Random Poll #64: How do you feel about drawing tutorials?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Personally, I'm on team "Like HELL". I'm just stubborn that way~

• OMG I COULD NOT SURVIVE AS AN ARTIST WITHOUT THEM
• I refer to them from time to time
• I only go to them when I'm desperate
• Like HELL I'm gonna let someone else tell me how to draw

Show results

[qwerty]

Practically everything I know about drawing I learned from Youtube tutorials (and occasionally other kinds of tutorials).

I actually don't refer to them all that much now, but still there's no way I would have made it as far as I have without them.

Edit: Oh but decided to add - some tutorials really are useless. Anything of the form "how to draw this", which is nothing but an incredibly specific step-by-step on how to draw one particular picture does not help at all to learn and improve in my opinion. Those that actually explain general techniques and principles are golden though.

[Shanny8]

I will use tutorials when I feel I need to. As I always say, you never stop learning as an artist...

[joannekwan]

I only looked for them for subjects that aren't in my wheelhouse, like realistic animals.

[Jenny-Toons]

They can be a big life-saver, especially when navigating new art software.

[c0ldw1nter]

Mostly I can't ever get them to work for me. I rather refer to photos or do massive trial and error marathons. And for learning software, I just use official docs, probably a habit from being a programmer...

[bsienk90]

Usually I try something on my own FIRST and then if I can't figure it out it's straight to a tutorial but art wise I'm a pretty big collector of tutorials and I found it's the best way to improve - like looking up anatomy tutorials mostly. I actually started to understand anatomy because I got a fantasy art book when I was 12 - that seriously made me a better artist. But you gotta make sure you find a GOOD tutorial. There is a lot of bad advice out there.Mostly now I wanna be the one making the tutorials.

If anyone is interested here is my personal tutorial/reference anatomy pinterest board. I'm always adding to it.

[SleepingPoppy]

I read them in passing, and have picked up plenty of useful tips over time as a result. I'm really impressed with artists that take the time to write out and draw a thorough tutorial that affectively teaches a concept.

I also totally look up tutorials when I'm not sure how to convey something. Especially if said thing is hard to find regular references for. Like how to paint blood! I also think there are a lot of things we do on instinct as artist, and it can be useful when that's clearly explained in a tutorial, as it gives you the chance to make more intentional use of it.

Or so I feel, anyway. XD

[TheFalseVyper]

When I first transitioned from traditional to digital art, I depended on tutorials to better understand how to set up the software as well as understanding what all of the tools were! Coloring digitally was a whole new world for me, so I researched how other artists colored and it helped me tremendously in developing my style. I don't look at tutorials much anymore. Occasionally I need help with how people generate certain effects such as lighting.

[Rhonder]

I'm a pretty big fan of tutorials. A lot of my earliest drawing study (aside from middle/high school art class) was out of "How to Draw" books. "Manga for Dummies" was actually one of my most prized books in middle school. That thing's THICK and has a lot of solid pointers (obviously mostly for "manga drawing" but the sections on shading, anatomy, clothing/folds/etc. all helped a ton getting a handle on those things). Nowadays there's tons of tutorials for things on youtube and the like.

I think it's important to look at tutorials in a "big picture" kind of way and not just copy them 1-for-1 and apply it to your drawings though. Like if you watch an artist's tutorial on "how to color/shade hair" drink it all in, and try the techniques, but don't be afraid to just keep the parts that you like/work well for you and dismiss the rest.

I fell in the trap around highschool of trying to follow my favorite deviantart artist's copic marker coloring tutorial to a T and pushing out a ton of iffy colored pictures that borderline looked worse than what I had already been doing. Her drawings were a lot more detailed than mine, so trying to apply a super detailed coloring strategy to them just didn't work well xD But! I learned a lot about the mechanics of how to make the markers blend from that and was able to develop my own techniques from that increased understanding. That's how tutorials should be, imo.

[feardeer]

I look at most tutorials the same way I look at timelapses and master studies. It's all about having a peek into the process of another artist. And THAT is something I love! There is always more to learn, and I admire the techniques of so many other artists. Even if I don't directly benefit from a particular tutorial, it might still inspire me to try new things, and that can lead to something great!

[Raven_C]

I rarely look at tutorials.The only online learning I look at, of course, is online courses that I actually paid for, like Skillshare or Udemy (this has helped me a lot! But I guess they are more than just "tutorials" because they're classes).

Maybe once in a blue moon i'll check to see how to draw, say, a hat on someone's head or the drapes of a dress.

[Luminosophy]

I think they can be pretty useful especially for correcting common mistakes in niche/ random areas or perspectives you don't often think about. But I don't really treat them as a holy grail or anything because a lot of them also come with either a complete lack of explanation, or just outright errors in the material they try to teach. An example I came across is a tut that gets passed around that says the upper trapezius muscles don't bulge around the neck. A 5 sec google search proves it wrong. So yeh, take them with a grain of salt.

[Kann]

I use them only if I need them. Like if they're about drawing something I'm struggling with.

[shazzbaa]

I don't tend to go searching for tutorials unless I'm trying to figure out something specific and technical, like "how do clipping layers work" or "what does this button on the animation interface do." But when I run across tutorials, I usually read them! You never know when a tutorial you don't technically "need" might have a neat tip, or a keyboard shortcut you didn't know, or even just a way of approaching something you'd never thought of.

A tutorial doesn't necessarily have to be someone instructing you step by step -- a tutorial is basically a chance to see how other people work; an artist laying out their process so you can study and cannibalise it. I think that's almost always interesting to see!

[SirHellsir]

99% of "tutorials" are a 1 time drawing that doesn't really explain how things are constructed and mostly useless. I don't actively search for tutorials, but I do follow artists like sycra and if I see a usefull tutorial I save it, even if I already know how, it's nice to see other people's aproach