however, i never stopped. i found something so beautiful and freeing about being able to create whatever i wanted right there on the page. so as i grew older, i slowly started teaching myself to get better through environment studies and drew objects i saw around me; anything from bananas to chairs to blades of grass or butterflies. if i was on a walk and i saw something cool, i would bring it back home with me so i could draw it. 

this is your first set of tools--a pencil, paper, and everyday objects.

at this point, it doesn't really matter what your main focus is going to be as you get better (for reference, I definitely specialize in people lol), it only matters that you're drawing and practicing. some people might disagree with this, but it's really important to get a solid foundation. for the first few weeks, you may want to focus on these few things:

1. how to accept the pencil as an extension of your own arm. some people have trouble with this, because the pencil is a tool, right? it's not part of your body. however, your pencil should almost always be in line with your arm, and most of your movements should come from the elbow or even the shoulder (though some beginners find this hard and it makes them stiff, so doing a few warmups or even stretching before you draw can help loosen you up). also, if you feel yourself growing attached to a certain pencil, you're probably doing this right. i've started to notice growing 'relationships' between me and some of my pencils, and this is why i use mechanical ones. all you have to do is buy new led, and they're harder to break. you can keep them for longer. that might just be me being sentimental, but i do draw better when i'm using a pencil i have a relationship with. it's easy to hold it, easy to use it; basically second nature. it turns the thought process of "i'm using this pencil to draw" into "i'm drawing". the pencil is an extension of you.

2. defeating confidence's worst enemy--chicken scratch. this is a slang term some of us throw around referencing the "sketchy" lines beginners sometimes struggle with. however, there's a difference between actual sketchy lines and chicken scratch.

sketchy lines look more like the photo on the right and are used as a foundation to find the best overall line (which we'll talk about a little bit later) and are usually refined later. chicken scratch is more like the one on the left. there's a notable difference in line confidence (which comes with time and practice; you sadly can't really cheat that one), and a lot of the lines seem kind of "wobbly" or unsure. a lot of beginners do this because they feel unconfident in their skills and lines, and their brains naturally try to counter that with drawing more lines to cover it up. there's generally not a clear line of action, and it's made of a lot of small, disconnected lines instead of longer, more fluid ones. 

3. finally, to practice these, you're obviously going to have to draw. try to draw things around you--a glass of water, an apple or banana--something simple that can be made of one or two shapes. this will help your eye-hand coordination, which will help your relationship with your pencil, which will help your line confidence. USE REFERENCES!!!!! THIS IS SO SO SO SO SO IMPORTANT, and people who say "you're not an artist if you use a reference" (let's be honest) probably are not good at drawing. yeah, maybe they can draw one thing really well, but they probably don't actually improve that much. now, there are ways to use a reference and ways NOT to use a reference. if you're just looking at your reference (be it an actual object, a photo off of pinterest, etc) and translating it onto the page without any aids like a lightboard or SketchWizard or tracing paper, this is super awesome and actually helps you improve the most. if you're tracing, you're not learning as much. this is generally okay if you're just trying to do a study of an artist's work, to make your lines look a certain way, or etc., that's generally alright if the artist has said you can use their work as references--but you should also credit them if you're tracing, especially if you're copying their character's design. otherwise you might get into some drama. 

4. don't rush! drawing is a process, and nobody ever reaches their "peak potential" or anything like that; you're constantly improving, and even the "best" artists have room to grow. it's okay to be frustrated with how a piece turned out, but it's not okay aim that frustration or annoyance at yourself. give yourself grace!

5. and finally, be consistent. whether it's just 5 minutes a day or an hour, make sure you ARE being consistent. drawing for an hour one day a week is not the same as drawing for five minutes a day. i recommend something in between--i try to draw for about 20 minutes a day. sometimes i do more because i'm feeling really awesome, and sometimes i stop right at 20. it really depends on what works for you!