How to teach someone to draw?

[melona_lemona]

I'm sorry if this question doesn't belong here D: I'm not sure where to ask this kind of question. * nervous *

I belong in a gamedev club of sorts and I'm one of the oldest members who is an artist. People are expecting me to teach the lower years how to draw so they will be able to take over after I graduate. I'm not entirely good at teaching people since I just learned everything by myself from tutorials, speedpaints, books etc.

So, uhmm, how to train/teach them? I gave them links to tutorials and books but I don't think that's enough. It's so hard to be a senpai. orz

[Dan_Lucifer]

Teach them to see simple shapes in complex objects, to think in 3D.
But, very important, just force them to draw as much as they can.

[zetina]

Hah. Good question. I can't teach cuz I just think "jfc why can't you learn this yourself" even though the point is for older gens to help newer gens catch up so there would be overall progress across generations... Anyway, teaching/learning is a pretty individual process. You'd have to have them try drawing various things and learn them, then figure out what they have trouble with and why.

You could teach via book that teaches drawing, using it as reference for the most common/logical/convenient path in thinking abt drawing. You can also teach techniques and short-cuts, those might have more straightforward instructions that one can learn.

[mariusthered]

I use to teach in schools . (not a teacher but a guest artist)

I started by making kids think about the shapes that make up the finished object / figure ( under the skin so to speak)

after that it all the light and shade stuff and line wight depending on what your drawing and how detailed you want to get.

[gateofselidor]

Are there local life drawing classes you can point them towards? One of the big issues with newbie artists dreaming of drawing in a more niche area, where they're being inspired by animation, comics, video games and so on, is that often they focus on trying to draw in a particular style instead of learning the fundamentals, and you end up with people who can draw an amazing anime eye but are hopeless at human anatomy.

Beyond that, probably the best (and easiest as an artist) thing you can offer them is good critique. I'm pretty hopeless at talking and would make an awful teacher, but I think I can critique people just fine because I'm so used to analysing my own work for errors.

[ToonDoctor]

Teaching people how to draw is about teaching them how to see. The tools, the techniques, and so on are useless without them being able to see the world.

[Kayke]

I've been in a lot of drawing/cartooning classes and even taught a few and I think the best classes give the students a mental tool box, if that makes sense.

No one likes having things just handed to them with no room for experimentation. I've had teachers make us draw the same thing over and over from different angles. I've had teachers make us copy the same panel of a comic over and over until we got the inks exactly right. That kind of thing is good for technique, but it is dull definitely not a great experience for new/younger artists.

I would say teach them the basics. Do tutorials to show them the tools and programs they have available and how you use them personally. Give them honest crit on their work to help them improve the skills they already have.

But also, it's not your JOB to teach them. So don't stress over it too much. And remember people can only be taught if they want to be. You know that because you went the extra mile to teach yourself. If the younger artists expect you to do all the footwork in teaching them and aren't willing to put the time in to teach themselves to some extent, they're not really going to learn.

[J.Z.Castillo]

I would say walk them through the tutorials yourself. That way they can ask you questions and you can answer them in real time. When I teach people how to draw I show them how I do it step by step and I explain why I do it the way I do it. Also, like @Kaykedrawsthings said, you can only go so far in teaching. It's all 50/50, so they also have to be dedicated to learning, ya know?

[Heck]

Some important things I learned was drawing from life and blind contour line drawing. Draw all kinds of things you see around you, even if they're really boring to draw. It's a little tricky to learn proper blind contour line drawing but it improves hand-eye coordination and makes things a little easier. But these are also things taught by the professors I had.

It's also helpful to study from other artist's work. Using a piece for reference or tracing is perfectly okay as long as it's used as a learning tool to help you do things on your own. Videos like "how to improve your drawings" and "how to sketch objects" are good tutorials for beginners. I recommend Will Terrell's, but there are plenty of other artists on YouTube with their own techniques for self-taught artists.

Teaching them how to critique would also be a great idea! It really helps to hear constructive feedback from others and it helped me become less shy about showing my work or judging it too harshly. And it would help them teach one another even after you're gone C:

[somvi]

I just learned everything by myself from tutorials, speedpaints, books etc.

Set up a live stream and get them to watch you draw and ask questions while you work. Kind of similar to the way you learned except more interactive. You can do exercises and demos from different art books and show them your own approach as well so they can see a variety of techniques.

If anything, just draw live for them. I find this is more readily absorbed by most noobs even if they don't get the theory behind it right away.

[melona_lemona]

Thanks a lot for your answers, everyone! I always believe in "The best teacher that can teach you is yourself" so I'm glad that I don't have to teach them 100% of the time.

I tried giving them a walkthrough on a tutorial but I think I should teach them how to "see" instead. That way, I don't have to give them every tutorial on how to draw insert an object here and they could see mistakes and be able to correct them.

I can't do the livestream because the internet here is super slow most of the time. So I'll just have to draw with them so they could observe how I draw.

[samchiewhan]

I agree with this.

I've been teaching art classes for a few years, and one of the main thing I always stress upon is the understanding of the basic shapes.

A lot of beginners don't know how to visualize in 3D.

Eg. A common beginner mistake is drawing a belt on a character straight across the belly instead of at a slightly curved angle because of the lack of understanding that the body is cylindrical.

Teach them how to differentiate between a circle and a sphere and other basic shapes is always immensely helpful.

Another way you can try is also to print a full body character at an interesting angle (but nothing too difficult) and get them to use a blue color pencil to draw the basic shapes, the center line etc, almost as if you're drawing the 3D topology of the picture.

Then get them to draw the same character in their own style by first drawing said guides.