how long does it take?

April 4, 2008, 6:19 AM

How long does it take to practice drawing until you are considered to be good? I know takes a lot of time and patience but I have a hard time focusing on things (I like to entertain thoughts in my head) enough to just jot them down. I wish I had spent more time drawing, writing and other things but I tend to procrastinate and put things off only to regret it later. I wish I had done a lot things but I only want to focus on this, I want to try and draw but I do not have the patience for it. What could I do? How can I develop that patience, focus and skill? How long does it usually take?

April 4, 2008, 6:28 AM

erm, I think you are either godd at it or you aren't...I guess O_o

I suppose if you just keep practising then you will get good that way, gotta be patient I guess

April 4, 2008, 10:12 AM

Do you mean anime style drawing or life drawing?

April 4, 2008, 11:19 AM

I dunno, it took all of my artsy friends a collection of years to get really good at drawing. They started when they were young, and they are still learning and growing even after graduation. It takes some dedication.

April 4, 2008, 3:38 PM

I dunno. My drawing abilities gradually increased as I got older. I'd just doodle in class and take some art courses for fun. I just sorta...got better.

...though my drawings seem to be FAR better now than they were a year or so ago. After I decided on a career in the art field, I spent more time drawing. I guess practice does help, but I couldn't give you an exact amount of time needed in order to become good at drawing.

April 4, 2008, 5:10 PM

Well, what kind of level are you at right now? It might help if you posted one or two of your drawings so that we could see how good you are..

As far as time goes, well, there is no set time obviously, it varies from person to person. Some people are just naturally good at art and need little help, whereas some people aren't. However, I do think that if you practice enough you could become good (not you in particular given that I don't know how good you are, just anyone). I have about a zillion books at home called 'How to Draw Anything', 'How to Draw and Paint What You See', etc etc, and they do help. Personally I may have flicked through them a couple of times but a lot of the stuff is pretty basic, however with the right patience I could guarantee that buying some books like that would help. Patience and practice is very important, even the greatest of artists don't get things right the first time round. When I draw someone's face I can NEVER get the features right at first, and I spend ages rubbing things out and redrawing them over and over until I get it right.

If you are a beginner, then I would suggest taking things one step at a time. Try drawing shapes/faces/objects to help you with size, proportion and detail. If you're really dedicated then you could always join an art class, I still remember lots of tips my teacher gave me for proportion, shading, etc. I'm sure it would *really* help. Good luck though, I hate to be cliche but remember that practice makes perfect. xD

April 6, 2008, 12:10 AM

Well, the truth is I had joined an art class at my high school as a junoir but I didn't go any further. I guess I would still be considered to be a beginner since I hadn't practiced in years and if I attempted it, it wouldn't be good. I have trouble making straight lines without a ruler, I cannot make circles and even my stick drawings look amateurish compared who make stick drawing videos. I want to try and practice both anime, photorealism and some scenery but I don't know how long it usually takes to master things like that. I want to try and draw humans, animals, robots, cartoons and scenery but I don't if I can muster the patience for things like that. How long it does it take to master things like that? Can you master drawing or is there always going something knew?

April 6, 2008, 12:27 AM

i wouldn't attempt anime, not on professional level. It seems far too cliche for it's own good. deviantART is the perfect example for this (unless you look deep into the bowels of the website you really do come across some fantastic art/photography)

Don't get me wrong i like manga/anime art but because of my limitations on knowing how to create perfect manga characters i don't attempt it anymore.

A talent for art/drawing comes from practice, inspiration, a constant imagination. Also like i have mentioned above, know your strengths and weaknesses, and build on either of them. For example i can never draw hands properly, so my characters either have very basic looking hands or have a different appendage altogether, and work from there.

April 6, 2008, 3:41 AM

It depends on how much effort you are willing to spend in order to improve. Start with anime style since I consider it the easiest, Life Style drawing is harder and it takes more detail.

April 7, 2008, 12:57 PM

It's a misconception to think that only "talented" people can draw, but like riding a bicycle, it just takes practice. The rest just depends on your own imagination, creativity and taste--how much other people might like your stuff.

But to answer your question of how long it takes to get better at art, my short answer is that it takes forever because you can continue improving indefinitely. As long as you keep drawing and noticing the mistakes and problems in your drawings and strive to fix it, you will always keep improving. You might notice a piece of artwork you did years ago, look back at it and notice the flaws--but at the time you drew it, you wouldn't have noticed them.

If you need help getting better, use references if you can't imagine how something would look, and if you don't know how something should be done, look for a tutorial. The best teacher for realism, however, is reality itself. Draw from real life and you will get an idea for how to draw what it is you want to draw.