Destroying Bad Drawing Habits Through Observation

To those that asked me about where to start learning how to draw for animation, here's a video I made where I talk about observation skills, and how to practice it through blind contour. Observation skills allow you to study and emulate any other style, and draw many things outside of your comfort zone. In order to do that, you have to force yourself to be okay with making decisions you would never do.
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[@Slimecantdefeatme]

I've been doing blind contour drawing the last few days after watching this and its been really fun and satisfying despite them coming out crappy like you said. It takes away my drawing performance anxiety that I get a lot so I enjoy it.

[@ddlcp]

so, you enjoy crappy drawing. 3: )

[@Slimecantdefeatme]

@@ddlcp Haha I guess you could say that! But thats good, in the end drawing is just an enjoyable hobby for me. :]

[@ddlcp]

@@Slimecantdefeatme its good that this method has helped you with your performance anxiety. Personally, blind contour drawing's not for me. When it cames to any activities physical/ mental I pretty much taught myself as in when I wanted to do it & I just did it like that without the explanation of how, art being one of them. That was a while back and I recently wanted to get back into art again (also trying to learn paino on side ~ pray for me) & do it properly (back to the basics) learning fundamentals where I came across BCD (one of my previous online course ) where doing it didn't feel right despite being able to do it. I guess it comes down to how one learn things as for me I tend to more or less feel it (it's done before I know how it even went)/ immerse to an extent that whatever needs to be done's part of me to that point I can't actually explain. I've no idea what I wrote but hope you get the idea of ? I'm trying to say. If not then ~ send me some help.

[@ohboi1205]

@@ddlcp well like they said, its gonna feel weird and uncomfortable. the point is to forse ur brain to think outside the box n learn new things u would never stumble across

[@ddlcp]

@@ohboi1205 you can pretty much do that without blind contour drawing

[@StrattonDraws]

Forcing those H A P P Y A C C I D E N T S

[@bigtimbolim]

This is what I'm doing for the rest of today. Lockdown has an upside! I've never improved so quickly as in these past 4 days.

[@ddlcp]

Honestly , I personally thinks it more to do with practice & believing yourself in general rather then this specific technique

[@phipsart6424]

can you express what exactly you learned?

[@toastedclosure2770]

so *this* is how modern art is made

[@Scout555]

@@shinchanthebest that’s the whole history of art purchasing and commissions once others have the power to manipulate and monetize taste.

[@dumebiafran1180]

How do you stay consistent in the size of a character when animating, it’s so hard.

[@savannahlevy97]

Keyframes help with that. Usually the size will get messed up if you just make frames as you go without keying.

[@dumebiafran1180]

Sleepy Pup thanks

[@xanethebacon]

Creating a model sheet and knowing how different body parts line up with each other is also super helpful! Maybe not what I'd say for just a pencil test, but if staying on model is what you want, that's what I'd recommend!

[@TonikoPantoja]

Also keep flipping between your drawings back and forth, and track every arc and spancing. In my inbetween demo I made a couple years back I use the dot to dot method, but there are methods like place n trace which I should do a demo of sometime

[@dumebiafran1180]

Thank you all.😊

[@farrahr2599]

My art teacher has been having us do blind at school. She never explained it out to us as well as you did, so most of us kinda of dissed it. Thank you for giving me a new outlook on it.

[@marcomarte6588]

I remember reading a natural way to draw and saw this exercise in lesson 1, i thought it was ridiculously hard and completely unnecessary. I tried it out for a while and it was frustrating as shit, you had to stretch out the drawing for 30 mins and sometimes an hour! I thought i was just being looney by tackling this exercise, its refreshing to see someone else doing it and now i wanna do it again. Great video as always!

[@watchvids7802]

Can I ask, if you've attempted the exercise again - what did you learn from it?

[@95Grumple]

later on in that book there's a 5 hour contour drawing exercise, don't think I'll ever try that

[@Ranarr]

​@@watchvids7802 The Natural Way to Draw has some great exercises, and though I don't recommend all of them, contour and blind contour are great sensitivity exercises. Drawing comes down to being able to see honestly and having the ability to understand beyond that. To answer your question it's sensitivity, the ability to see honestly, and two things that aren't really thought of: Because of how slow you move in blind contour, you build this ability to go deep, to focus so intensely you sweat, and to keep it up for 30-180m. It's incredibly helpful for drawing and for life. You feel these waves of distraction slam into your consciousness while you slowly contour your pillow 2am in the morning because COVID. Hope that helps. :)

[@AdriOfTheDead]

I have a blind drawing that I did in high school for an assignment and it's one of the best things I've ever drawn; I've become so nitpicky over my art now that I think it's time for a few blind drawing exercises haha

[@chaddhaji1407]

Now I understand, I was doing blind contour drawing my whole life.

[@daniellopespvh2]

this abstract exercise is so entertaining

[@calmryu9446]

Thanks for the video, i actually heard about this method but never really understood why people do it, just seemed like a waste of time, but now i think it's great! Like, the result is probably gonna be terrible and it kinda teaches you to not expect a masterpiece from every drawing i guess? Gotta try it Also, you made an interesting point about learning art and that for example. bridgeman techniques will not work for someone like Toulouse-Lautrec. I think this needs to be said more often on youtube because i feel like everyone is talking about methodes that HAVE an expected outcome at the end but the thing is, the process of learning could not be as fun for everyone. I think it's important to find your own ways of interpreting things and learning, it's okay to be inspired by how others learn but remember to stay true to yourself, just pick like small parts of your favorite artists' teaching techniques and mix them up. Sorry for my english, it not the best but i had a lot of problems in the past months when i have been forcing myself to learn something certain way even if it didn' t bring me joy. Now I'm trying to make the process enjoyable so art is actually fun to me and at the same time i learn something. Your videos are awesome

[@Artenesama]

Great inspirational comment!

[@megg.6651]

THANK YOU! I have been looking for a good video to show my students during "virtual" school days. So many drawing videos are TERRIBLE - I have been teaching art for 25 years and you are spot on!

[@rodrigosandes8323]

your videos inspire me so much to work everytime you upload i literally go to my chair and start sketching and having new ideas

[@ericspace121]

BAD HABITS DESTROYED WITH FACTS AND OBSERVATION

[@donutcare6929]

omg!!! thank you for sharing this. i really love this method because it force me to not care about my drawing but more on the feel of it

[@drewby4701]

You're a great teacher, man! Thank you dearly for the work you put into sharing your knowledge for free here on KZbin and making such a big impact on many's artistic journey!

[@artwithoggs8210]

0:08 i loved that bit of animation in Clarence! The whole show has great animation but that particular part just seemed a lot more fluid. So cool to know that you had a part in it

[@clairelouise355]

I just recently found your videos and they're wonderful and inspiring! I learned these techniques in art school and I will sometimes take a sketchbook out and about and draw anything I see using these techniques as well the quick drawing and not taking pen off the paper etc. Your explanation of the exercise it is spot on though and I found it really helpful to hear the reminder of why we do these exercises and where the focus should be. Also the freeing up to let yourself make mistakes is so important too. The worst though is when you take a sketchbook out and people want to take a look at your work. Thank you so much for these tutorials.

[@dr.heinzdoofenshmirtz7392]

This is so interresting and a very helpful method, thank you so much for sharing this with us !

[@RedGallardo]

That really improves my skill! Anything I draw after that looks so much better! Almost as if I actually needed to look at what I'm drawing to produce anything good =P

[@insanenikral7011]

Wavelengths brooooooo I recently started doing quick blind drawing (along with one line and negative shape only) before my Figuary sessions as eye to hand warmups So it's fun to see a recent video about blind contour and it's positive applications

[@jackysew262]

Thanks for pointing my bad habit! This video indeed make me to embrace myself from making mistake, and through my surprise, I can really draw more detail which I have never been!

[@dreadlordentertainment5533]

Really great video! I'll definitely be setting aside time for some much needed practice of this drawing skill.

[@saryenn]

Thank you so much for your wonderful videos they have been so useful to me in making progress in drawing. You're a very good teacher.

[@eltmb7945]

“ reference.sketchdaily.net ” the references to draw

[@wekky420ranarr]

wow this is useful, thanks for sharing

[@eltmb7945]

@@wekky420ranarr no problem :D

[@eltmb7945]

@@TamarMebonia indeed!

[@barabara9855]

I love this website. I've been using it for a while and it got me into figure drawing

[@chocolateicecream6995]

also quickposes.com/en and line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/

[@vexper974]

This is how i do my animation, its amazing how positive accidents happened like a small movement of shoulder and elbow makes animation fluid and lifelike

[@coreyl8261]

I thought I was going to get frustrated trying this but it's fun to look at the paper when I'm done and see what weird amalgamation of contour shapes I have created. It's easy to tell when my eyes and hand are synced up drawing like this.

[@cutegodzilla2909]

Did this after this video and the improvement I felt was huge even tho it was small on paper

[@laurewinkelmans9501]

Thank you so much for your lessons. I really want to improve my drawing skills and your videos are very helpful and motivating.

[@xbererror5088]

Thank you for this! I’m definitely gonna start doing this

[@dudebuster1842]

1:17 - Video Start --------- 1:33 - What is Blind Contour Drawing - Drawing a subject without looking at you drawing. - Teaches hand eye cordination. Training the eye & Hand to work together -Unlock observatoin skills, forces yo uto dismiss memorized symbols & methods for drawing - Eliminates bad drawing habits - Not meant to produce good drawing ---------------------------- 4:04 - How to practice contour drawing 5:25 - How should one draw blind contour

[@locochavo4560]

Great vid! Very helpful to do as a beginner artist along with construction!

[@dannamunaylla9482]

I love your work

[@LivTheWiz]

I did this in my intro to drawing class last spring. Mostly drew a lot of still life though instead of models (reserved for a separate figure drawing class) Was pretty decent at it but stopped the pratice after I passed the class. Guess I'll get back to it!

[@dainjerred]

continues to bring me out of my funk, thanks again!! nothing but fantastic videos!!!

[@nyctilia]

That’s a really cool exercise! I have to do that more often.

[@jonny56254]

Hello fellow artist, as a self taught artist that tried teaching my self how to draw I would remember sometimes catching my self drawing without looking at the paper only the reference. I was improving but I didn’t know why I was, I tried figuring out why I was getting better and I came to the conclusion that it all depends on one’s observations then with the coordination of you’re hand. This is the skill that will make you go pro but you will have to put in Many countless hours of practice you guys will get good!👍

[@izixhizixh]

imma practice this

[@fenrir-art4742]

Nice. Thank you for the information.

[@leopandabear532]

Ya know I only did it for a few hours but it really helped like I felt so much less stressed when I was sketching and it felt like I was looking at the ref a bit netter

[@green_quadrix]

Your the best!😁🥰 Thank you very much!!

[@Snaaaaap]

Have to go back go doing the contour drawing exercises again. Being bummed out for a long time made me forget about it.

[@Vanyx1000]

thank you

[@asosi_art]

Omg thank you so much so helpful

[@jabbablade1884]

I think this is great idea, i will definitely try it out and hope i will improve :)

[@pistoluity]

Sounds like I could draw every time at the same spot and I would get the same results, I would prefer this because I wouldn't be affraid to reach the edges. Nonetheless, this is a clever way to focus very hard on the reference to strengthen my visual library instead of just peeking at it.

[@rakeesfrazier3928]

Thanks so much

[@AymanAntri7]

BR your video gave me some sort of divination lmao. Seriously thank you, this solves one of the biggest obstacles to improve drawing which is embracing mistakes.

[@TheLightFantasticArt]

Many of those drawings actually turn out pretty interesting.

[@yukicbirdy2487]

Thank you so much Toniko Pantoja. I can draw again! I'm serious. My lines were always so scratchy. But I'm truly thankful for this video. 5/5 10/10 And infinity and beyond! Oki sorry got a little carried away haha. >w< Thanks

[@ice7512]

A really good thing to help you draw what you see is to try drawing the wrinkles on your hand for 5 to 30 minutes without looking at your page. It will help you learn to see shapes. It also helps you realise that drawing from observation accurately is learning when to and how to check your page while drawing something.

[@ArvensisAndromeda]

I like doing blind contours, lowering the opacity, and drawing the thing again taking shapes and gestures from both the shit contour and the subject that you now know a little better. Makes for easy drawing ^^

[@nexusgalaxy9249]

I completely forgot about this, feels good to make mistakes and get rid of those bad habits

[@gitselld]

After learning this, what is the best next technique to learn? I really loved this technique. Basically everything is possible to draw with it . I haven't found what I should learn next yet

[@phyzarel1845]

Most people try so hard to make a 5 minute video into a 10 minute video with filler... this whole damn video was just the nitty gritty and I’m scared 😂😂😂

[@bharl7226]

I think this will ask kai be great for warming up and easing the stress of trying to draw things right all the time. One question I have is is there any value in saving the nonsense drawings I create with this exercise? I would want to delete them, because I obsessively keep all my practice drawing work to study and review later, but these seem like they would be wasteful to keep cluttering my hard drive.

[@timsam4564]

I feel like I have relied so much on reference due to the traditional art background that I can't make characters for boards. Any advice for that?

[@timsam4564]

@DavM Ive done a lot more research recently and a lot of what Ive heard of what drawing from imagination is purely having a good visual library of what the object is and then being able to draw it well. Due to most of what I want to get into is story boarding Ive been watching ethan becker and most people push having a reference. I just wonder at this point if its not having a good mental library of what I want to draw. I also say that , because Proko has strong construction and perspective yet imagination is also the understanding of an object. So Im not overly too sure, but brushing over fundamentals again is never a bad idea.

[@logankuhl5934]

Why are you so underrated?

[@william_f2765]

where did you get these amazing photo references ?

[@oversouldrekon2623]

i tried doing this once and damn lol there was less pressure in me cuz i was just focusing on the reference instead of my drawing

[@vino92838]

Can you please suggest a good anatomy course/books for beginners. Thanks :)

[@brianchoi9047]

Hello I came across this video I’m a beginner at art. I don’t go to school for this but I really have a dream, I’ve been doing it everyday I am getting better but it looks terrible I’m almost lost at if I should study anatomy and it clicked to me that I feel like I’m not observing correctly. I really want to learn how to observe but when I look at this type of practice which btw I never hurd of is this really a good way to practice? If it looks bad every time how would I know if I made any progress? If my blind drawing looks better is that improvement or am I really just looking at the photo and training my eyes more than my hands.

[@sky5d]

what name does he say at 21:40? i've been searching but i can't figure out how it's spelled.

[@adkinsy85]

I'm having hard time in face expression first create vector portrait then animate it

[@jenbraga9372]

My favorite 18:09

[@kdsm6424]

Imma try doing this in my bed at night Sleep is for the week anyways

[@frasiersdead]

i use the auto subtitles and it comes up with the funniest stuff bc it cant figure out your name ig this one was "sneak up into uh"

[@linttastic]

Is blind contour only recommended for life studies or can it be used to study other people's work? I often hear that blind contour is meant for getting better at anatomy so I wonder if it's effective by looking at other artists' styles

[@TonikoPantoja]

Yeah it can, because blind contour forces you to look only at whatever subject you're looking at, and not subconsciously resort to drawing habits

[@markdavesolidumcastro3916]

3 weeks i start drawing and im boring how i practice

[@thesilverunicorn9384]

i just did this for the first time right now .

[@iampotato4669]

How did it go?

[@thesilverunicorn9384]

@@iampotato4669it was Ok

[@ego-pt7vt]

Anyone have any tips on not getting bumped out by outher amazing work😞

[@user-pt5cl2ro6f]

Instead of pulling yourself down, try thinking "I wonder when I'll be able to do that too!" Or something instead of thinking that you'll never become like that because it's stupid to think that when you yourself know that the artist work hard to be where they are. I reprimand myself because😅 it felt offending when I think about how I'm thinking that the artist didn't struggle on the artwork. Every artist move forward, learn more and it *never* stops, I promise you, because the worst thing you could do as an artist is be complacent on where you are and just *stop*. Don't lose hope because it's literally impossible to not improve when you have love and passion for something. Never turn your back on what the professionals say could help you to improve(like fundamentals and stuff), but you don't have to follow every tip and tricks, just keep them in mind and come back to them if you're stuck and you think they can help. This, of course, only applies if you're willing to improve. Hope for a good and fun journey ahead of you(cuz learning new stuff about art really makes me happy and I hope it works for you too), you won't regret it.

[@hayapatel_]

It's hard but, start comparing yourself and your drawings to your past self instead of with others. Seeing your own improvement throughout time is really motivational :) other artists will always be there, and you might feel intimidated by how good they are, but remember you can get there too--it is quite literally just a matter of keeping good and constant practice. Also remember everyone grows at different paces so don't worry if you think you're going too fast or too slow--set your goals and just keep focus on that. Another thing to consider is doing studies of artwork made by your favorite artists. It can probably help you learn something new and open up more paths of creativity. Studies are not copies, they're what the name implies--you observe their work and try figuring out their process, then recreate it on your own. Doesn't even have to look the same tbh, as long as you feel like you have figured out the essence of their work. This will also help you create the mindset of "wow, these artists can teach me so much" rather than "wow, these artists are so much better than me, I can't do anything".

[@ddlcp]

focus on your journey/ process not the destination that doesn't exist, or just use the destination as an inspiration by incorporation that in yourself with trial and error offcourse .

[@julianajackson4943]

Can i touch the paper to see where am I going?

[@wakabaloola]

Somehow I expected blind contour drawing to produce less rigid and more free gestures and shapes

[@marc13bautista]

How do I do this with a mouse or anything without a tablet/penn.

[@Lucia-uk4jq]

Draw on paper

[@user-pt5cl2ro6f]

@@Lucia-uk4jq 😂👌

[@ddlcp]

get to basic

[@1010otep]

just a question, is this applicable to beginner non-animators?

[@TonikoPantoja]

Absolutely, especially if you are learning how to draw!

[@ddlcp]

also as he said its a tool - one of many so, its not absolute

[@IkkoArts]

YOOO MEGAMAN VOLNUTT

[@robertjv]

I have a habit of drawing character designs with using extra outlines I don't need

[@essdeecard]

Hmmmm... maybe I can do this.

[@robertjv]

I have a habit of sketching so loose to the point my pen just draws unnecessary outlines

[@anormalandnon-suspiciousbo5290]

0:08 omg IS THAT FROM *CLARENCE* ?

[@rafone3026]

im doing great, my drawing looks alot like yours when you are not looking. So I guess i can skip this tip

[@leserbeacerbe6910]

I am fucking perfectionnist but I will practice to erase that flaw

[@leewseea]

i just try it and i think i just created some sort of mythical creature

[@xavierk5226]

I L O V E T H IS

[@phanieachiaabonsu6413]

Observation's my strongest forte. But it's not easy Please name all the shows you animated

[@milkduds9148]

He did the rough animation for an episode of Clarence, the video is on his website. But that's the only one I know of

[@ddlcp]

@@milkduds9148 Clarence? never herd of it

[@AdaptaniumArt]

Its a mag. Not a clip.

[@maskaron5695]

All I see are Picasso's finest

[@cnash5647]

*IF you even have one to start with...*

[@cowseye]

this is how picasso draws

[@alternatives3379]

I still am not sure what the purpose of this is and how it helps with animation :/

[@TonikoPantoja]

even after i tried to explain it in the beginning?

[@alternatives3379]

@@TonikoPantoja I'll watch the beginning again

[@alternatives3379]

@@TonikoPantoja well, you say that it helps the observational skill, but I don't understand how... I like to see how other people draw, or how things are in reality, I use references, etc and that's how I get over these "stuck ideas" of thinking that the nose should be drawn only like this, for example. But in order to do that, I have to see what im drawing and what im doing wrong, that's how I fix it. By not seeing my drawing and ending up with something messy, I don't think I'll be able to point out my mistakes (since there will be a lot). However, I might try blind contour drawing, for fun and out of curiosity

[@TonikoPantoja]

@@alternatives3379 A major part of 2d animation is drawing, and if you want to be able to draw in different styles for different animation productions, strong observation skills can help study these other styles and emulate it. The point of blind contour is to really force and teach you how to observe what you're looking at without going back to the safety of what you think you know about drawing

[@alternatives3379]

@@TonikoPantoja aham, okay, thank you for your answer. I will try it out. Have a good day!

[@MarioGarcia-ef3qf]

Bruh I get mad annoyed and mad when I draw (graffiti) in particular and I notice some letters are wider/bigger than the others or when I run of space on the paper I’m drawing on. Any recommendations or tips on those problems

[@c3rberussd0gg06]

Me : watching p*rn My excuse : relax just observing.

[@jafetmarin7161]

So basically gather data and review then repeat like an A.I. would do 👍

[@SynthLizard8]

I gotta say, this is a very unappealing method.

[@encouraginglyauthentic43]

Yeah if you aren't creative.

[@SynthLizard8]

@@encouraginglyauthentic43 and why exactly would that be?

[@encouraginglyauthentic43]

@@SynthLizard8 Creatives push boundaries and go outside of what is appealing.

[@SynthLizard8]

@@encouraginglyauthentic43 Hang on a second because you contradicted yourself. So me calling this method "unappealing" makes me uncreative and yet creatives accept that this is unappealing and do it anyways. Hmm, I think you just don't like that I don't like this method.

[@encouraginglyauthentic43]

@@SynthLizard8 I didn't contradict myself. Instead of making assumptions ask questions to understand my intent. If you asked me what I meant before, then you would be able to use my explanation to prove my contradiction.