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I’m not sure why we’re telling someone not to get better. There is a younger AD on my team who is great at it and it’s made her an even more valuable asset.
All of my time not spent in meetings is in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Being able to comp up ideas quickly is important. Having the tools of the trade down pat gives you more time to think about what you want to achieve and spend less time trying to figure out how to do it. I’m not dismissing fine art, just pointing out that if you have a passion for fine art, graphic design is not necessarily the way to get there. Don’t let anyone tell you you need to be able to draw well to be a designer. If you have a passion for it though you should do it.
I got a huge ah-ha revelation from Dr Betty Edwards’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which turns drawing into a scientific, learnable skill rather than a mystical art. You’ll be surprised at how the explanations and exercises in that book may reframe your approach!
Rising Star
When the lockdown is over, take life drawing classes every week. If you can draw the human body well, you can draw anything. Plus it’s fun. There are online versions you can try too. But IRL with someone running the class and giving guidance is the best.
In the meantime you could follow this account on insta. It has life drawing models in tons of poses you can use to practice. @croquiscafe And this account has tips and tutorials. @willwestonstudio
Chief
Curious as to why you feel this skill is as necessary as you do? I definitely sketch to communicate ideas and am fortunate enough to be able to do this well. But beyond rough sketches It has not been a game changing skill. At least nothing that I feel I need to hone further in order to stay relevant.
Certainly not trying to talk you out of it. It is a great skill to have and something you can always improve upon. I think it can help set you apart from others in your line of work, but it won’t make or break. I know many great creatives that do not possess this skill and are doing just fine.
So I’m a student, so I maybe wrong about this. But, based on job postings and comments on Fishbowl, I see the Art Director role becoming one where you have to be good at thinking of ideas and executing them as well since budgets and time frames are getting smaller. I mean the last interview I had, they really wanted me to know after effects really well since they were a small creative team. So now, apart from drawing, I’m trying to learn simple animation skills as well.
Definitely some good content on Skillshare, I've done a few tutorials for concept/environment art that were super helpful.
And yes it's not a required skill for an AD but go for it, it's helped me communicate an idea numerous times.
Life drawing classes will go a mile
Other than perhaps composition, drawing is not a skill needed by designers nowadays. Marker comps and sketches are dead. Story boarding is a separate career. If you want to learn for fun go for it, Skillshare is a great resource.
Honestly, grab some basic cartooning books. Just being able to draw simple, line-art storyboards in cartoon form is a huge plus. Then leave to real finished art to people who’ve been doing it since their childhoods.
Buy Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
I've got friends that are very accomplished ADs, CDs, CGI, and motion designers. They're all shit at drawing. Don't worry too much about this skill.
But, knowing how to draw well is a nice skill to have for fun.
If you are looking for drawing skills to simply sketch up ideas, I agree that books like How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way can give you the basics of drawing from scratch.
However, There is a quicker way. Trace. Do that enough and soon you’ll be able to sketch it without tracing.
If u you our looking for abilities beyond tracing them courses and a lot of practice are going to be needed.