Entry #1: "Drawing" Conclusions About the Creator

Breaking news! The creator of The Phoenix Times is… an artist? Yes, you heard it here, folks. This gal enjoys dabbling in the process of digital drawing, which is exactly what this entry will be talking about. This week’s post will cover and explain just how difficult it truly is to learn how to draw.

“Artists are born with talent!” This is one of the biggest misconceptions about people who are skilled at drawing, or any kind of artistic medium, honestly. Artists are not BORN, they’re made. Created through hours of committed practice and studying. Okay - yes - some lucky geese are born and enter the artistic world at a higher skill level. This can arguably be described as talent. But either way, to truly harness these abilities, you need to train and build them up. Much like other hobbies, if you don’t continuously pursue it, you’ll lose it. As expressed in Drawing with Pri, an art blog run by Priyanka Kashib, “Talent without discipline won’t get you as far as you think it will.” in her entry titled Talent vs Hard-Work - What Do You Need To Succeed As An Artist?

Okay, so… you have to study drawing to draw. It can’t be THAT hard, can it? Yes, it unfortunately can. Learning how to draw is a long-term commitment. There are many different topics you need to study in-depth to truly become an expert in this field of art. The good news is that materials for practicing drawing are readily available in the form of books, blogs, videos, and more. An example of this is the LONER blog and their most recent post - Anyone can draw: A long list of great beginner resources. The material on this page is, in fact, a great example of what to practice to begin studying the fundamental techniques required for drawing.

Just as it states in the LONER blog, lines and shapes are truly the beginning building blocks for any artist. Yes, you read that right. Shapes. To understand the world around you, and capture it effectively, artists break complex things down into simplified, 3-D shapes. Squares, rectangles, cylinders, pyramids. They're all used as the basis of making ANYTHING in art. This is the easy, first step into the long journey of learning the complex structures and forms of the real world. I mentioned earlier that I prefer to dabble in the digital art world - so let me clarify and explain what I mean by "digital art."

What is digital art?

According to Adobe, Digital art is any artwork that draws upon digital technology as an essential part of its creative process. It spans everything from iPhone sketches to electronic paintings, 8-bit throwbacks, and mind-blowing CGI. Despite the difference between a screen and paper, you practice digital drawing in basically the same format as you would paper drawing. There are many apps to choose from when doing digital art. I personally pay for Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, and Adobe Illustrator. There are free apps as well, like Ibis Paint, Sketchbook, and Krita.

I’ve been drawing for approximately 12 years of my life and am currently studying beginner materials to develop a more fundamental understanding to build off of. I took a break during my senior year of high school and have struggled to get back into it. As frustrating as this setback has been, I want it to be a lesson, as well as proof. No matter how good you are at something, if you take a break, you need to slowly get back into the flow of things. You can’t jump straight in and expect it to be good. Be kind to yourself, and accept that greatness takes time and effort. You won’t be making a masterpiece in a day, week, month, or maybe even a year. But you will eventually, with consistency. “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand,” - Vince Lombardi.

Overall, drawing is a process. The craft takes dedication and perseverance to achieve great results. You will fail, but you will learn. That’s the important part. Let your mistakes not be a mark of shame, but the chance to correct and improve upon your knowledge. Thank you for taking your time to read and learn about one of the hobbies I hold dearest to my heart. If you feel like it, drop a comment and let me know what YOUR hobbies are. I’d love to learn about the rest of you as well. Check back for more Phoenix Times with Jordyn H!