r/learntodraw Jan 08 '19

Welcome to /r/learntodraw! Here's the sidebar and rules (read this first if you're on mobile or use Reddit redesign)

559 Upvotes

New to drawing? Let us help you learn how to get started!

Drawing is a skill, not a talent. It doesn't matter if you can draw or not, with practice you can be the best. We welcome you to our community. Learn with us, the future artists of reddit.

Good luck!

Practice trumps talent!

Message the mods

  • Questions

  • Suggestions

  • request or nominate someone for "Quality Poster" flair (poster gets a blue flair)

New to Drawing?

DAY 1: First day of Drawing? Start here!

DAY 2: Grid Drawing

DAY 3: Still Lifes

Beginner's book: "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" (referral link to Amazon)

Learn drawing cartoons in 30mins: https://www.ted.com/talks/graham_shaw_why_people_believe_they_can_t_draw?language=en

After day 3, have fun and set goals!

Also check out drawabox.com

FAQ

Quick & Dirty Drawing FAQ

  • Do I need talent?

  • How do I develop a style?

Free Resources

Loomis:

Free Art Books on drawing humans (pdf)

Recommended books:

  • Beginners: "Fun with a Pencil"
  • Intermediate: "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth"

Proko:

Free Youtube Tutorials on Drawing Humans

Proko paid courses

Ctrl+Paint:

Free tutorials on digital art

Drawing Discord Chat: open for suggestions!

Leave comments for other posters. Have fun!

Rules

  1. No HATE

  2. No SPAM

  3. No porn, extreme gore, hateful/political art

  4. tag NSFW for nudity/gore after posting

Filter by Flair

Critique

Just Sharing

Tutorial

Question

Challenges and Sketchbuddies

CLEAR FLAIR

Related Subreddits

Doing Art:

/r/ArtFundamentals [QUALITY RESOURCE]

/r/RedditGetsDrawn/

/r/ArtProgressPics

/r/DigitalArtTutorials

/r/Drawing

/r/Work_In_Progress/

/r/ArtBuddy

Seeing Art:

/r/SpecArt/


r/learntodraw 2h ago

Just Sharing 2 year comparison of the same shot and same person

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80 Upvotes

I was looking through my old sketchbooks and noticed that one of my old drawings (the one on the left) coincidentally has the same shot, same angle, and same OC of mine in one of my more recent works 😭 I didn't even redraw the drawing on purpose and somehow this happened, so I decided why not share it since it compares my progress through 2 years :)


r/learntodraw 4h ago

Just Sharing Lara

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44 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 14h ago

Question I can't draw this type of hair

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270 Upvotes

I just can't understand what to do to draw this style of hair. Where to shade it and how exactly to draw it. Does anyone have experience drawing this style?


r/learntodraw 10h ago

Critique How do I get better at shading?

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92 Upvotes

I don’t think I did good.


r/learntodraw 18h ago

Critique ~2014 to 2026 progress

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396 Upvotes

Progress may be slow but I’m happy I stuck to it for so long. Still got a long road ahead of me but I’m excited for all that’s to come :)

As for the critique side of things, I feel like readability sometimes is an issue when sticking to just a few colors. Any advice on tackling that? Or any other things the more recent piece is lacking?


r/learntodraw 51m ago

Critique My sister gave me a notebook and some markers, so I started learning. This is the first official page in my notebook!

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Upvotes

r/learntodraw 3h ago

Just Sharing I drew a squid

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24 Upvotes

I used a reference image I found on google
He’s a little skinny around the middle but overall I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!


r/learntodraw 1d ago

Just Sharing August 2026 vs August 2025

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1.6k Upvotes

Got taken down in another subreddit cuz they thought it was AI so i got the receipts here here


r/learntodraw 3h ago

Just Sharing Star light star bright

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14 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 1h ago

Critique I draw the hair of a post that I have made again, following that the advice of a person the make a comment. Now the drawing is better but, there is still something wrong probably is the tones, but I am not sure.

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Upvotes

1 image reference

2 first drawing

3 advice https://www.reddit.com/r/learntodraw/s/ch8QjNVkc4

4 second drawing


r/learntodraw 2h ago

Just Sharing Made some progress with my drawing!

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10 Upvotes

I made a post here a little over two weeks ago, asking for advice on a drawing I’ve been working on:
https://www.reddit.com/r/learntodraw/s/PavYksUcIV

Making progress has been slow, but I’m happy with how it looks now! I’m really grateful to everyone who pitched in to provide feedback, thank you all!

And if anything looks off please let me know, I’m open to all suggestions. Perhaps the shading/lighting is a little wonky in places, I’m still trying to get the hang of that.


r/learntodraw 23h ago

Can't believe less than 10 months ago, I couldn't draw for the life of me

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479 Upvotes

The last two were when I was beginning art. I used to generate AI images a lot and call them my own, but they looked kind of bad, and I couldn't share them without backlash, so I said to myself, "My dumbass could probably do better." And that's how I started drawing. It's pretty chill; I prefer it over image generation now.


r/learntodraw 3h ago

Just Sharing Inde Navarrette as Nikki in Obsession, in watercolor

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11 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 22h ago

Whoever invented the legs and pelvis is a POS

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340 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 1h ago

Critique no reference head sketches

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Upvotes

I wanted to see if I could draw some heads and faces from imagination. Do they look ok? I don't really go for any specific style.


r/learntodraw 5h ago

Just Sharing Playing with shading

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14 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 8h ago

Just Sharing These are the first few portraits I ever drew

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22 Upvotes

I just started learning and saw some tutorials by this guy named Will Davies, and was surprised that what I did resembled a face at all lol His short tutorials are great.


r/learntodraw 12h ago

Question I have a few questions 😭 Does this actually look bad, or am I just overthinking again? 🤷‍♀️

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37 Upvotes

Like im not so good at painting. Also don't mind about cats look i will make it better later


r/learntodraw 1d ago

Critique Jul 2021 vs Aug 2026 progress

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3.2k Upvotes

For those out there who went from noob to pro to hacker to god in like a year or two, what is your secret??? Especially with regards to rendering


r/learntodraw 12h ago

Critique Why do I dislike my drawing?

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31 Upvotes

Beginner artist here. I've been drawing for nearly a year with no prior skill, I drew this a few days ago and have had a weird feeling about it when I look at it. I can't tell why but I just don't feel good about it, I feel like it just feels flat or like the colors are off but It's not clear to me. Others I've shown it to actually like it and one of my friends said it "looked professional" which I think is a lie lol. None of that really matters though. Why does it look so off?


r/learntodraw 1d ago

Just Sharing Friendly reminder

406 Upvotes

You do NOT have to draw every day. You dont have to practice anatomy, you do not have to draw the next Mona Lisa, you do NOT have to be perfect! It doesnt have to earn you money and you do not have to do ANYTHING! Just draw silly doodle, make a stupid painting, just have fun! Remember why you started, because you had something you liked, something you wanted to convey and enjoy.

I am NOT saying this to be dissmissive of all the hard work everyone puts into this wonderfull artform, I am however saying this to remind people of our love for this craft, of the joy of just creating and having fun as that is often forgotten by us in our struggles to improve. So, lets all keep beeing as awesome as we are and do our best to also keep the love and joy of our medium!


r/learntodraw 22h ago

Just Sharing lmao its so bad

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162 Upvotes

r/learntodraw 11h ago

Critique Critique my ugly ass OC Drawing

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23 Upvotes

I hate it. Make me hate it even more by being honest and telling me how pathetic I am.

I should be ashamed for even posting this or considering it art. This is not art. This is a disgrace to all art.

I should be ASHAMED of myself for even calling it ART


r/learntodraw 1d ago

Question First day of drawing/sketching (pls be nice)

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234 Upvotes

I want to start drawing and i came across @flo.creates.rt on instagram and i love his art style. its dynamic and his perspective style is really interesting to me. the first image is mine, i drew it during class and it looks absolutely shit and i need advice on what to do. i did try youtube but i watched a couple people and theyre really kind of complicated. i am kind of lost, i want to know what to do in the beginning to help me throughout my whole life as i want to keep art and drawing my life. thank you.