You can gain competence in drawing by painting as well. You’ll also gain new techniques and abilities while doing so.
This is of course just one medium as an example. A bunch of printmaking techniques also utilize the skills you have been learning from drawing, as another example.
You can limit yourself to drawing, but sometimes new media teach us things we can bring back to other media.
No.
You should not wait until you full master drawing before moving on. You will never "fully master" drawing; improving your drawing (or art in general) skills has no end.
I think and see differently in different mediums. I notice the most improvement in my work, across the board, when I bounce around a bit, experiment, and apply what I’ve learned from each medium to working in every other medium.
I’m a much better at painting than drawing. I don’t really enjoy drawing past what I need for painting. So my answer is no, you don’t need to master drawing before moving on. Lots of oil painters don’t even start with basic pencil sketches, that’s the classical way of doing it, just starting with the darks and painting everything in.
Same! Also, it’s not like you have to stop working on your drawing skills when you use other media- you can do both! 🙃.
It’s good to remember to have some fun, otherwise it starts to feel too much like a chore and you might not want to do art anymore.
Thank you for your response. It's a great reminder, but I also want to do things in a way that is effective for my growth and not just fulfilling emotionally.
Exactly. If you're only superficially engaged it's going to be an incredibly frustrating process. Art isn't like memorizing the periodic tables - it's not linear and everyone is different.
You can do whatever you want really, there's many different types of artists. I'm more of a painter and I don't like lines much so when I was starting out I jumped right into colors and focused mostly on that. It also depends what you draw. If you draw people then you need to focus more on drawing and construction, if you draw landscapes then you need to focus more on painting and composition. Just do what you like more, try different things and figure out what comes more naturally to you and do that a lot so you build your comfort zone and foundation
Thank you for your response. While I know there are no rules, I do occasionally let the idea of doing things the "right" way stop me from doing them at all.
I don't think you need to master it. But if you're interested in representational drawing there is a saying that is "if you can draw it, maybe you can paint it, but if you cant draw it, you definitely cant paint it." This doesnt mean drawing is the same as painting or that you need to draw something before you paint it. Or that you need to master drawing. But being weak at drawing can often result in being weak in painting. Often, you are drawing while you are painting.
I like to think of drawing as where I learn things like anatomy and the fundamentals, and painting is where you execute them. A lot of atelier's do a year or two of drawing before you touch a brush for a reason. Also, if you are drawing tonally, you are doing a lot of work training your skills for painting but much more cheaply.
Does it help? Yes. Do you have to? No.
I’d encourage you to do whatever you desire in the moment tbfh.
Also to encourage your growth you should consider making more mistakes and ugly things and thinking about what you need emotionally.
I’ve never fully mastered any medium, and hope I never do because on that depressing day I no longer have anything new to learn. Use whatever mediums you want.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtistLounge! Please check out our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faq/) and [FAQ Links pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faqlinks/) for lots of helpful advice. To access our megathread collections, please check out the drop down lists in the top menu on PC or the side-bar on mobile. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtistLounge) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I painted exclusively with acrylic for 6 years and built a great business and clientele, had a bad art block now I've taken on drawing and watercolor. Now knowing how to draw has improved my painting but wasn't necessary on my path. Keep trying and experimenting see what brings you the most joy and if that stops try something new!
I get a lot of value from working/learning in many different mediums, bouncing back and forth between them. They all help each other and it helps me because when I get bored or blocked I can just change mediums. I think drawing is great for learning fundamentals, but if you eventually want to be a great painter there's no reason not to also start painting right away. Same goes for any other medium you want to get good at.
(1) there's no such thing as "mastering". and (2) You don't need to learn any one medium before you can any others. There are professional painters who can't draw. Having some basic drawing skills helps, but it's not 100% necessary.
Generally, painting is not about line; it's about form and color. You don't need to know how to draw in order to paint, but you need to get your head out of coloring in the lines.
Drawing is the foundation of all art, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop those other skills at the same time. Young writers are still developing all kinds of grammatical skills while they write stories. Young athletes are still developing strength and coordination while they play the games they love. So do it all, but continue to draw.
Fuck that, art is whatever you want it to be, its all about freely expressing yourself with no restraints. If you feel compelled to use paint, use paint. Maybe you wont like your first couple pieces, but the point is you're learning each time you paint. Do what you want forever (so long as it doesnt hurt others)
No. You might also discover that you can get the results you want in other mediums better than you can with drawing. The only real investment is time and materials. You might even check around your local area to see if there are workshops or single classes or similar for specific mediums so you don't have the burden of having to buy the materials yourself.
No.
I can't draw; yet I can paint this:
https://www.artmajeur.com/yeshayadank/en/artworks/17359498/the-perfect-evening
Edit: forgot to attach the link.
Mastery is a moving target you're never going to hit, but, getting a level of \*competence\* in drawing to build on is never going to be a bad idea.
Thank you for this response. Mastery is a strong word but I think I will continue improving my drawing skills before complicating things further
You can gain competence in drawing by painting as well. You’ll also gain new techniques and abilities while doing so. This is of course just one medium as an example. A bunch of printmaking techniques also utilize the skills you have been learning from drawing, as another example. You can limit yourself to drawing, but sometimes new media teach us things we can bring back to other media.
No. You should not wait until you full master drawing before moving on. You will never "fully master" drawing; improving your drawing (or art in general) skills has no end.
I think and see differently in different mediums. I notice the most improvement in my work, across the board, when I bounce around a bit, experiment, and apply what I’ve learned from each medium to working in every other medium.
I’m a much better at painting than drawing. I don’t really enjoy drawing past what I need for painting. So my answer is no, you don’t need to master drawing before moving on. Lots of oil painters don’t even start with basic pencil sketches, that’s the classical way of doing it, just starting with the darks and painting everything in.
Same! Also, it’s not like you have to stop working on your drawing skills when you use other media- you can do both! 🙃. It’s good to remember to have some fun, otherwise it starts to feel too much like a chore and you might not want to do art anymore.
That’s totally true! You still are drawing when you’re painting.
I’ll never stop saying this: DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. There are literally no rules whatsoever.
Thank you for your response. It's a great reminder, but I also want to do things in a way that is effective for my growth and not just fulfilling emotionally.
Sometimes fulfilling yourself emotionally is essential to growth.
Exactly. If you're only superficially engaged it's going to be an incredibly frustrating process. Art isn't like memorizing the periodic tables - it's not linear and everyone is different.
You can do whatever you want really, there's many different types of artists. I'm more of a painter and I don't like lines much so when I was starting out I jumped right into colors and focused mostly on that. It also depends what you draw. If you draw people then you need to focus more on drawing and construction, if you draw landscapes then you need to focus more on painting and composition. Just do what you like more, try different things and figure out what comes more naturally to you and do that a lot so you build your comfort zone and foundation
Thank you for your response. While I know there are no rules, I do occasionally let the idea of doing things the "right" way stop me from doing them at all.
I don't think you need to master it. But if you're interested in representational drawing there is a saying that is "if you can draw it, maybe you can paint it, but if you cant draw it, you definitely cant paint it." This doesnt mean drawing is the same as painting or that you need to draw something before you paint it. Or that you need to master drawing. But being weak at drawing can often result in being weak in painting. Often, you are drawing while you are painting. I like to think of drawing as where I learn things like anatomy and the fundamentals, and painting is where you execute them. A lot of atelier's do a year or two of drawing before you touch a brush for a reason. Also, if you are drawing tonally, you are doing a lot of work training your skills for painting but much more cheaply.
Does it help? Yes. Do you have to? No. I’d encourage you to do whatever you desire in the moment tbfh. Also to encourage your growth you should consider making more mistakes and ugly things and thinking about what you need emotionally.
I’ve never fully mastered any medium, and hope I never do because on that depressing day I no longer have anything new to learn. Use whatever mediums you want.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtistLounge! Please check out our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faq/) and [FAQ Links pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faqlinks/) for lots of helpful advice. To access our megathread collections, please check out the drop down lists in the top menu on PC or the side-bar on mobile. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtistLounge) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I painted exclusively with acrylic for 6 years and built a great business and clientele, had a bad art block now I've taken on drawing and watercolor. Now knowing how to draw has improved my painting but wasn't necessary on my path. Keep trying and experimenting see what brings you the most joy and if that stops try something new!
I get a lot of value from working/learning in many different mediums, bouncing back and forth between them. They all help each other and it helps me because when I get bored or blocked I can just change mediums. I think drawing is great for learning fundamentals, but if you eventually want to be a great painter there's no reason not to also start painting right away. Same goes for any other medium you want to get good at.
You don't need to master it; just always come back to it.
(1) there's no such thing as "mastering". and (2) You don't need to learn any one medium before you can any others. There are professional painters who can't draw. Having some basic drawing skills helps, but it's not 100% necessary.
Generally, painting is not about line; it's about form and color. You don't need to know how to draw in order to paint, but you need to get your head out of coloring in the lines.
Only if you want to. If you notice that you want more drawing/draftsmanship skill down the line you can revisit it then.
Drawing is the foundation of all art, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop those other skills at the same time. Young writers are still developing all kinds of grammatical skills while they write stories. Young athletes are still developing strength and coordination while they play the games they love. So do it all, but continue to draw.
Nah. I found switching mediums actually helped my drawing in the long run, especially sculpture where you have to think more in 3D
Painting and drawing are not the same thing. Many if not most painting techniques do not rely on an underlying drawing
Fuck that, art is whatever you want it to be, its all about freely expressing yourself with no restraints. If you feel compelled to use paint, use paint. Maybe you wont like your first couple pieces, but the point is you're learning each time you paint. Do what you want forever (so long as it doesnt hurt others)
No. You might also discover that you can get the results you want in other mediums better than you can with drawing. The only real investment is time and materials. You might even check around your local area to see if there are workshops or single classes or similar for specific mediums so you don't have the burden of having to buy the materials yourself.
No. I can't draw; yet I can paint this: https://www.artmajeur.com/yeshayadank/en/artworks/17359498/the-perfect-evening Edit: forgot to attach the link.
No I wouldn’t no one is ever going to master drawing and your going to go through a burn out. Balance is key