are drawing skills and creativity teachable?

[athena]

ok aside from completely rebuilding my computers.

I've been grappling with whether I really believe the above. I came to doubt that I believed it because i found myself falling into the same belief that I've heard others voice . . . the infamous

I can't draw myth.

I wanted to do some cool tutorials but I had writers block. AND I ran into that i can't draw demon that many of us grapple with.

I had to ask myself. .. do I really believe that I can't draw? or am I just frustrated that I can't draw with as much ease as I can write?

Well the sad truth is I was just frustrated with how slowly, how much more time it takes me to manipulate a few lines on a piece of paper. . . leading me into believing the lie that I can't draw.
When in reality, I CAN draw. but it takes me longer to do something that I like. on the flip side, I can write with ease. so by comparing my drawing skill to my writing skill well it can make you laugh quite a bit.

But although I am laying this out for you quite simply, it took me a while to overcome this myth that I can't draw.
I would like to draw an analogy for some people, if you can't win and olympic swimming competition, maybe wouldn't even qualify to go .. does that mean you can't swim?

not necessarily. now some people may not have learned to swim yet ... but here we come to the meaning of the word, can which I take to mean whether you are capable of accomplishing a certain task .. not whether you are an olympic swimmer.

the upcoming tutorial that I have been dreaming of is titled: no straight lines needed [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] which is aimed at those of us who convince oursleves that we can't even draw a staight line.

for the interim, if you are interested in picking up a fun book that helps you teach yourself how to draw, please visit your favorite book store and look up Mark Kistler. My favorite book of his is The Draw Squad it is an older book but to me it's still his best.

I mention drawing here because it seems natural that painting and drawing go hand in hand.

yep i have more stuff I can tell you but I don't want to make a 5 mile long letter. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] that's no way to treat a friend. and I consider all of you my friends.

I hope the upcoming holidays are pleasant for all of you. and thank you for all the wonderful posts that you have been making.

This forum is still one of the greatest because of you, the visitors.

Athena
[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Athena
Our thoughts are bounded by words. The quality of those thoughts is largely determined by the words that compose them.

[ghi stecyk]

hey you're BACK!

long time no see. computer probs again? existential issues?... you sound as if you are feeling a kind of impostor syndrome. join the club! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

nice to see you around again kiddo!

~ghi~

[randyrives]

I can't draw = I can not reproduce a likeness that I want.

I can draw, and sometimes come real close to getting the look I wanted. But most the time I fail miserbly. (sp?) Drawing as any skill takes time, practice and to some degree talent. The talent part plays into whether you are an olympic drawer or just maybe a high school star. Either way you can draw (and get better).
I never believe somebody can not do something they want to, if the want it bad enough. In my youth I became a pretty good basketball player, even though I am only 5'6"" tall. I played on the intermural teams in college, and my yearbook is signed by many people regarding my skill as a basketball player. But many people looked at me and only saw my small statue, not my ablitly. So we usually kicked thier butt in BB.

So I agree with the above posts, and I also recommend Mark's book (I have all of them). Not only have they help me, but they have helped me teach my kids.

--Randy

[Klaus Nordby]

My brief answer:

It can't be taught.
But it can be learned.

K

[gmotto]

Hey Lady,
Good to see you back. I thought you might be cooling it on a beach somewhere.

I think drawing and painting are mechanical skills that can be taught. Seeing and feeling are something else and I don't really think they are teachable, only guidable. In either case, desire and practice are the keys.

Regards,
Greg,

[s.winders]

Welcome back Athena [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]


I agree with Klaus about drawing,for instance how many people have trouble learning to drive,lots right?,but they keep on trying until they get it,well for some reason people become terminally discouraged quickly when learning to draw,but its just like learning to drive,for instance you get in your car sit down and put it in gear,ok with drawing you sit down pick up a pencil or pen and paper,and you make a rough sketch called a thumbnail of what you want to draw.

The reason people end up drawing stick figures is this.We have two hemispheres of the brain,the right and the left,depending on what hand you favor,one of these hemispheres is the logical side,and the other is the creative,now the logical side couldnt draw to save itself,but the creative side is a genius,and this genius resides in all of us whether we believe it or not.What happens is when you are not used to drawing is you pick up a pen and you know what you want to draw,but this where the logical gets in the road of what you want to do,because say you want to draw a person,what happens is the logical goes oh ya I know what a person looks like I can draw a person,and voila crap stick figure appears,so what we need to do is have a cognitive shift to the creative side of the brain that is as I said very talented in all of us,but you have to draw repeatedly to acheive this shift,after a while it becomes natural and you dont even realize you are doing it,and almost everyone creates work they look at it ask themselves if they actually created it [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]


I dont really know enough about this area to explain it any better,but I do believe anyone can draw,it just takes perserverance and practise.


Randy put away your big stick you are doing fine ok [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]


And thus my rambling comes to an end [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]


Stu.

[Jinny Brown]

Athena,

It's good to see you back again. You've been missed! I hope your time away was peaceful as well as productive and that you're all rested up and ready to have fun with us. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Everyone,

Based on my own experience and observation, drawing can definitely be taught. That's a general statement and I believe it's true. I also believe, based on experience, that some aspects of drawing are left brain driven and some are right brain driven (based on right brain = intuitive/creative and left brain = analytical).

For instance, principles of perspective drawing for some folks are completely foreign, unnatural, and difficult to grasp. The same person can, at the same time, have a marvelous and natural ability to draw freehand and "accidentally" get the perspective right because they have the ability to observe and reproduce what they have observed.. maybe without even being aware of that ability. Their drawings can be rich with originality and display huge amounts of ability to be creative.

Other people can be incredibly good at doing mechanical drawings.. of machine parts and complex assemblies of machine parts, getting everything exactly in the right location, correct proportions, and even the shading right. That same person can be as much ill at ease and awkward when attempting to draw freehand or paint as the first person was trying to grasp concepts of perspective, intellectually, that is.. and terribly inhibited when attempting to do anything "original" or creative.

Each of these artists can be taught by example and by words to draw in the way they are not used to and which does not (or has not) seemed natural or easy to them.

I also believe that for some people there is an inborn gift of observation and the ability to reproduce either what they see or what they imagine. I remember a small drawing my little son did when he was less than three years old. He named it "spider in a hole", and by golly, it was clearly a spider in a hole! The view was from above the spider, looking down into the hole. The hole appeared to be about as deep as half the spider's height, including his top hat. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

He continue to draw things in detail and in proportion unexpected for his years and each drawing was clearly what it was meant to be, without the need for verbal interpretation from its creator.

No one taught him to draw, other than to give him a pencil or crayons and lots of paper.. lots of encouragement, lots of books around the house.. and lots of reading to him, so I suppose those things helped, but surely they didn't implant in his body and brain the ability to execute a believable drawing all on his own by the age of three.

I don't think for a minute that my little son was a genius or that he's the only child in the world who could do this. I have, however, seen that many a young child simply either doesn't observe, see in the same way, or doesn't have the eye/hand coordination to draw this way.. and some don't even many years later, without a lot of effort and practice.

It bugs me when people say they can't draw. I don't believe that at all, providing the person has all of his/her mental faculties and is physically capable. One of the artists on another list is a quadriplegic and paints with his mouth only. His work is wonderful!

People who use the old line, "I can't draw a straight line." just may be the ones who can draw or paint free and graceful lines.. smear paint around.. use color.. and make an image pulse with life! Who needs straight lines anyway? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

So.. how about everyone just plunging in and having fun? Play is the best way to discover what we can do.. and practice can refine it. Observing, listening, and reading can teach us what doesn't already come naturally, if we want to spend the time.

Happy drawing/painting/Holidays! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Jinny Brown

PixelAlley's Section Links: http://www.pixelalley.com/pixelalley...ons-pages.html
(Painter 5 and 6 tutorials, Painter 7 info, tutorials, PDF downloads, brushes)
Contact: jinbrown@pixelalley.com or,
Painter Forum at In Depth Discussions: http://www.critical-depth.com/cgi-bin/idd/
______________________________________

[Tao jones]

go get 'Drawing on the rightside of the brain', a must book if you think you can't draw....taojones

[gmotto]

Hi Tao,
You make it look so easy. I do like your style.

Regards,
Greg

[athena]

I love this group. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Y'all are thoughtful as always. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I hope this thread encourages some others who, like me, bought painter because you love the thought of playing with natural media whether you are a master of the drawn line or not.

We professional and amateur squigglers can have fun with painter whether all the ideas start on the digital canvas or on a scrap of paper.

Athena
Our thoughts are bounded by words. The quality of those thoughts is largely determined by the words that compose them.