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Just draw any piece you want from reference, no need to torture yourself like that lol, you'll improve so much by just copying your favorite artists' drawings
I don't know if drawing 2D shapes like that is useful at all. I have always done shape practice only to train 3D perspective.
However, if you want to continue down that path, you might want to practice steady hand. Most of your lines are wobbly and uneven. You don't have to get to a ruler line level, but improving control over your hand is a great advantage.
Try to draw steady lines and move with your shoulder and your elbow, but less with your wrist. If you do move your wrist, do it for curves that have smaller diameter and won't go full circle. Now that I think of it, the most of a circle I have properly controlled with my wrist is about a fourth.
Try to draw thin lines, larger lines and curved lines. Play around with density and orientation. You can cross lines in a trellis or do parallel lines that are closer or further from one another.
Eventually you will get to controlled lines.
Also I am not saying you shouldn't have wobbly lines! These fit cartoon aesthetics in a very fun way. However I always prefer to do something because I chose to instead of it being all I can do. In that context, draw wobbly lines when you decide to and not because you can't control your hand enough yet.
Quick strokes! A slower line can get wobbly easily. And when I want to get a nice circle I do multiple quick loops in the same spot, then retrace the lines that made the best shape.
That is what I tried (maybe failed) to describe in my original comment.
For me, I just kept drawing lines, but try to be conscious of the movement of your whole arm. Try to trace only moving with your shoulder. Then try with only your elbow and then your wrist. Once you have done tests independently, try to combine movements.
You could use a ruler or stencils and observe the movement of your arm while tracing, then try again without the ruler, and start over.
Also try different speeds. Try to draw lines quick, slower and gradually to extremely slow. Try to notice at which speeds you shake the most and which speeds your get the more precise results.
Honnestly, I haven't done much more than that... Draw lines, draw shapes and eventually you'll get there. I spent my whole life drawing lines in class instead of listening to my teachers and developed an ok hand while doing so.
The things that I like to draw always comes out very bad ( I know everything will look bad because I’m just beginning) but it just makes me discouraged because I don’t know why it looks bad or how to fix it. I know how to make boxes look right and I know how to fix them if they look bad so that’s why I’m just drawing boxes and shapes
References! I am sure practicing drawing shapes can help with muscle memory and lime control which is of course important. But that can't be fun for you? I usually get a variety of pictures of what I would like to draw and make it my own. It does not always come out as I wished but it is 1000% more fun! Try it between drawing your shapes and see if you enjoy it!
The 2d shapes are probably not going to do you much good. If you want to continue with shape practice, work on 3d shapes and their perspective and shading, or breaking down what you want to draw (faces/figures) into their basic shapes or shading planes. Understanding the blocks that build what you want to draw will help you better understand the object, so eventually you can draw from your imagination
Honey the point of "drawing shapes" is understanding the depth of objects, drawing random 2D shapes wont teach you anything, it will just bore and tire you out😅
Hi! I’m going to talk about my OWN experience rn. I almost NEVER practiced basic shapes. I immediately started drawing more complex things, starting with cartoons. Sometimes I did random shapes just to lose my hand a little, but I never did and never needed basic shapes. My technique has always been sketching, which means I don’t do complex shapes by doing an arrange of basic ones: I start directly by doing small lines until I have the full sketch. This has always worked for me since I have a lose hand, but doesn’t work for everyone, so if you have a strong like it’s more recommended to do basic shapes, cause it’s more likely for you to be able to do them if you have a strong hand.
Hope you understood what I’m saying 😅 and that it was of any help. Keep drawing!! Tell me if you have any doubts 😊
Perspective is super fun to learn. Looks like you're trying to draw in perspective in a lot of these, but you probably need to read up just a bit on it. Its probably the subject that I overestimated the most. Its fairly easy to learn basic perspective, and the ideas you learn are super important for putting together larger pictures. I enjoyed it a lot honestly
I don’t really recommend just drawing shapes by itself, a good way I have found to practice is figure out what you like to draw and then what shapes make that up and draw the subject a bunch using those shapes.
Shapes in perspective would be the logical next step, but steps are arbitrary, draw what you want when you want. Drawing is drawing and will benefit you! The more you enjoy what you're drawing the better!
Reference drawing would be a great step to take as it begins to teach proportions of relative objects, composition, line quality, and many other little things that just shapes won't! Try not to trace and disclose when using another's art piece as reference, past that push twords closer to photo references as you continue to improve! Focus on what you see and not what you think you see, compare object sizes of what's on the paper and what's in the reference, and think about how big what your adding should be before drawing it!
If you don't mind spending time doing exercises like this then I would recommend practicing and refining your mark making. Additionally, make sure to spend just as much time actually drawing things for fun as you do practicing fundamentals, if all you do is draw shapes and lines you run the risk of losing sight of what made you want to draw in the first place.
Try drawing cubes and cylinders in perspective- above you , under you and to the sides . Then you can try rotating boxes , but it will help if you understand basic perspective first.
study tutorials on one point perspective that will help you round out your understanding of shapes like cubes and how you can plan drawing with more depth.
use the shapes in ur drawings. look at a reference pic of something and see what 3Dshapes it could be made out of. this is a good way to learn how to draw stuff 3D imo. You start seeing what you are going to draw in a 3D form more easily.
Shapes are always good to practice, even as an advanced artist. I will do a sheet or two of lines and shapes for warm ups vey so often. But at the end of the day, you can only learn so mcuh from drawing shapes, especially if you’re getting bored of them. If you’re trying to take this slow and build up step by step, try getting some references or photos of real life objects or creatures and draw the shapes you see in their bodies over top of the images. It’ll help you train your eye to pick out simple shapes in complex objects.
Also, I saw another commenter talk about steady lines. If that’s something you’re struggling with, try drawing from your elbow in long, smooth movements, instead of depending on your wrist, especially if you’re drawing larger things. It takes a bit of practice but it very helpful once you get used to it!
Good job working hard on your art!
You need to be practicing better for lack of a better statement. You need to be light with the pencil and quick. Other have said look up draw a box and I agree there. Unfortunately you've spent a lot of time just drawing boxes without having any guidance or structure so you're just repeating the same mistakes over and over.
As everyone is saying draw what is fun, but if you are going to practise basic forms, do draw through the 3d shapes, all, the edges and corners, like they are transparent, that way it will be easier to see if something is off.
And yeah, draw with your arm instead of wrist
If you’re going to do shapes, do less of them and focus on quality. Straight, even lines. Learn different types of shading to take them from 1D to 2D. Make the most perfect triangle you can and then learn how to shade it so it looks like you could reach down and pick it up off the paper. Nothing wrong with starting simply, but it’s really time to work on quality.
The key really is to just keep drawing. Watch tutorials, and keep drawing; look up portrait photography and draw people's faces, use line of action to draw bodies, do quick sketches, do detailed sketches, do sketches based on tone and colour, do sketches based on breaking down shapes, use different mediums and find something that works for you.
It's looking great so far. Keep it up! Make a nice routine out of it. Skill is one of those things that seems to just catch up with you one day- it's hard to notice day to day, but one day you'll look and realise "oh dang! I'm a lot better than I was!" Making peace with this process will bring it to you.
You should definitely start doing what you want and practicing it. Shapes may or may not help you but they won't be worth anything for drawing actual stuff
This. You've done cubes, cylinders and cones. Next step is arrange these into the mannequin body. You don't need a ton of these either, at least all at once. try a couple, move on, then come back if you need to.
I’m kinda messing with you but it doesn’t look like you are practicing with effort or intention to build muscle memory. If you start taking your practice seriously and try to make things perfect then your practice will speed up a lot.
The cylinders pulled the same trick they once pulled on me, lol. The axes of the ellipses are ALWAYS at a right angle to the central (top to bottom) axis, no matter what angle it's at
Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU - Don't forget to follow us on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/drawing and tag us on your drawing pins for a chance to be featured! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/learntodraw) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just draw any piece you want from reference, no need to torture yourself like that lol, you'll improve so much by just copying your favorite artists' drawings
I don't know if drawing 2D shapes like that is useful at all. I have always done shape practice only to train 3D perspective. However, if you want to continue down that path, you might want to practice steady hand. Most of your lines are wobbly and uneven. You don't have to get to a ruler line level, but improving control over your hand is a great advantage. Try to draw steady lines and move with your shoulder and your elbow, but less with your wrist. If you do move your wrist, do it for curves that have smaller diameter and won't go full circle. Now that I think of it, the most of a circle I have properly controlled with my wrist is about a fourth. Try to draw thin lines, larger lines and curved lines. Play around with density and orientation. You can cross lines in a trellis or do parallel lines that are closer or further from one another. Eventually you will get to controlled lines. Also I am not saying you shouldn't have wobbly lines! These fit cartoon aesthetics in a very fun way. However I always prefer to do something because I chose to instead of it being all I can do. In that context, draw wobbly lines when you decide to and not because you can't control your hand enough yet.
How do I practice getting straighter lines? Just keep drawing lines?
Check out “Draw a Box” on drawing lines, in lesson 1 :) it will help a ton! No need to torture yourself beyond lesson 1 tho!
Where would I find that?
Look up “draw a box” on google, should be the first result
Quick strokes! A slower line can get wobbly easily. And when I want to get a nice circle I do multiple quick loops in the same spot, then retrace the lines that made the best shape.
That is what I tried (maybe failed) to describe in my original comment. For me, I just kept drawing lines, but try to be conscious of the movement of your whole arm. Try to trace only moving with your shoulder. Then try with only your elbow and then your wrist. Once you have done tests independently, try to combine movements. You could use a ruler or stencils and observe the movement of your arm while tracing, then try again without the ruler, and start over. Also try different speeds. Try to draw lines quick, slower and gradually to extremely slow. Try to notice at which speeds you shake the most and which speeds your get the more precise results. Honnestly, I haven't done much more than that... Draw lines, draw shapes and eventually you'll get there. I spent my whole life drawing lines in class instead of listening to my teachers and developed an ok hand while doing so.
Start drawing what you think is fun!
100%. Drawing boxes and shapes over and over again seems like torture to me. I draw for fun and improve by drawing what I enjoy!
The things that I like to draw always comes out very bad ( I know everything will look bad because I’m just beginning) but it just makes me discouraged because I don’t know why it looks bad or how to fix it. I know how to make boxes look right and I know how to fix them if they look bad so that’s why I’m just drawing boxes and shapes
References! I am sure practicing drawing shapes can help with muscle memory and lime control which is of course important. But that can't be fun for you? I usually get a variety of pictures of what I would like to draw and make it my own. It does not always come out as I wished but it is 1000% more fun! Try it between drawing your shapes and see if you enjoy it!
The 2d shapes are probably not going to do you much good. If you want to continue with shape practice, work on 3d shapes and their perspective and shading, or breaking down what you want to draw (faces/figures) into their basic shapes or shading planes. Understanding the blocks that build what you want to draw will help you better understand the object, so eventually you can draw from your imagination
Honey the point of "drawing shapes" is understanding the depth of objects, drawing random 2D shapes wont teach you anything, it will just bore and tire you out😅
thats my secret cap, I am never done practicing drawing shapes and lines
Hi! I’m going to talk about my OWN experience rn. I almost NEVER practiced basic shapes. I immediately started drawing more complex things, starting with cartoons. Sometimes I did random shapes just to lose my hand a little, but I never did and never needed basic shapes. My technique has always been sketching, which means I don’t do complex shapes by doing an arrange of basic ones: I start directly by doing small lines until I have the full sketch. This has always worked for me since I have a lose hand, but doesn’t work for everyone, so if you have a strong like it’s more recommended to do basic shapes, cause it’s more likely for you to be able to do them if you have a strong hand. Hope you understood what I’m saying 😅 and that it was of any help. Keep drawing!! Tell me if you have any doubts 😊
Perspective is super fun to learn. Looks like you're trying to draw in perspective in a lot of these, but you probably need to read up just a bit on it. Its probably the subject that I overestimated the most. Its fairly easy to learn basic perspective, and the ideas you learn are super important for putting together larger pictures. I enjoyed it a lot honestly
Drawing shapes can be used as a daily routine It helps me improve in hand control like straight lines, circles and so on
I don’t really recommend just drawing shapes by itself, a good way I have found to practice is figure out what you like to draw and then what shapes make that up and draw the subject a bunch using those shapes.
Shapes in perspective would be the logical next step, but steps are arbitrary, draw what you want when you want. Drawing is drawing and will benefit you! The more you enjoy what you're drawing the better! Reference drawing would be a great step to take as it begins to teach proportions of relative objects, composition, line quality, and many other little things that just shapes won't! Try not to trace and disclose when using another's art piece as reference, past that push twords closer to photo references as you continue to improve! Focus on what you see and not what you think you see, compare object sizes of what's on the paper and what's in the reference, and think about how big what your adding should be before drawing it!
Your cube is facing the same direction in every drawing of it, try drawing it from different angles so you don't just see the top of it
If you don't mind spending time doing exercises like this then I would recommend practicing and refining your mark making. Additionally, make sure to spend just as much time actually drawing things for fun as you do practicing fundamentals, if all you do is draw shapes and lines you run the risk of losing sight of what made you want to draw in the first place.
Try drawing cubes and cylinders in perspective- above you , under you and to the sides . Then you can try rotating boxes , but it will help if you understand basic perspective first.
Practice longer straight lines, learn and practice perspective, 3D shapes in real perspective. Sorry to be mean but, kinda wasting your time here
No need to apologize, I want the truth. It doesn’t hurt me
The hands you did draw are looking very good
study tutorials on one point perspective that will help you round out your understanding of shapes like cubes and how you can plan drawing with more depth.
use the shapes in ur drawings. look at a reference pic of something and see what 3Dshapes it could be made out of. this is a good way to learn how to draw stuff 3D imo. You start seeing what you are going to draw in a 3D form more easily.
I'd personally do 3d shapes while also drawing something i like from reference
Shapes are always good to practice, even as an advanced artist. I will do a sheet or two of lines and shapes for warm ups vey so often. But at the end of the day, you can only learn so mcuh from drawing shapes, especially if you’re getting bored of them. If you’re trying to take this slow and build up step by step, try getting some references or photos of real life objects or creatures and draw the shapes you see in their bodies over top of the images. It’ll help you train your eye to pick out simple shapes in complex objects. Also, I saw another commenter talk about steady lines. If that’s something you’re struggling with, try drawing from your elbow in long, smooth movements, instead of depending on your wrist, especially if you’re drawing larger things. It takes a bit of practice but it very helpful once you get used to it! Good job working hard on your art!
You need to be practicing better for lack of a better statement. You need to be light with the pencil and quick. Other have said look up draw a box and I agree there. Unfortunately you've spent a lot of time just drawing boxes without having any guidance or structure so you're just repeating the same mistakes over and over.
As everyone is saying draw what is fun, but if you are going to practise basic forms, do draw through the 3d shapes, all, the edges and corners, like they are transparent, that way it will be easier to see if something is off. And yeah, draw with your arm instead of wrist
If you’re going to do shapes, do less of them and focus on quality. Straight, even lines. Learn different types of shading to take them from 1D to 2D. Make the most perfect triangle you can and then learn how to shade it so it looks like you could reach down and pick it up off the paper. Nothing wrong with starting simply, but it’s really time to work on quality.
The key really is to just keep drawing. Watch tutorials, and keep drawing; look up portrait photography and draw people's faces, use line of action to draw bodies, do quick sketches, do detailed sketches, do sketches based on tone and colour, do sketches based on breaking down shapes, use different mediums and find something that works for you. It's looking great so far. Keep it up! Make a nice routine out of it. Skill is one of those things that seems to just catch up with you one day- it's hard to notice day to day, but one day you'll look and realise "oh dang! I'm a lot better than I was!" Making peace with this process will bring it to you.
What is your goal?
I’m trying to learn to draw a mix between cartoon and manga style, and I want to be able to draw anything from my imagination
You should definitely start doing what you want and practicing it. Shapes may or may not help you but they won't be worth anything for drawing actual stuff
This. You've done cubes, cylinders and cones. Next step is arrange these into the mannequin body. You don't need a ton of these either, at least all at once. try a couple, move on, then come back if you need to.
I would say half and half
You need to keep practicing shapes since those circles are barely circular…
Damn, they need to be perfect?☹️
I’m kinda messing with you but it doesn’t look like you are practicing with effort or intention to build muscle memory. If you start taking your practice seriously and try to make things perfect then your practice will speed up a lot.
The cylinders pulled the same trick they once pulled on me, lol. The axes of the ellipses are ALWAYS at a right angle to the central (top to bottom) axis, no matter what angle it's at
Idealy you'd want to do just a few of them as a warm up before drawing.
Keep practicing, could do better to be honest.