Ask HN: How do I learn drawing?

I have been bad at drawing my whole life, but I think drawing can improve my career as an engineer. I want to be able to illustrate my ideas when writing blog posts and documentation.

Where do I start? I have an IPad and Apple Pencil for digital drawing. I tried to learn how to draw by watching videos on Youtube and by practising a lot on my own, but I feel like I'm missing fundamentals.

I want to learn both raster and vector graphics. As it turned out, drawing complex real life objects using vector graphics is not easier.

See

https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Viz-Method-Visualization-Ideas/...

learn to maximize what you can do with Powerpoint

take art classes at a local school

artists i know, and even some of the greatest anime artists in the world frequently start with paper and pencil, scan it in and clean it up with raster tools.

if you want to make diagrams in a digital format, I'd suggest using something like graphviz rather than drawing

but, if you want to be able to draw as a skill, and be able to use that in both paper/canvas/board and digital media like a tablet

then draw every day, and if it's a diagram, ask someone if what you wanted to convey is understood or not, or if it's a picture (like a portrait or a landscape) draw it several times (can be once a day) until you (and optionally someone else) consider it "good enough" (as in, to improve upon it further, you'd really be gettin on the plateau on the curve of diminishing returns)

I think there was a Show HN where a guy learned to make realistic self-portraits in about a month or so, though maybe the skills needed to do that are not the same as the ones for making diagrams, it might interest you, depending on what you want

I realize COVID is still a thing, but consider finding a local art class. I did this a few years back and it significantly improved my drawing ability, I got direct feedback from an instructor, and the cost wasn't too high.

Many universities and community colleges have adult education programs that offer multi-week courses like this for not too much money, or you can find a local artist community.

I'm not an artist by any stretch, so take my suggestion with a grain of salt. I'm also a Linux guy so Apple-y tools are not even options for me.

Inkscape has been huge for me. It's a wonderful tool and there are great tutorials out there. My GIMP skills actually improved just by learning Inkscape, but most importantly I can create basic art for my apps by myself now.

I also got a Wacom tablet that works with Linux and I use it with Krita. Since it can emulate a mouse there are tons of other applications I can use it with, even Miro.

Designing and drawing simple logos and icons has been most rewarding for me. I'll never be able to produce amazing art since I lack the skills and talent for it, but I can handle logos pretty well now!