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Drawing gets better with age?
- Thread starter Momoharu
- Start date
voltianqueen
Moumantai, moumantai
Crazy Linoone
broke ASB
Well, it's not exactly age that matters. The time you spent drawing and observing things really make your art better. I know, for instance, that I pick up styles from whatever I see -- I used to draw birds with huge, glittery anime eyes and awkwardly shaped wings that don't bend in the right places and are too small for flight. I continuously try to improve my drawings, and I tend to copy pictures from books or other media because they look good. Now my birds look much more functional and realistic because I learned how to draw them better.
The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, your art does improve with time. However, it's not because time has passed, it's because you have had time to improve. If I never looked at different ways of drawing birds, I would still be drawing those awkwardly shaped birds I used to draw.
The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, your art does improve with time. However, it's not because time has passed, it's because you have had time to improve. If I never looked at different ways of drawing birds, I would still be drawing those awkwardly shaped birds I used to draw.
brandman
^ pretty amazing
Yes. Definitely. Well lemme tell you a'little story:
Back when I was four everyone said I was "gifted" at drawing. And I'll say I am pretty good but the fact my dad's a jeweler might have something to do with it. Well, like I said, when I was four I had to go to work with my dad and my mom. Well, there's not much to do at my dads work. So I picked up a crayon and drew! Hallelu- *broken record sound* No, as amazing as it seems, I did not just start drawing. My parents got those coloring books and i drew in them but anyways I took one of my dad's papers and drew on the back of it. He would've been made but I made an image of it (batman and robin). He then bought me paper and I drew at my dad's work. I found a rugrats bok and started to draw them. And suppossevly it was really good. Well later on my parents divorced and my mom had two more kids with some stupid guy. Well, last month I saw my four year old brother and see his drawing:
Now my drawing is sophisticated and I draw unique details on everything. Then I remember when I was four and my drawing was better:
] Well he was from a different parent who is currently in jail but he doesn't know.
So my point is your skills grow as you grow, but others get more advanced in it, sometimes to different levels. It probably has something to do with heritage. But not always.
Back when I was four everyone said I was "gifted" at drawing. And I'll say I am pretty good but the fact my dad's a jeweler might have something to do with it. Well, like I said, when I was four I had to go to work with my dad and my mom. Well, there's not much to do at my dads work. So I picked up a crayon and drew! Hallelu- *broken record sound* No, as amazing as it seems, I did not just start drawing. My parents got those coloring books and i drew in them but anyways I took one of my dad's papers and drew on the back of it. He would've been made but I made an image of it (batman and robin). He then bought me paper and I drew at my dad's work. I found a rugrats bok and started to draw them. And suppossevly it was really good. Well later on my parents divorced and my mom had two more kids with some stupid guy. Well, last month I saw my four year old brother and see his drawing:
So my point is your skills grow as you grow, but others get more advanced in it, sometimes to different levels. It probably has something to do with heritage. But not always.
Linoone pretty much has it - it'll only improve over time if you put effort into it. Drawing is a skill that you need to develop, like learning to read or drive; the only difference is that it's not one that's particularly necessary to get by in life, so most people end up not putting effort into developing their artistic skills.
There's a pretty enormous difference in the artistic skill levels of a 30-year-old professional artist who went through art school and spent an unbelievable amount of time learning how to visualize things artistically and how to draw things exactly as they appear, and another 30-year-old who took an art class in high school because he had to and generally dislikes drawing or doesn't care one way or the other. There'd be a lot more amazing artists in the world if age was the sole factor in determining your artistic ability.
There's a pretty enormous difference in the artistic skill levels of a 30-year-old professional artist who went through art school and spent an unbelievable amount of time learning how to visualize things artistically and how to draw things exactly as they appear, and another 30-year-old who took an art class in high school because he had to and generally dislikes drawing or doesn't care one way or the other. There'd be a lot more amazing artists in the world if age was the sole factor in determining your artistic ability.
Last edited:
Slartibartfast
The word 'Nerd' is a compliment.
Age isn't the sole factor, obviously. But look at a typical drawing from a four-year-old, to a ten-year-old, to an adult, or any other divisions of time, and obviously there is going to be some improvement. People learn better ways to draw even without instruction and practice. Age (and general life experience) is a pretty big factor in drawing ability. That being said, art classes and innate ability obviously will help you as much or more, but age does help.
Loco Mocho
Is behind you with a machete
Notoriously Unknown
Quick, somebody come up with a witty response!
..........
Well I'm elevan and eh...
That and I've only become seriouse obout my art for three years. I used to draw stick figures and be perfectly content with them, but now stick figures just don't cut it. I'm constantly changing styles and trying out new things so that could contribute to my skill. That and I'm guilty of taking carefuly studied tips from some pros. Like when I first started drawing wings they looked like poofy clouds. Now they actualy look like wings.
I draw everday as well. If I'm bored or have some free time I grab some paper and whatever drawing utensil is avalible. In this respect it's pretty obviouse that time plays a big role in art, but not how old you are. It's all about the work, practice, effort, and experimentaion that you put into it plus how often you sharpen your skills.
Well I'm elevan and eh...
That and I've only become seriouse obout my art for three years. I used to draw stick figures and be perfectly content with them, but now stick figures just don't cut it. I'm constantly changing styles and trying out new things so that could contribute to my skill. That and I'm guilty of taking carefuly studied tips from some pros. Like when I first started drawing wings they looked like poofy clouds. Now they actualy look like wings.
I draw everday as well. If I'm bored or have some free time I grab some paper and whatever drawing utensil is avalible. In this respect it's pretty obviouse that time plays a big role in art, but not how old you are. It's all about the work, practice, effort, and experimentaion that you put into it plus how often you sharpen your skills.
Coloursfall
THIS IS HOW WE BLEED
I agree with Linoone here; check this out:
Three years ago
Yesterday
Between those, are 306 pictures (and those are only the ones I've put of dA. I draw every day.
So practice, people!
Three years ago
Yesterday
Between those, are 306 pictures (and those are only the ones I've put of dA. I draw every day.
So practice, people!
Tsukido
People who eat pickles are nice people
Everything but your looks get better with age, pretty much. It's odd, but true. I've never taken anything beyond a basic high school art class, but regardless of that my drawing skills get better and better as time goes by. Practice is extremely important - I can always see lack of practice on my drawings. Skill is acquired through true dedication. Every day that you draw, you improve, every day you don't, you take a step back. And no matter what, if you're anything like me,m you're never satisfied with yourself, so the practice continues, on, and on, and on....
So yes...with age comes wisdom and better hand-eye coordination, but it takes practice to really see improvement in your skills.
So yes...with age comes wisdom and better hand-eye coordination, but it takes practice to really see improvement in your skills.
Aisling
Super Moderator
I say drawing mostly improves with age because it takes time to practice and observe, and it just so happens to take time to age, too. With enough practice and observation, anyone can be skilled at drawing.
I am certainly not the best artist but I've put a lot of thought in what I think it takes to be a good artist. You have to observe real life, and then figure out and practice your method of applying your mental image to a physical medium. I suppose as you age, your attention span grows so that helps a little bit with this (there's also that hand-eye coordination thing, but drawing itself can improve this too, I think). I also think there's a degree of "natural talent", which is really probably just possessing certain personality traits or temperaments, because some people do seem to progress faster than others, but I don't think it's impossible for the average person to become great if they give it their all. Unless you're positively retarded like CWC or something
I am certainly not the best artist but I've put a lot of thought in what I think it takes to be a good artist. You have to observe real life, and then figure out and practice your method of applying your mental image to a physical medium. I suppose as you age, your attention span grows so that helps a little bit with this (there's also that hand-eye coordination thing, but drawing itself can improve this too, I think). I also think there's a degree of "natural talent", which is really probably just possessing certain personality traits or temperaments, because some people do seem to progress faster than others, but I don't think it's impossible for the average person to become great if they give it their all. Unless you're positively retarded like CWC or something
Here's a gallery of before-and-afters of people who attended a five-day seminar based off the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain theory. In this case it wasn't getting better over time, but because they had actually been taught how to observe.
You could read the same book over and over for years, and yeah, you might become really awesome at reading that book, but you're not really improving your reading ability as a whole. You improve your reading ability by reading all different kinds of books and graduating to ones with more advanced vocabularies. It's the same way with drawing.
I thought about using him as an example, but I figured no one would get it. xD
You could read the same book over and over for years, and yeah, you might become really awesome at reading that book, but you're not really improving your reading ability as a whole. You improve your reading ability by reading all different kinds of books and graduating to ones with more advanced vocabularies. It's the same way with drawing.
I thought about using him as an example, but I figured no one would get it. xD
Worst Username Ever
(laughs)
Sort of. I draw MUCH better now than I did just one-two-ish years ago, however-this is because I have an interest in drawing, and actually started caring about anatomy and head-body-ratios and stuff like that. However, I believe drawing a lot also played a part here. Now my characters look much better(mind you, characters, I'm not that good at stuff like... say furniture, because I hardly ever draw it, and for perspective... I believe I'm decent at it but hardly ever use it...).
SQRL
fera wth are you doing on here.
Not really, the only way that drawing skill increases with age is that your hands might get steadier as compared to when you are younger. It's subtle. The only way age should be a factor is that time = more practice.
What really increases drawing skill, is ~drawing~ as everyone else is saying. But, more important than that is that you have to practice outside of your comfort zone, and try new things out. You can draw some anime headshot from the same angle 413 times, and while you might get better faster stronger at drawing such headshots, you're going to be failing in other areas you haven't practiced. It's why lots of amateur artists are ONLY good at drawing animals or ONLY good at drawing people, and why most people aren't so great at the scenic background things.
And anatomy is /IMPORTANT/. If you never take the time to practice anatomy, then the only thing you're going to get good at drawing are disfigured not-so-good things. Even if you draw cartoony it's better to know realistic proportions so you can accurately simplify or playfully exaggerate.
Personally, I don't think art classes help much. I've never really been in one except for maybe a year or two, and I'd only imagine it helps thanks to critique and forcing you to practice realism.
SO YEAH tl;dr, PRACTICE. Poses, anatomy, expressions, realism, styles, shading, etc. If you're sketching and re-sketching and fixing and re-fixing again and again then you're doing it right.
What really increases drawing skill, is ~drawing~ as everyone else is saying. But, more important than that is that you have to practice outside of your comfort zone, and try new things out. You can draw some anime headshot from the same angle 413 times, and while you might get better faster stronger at drawing such headshots, you're going to be failing in other areas you haven't practiced. It's why lots of amateur artists are ONLY good at drawing animals or ONLY good at drawing people, and why most people aren't so great at the scenic background things.
And anatomy is /IMPORTANT/. If you never take the time to practice anatomy, then the only thing you're going to get good at drawing are disfigured not-so-good things. Even if you draw cartoony it's better to know realistic proportions so you can accurately simplify or playfully exaggerate.
Personally, I don't think art classes help much. I've never really been in one except for maybe a year or two, and I'd only imagine it helps thanks to critique and forcing you to practice realism.
SO YEAH tl;dr, PRACTICE. Poses, anatomy, expressions, realism, styles, shading, etc. If you're sketching and re-sketching and fixing and re-fixing again and again then you're doing it right.