If you learned to ride a bike, you most likely didn’t learn it all at once. You probably struggled to maintain balance and survived a few falls along the way, but after getting back on your bike again and again, you were ultimately able to ride! You may not have *perfected* bike riding; you may not have entered bike riding competitions, but for the most part, your practice gave you the ability to stay upright while in motion and ride around with your friends. 

 

 

Drawing is like riding a bike; you can’t learn it all at once! In the beginning, you may struggle with getting curves just right, conveying 3D form, and matching color, but with practice, you can do it! 

By starting small, learning one skill at a time, and letting nature guide your work, you will look back on your initial sketches and see how far you’ve come! Our goal is not to *perfect* drawing, but to help you build your drawing skills while enjoying the process.

 

 

“Practice is not the same as mechanic memorization or learning through memorization or association. You learn by doing and repeating” (Source). 

The best way to improve your drawing technique is to practice! Though practice may not make *perfect,* it will definitely make progress. Practice is repeated learning opportunities, and each time you practice a movement, you get more and more precise.

 

 

Let’s be clear – “practice” does NOT have to feel repetitive or “boring!” You don’t have to draw the exact same subject the exact same way over and over. (I mean, you can, if that’s how you like to do it, but you don’t have to.) 

Once you learn the basic foundations of realistic 3D drawing, you can practice them on ANY SUBJECT! If you started with a cherry tomato, maybe next you want to try drawing a different tomato, or group of tomatoes on the vine, or maybe you want to attempt the unique texture of an ​apple​ or orange. Draw what interests you, and you’ll always have fun!

Click here for more ideas of different ways to practice the same skills.

 

 

We all make mistakes. However, if we practice making those same mistakes over and over, we can’t improve. Receiving helpful feedback is key to ensuring that you don’t practice those mistakes. This is why we offer multiple options for you to get suggestions on your individual drawings! At live workshops (on Zoom and in-person), monthly webinars, and on our Art Feed, our expert instructors provide positive feedback on your drawings with tips to help you going forward. Keep going, and try to draw a little bit each day.

Nobody has ever gotten worse with practice!

For drawing motivation and instructional videos

Try our online course subscription, The Practice of Botanical Drawing