The Basics

Goals for Actually Making Progress

Here are the goals that you should be trying to achieve when you are actively studying and learning how to draw in order to assure you are making progress:

1. You are able to understand the concepts that you are learning.

2. You are able to describe what you have learned using our own words.

3. You are practicing these concepts by sketching or thumbnailing in your sketchbook.

4. You are apply those concepts in your own art work.

This means that you’ve reviewed the materials, jotted down notes, worked on a few thumbnails, and have developed a drawing containing the concept that you are learning about.

Understanding

Your first priority is being able to understand the concepts being discussed in your resources. This isn’t meant to be a hard hurdle to overcome, however your materials should challenge your current skill set, not overwhelm them. So as long as you are able to follow along and it offers to challenge your current abilities - you are on the right track.

Verbalizing

If the content is easy enough for you to digest your second priority is making sure that you are able to explain the concept in your own words. This includes taking notes and writing or typing out what you have learned. The true test of whether or not you understood something is the ability to restate it clearly, especially to someone else who has no or little knowledge of the subject.

Practicing

Since you are studying to improve your drawing skills, it is important not just to understand the concept, you need to be able to reproduce the concept as well. In this step you are going do a few drawings to accompany your notes and you can do this quickly by creating a few thumbnails. You can either copy some of the examples from the resource, or, better yet, create your own. 

Application

Lastly, it is important that you are able to apply the concept either in a study or drawing while also including previous lessons or learned concepts within the same piece. This doesn’t need to be a fully rendered artwork, but at least a sketch, not just a thumbnail.