How did you learn to draw?

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by looking at pictures and by trial and error. Art and drawing is a big part of my life and you can see my pictures by looking at my website.

I never got past stick figures as a kid but was always good with drawing maps and floorplans

I learned to draw by looking at pictures which wasn't that good in early elementary. Then I started drawing on the sides of my school papers in the little area on the left side next to the red line. Which seemed to help me organize my drawings, then in jr high I started drawing on squared paper. Never really thought about how my drawing got better but graph paper might have helped. And repetition just as anything, practice makes perfect. Also switching to pen may have made me a better drawer because there is no opportunity to mess up, once it's down it's down.

Styles evolve as well, could be the mind changing or just topics of interest.

I used to draw very realistic things but lately I am drawing very abstract things. Mostly because I don't have something in mind that I want to draw but I do want to draw.

Some evolution of my drawings....
jr high:

highschool:

Today:

Well drawing is one of my natural talents but it's also quite enhanced. I took art classes for years. They were taught by real established artists. I also had a tutor up until age 14. He was a historian and artist. I also practiced everyday when I was a kid.

I think this is one of those skills that can really benefit from proper education and lots of practices. My dad also draw very well and has good hands, but my skill surpassed his when I was 10 or so. I don't think I'd have gotten any better than him without proper directions and practices.

I took art classes for about three months. Not sure why I stopped. But I learnt a lot and still remember that stuff to this day. My teacher said I was a natural. In fact every art teacher I had loved my work. I still got an art award I won when I was 10.
Even in math class I learned how to draw especially when learning about 3D shapes. I'd pick up the shapes and sketch them in my math book.
I'd hardly do my work in any class because I was drawing, usually dogs. I loved dogs.

I only recently started drawing again and I guess I'm more of a perfectionist because I won't take poorly scaled drawings. No more lopsided cats.
I draw Doctor Who characters now and sci-fi machinery I create in my mind for my stories. Oh and I sketch my kitties. It's a real challenge drawing the little one before she moves again. Constantly moving that one is.
Still, I'm not the best but still pretty good for someone who hasn't drawn in about 10 years.

Here's my Doctor Who Drawings:

I didn't take a closeup.
Cyberman at first was hard to draw but this is my second attempt. I want to do a painting of one next and a Dalek. Dalek's are cool.

I learnt to draw when a friend of my father's, who did fake marble paintings etc on buildings, showed me how he did it on paper. That's where i got the interest in shadows. When i was drawing, i had a long period of drawing only faces, and i would always start by the eyes. Everything i drew next was placed in relation to the eyes.I think it's because if i didn't like the eyes, i knew i could start over. I was trying to draw emotions on a straight face, and it all shows in the eyes. What a strange and totally understandable obsession, now that i have the knowledge of AS to put it in perspective....

I can't remember. I could draw well as a child, didn't draw for many years as an adult, then started up again about 5 years ago. If I have an autie 'super power', it might be drawing since I can do very realistic pencil renderings.without too much effort other than time.

http://wavefreak.deviantart.com/gallery/#/dfjfva

For me, it was trail and error. I am still trying very hard and I occasionally use manga as a reference. I still can't draw the torso and hands all that well.

I have always had the ingrained talent for drawing. It just came naturally to me. I have difficulty explaining how I do it, I just go ahead and let it happen. I am grateful for my talent, because it (drawing) is the underpinning to all my paintings. Without it, how could I ever do a realistic-looking painting?

I draw often and I find it enjoyable. It's a passion and a hobby for me. I don't think I'm particularly talented at it, but I've been drawing for years. As someone else mentioned, pick up that "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" book. I highly recommend it as it'll give you some good starting points. You can also download some e-books by Andrew Loomis for free. I know a lot of online resources too, if you're interested.

Other than that, the best thing you can do if you want to improve your drawing skills would be to draw often and draw from life. By life, I mean, setting up objects or people in front of you. Don't try to just draw from photographs or from imagination. Also, focus on realism, at least when you're trying to learn. Don't immediately try to draw cartoons. Doodling is fun, but you'll see little to no improvement this way. You need to know what something looks like before you effectively stylize it.

My ability to draw grows because I don't believe I've completely learned how to draw yet. I'd say I'm very good, but my open artistic mind lets me learn new things within each drawing whether it be a failure or a success.

However, based from the original post, I think I've always envisioned what I wanted to see in a drawing before attempting it... I have a vivid imagination. I would then trace the main structure in my mind (Or draw it faintly so it can be erased without leaving marks), and then I'd fill in each area equally and slowly with details on paper. Layering might be the right word. I'm almost completely self taught. The only things I've learned from a teacher were scale of the human form and proportions (Which I could of figured out from a book or a photo, but still give credit) and the concept of drawing hair... although it's quite funny because I had just taught myself something more complicated at the time which was drawing realistic ice with charcoal. Why it's ironic is the same principle is used in both in a way .

Technically I still focus on one area at a time though. I focus on the main subject as a whole and then do other parts of the piece separately and focus on those individually as well.

I would definitely say I had to start somewhere though, because my drawings as a child were fairly shoddy... although I was like 5 . I've drawn things gradually ever since. I do go with periods without inspiration so I'm not constantly drawing. I did however grow more of a perspective once I became a teenager. I guess, I studied my imagination for drawings and studied materials. I don't need to draw a fork even though I've used one to figure out properties of metal. It's the same with other element like substances. Also like I mentioned before, I've failed what I intended to draw, and learned new things with the failed drawing that could be applied to other subjects.