/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>37809469
It is depressing that so many people have been convinced that to draw you need to almost have an entirely different brain from the rest of humanity. The truth of the matter is is that drawing is a discipline and the result of constant practice. The reason why some people struggle to learn is because, unfortunately, they've never been taught the appropriate tools to practice with. Imagine a car mechanic trying to learn how to repair entire cars with nothing but a wrench (no nuts & bolts, no spare parts etc), it would be impossible. Practically almost every art teacher will tell you that mileage and practice matter far more than talent. The secret to practicing how to draw properly is to completely change the way you analyse objects around you.
Take this drawing by Rubens, beautiful, right? Well, Rubens is also commonly cited as having said "you can draw anything using a sphere, a cone, and a box." And this philosophy can be found in practically almost any art book (Vilppu, Huston, Hampton, Han etc). And if you really look at this drawing again, you can see that this arm is made up of practically nothing but eggs (spheres) branching out into tiny tendons (basically cylinders one could say). Don't let the pretty rendering trick you.
When an artist looks at a tank, he breaks it down like a sculptor would. For example: "The turret is just a sphere that was cut in half, the hull is a box with a sloped front plane" etc etc. This sounds weird because you don't see a clear box or a cylinder in their drawings, but the "logic" of those shapes are still there. I want to leave you with this quote from Steve Huston:

I hope for you countless little improvements throughout a long and fruitful life. Art wants you for the long haul. Pace yourself. An athlete is old at thirty-four. Artists are
catching their stride at sixty.
Whatever your dream is, try this: Draw for five minutes a day. Draw a tube. Draw a figure. Draw the eye of a figure or whatever you can draw in five minutes. Do that for two weeks and only that. If you miss a day or two, forgive yourself and start again. When you’ve accomplished those, make it ten minutes a day. Do that for another week. The strange and wondrous thing about the human condition is each of us needs to motivate
ourselves to become the person we really want to be. Motivate! It’s usually about forming good habits ...
How many hours do five minutes every day over twenty years equal? A lot. Be in it for the long term. And when you’re not drawing with a pencil, draw with your eyes. See the world as an artist because you are an artist. Be modest in your goals, at first. Five minutes a day and soon you’ll be putting in the long hours without even thinking about it. Why? Because you proved weeks ago who you really are! So, I wish for you those small improvements. Because, then, I know you’ll be making new ones next year and the year after that, just like I will be.
I’ll know both of us are making our world a little more beautiful, five minutes at a time.