Why you Should Learn Drawing by Making Mistakes

Yesterday, one of my students of my course Sketch Like The Pros asked me:
“I am making mistakes. Is it my fault?”

I answered telling him a story about “The cycling boy”

Do you mind if I share it with you as well? : )

| Do you remember the first day you tried to ride a bike?

Me,  I do especially when I felt down in the bush…
Even though it was so sudden I remember it in slow motion. Haha.
You know that instantly feel – that something bad is going to happen to you but it’s already too late.
In a quarter of a second, you have that vision of yourself upside down in that bush.
(A vision that ends up being a good prediction.)

I am writing this article about cycling to show you that sketching is not about innate talent.
Everybody can sketch.
Along with the article, try to link with sketching.
I hope it will help you realize that you also can learn how to sketch.

When you learned how to cycle, it was overwhelming.
Some people feel scared, others feel excited. But we all have in common that we have zero experience.
So we all need to care about many things at the same time:

• Look at the street
• Cycle with your feet
• Try to find a good balance
• Hold the handlebar of the bike
• Be prepared to break if needed
• Make sure to do not ride too fast but fast enough to get momentum
• Avoid obstacles and pavement curb
• Wondering how to turn at the corner without falling or step on the ground…
• + Worried our friends won’t laugh at us.
• Hehe

| Of course we are not going to be perfect in one shot!

We may fall, ride zigzagging, or brake too hard… but we need to practice and get slowly familiar with all the above parameters. We will do a lot of mistakes, but remember them as good mistakes that get you closer to your goal.

You keep practicing every day, and slowly you see yourself paddling better, or mastering better the brakes depending on the obstacle you face, balance well enough to turn the corner faster… The bike, the road, the body start to synchronize. This is how our movement becomes harmonious and looks natural.

Remember that principle:

“What was difficult yesterday will become easy tomorrow!”

Cheers!
Chou-Tac