Ask HN: Anyone here have good material for learning how to sketch from scratch?

The free Proko videos on YouTube are not bad as well -- maybe a good place to turn once you have a few of the basics in hand -- in particular, the artistic anatomy videos are helpful if you get into drawing humans.

In regards to digital art, I recommend the opposite. A sketchbook and a few pencils can be had for far less than the cost of a drawing tablet or iPad, and the physicality of drawing with analog material is, for some of us at least, part of the appeal.

Lastly, try to draw every day: from life, from memory, from imagination. Take whatever classes appeal, for sure... but in the end, the time you put in, drawing things that interest you visually, is what really makes the difference in the long run.

This was my introduction to drawing. You will not be disappointed. Drawing from Bargue's lithographs will teach you technique, and taste.

You could see projection types or technical drawing books/methods.

I suck at drawing 3D with perspective, but with a cheap isometric projection you can draw open spaces fairly easy (ofc there are more perspectives, but for game map sketching, its pretty useful). The main benefit is that you have measured AXIS, so if you dont have the skill to draw a 3D stair, just remember that its a slope between a perpendicular plane.

You can draw 3D functions/shapes this way. There are special methods for some shapes. https://www.compuphase.com/axometr.htm

You could make it even more cheap by using aproximations to the isometric perspective (ex: use 30° from the horizontal line) and rejecting realist proportions: 1) Grab a square grid paper 2) Set a center point, this will be (0,0) 3) Draw a line segment from (0,0) to (2,1), this is your X axis. 4) Repeat the same for the other direction, the Y axis, from (0,0) to (-2,1). Now you have an horizontal plane. 5)Draw a vertical line from (0,0) to (0,2), for the Z vertical axis This is the "cheap" iso projection.

TL;DR When you have Axis, measures and ratios are your friends.

Oh oh! I got a recommendation as someone who learnt how to draw from scratch using online resources only. It does however break your requirement of using something like udemy.

Brent Eviston’s course, The art and science of drawing, starts from the basics of how to draw lines and moves its way through measuring, 3d forms, contours, and then into shading and finally gesture followed by full sketches. Follow it fully and you’ll have enough experience by the end of the shading course to start working on other courses too. That latter point is the best part; the fundamentals give you the ability to know how to pick up more skills from other classes.

This is how I would work through it if I was doing from scratch

Complete the basic skills class - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Basic-Skills-Getting-Star...

Complete dynamic mark making - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Dynamic-Mark-Making-Drawi...

Move on to 3d forms - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Form-Space-3D-Drawing-Per...

Contours - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Contours-Drawing-with-Com...

Measuring and proportions (this one can be done in parallel with the 3d form class once you get to chapter 6) - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Measuring-Proportion-Draw...

At this point you can start to work through drawabox - https://drawabox.com/ . Some people recommend this as a start, but honestly, if you are starting from scratch it can be hard to know if you are doing things right. The previous courses will give fundamentals to actually enjoy drawabox

Meanwhile, keep progressing on Brent’s courses

Fundamentals of shading - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Shading-Fundamentals-Draw...

Shading beyond basics - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Shading-Beyond-the-Basics...

If you have time you can pick up the figure drawing in parallel since you don’t do shading at that point.

Intro to figure drawing - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Gesture-An-Introduction-t...

Measuring for figure drawing - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Measuring-Proportion-for-...

Finally , volumetric figure drawing - https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Volume-Structure-Learn-th...

Notably absent from all of this is landscape drawing. Landscape drawing is a different beast depending on how you want to approach it. If you just want to sketch with a pen, the skills you pick up by the time you do the measuring and proportions class of Brent’s will be enough to let you go into any city scape and observe the area and draw. Learning how to let go of certain details and add your expression is a very individual choice so at that point, you can look out for certain artists and study their work to choose what works for you.

Also notably absent from all of this is colour. That’s because colour doesn’t matter without fundamental understanding of form and light in black and white. For this, there are many amazing courses in proko’s online library. Marco Bucci has amazing material. And if you want to do digital painting, Ahmed Aldoori has a lot of stuff.

Basically after you pick up the fundamentals, the choice of courses opens up and each course will teach something new. But without those fundamentals, the value of those classes is hard to absorb.

Feel free to mail me if you want more info or want to chat :)

It’s practice and learning. Drawing is just rendering volumes as shapes. You learn first how the process works, then practice to adjust your motor skills. I’ve been drawing on and off since I was 8. I’m 26 now and I’m just decent. The above is what will really help you. Like what is the form of the eye, and what would be its shape from that angle. Then If you can draw any geometric shape accurately (by comparing line length and angle), you can draw the eye.