DISCLAIMER: I'll be using the pronoun 'you' throughout this rant thing ...if the reader feels the following does not apply to them, don't reply/respond/react as if it did. :3
Anyway...
Let's say a little kid comes to you for math help; they dunno how to calculate numbers, so they come to you for instruction.
Then let's say you get some paper and a pencil, and begin thus,
MATHGENIUS: "First, you make a 2 ...just like that. Then you make a plus sign next to it ...then another 2 (you're getting it!). Ok, now make an equals sign---just one horizontal line over the other, like this. Ok (now here's the tricky part!), you make a 4 just to the right of your equals sign. ...Yeah, just like that! Now you can do math!"
No, no they can't. :P
The above isn't how you'd teach math. Sure, there's nothing wrong with the arithmetic, but what was learned from your demonstration? Instead of teaching math, all you've shown is you know how to arrange numbers and symbols (a fact no one was questioning).
What's my point?
Well, in the same way you wouldn't go about teaching someone math, by simply showing you can do it, you wouldn't teach someone how to draw by merely drawing something.
There seems to be many professional cartooners, animators and so forth who make these 'How to Draw X-character' videos, by just showing they can draw something, i.e.,
"Draw two eyes, then the nose ...and the mouth", etc.
As an autodidact cartooner, I absolutely DESPISE such videos ...so let's look at one! :D
The video is described, 'Learn how to draw Leo the Wombat with Keith Silva!'
Before we get into tearing apart the video, I should mention I have no idea who Keith Silva is, and (moreover) an hour or so ago, I'd no knowledge of the show 'Let's Go Luna!' (LGL).
From what I gathered, LGL is a PBSKids series about geography and social studies. I've seen only one episode, so I won't say much more about the series, save to say the character models were obviously inspired by 'Rocko's Modern Life'.
Don't believe me? Here's an LGL quote,
"I love surprises, I tell you. I feel the electricity---or is that a pickle on the bush?"
Fans of Rocko know what that's referencing ...and some fans of Rocko (such as LGL's writing staff) seem to think jokes acceptable for teenagers should have a place on PBSKids (but I digress---I'm here to complain, not to preach). :3
SILVA: "Hi, I'm Keith Silva, storyboard supervisor on 'Let's Go Luna!'. And today we're gonna be drawing Leo the Wombat. Let's get to it!"
Leo's a wombat?
SILVA: "The first step with Leo is his eyes. Some of our characters have overlapping eyes, and some of them have separated eyes; in the case of Leo, they're separated. *begins drawing* So, I start with his oval eyes, like this ...the second one here ..."
And so forth.
I'm not going to quote the entire video (I'm not reviewing it), as most of it is like this.
Sure, we get to see Silva draw (on a tablet bigger than my iMac!), but what he's doing is simply describing his subject (Leo).
I could say much the same about my OC: Gene,
"Start with the head. Gene has two eyes and a triangle nose, like this... and a mouth that looks like a stretched-out 'W'".
All these are things you could clearly see without me 'teaching' you.
In fairness, Silva isn't an instructor ...neither am I for that matter, but I can try to show how to draw Leo proper.
The key thing in trying to teach someone how to draw is to present the subject as its component parts, rather than its whole. This is done that the student can get a grasp on the subject's shape and proportions. so the subject can be drawn consistently and from/in various poses.
For example, I'd present Leo as two circles connected together to form a bean, and Gene as two circles and a wedge.
I'm better at showing than describing this sort of thing, so please look again at my illustration before continuing to read. :3
*waits for you to return*
...Get it? :3
HYPOTHETICALWATCHER: "Sorry, Chippy, but I believe Silva's way is better. We watched him draw; he didn't draw any silly beans! Also, he draws better than you"
Silva has drawn Leo countless times, and has likely been drawing longer than some reading this have been alive (last, Silva's done MUCH more work in art than most). So no: Silva doesn't need to draw beans, but you (and I) haven't achieved what he has ...so (we) draw beans. :3
Simply, you don't learn how to draw characters by drawing characters. You learn to draw characters by drawing shapes: ovals, potato sacks, wedges and so forth. Then, you use these shapes to draw characters. If you think you'd feel foolish by drawing shapes over and over, remind yourself that what you're doing is infinitely greater than the excuses one makes to not draw anything at all.
Draw hands, draw tails, draw ears and faces to go with your shapes. If you must draw stick people, draw curves in the place of lines---make them dance! XD
Finally, remember that anyone who can move a pencil over paper can draw, but only those who keep at it will draw well. Anyone who can enter a username and click a 'submit' button can have an art gallery, but only those who make frequent and earnest use of it will earn watchers.
Just do the work; plant the seed, tend it, and it will grow. :3
"The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied" -Proverbs 13:4
"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" 2 Cor. 9:6
:3
...Now if I could just apply this to my writing! :P
It's okay to rant lol. You gotta get it off your chest. I do the same thing. I was able to read some of what you read, but then my eyes started doing it's whole "going all over the place" thing......The wonderful things that happen when you have A.D.D......That's why I hate reading lol.
Anyways yeah there's a lot more to things than just learning it once. It doesn't have to be just about math, but anything in life lol. You won't learn in a day. It takes time for things to stick in your brain. A lot of the things I know took time to learn lol.
It's okay to rant lol. You gotta get it off your chest. I do the same thing. I was able to read some
I know this is an old post but I think I finally realized why I didn't like most "how to draw" books (especially those for kids).
If your lucky, they'll show hints of the construction process (or even talk about it) but most often, it's just an unhelpful blurb and then a step-by-step guide with no context.
I know this is an old post but I think I finally realized why I didn't like most "how to draw" books
