You can design, but can you draw? (I can't...)
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- breadlegz0
Everyone can draw.
- nocomply0
Wow! An awesome topic on QBN that people are actually taking seriously!
There have been so many great points already made, and I've copied and pasted a handful of them into a text file for later use/inspiration.
But to add my perspective to the mix... I tend agree with the original poster. I'm not very "good" at drawing, and as such I've never practiced it and allowed myself to improve.
When I do produce design work, it's only web / UX design and I can get by just fine. In fact, sometimes I'm even damn proud of the stuff I design.
But I'm terrible at logo / identity work. I think for that knowing how to draw or being a "natural drawer" helps tremendously.
Also, I've noticed over the years that even web layouts created by people who can draw have an extra creative spark that I can never match.
I think a lot of that comes down to one's thought process and how we tackle the problem of design.
For me personally, I'm a very logical/methodical person and it shows in my work. I tend to prioritize usability and information organization over creativity.
The more artistic types that I work with are more free-spirited and it shows in the designs that they produce. They find ways to make information-organization work, but it's often done in a non-conventional way that I never would have thought of.
Both approaches are great at the right time, but I think it's hard for one person to do both well. Everyone has their own style/aesthetic.
But I think if I had some drawing chops my ability to design would improve significantly. There are definitely times when my inability to draw is immediately recognized as a limitation, and as such I move on in a different direction with my design.
I guess you can say I've learned how to play to my strengths... which would be color, texture, composition, information organization, etc...
- animatedgif0
Outsource or delegate it
That's what winners do
- sine0
i can draw/sketch... but i'm not an illustrator.
something i really wish i had a natural talent/ability for, but i just don't.
- pillhead0
I started drawing at the age of 7, then went over to computers at collage aged about 18, have not touched a pencil sense. But I was never a natural drawer, I had to work quit hard to get results, and drawing the human body in life art was a hit and miss play ground, it was only when I watch someone ells draw someone's face did I understand what a natural drawer was, but I found drawing rewarding and relaxing when I was a kid, and that simple pencil on paper could produce so many different styles still amazes me today.
- i_monk0
Draw what?
- CALLES0
couldnt even if my life depended upon it
- jtb260
Being able to draw is a totally useful skill to have. People that say they can't draw don't draw, and it's a self fulfilling prophesy. You only get good at drawing by doing it often.
Getting good at drawing takes discipline. Drawing frequently.
Drawing allows for much quicker ideation then fucking around on a computer, and leads to a broader range of ideas wich IMO is the only way to start out. So why wouldn't you try and sharpen your drawing skills at least a little bit.
There's other ways of doing this too. Drawing is just the quickest. I was playing around with pens arranging them on my desk and it led to an idea for a logo composition. it doesn't really matter - but being able to take different approaches is extremely useful.
- biusness0
The strongest case in favour of drawing has to be put by Milton. Granted he's a child of his time and it has to do with his particular education, but who's to argue with him?
"Drawing is how I think.
Art schools have abandoned drawing in order to make time for all the software they have to teach. We get what we need for our professional life but don't have an instrument for understanding the reality of life.
Accuracy is the least important part of drawing"
- non0
Everyone one who "liked to draw" when I was studying, were more into illustration than graphic design. I think that you need to be able to sketch out ideas and have basic drawing skills, but being "good" doesn't really matter, IMO.
- Miesfan0
I studied architecture, after seeing the pictures of Louis Kahn and Le Corbusier were a shit.
Drawing is showing the relationship between the eye and hand. And how fast is this. I know people who draws with his left hand to better understand this relationship.
- loool0
drawing is important because it develops better perception...otherwise, when I see how many people made their way in the industry without that skill...
- orrinward20
I used to draw all the time, just not well.
I used to build a lot of Lego/K'NEX and always build my own designs.
I was not that arty through the first half of secondary school and at around 13/14 I started to make furniture and dick about in Photoshop.
- well you dont need to be leonardo to design well.fadein11
- fadein110
how did you end up on an artistic path if you cannot draw?
surely thats where it all begins as a child? no?- Design isn't "necessarily" an artistic pathGlitterati_Duane
- yes it is partly. all design has a creative element.fadein11
- I can draw... ish... but not really... has'nt kept me from working with graphic desig for 11 years...jagara
- orrinward20
I can't draw for shit and it limits what I can do, but it doesn't hinder my employability.
My Graphic Design is typically a lot more about texture and geometry, and as a web designer it's all about layout and experience.
Just because I can't draw a left navigation and a nice dropdown style doesn't mean I can't design them.
Thankfully there are plenty of tools out there that eliminate the need for drawing, or else I'd be fucked!
- bjladams0
was having this conversation earlier this morning.
i like to think i'm ok at drawing, and start pretty much every design on paper... but those are mostly geometric shapes that evolve in a grid.