How to draw scott robertson на русском

On ‘How to Draw’ and Other Resources

By Jordan Null

Is H2D what you need?

That’s right, instead of grinding pages of mirroring complex planes you could be focusing on the human body, which is one of the most difficult and demanding subject matters of all. It’s not about how much time you draw, it’s how much you can extract and learn from every moment you draw that we want to maximize. Mileage is and will always be important, but you want to make every mile count for as much as it can towards your destination.

Does that mean you can ignore perspective? Haha, no- it doesn’t. The fundamentals are still critical for all artists, and like death and taxes, perspective is an unavoidable aspect of our universe. Fortunately, there are more accessible sources for learning and honing your perspective:

These books offer much more digestible and approachable explanations on the theory and application of perspective. For the artist who wants to aspire to character design or key art (splash art), they already have so many things to learn and balance: draftsmanship, form, anatomy, gesture, etc. Falling into the technical trap of H2D too early just isn’t worth it.

Using H2D the ‘wrong way’

So far I’ve already made one big claim: many of you reading this do not need H2D as much as you think. Now for my next big one: You have been using «How to Draw» incorrectly!

Or let’s say the student thinks they need to go through the entire book, grinding on every exercise they find. Time has now been wasted that could have instead been spent developing skills in a targeted fashion, also known as deliberate practice. Remember: especially with self teaching, it’s all about maximizing what we can extract from our time, not just brute forcing in hours.

So let me reiterate: «How to Draw» is not a class. It doesn’t have an inherent requirement to be gone through cover to cover. That approach would be daunting and unfocused. Not everything builds off the chapters preceding it, especially after chapter 6. I even knew one person who CUT THEIR COPY OF H2D IN HALF, splitting the book between chapters 6 and 7, which I honestly thought was a fantastic, if a little horrifying.

Using H2D the ‘right way’

I’ve gone on about how people are using this and other reference books incorrectly. Here is my personal strategy to using reference resources to effectively learn without wasting time and getting lost in the weeds:

Pick a project: do you want an environment? Vehicle? Let’s start simple and we can add complexity later.

Brush up on the relevant chapter(s), drawing along with the examples and doing exercises along the way.

Even while you work through these, do not hesitate to jump in and make a mess! Celebrate falling short of your own hopes and expectations! This is how we grow, not only as artists, but as human beings.

You’ve drawn something, there are things you like, and most assuredly some things you don’t like. EVALUATE. Find where you missed the mark, and get fresh eyes to help you.

Identify how to fix your mistakes, maybe do some practice exercises on it, or even a «micro project». For example, if you are consistently struggling with perspective on your cars’ wheels, draw a bunch of blocky forms representing cars, and just focus on drawing the wheels until it starts to feel and look better, while referencing the sections in the book about cylinders.

Eventually you will probably go cover to cover in H2D or any other reference book, but it won’t be a passive «read, try to convince yourself you’re learning by doing a few mirrored planes with no context, and move to the next page». It will be internalized, and you will eventually need to reference less and less. This goes the same way for anatomy, to an extent, although the human body is a lot more holistic. Just keep drawing and messing up. Targeting your weaknesses brings your average skill up and that is how we improve in anything.

Next time you’re trying to think of how to continue to improve and asking the internet for advice, don’t blindly follow the advice of the many and immediately try to digest all of H2D like it’s a Dr. Seuss book. Instead, treat H2D like a translation dictionary: Are you even going to this country? (do you need this exact resource?) Would you sit on the airplane and try to read lists of words cover to cover? No, to be more effective, you would focus first on the basic grammatical structure, then branch out to the important words and phrases and refer to the book to fill in your gaps (targeted practice).

My hope in sharing these thoughts is to have students begin to more critically assess potential avenues of learning, be it books, classes, etc., to extract what they need more effectively, and to improve skills more efficiently. With any skill development, it is an iterative process, and there is no one perfect way for everyone to learn. Above all, remember that to improve you have to be doing. Reading and watching tutorials have their place, but not until you get into the thick of things will you push yourself to new levels.

An easier alternative to H2D

If you are still interested in a book that takes a constructive approach to drawing like Drawabox and want something a little less intense than «How to Draw» I recommend «Sketching: The Basics» by Roselien Steur and Koos Eissen. Being an industrial design book, it focuses on subject matter addressed in lesson 6 as well as some basic rendering and color theory, but it is still very useful for drawing. It presents constructional drawing in a less clinical, precise way than H2D, with many tips on how to get drawings «correct enough» without getting lost in the weeds.

Jordan Null is a former aerospace engineer and currently a freelance industrial designer, who counts both Scott Robertson’s How to Draw as well as the Drawabox lessons among the primary resources he’s used to pursue his goals.

PureRef

When starting on a project, I’ll often open it up and start dragging reference images off the internet onto the board. When I’m done, I’ll save out a ‘.pur’ file, which embeds all the images. They can get pretty big, but are way more convenient than hauling around folders full of separate images.

Part One: The Basics

Challenges and Drills

A series of drills that fit into the lessons at various times. These should not all be completed after lesson 2, but rather will be listed as recommended next steps or prerequisites as you follow the numbered lessons in order.

Part Two: Constructional Drawing

Uncomfortable’s thoughts

Others’ Thoughts

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