Best Drawing Exercises - Asking Pros

In the third installment of my Asking Pros series, I ask 17 professional artists about the best drawing exercises. Subscribe to Proko: bit.ly/SubProko
If you feel like you’ve hit a wall with your art, try some of these drawing exercises. A lot of these will be covered more in-depth in the upcoming Drawing Basics course.
Thumbnail Art by Marshall Vandruff
Related Links:
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Comic-Con Part 2: • Drawing Advice for Stu...
Comic-Con Part 4: • Daily Routine of Succe...
Thanks again to all the artists that participated:
Marshall Vandruff: www.marshallart.com/
Caleb Cleveland: / calebisdrawing
Chrissie Zullo: / chrissiezullo
Stephen Silver: www.silvertoons.com/
Sanford Greene: / sanfordgreene
Ross Tran: / rossdraws
Bobby Chiu: / bobbychiu
James Douglas: / moderndayjames
Ron Lemen: lemenaid.com/
Marcelo Matere: / marcelomatere
Eliza Ivanova: / eleeza
Peter Han: / peterhanstyle
Mike Hayes: / michael_c_hayes
Howard Shum: / howardshum
Patrick Ballesteros: patrickballesteros.com/
Victor Olazaba: / olazaba.inkworks
Hai-Na-Nu Saulque: nooligan.com/
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CREDITS:
Host | Producer - Stan Prokopenko (www.stanprokopenko.com),
Production Assistance - Sean Ramsey (www.peoplewhodrawstuff.com), Brandon Storer, Charlie Nicholson
Editing - Sean Ramsey, Stan Prokopenko
Artists Interviewed - Marshall Vandruff (www.marshallart.com/), Caleb Cleveland ( / calebisdrawing , Chrissie Zullo ( / chrissiezullo , Stephen Silver (www.silvertoons.com/), Sanford Greene ( / sanfordgreene , Ross Tran ( / rossdraws , Bobby Chiu ( / bobbychiu , James Douglas ( / moderndayjames , Ron Lemen (lemenaid.com/), Marcelo Matere ( / marcelomatere , Eliza Ivanova ( / eleeza , Peter Han ( / peterhanstyle , Mike Hayes ( / michael_c_hayes , Howard Shum ( / howardshum , Patrick Ballesteros (patrickballesteros.com/), Victor Olazaba ( / olazaba.inkworks , Hai-Na-Nu Saulque (nooligan.com/).
About Proko:
Instructional How to Draw videos for artists. My drawing lessons are approachable enough for beginners and detailed enough for advanced artists. My philosophy is to teach timeless concepts in an entertaining way. I believe that when you are having fun, you learn better. I take pride in producing high quality videos that you will enjoy watching and re-watching.
#drawingexercises #ArtVlog #Sketching

[@ProkoTV]

Which of these exercises are you gonna try? Do you have other suggestions for good exercises? Share the knowledge!

[@shubhamsaharan6023]

Proko sure sir... This will help me in designing

[@NikhilYadav-hn6oz]

Proko I'm definitely going to draw boxes everyday

[@elfdrow6679]

Proko - probably going to need to draw more boxes. and breakdowns of basic figures. my problem is that I started to ink for a friend's comic. so detail and shadows is not an issue. but foreshortening and dynamic poses... that is been killing me for years. I'm still trying to figure out how to shake that block of "movement" and keep proportions right.

[@Agiranto]

In Gary Oldman's voice - Everyone!

[@tjreed7797]

Gonna draw from photos and simple shapes

[@Finity_Dust]

Can this be pinned? Tell me if I need corrections here. Exercises: 0:08 - ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA - just kidding 0:15 - Marshall Vandruff : Looking at the world and turning them into the simplest geometric volumes. Boxes, cylinders, spheres... 0:52 - Caleb Cleveland : Draw things that take you outside your comfort zone. Ex. If you prefer figurative, draw landscapes. Landscapes into caricature. Try getting more comfortable with new things. When things are getting easy, switch subjects. Try mixing up media. 2:10 Chrissie Zullo : Life drawings. People on the street, how clothes fit on people, etc... + gestures 2:50 Stephen Silver: Observation and drawing loosely. Filling up that sketchbook. Blind sketching (10 secs at start, then start looking and continue drawing). 3:37 Sanford Greene: Gesture drawing. Draw whatever. Hat, Cup, etc... Loose, free, and thoughtless drawing. Capture the idea of the subject with your gesture. 4:58 Ross Tran: Draw from life. Ex, draw a tree... try to replicate the tree in scenario where it is in space. 5:20 Bobby Chiu (Hello Schoolism!): Draw from life and draw from an artist that has the same interpretation of the subject. Then make your own interpretation. 5:43 James Douglas: Drawing straight lines... Take an imaginary cube, rotate it around (in your drawings) freehand. (Meaning you draw the same box from many different imagined angles). Then do the same exercise and draw stuff over it. This exercise is taken from a Taiwanese artist. 6:27 Ron Lemen: Do those repeated exercises like drawing circles all day, draw straight lines from thick to thin, thin to thick, draw over those lines again. Draw c curves and s-shaped curves with the same thin to thick, thick to thin exercises. This is used to practice dexterity. 7:53 Marcelo Matere: Best ones: Life drawings. Specific things like structure, how to build the figure and make it 3-Dimensional. Use solids to try the figure. 8:25 Eliza Ivanova : Gesture drawing. Variable times from 30 secs, 1 min, 3, 5, 15 min. Use whatever materials. Maybe switch them up if you are too used to one medium. 9:18 Peter Han : Perspective. Knowing how to draw boxes in space. 1 point, 2 point, 3- point. Freehand drawing a box without construction and intuitively rotating it in space. 10:05 Mike Hayes : Drawing from Life. Be aware of what you are doing and why. Think about what your doing and if you are improving at it. What skills are you working on? Have a specific goal and evaluate it every month. 11:23 Howard Shum: Gesture drawing everyday.Draw from Photos, and real life when you can. 11:50 Patrick Ballesteros: Drawing cubes and boxes out of your imagination. It's amazing to be able to draw a box in space without having to rely on perspective lines. 12:23 Victor Olazaba: Thumbnail sketches. Sketch everyday. Do quick ones. He does a lot from imagination. 13:02 Hai-na-nu Saulque: Need to be able to draw pencil to paper. Don't learn digital first. It's good to learn how to draw traditionally, and not use UNDO. Drawing pen to paper prevents you from undoing things. There is natural and curve and flow to hands with traditional media. (Wait, but what about drawing tablets that "flow with the hands"?). In Summary: Draw from observation. Do loose drawing. Do gestures. Do life Drawings. Draw things from life using simple geometric shapes. Learn how to rotate a box in space freehand. Do thumbnail sketches (for dynamic idea capturing?). Draw traditionally to improve better. Practice your line work control.

[@trentkuhn]

pin this shit

[@paulmelah7759]

I second the motion to pin the comment

[@ivogody]

third

[@Rick-rl9qq]

Fourth Srsly pin this

[@marvshtlla2181]

Fifth person to pin. or atleast make have this comment more likes.

[@BassPelaes]

I would say that one of the best things is drawing with a pen or any other unerasable media. You learn how to think about what you're drawing, how to plan ahead, how to deal with mistakes, how to have a light touch. A lot of good things learned from the simple idea that every line is a full commitment in the drawing. Keep it up Proko!

[@BassPelaes]

Jean Kirstein interesting, why not?

[@elsagrace3893]

Jean Kirstein concept artist 💩💩💩💩💩

[@Lions81504]

@@elsagrace3893 what's wrong with concept artists?

[@Lycius]

Oh, problem with it is, doing it oneself, takes time. Gesso, allow it to dry, about a day per layer. It can be accelerated. I can do things on artboard as fast, but this was just, well... there's a psychological element to it. Like, you can make mistakes, and just, overwrite them, while still in traditional media. Just an idea!

[@fortnag]

It does help... but a few sketches can help with composition or likeness. Nothing like taking a practice swing before you let her rip

[@user-lu4fn9pe4y]

don't think inside the box, not out of it, DRAW THE BOX

[@DANNY082100]

it's funny because when you draw the box, you're already outside of that box lol

[@preyrez8138]

.. hm..

[@sengiko]

Kojima understands you. However, Snake doesn´t

[@user-lu4fn9pe4y]

Danny Leonardi but u can also draw it from inside

[@user-lu4fn9pe4y]

Minato Namikaze hahaha, the pun...

[@ziksarthi]

5:52 I was stuck for years in drawing, had absolutely zero creativity, and pretty much was copying everything from references. Until this exact same thing at 5:52 I heard from Kim Jung Gi as well. this particular exercise helped me so much more than anything else. Guys do this exercise, this works.!!

[@venzarez-ili680]

100%

[@backontrackmaybe2006]

6:08 step1: draw a box step2: add details

[@mihailomiljanovic7393]

He usually skips the first step, so sometimes it's just step1: add details xD

[@ZikolvinesGames]

I'm laughing SO MUCH RIGHT NOW

[@fireemblemaddict128]

I'm so mad haha, this guy has such skill.

[@sparta117corza]

it may be a meme but it actually is true.

[@niklogus9426]

how to draw a perfect circle (spongebob style): 1. draw a face 2. erase all the unnecessary lines

[@oldhbruna]

Again another great video. The fundamentals are so important to master. Gesture, perspective and drawing from life.

[@halfmen2664]

138k subscribers With no content ?

[@oldhbruna]

@Kage Momoku I do.

[@Joseph-bd3pk]

I love that most of these answers are similar because now I know what to focus on more.

[@SerenaMarenco]

There was an exercise that my design professor assigned us to the art school: taking a photo, flipping it over and then copying it. Turn it again and check for errors. Obviously this is something to do in addition to the classic fill sheets of lines, circles, curves, study the perspective and draw from life. To draw from life, if you have the chance, is the absolute best thing, in my opinion: you improve quickly, you train your eye and hand, and you get great satisfaction. I've never had as much confidence as when I did the drawing course from life, in the first two years of art school. I still regret now, after more than 20 years, that I could not do it any longer.

[@joeprado3614]

These pro asks are incredibly helpful! Thank you! I would love to see more content like this in the future.

[@MRornge800]

I went through a period where i became obsesed with gesture drawing and i did Them really fast (15-30-60 sec) for hours every night after work for 3 months. It cured most of my anxiety and i wasn't afraid to attempt anything.

[@StormEngineer]

I think I should really be doing them all. :D I really love the idea of using a pen so you can't erase - forces you to pay attention instead of getting lazy. I personally love drawing with old school dip-pen and ink, as they give you much more dynamic lines, and it requires even more attention - so easy to make mistakes, even things like making sure you don't take too much ink at once or it will drip and ruin everything. Drawing with dip-pens is like meditation, I'll reach flow and hyper-focus and feel like I'm one with the pen.

[@valasafantastic1055]

Storm Engineer I found I had a big artistic growth spurt a while ago when I was drawing tons of people quickly in pen from life and random magazines!

[@twistedspectacle]

Agree 100%, drawing in itself is practically problem solving (how do I get this 3D object on a flat surface?). Just like most problem solving things in life, everyone will have their own way to go about it and will eventually get to that point. I think drawing with pen is like a person who sits down and thinks about the problem as oppose to just grabbing things and quickly going about it. Ideally, both individuals will solve the problem, however the person who sits and thinks about it (pen), over someone who just goes for it (pencil), will get to that point sooner because they have a better grasp of what's going on. Obviously you have those outliers with natural talent also, who just get everything haha.

[@jhin9048]

i personally feel i didnt start improving and learning as much until i started using pen. there is something about it that makes my brain just focus way more!

[@benjimlem1284]

Drawing with dip pen is fun, but I wish you didn't have to dip them every 10 seconds :P

[@GraniteFaun]

Finally got this video watched. Yes all of them are valuable and also well explained on the why side!

[@looshsmoot]

Sounds like the most common suggestions were 1) Drawing boxes in perspective, and 2) Gesture drawing. That's what I'll work on. Great videos!!

[@MFDOOOOM]

Drawing from life was the most common

[@Amakhekhe]

Exercises I do before going back into figure drawing or warming up before a drawing session. Dexterity exercises: X1 pg lines/curves X1 pg circles X1 pg ellipses Perspective Exercises: X1 pg plotted boxes(1pt, 2pt, 3pt) X10 freehand boxes X10 freehand cubes(rotating) X10 freehand cylinders X10 freehand cylinders(rotating) Structure Exercises: X2 pgs combing basic forms I learned about these when I took classes with Peter Han and they are really helpful. I tailored the exercises to fit my schedule and it works. I cannot wait for Proko's new series 👍👍👍

[@FannyMMOs]

KuriousKoopa Troopa drawabox.com is built on Peter Han's excercises and methods altered and further developed by Uncomfortable. You can find most of these excercises in the first lesson.

[@Amakhekhe]

KuriousKoopa Troopa Glad I could help and sorry for the late reply but seems that FannyMMO's already helped you out 👍👍👍

[@SC-yj7fc]

how many days a week you follow this routine? and for how long have you been drawing?

[@Amakhekhe]

Siddharth Chauhan I usually set a side 3 weeks to cover these exercises and cover each topic 5 days a week. If you starting out I suggest doing these for a month or until you comfy. Drawing lines, ellipses, perspective, boxes and cylinders are basic things but they are the most important. I have been drawing since forever but mostly fine art training. I started focusing on the basics since 2014 but it was off and on due to illness and other complications. I hope this helps.

[@SC-yj7fc]

It definitely helps. Thanks for replying so quickly. I wanted to know what time frame I'm looking at to get good enough so that looking at my sketches wouldn't give me an aneurysm. I guess a year is a minimum, without skipping a day. Might take even longer for someone like me.

[@Jessica-pq1rc]

This was incredibly awesome! It's been hard to find information on HOW to practice, but these were simple and straightforward - real applicable advice. LOVE to see the general consensus too, and in a shorter time frame than watching 20 individual videos. Thank you!!!

[@joefilmco]

Stan, thank you for taking the time to film and put together these videos. You don’t know how much good they bring to people facing a creative depression. Much love.

[@NormAuParadis]

I really love how proko gets everyone on board. He is such a genius who loves to share his skills and get others inspired. Love proko from Bangladesh.

[@phobos2k2]

This was exceptional man! Getting all that valuable information from artists I would never have had a chance to question truly is a priceless thing. Thank you so much and thanks to all the talented artists who shared some really insightful information.

[@deannalovern5720]

Thanks so much for this mini series asking pros questions like this. I find it interesting how ultimately simple their tips are, encouraging study of basic shapes, drawing from life, and experimenting. For me, drawing from life is something I’ll be trying out more!

[@BrandochGarage]

These are so great - I love seeing all the different art styles. This is well produced. I love how you are always supporting and encouraging artists.

[@kimberlyjeffers1623]

These videos have been so helpful. I love all the tips about the boxes. I’m going to try that in the morning. I already force myself to draw with a brush and ink everyday so now I don’t feel crazy for doing all those circles and squares. I need to watch this particular video again. Super helpful thank you.

[@lulamidgeable]

This is just about your best video. Each artist keeps it to the point and there are so many different ideas here to keep yourself motivated. Thanks for doing these.

[@Waynimations]

You are helping so many artists with this video. We appreciate you so much

[@PencilDrawingAcademy]

Waynimations nice comment

[@stoptheking]

This was so immensely useful, definitely a video I will be coming back to. Thanks for posting this video it was not only practical but motivating, hearing so many great artist repeat the same thing help me see what I need to focus on to get better.

[@belugatoons]

Thanks for this, it’s gonna be really helpful! An exercise I like to do is, drawing pages of “deliberately bad drawings” because it helps me think about my weaknesses and how I can do a better job next time I work on a proper art project.

[@SocketedSocket]

I think Hai-Na-Nu's advice is great. I've been always a digital artist, but often I rarely see myself improve. Often times I really dislike drawing with pen on paper because I "fear" the failure, the idea of being unable to correct the mistake is what often pushes me back. Caleb Cleveland's advice of "leaving comfort zone" is the toughest to do, but probably the best. Love these videos, please keep them up. I've gotten myself back into drawing after a 2 year hiatus and I still hope to improve for the better.

[@Thollis1987]

Gesture drawing of the motion and not worry about the details is a great exercise for me.

[@Rvc546]

12:00 he said it

[@pnutdraws]

14:00 so true ! i think everyone needs to learn drawing traditionally , thanks for the great tips Proko , love your videos , keep making video man , love learning new things from you

[@Clouds23x]

Ron Lemen gave a really great advice. Probably the most important one that can be easily overlooked imo.

[@gabrielagagodasilva1331]

I see a lot of people making excuses for their lack of technique, saying "it's their style". I said that to myself sometimes too... It's easy to stay inside our bubble when we are learning how to draw... I didn't understand that I was making MAJOR mistakes until I got into school. Composition, color, line, movement, plains, texture, light... Everything matters. It's always hard to understand that what you're doing is wrong, but once you look at other people's work and realize the endless possibilities, you get that drive of wanting to be as good as them. And that's GOOD! Never hide your style because someone tells you to. But have the judgement and self-consciousness to look at your art through fresh eyes, and find your errors. Get out of your comfort zone. That's what means to grow as an artist.

[@elsagrace3893]

Gabriela Gago Da Silva Nobody bit the artist that says it believes “it’s just my style” it’s the most obvious 💩💩💩excuse for being lazy and not reaching past the comfort zone.

[@williambrown2135]

I think of it this way, if you're drawing a manga, and the whole thing is "sketchy/sloppy" that isn't a style, its a lack of good linework, HOWEVER, if you're drawing a manga and one scene is intentionally "sketchy/sloppy" thats a style and an emotion you're trying to temporarilly portray. Its like, every "mistake/bad technique" has a place where it's good and sometimes even great, the problems fall into place when mistakes and bad techniques are the only tools that you use.

[@inkpenproductions3373]

Thanks so much for these videos! You've given me so much awesome information, and I'll be tackling each of the exercises mentioned.

[@b0b0saurus69]

its hard to draw from life when u stay inside lookin at memes=')))

[@justblue974]

Bogdan John you know it man , but it's sad

[@LuqaslncredibIe]

Draw from memes

[@elsagrace3893]

Bogdan John go to the park.

[@peco3806]

Draw your family members

[@Peteru69]

I wish a large portions of memes were actually funny so we could justify procrastinating with memes, but they're not.

[@IcyFlakas]

I love this series, Proko! I already do gesture drawings, but I think I'll try out the box exercise and the line exercises. I could really work on my perspective and control.

[@cindysacks7155]

I love this! In particular, the idea of being goal specific for a few months and then evaluation if you have developed better skills.

[@murigius1]

Excellent advice from everyone. Thanks for doing this, Proko!

[@thevoid2406]

Hints of great value, I've no doubt i'll employ each one of these tips in my daily exercises. I really appreciate it.

[@petteway23]

Awesome vid. Thank you for doing this. The cube and circle exercise sounds good along with the CSI lines. Id like to see some examples of gesture and perspective utilized start to finish.

[@vidyawitch]

WOW!!!!! Am so blessed to have this video. Thank u so much. Pure gold!

[@richvanatte3947]

My suggestion for an exercise I find works with me is draw something over and over again with the intention of improving on it. You will see the image evolve better and better each time. Try it with a pair of eyes or something simple, then go bigger or more of a full drawing and try repeating it more than three times. You will be amazed!

[@oreeoriginol]

Thank you this is very helpful to get advise from different artists and showing their art as you hear their response.

[@thegraphitegrappler2008]

Caleb Cleveland brought up a really good point, I tested it, and it works 100% it gives you a sense of confidence that you can draw anything you want.. a boost of creativity of sorts. Really good stuff.

[@DrCarolFrancis]

Drawing cubes, cylinders and spheres from all different perspectives and then reducing everything to these three forms often. THanks. Great interviews.

[@praleen_]

Phew! I'm already on the right path! This is a useful video, I may watch it again some time! Thank you Proko!

[@BenLundsten]

First year high school art teacher here. I have drawing next semester and I'll be implementing a lot of these ideas! Thank you so much for this great video.

[@JUANREVI]

So gesture drawing and boxes from any angle are the two main thing and I agree. The boxes are great for correct structure and gesture to make the drawings feel energetic and loose. Drawing elipses in every angle should get an honorable mention.

[@ogreforhyre6384]

Great segment! I definitely echo the recommendations for drawing from life. Having to flatten a real-life 3d image onto a 2d sheet of paper completely changes your perception and informs what you lay down. Most people look at their world every day but don't really know what anything looks like because the brain fills in gaps and patterns subconciously. Drawing from life forces you to really ingest what you're seeing so you can close those gaps and draw (pun intended) from that knowledge to create your art.

[@JeremyMyser]

All great ideas. The only thing I would add is to draw with other artists, especially ones that will give you honest feedback. It boosts the ego for friends and family to praise you, but one of the fastest ways to grow as an artist is to have somebody who can help point out things you may miss that need work.

[@ebonyavengerstevenson1321]

I'm going to work on the box exercises and gestures I just found a group of artist doing a life drawing class and joined it yesterday so I'm excited.

[@anamilyn7658]

At 6:17-7:46, I really loved Ron Lemen's method of drawing practice advice ❤️ Thanks, Proko for making these inspirational and helpful videos!

[@markmolino6091]

I appreciate the tips and the advice from these pros bro,good video.

[@snoopaka]

Love this one. Listening to the different approaches was so interesting!

[@choknater]

so many artists recommend drawing boxes in perspective... honestly such an excellent exercise!! thanks for these interviews, what an awesome video

[@melbendigo]

What Ron Lemen said was interesting to me. I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, and my mother told me that when I was 3, i would sit contently drawing little tiny circles all over my paper. As an adult, we don't take time to play that way, and Ron reminded me how important it is.

[@abdullahnaim10]

Im gonna have to do gesture drawing drills. Thank You Proko and the great artists.

[@bryantium6010]

Glad almost all these guys are on KZbin so I can learn from them

[@michaeljmccurdy9449]

Great tips! I find that doodling and sketching on Posti-it notes frees me up from the bondage of perfectionism. It helps me feel loose in drawing thumbnails.

[@teddybear8998]

Thinking about Caleb Cleveland's advice of approaching new subject matter with the attitude of gesture drawing as Sanford Greene suggested, that really feels like it’s opening up a world of possibilities in my mind. Drawing things outside of my comfort zone is daunting, particularly things I’ve never tried to draw before, but thinking about it in a gestural way - the idea of being loose and capturing the idea, the essence of something - makes it way more approachable and engaging to me personally. Funny how an idea can shift your whole perspective! Great advice!

[@jhgomez]

Thanks Proko for this videos. I started using boxes to draw cars and spaceships, then found out it can be useful even drawing difficult human parts such as heads, noses and hands. I could suggest also mastering stick figures could help a lot with human poses and animals.

[@mr.h.8363]

The rotating box, pen, life drawings! I already do shapes, lines, boxes, and Mark Kistler' s 30 minute book! Cool video!

[@deeman524]

Drawing everything around you, simple sketches and drawing shapes in perspective are the the 3 that inspire me

[@candis5287]

This pushed me to draw cubes in space and I’m having a lot of fun?! It’s hard to get perspective right sometimes but I feel like this is really helping me visualize stuff!

[@Ani-sw6zi]

Your videos are so so soooo helpful. One can never thank you enough.

[@alphinart]

I ❤️ this series! And I’m gonna try to do more quick thumbnail/ gesture sketches to improve.

[@andyrodriguez5211]

Great takeaways Going from hard to soft edges, reverse And being specific for what subskill in drawing you're looking to improve Also as soon as sth becomes easy, continue to explore outside your comfort zone

[@FakkeLL]

Thank you, man. Your videos one of best motivation to work hard and try new things. Thanks you for that.

[@stevesloan5935]

I picked up on the quick, gesture drawings..being free. I also liked the concept of pencil-to-paper/traditional first. I did several ballpoint pen drawings a couple of years ago during Inktober, and it was kind of awesome to commit to something which couldn't be erased that I knew would be shared with others. It was really refreshing and fun, perfectly imperfect!

[@johanderyckefineart4970]

Good post. What I value the most is routine, regardless the type of exercises I do, it is the routine that makes me feel the most comfortable with my tools and it gives for the best results. One of my teachers of the academy I went to said "If you draw 2 days a week, you learn 2 days and then you forget for 5 days". I've always remembered that as one of the main rules for improvement: draw every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes, but don't go to bed without having drawn something, anything.

[@PracticeDrawingThis]

Great video! For me, memory drawing exercises have done a lot in terms of being able to eyeball things also. Very much doing the cube-in-space at the moment.

[@charleen_miguel]

Absolutely wonderful advice! I can’t wait to implement these!

[@smellypotatoes2292]

From my experience, gesture drawing, drawing shapes were the best. I have improved SO MUCH IN SUCH SHORT TIME WITH THESE. It's only been like a year for me. I'm going to now try life drawing (I have tried it before and its HARD), I believe it make me improve even more since like EVERY artist recommends it.

[@dtentmaker6715]

thanks for this video, i'm one of the lazy artist, iknow that i have a talent of drawing but i enjoyed seeing the artists drawing than i myself practising it. but now i have to practice drawing everyday thank you again proko your channel is the best artists motivator. more power... and more practice to all artist.

[@alexishamm7149]

I'm definitely going to practice S and C curves and circles, the boxes in space and gesture drawing !

[@farronhart5761]

These videos have been very cool and helpful. I'm gonna try that box rotating exercise. And also try and focus more on gesture because i think ive been thinking and working too rigidly.

[@Yithmir]

I am no pro, but for me, an exercise that helped me improve exponentially was actually Iterative Drawing. It felt like a pure and genuine level skip because how fast I felt myself improve. Simply drawing one thing, quickly. looking at it. analysing mistakes and what i like and writing them down. then doing it again, trying things differently. different pose, different style of line, that sort of thing, just to see how it looks. do that for say 10 heads and hopefully will have experimented in lots of different ways and figured out what you like and dont like, or what looks good or doesnt, or what looks unnatural!

[@samteawater7444]

Thank you for your videos! All exercises are great. At this point I would go for Lemen's exercises and drawing boxes in all kinds of rotations. My own tip would be to do zentangle exercises. I love lines and patterns and although I'm not too fond of the commercial side of zentangle, I started drawing the patterns with this method. After only a few months now I notice benefits in all my creative explorations, which I didn't expect. Doing a zentangle exercise is simple and doesn't have to take a lot of time, but it's the opposite of doing a quick and loose sketch. You draw clear lines (no sloppiness allowed), circles and curves with full focus of your mind (the zen part of it), and with these simple lines you build up a pattern. It's drawn with pen, pencil is only for shading and sometimes a guideline. Without realising, I learned a lot about how lines work together, how lines work with negative space, how simple lines can create shape, depth or optical illusions.

[@smvml89]

The "advice we are not looking for" was my favorite. "Find your personality in the way you draw lines and curves"? That's my next goal definitly. Thank you!!

[@oldlinkjo]

All advises are great. Thank you for the video, it's very helpful !

[@Rembrandz]

Perspective and Gesture drawing. Thank you for making this video. It was super insightful!

[@greengohm]

Those interviews are pure gold, man!

[@h0ckeyd]

This is awesome. I've just started a HND in art and design (I have a degree in IT but am more about art and am working on digital artwork more these days and I noticed the Jay and Silent Bob artwork in the background. Brilliant.

[@mauriciomorali5392]

These videos are great Stan! very informative, thanks!

[@ajo2001]

Very Very helpful!!! I'm going to try the box exercise, continue doing gesture and life drawing. Thank you!!

[@BryanZam9]

Cubes, lines and gestures, I'm super new at this so I think that's what will help me get a grasp on all this

[@frankmukete9497]

I think all of them are very helpful, but I personally took the perspective drawing, and pencil balance to mind. I like the idea of being able to keep all your lines exactly as you want them even in traditional drawings.

[@SaxStation]

Thanks for sharing! Will try the shapes.

[@mirtaxiomelyssandin2001]

Thanks for all those suggestions. My self will exercise gestures and boxes I like to draw with ballpoints in napkins. Don’t ask me why. It’s like a challenge for learning about pressure and not be able to correct the drawing.

[@Lmfa8]

6:27 this one really stuck with me, I don't know why it just made a lot of sense. I like the comparison of " musician can make one instrument sound like anything " I'll be trying out a few in this video, I'm so happy to hear other tips and personal exercises that helped these talented artist ( The ink pen / traditional one was also amazing ) Edit: grammar

[@MrKubahades]

That thing with the boxes, im deff trying that out. So simple but it seems like it's really gonna help

[@ROGUESPECTRE101]

These drawing tips from pros videos have been really cool and informative :), thanks for this Proko :) . As for stuff I'm currently doing as I've recently started drawing again I've decided to go back to traditional drawing and really learn it properly to help build my skills and abilities in digital which is my prefered art form. With the exercises I'm currently doing I'm currently finding images on the internet of rocks formations and just spending some time drawing them, I'm a bit slow doing it to be honest, but hey progress is progress hopefully haha. I've also been doing these doodle square exercises which I'm finding helpful but I don't know if they're actually adding to my artistic skill at all. Also on that note I have a question does finding a image on the internet and drawing it the best you can count as drawing from life or drawing from reference I've kinda got myself confused on this haha.

[@commandingmargin]

Loving this set of videos

[@Rehmanyart]

Thank you so much for giving voluble knowledge about Drawing

[@djC653]

Good to see Draw-A-Box was a good choice for my drawing coarse. Kinda checks a lot of these boxes(sure, pun intended, why not). Now if only I can keep on top of it and not stray. Thanks for all the videos that help inspire me to keep going.

[@EverythingsBeenDone]

This was great!! Thank you.

[@solerest4955]

The exercise of drawing rotating boxes and then rotating objects was so useful! :D

[@gabe9925]

I'm finding these videos very helpful. Thank you! I'm gonna practice then all, because I need to get good.

[@Artsensei86]

I love doing all these exercises, one I didnt hear though is actual exercise, working the body out can help just as much as working the drawing muscles

[@user-lu4fn9pe4y]

What really helps me is looking for stuff in life and just remember how they were, then make them simple in my head to use them in future >

[@LeahsThings]

When I was in high school, as I was starting a new sketchbook I made a dedicated challenge to only draw in pen until I filled it up-- no pencil first. It was an adjustment to be unable to erase, but eventually it taught me to make confident strokes and to think about the marks I was making; in pen you have to make a decision before you make the mark, you can't just scribble mindlessly. The results were great, and to this day I'm often complimented for my clean and confident inking. (of course, this exercise gave me more confident brush strokes and sketching, too)

[@Vorundor]

Thanks for the video! I'm doing the boxes and gesture drawings. Need to improve!!

[@brucemozart3665]

This video is super helpful. Thank you so much. 🙏🏻