Hello to everyone picking up drawing/painting as a skill/hobby during this pandemic im here to let u know I support you and you can ask me (in a non-creepy way) for tips/techniques and I’ll share what I can. Thisll be a thread of useful youtube tutorial videos.

So I was a DMA gradute and I was looking into Visual Development / Concept art when I was still starting out, so I really tried my best to ace my fundamentals and come up with smarter ways to learn drawing. Its a mix of regular practice + being aware of what you learn.

The first epiphany I had with drawing is that its always better to have a live model (even with objects) that you can see in front of you. This'll develop a part of your brain where you have an imaginary "studio" wherein you can imagine things in 3D and start from there!

Drawing is not only a skill of the hand but its also a testament of really strong observation skills. Drawing while knowing what you see is more enjoyable than getting overwhelmed with a blob of details, color and light. So - SIMPLIFY. Reverse engineer what's in front of you.

Basic shapes : everything in our world consists of basic shapes on top of other basic shapes aka "details." Learning to see the basic shapes and the distance between them will make you learn a lot about proportion, scale and composition.

Again, I cannot stress this enough, drawing/draftsmanship requires you to be aware of what you learn. Regular everyday practice (without injuring yourself) + learning from your mistakes is the key. Have patience with yourself, drawing is a lifelong learning process.

This youtube channel, Sycra, has been a source of great insight for me when I was in college. I had teachers who were good artists, but teaching is a different artform. So most of my drawing classes are from Youtube. Sycra is good at simplifying this.

Hyperrealists, semirealism and even abstract artists know how important shapes are. They are the literal building blocks of your drawing. I'm not urging you to be fixated with rendering reality, (although you can if you want to, tbh go for it).

But the point of draftsmanship is to illustrate visual information. Note - I use draftsmanship instead of drawing. The point of draftsmanship is to convey/relay this information like a language. To be able to use a language properly, you have to know the ins and outs.

To practice "active looking" without actually drawing, I watch process videos of other artists! The ones without audio/instructions. Look at these carefully and take mental notes of how they ~attack~ the canvas. How they "jot down" information!

Another youtube channel I really love is Artprof! This channel helps you with techniques, critique and awareness/art history! Another nice practice is Gesture Drawings. Think of this as the stenography of painting/drawing.

Gesture drawings, as it name suggests, focuses on movement and quick strokes. Getting an understandable likeness with using as little details. It helps you understand the form. Use copy paper/scratch paper to practice gesture drawings. It also develops your muscle memory!

Honestly, if youre not subscribed to Artprof yet, PLEASE DO. They're faculty from various art schools that share technique and critique FOR FREE on Youtube. They have been doing God's work for years now and I love them so much! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG19ZyhUNbkPzU105yq8Rgw

Thinking of giving drawing assignments with regards to this "Basic Shapes" lesson before I continue with this thread. Do we create an FB group for this, carry on the conversation here or not have drawing assignments at all?

Hello! Updating this thread with my favorite artists/illustrators on Youtube! First up : Holly Exley -A vegan food illustrator usually vlogigng about life, mental health and other struggles of artists. Her videos calm me down when I'm feeling restless.

She offers great insigt in dealing with things artists usually deal with. I'm emotionally invested with her pets (haha i love them) and I dream of having a house/studio like hers <3

Myriam Tillson is also a favorite of mine!

Fran Menesses is also an amazing artist and I love her vlogs! She does a lot of videos about preparing and making her merch, her travels with conventions and the struggles of an artist that sells merch :