Calling all people who can't draw

[Captain Epic]

I'm a shitty artist. Last year art was my most hated class. This was partially because of my teacher though...

 

[Serenegoose]

I could draw if I committed the time to it - as could most people. I know that I can draw if I take it very slowly, but by and large I'm impatient and want results now - I can see what I want in my mind, and every time it doesn't instantly transfer to paper I'm left demoralised - but artists don't form out of nowhere. They practice a LOT, and their ability develops over time. I've never heard of someone who first picked up a pen or brush or whatever at 36, but their 'natural ability' made it seem like they'd been drawing all their life. Everyone who can draw started at a young age and never stopped. I've considered learning the patience and the skills to actually draw, but I have other priorities.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Same reason my handwriting is so bad.

Someone once thought I was writing with a completely different alphabet, like Arabic or Greek.

 

[Atmos Duality]

My drawing is so bad that *I* was critical of it as far back as Kindergarten.
When a Kindergartner is critically panning their own work, it's bad.

 

[Durgiun]

Wanna know how to draw? Practice, practice, practice.
Practice for years. That's what I've been doing. It's never to late to start learning.

 

[Edorf]

I can draw some pretty neat eyes, but that's about it. I've always had a fascination for eyes.

 

[dancinginfernal]

I drew a cat once, someone asked me if it was a tree.

That made me laugh, hard.

I can draw decently if I try. I have the potential and imagination to be an artist but my hands are too clunky and can't keep up with me.

 

[Syrus Vikeruce]

Hell I'm thinking of attending part time College for some Art lessons myself.

MUST LEARN HOW TO DRAW FIRE EMBLEM ILLUSTRATIONS

 

[emeraldrafael]

I cant draw cause i cant do proportions very well. Or get that 3D kinda look with the shading.

 

[loc978]

I'm rather good at technical drawing, straightedge or not... I just have no artistic inspiration and nothing to say through art... so I never studied how to make believable shadows, illusions of 3-D or human proportions... making me pretty bad at traditional art.

 

[MassiveGeek]

I drew this, and I aim to get much better.

Spoiler

But I can't for the life of all that is unholy draw men. It is absolutely a pain to draw men for some reason, maybe it's because I'm so used to drawing nothing but sexy women...

Oh yeah, so I'm going to do like all the other artists who posted on this thread and give my advice: take your time when drawing. Trust me, if you learn the basics, train the eye to draw what you see and not what you think you see and you just sit down and take your time, good things happen.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

I blame shitty hand-eye coordination. I use the same excuse for my handwriting.
[sub]Seriously, I've seen eight year-olds with better handwriting then mine...
[sub]And five year-olds with better drawings...[/sub][/sub]

 

[TheLaofKazi]

<- Artist.

It takes practice, just following a guide isn't going to get you results instantly. Drawing isn't assembling a desk there's more to it. Keep playing with it, keep a loose grip on your pencil and just make lighter looser shapes and then detail it up and eventually something will come out of it.

This.

You will find that many people out there are good at what they do because they constantly do it and truly enjoy it. It's fueled by a passion.

Sure, there may be that initial spark of talent where you seem to just be good at it, but that spark doesn't always happen initially. When I first picked up the guitar, I was terrible at it and didn't pick things up quickly like I did with the drums, so I dropped it. Then a few years later, I dusted it off again and although I still sounded terrible, I slowly got back into it, and my interest and skills grew exponentially. Now I really love it and play all of the time, people are surprised by my progress, and I'm even starting to write songs.

I don't know if it was that I gave the guitar more of a chance, or that I was mostly just messing around and having fun at first instead of expecting instant-gratification and rapid advancement, or maybe in those few years I grew musically from playing the drums and exposing myself to many, many new types of music, or maybe it was a combination of all of those things. My point is, don't just put a particular thing off just because you aren't good at it at first. There are many subjects and activities I thought just weren't for me a few years ago, but now i thoroughly enjoy and am actually pretty good at.

 

[Motiv_]

I can't draw mostly due to my hands, they're most unfit for pencils and the like, the same reason why the only writing I do is via computer or typewriter.

 

[Redingold]

I can draw 2-D whales, stick people with elliptical heads, stick people with enormous jutting foreheads and caricatures...in stick person form. 3-D just goes horribly wrong.

 

[Littaly]

My drawing problem comes from the fact that I have no real coordination. I can see a picture pretty clearly in my head, but I fail completely whenever I try to put it down on paper. I can't really translate shapes and figures from reality to a drawing. In part I guess it's from lack of trying to learn it, but mostly I just don't think I have it in me.

 

[Casual Shinji]

<- Artist.

It takes practice, just following a guide isn't going to get you results instantly. Drawing isn't assembling a desk there's more to it. Keep playing with it, keep a loose grip on your pencil and just make lighter looser shapes and then detail it up and eventually something will come out of it.

It should be like assembling a desk.

Yeah, but if you draw like that, you know what you're going to end up with? ...A desk.

It depends on how you want to draw. If it's still life and such, it probably won't be too difficult. But if it's cartoons and fantasy art and the like, then you either have the talent or you don't.

 

[Exo-Mike]

I can free hand copy pretty well (it's only tracing when you put the paper over the picture!)

But when it comes to actualy drawing something from my imagination it always seems to start off well but fails in the end

oh well at least i still have my good looks (looks in the mirror) oh god no!!!

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I can't draw, simply because I haven't put the effort into it. I've seen what happens when I do, and it's very good. If I practiced a bit more, I'd be a much better artist.
But I don't, so what can you do?

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I cant draw shit but man can I come up with a grand oil painting in my head. here watch

The ground is a barren, dusty plain that stretches to meet the horizon. The sky is black and speckled with stars and stretches to meet the ground. At the horizon the sun is barely cresting the world, shooting out great rays of light across the sky. Facing away from you is a figure out lined by the sun. His right hand is held aloft, in it a sword, with the sunlight glinting off its tip. cowering before him (seen around his outline) is a ragged figure, sitting with its head bowed.

Thats off the top of my head. Anyone got a good name for it?

Back-Pocket Thesaurus?