Generic Drawing Advice for Budding Art Students

Hey everyone!  First I'd like to say thank you for all the kind messages and mail.  I'm happy my
work can inspire in some way

I've been getting a lot of questions on how to study art in a more efficient manner.  Hopefully my advice
will help but it will ultimately come down to mileage.  I can go on and on but I'll keep it concise

1.)  Make sure that you draw with a purpose. Meaning; don't just draw.  Have a goal in mind.
One example I give to students; especially in a quick pose is that there's no way you can get everything
in lets say 5 min.  Be very clear about what you are working on.  Gesture, shape, proportion, form, lighting etc..
that's too much to juggle in a short amount of time.  Pick 1-2 ideas at first.  Example:  In 2 min work on
proportion ( ERIC ) and gesture ( Second focus ).  If in that time you have managed to get the proportion correct but the
gesture suffered a bit; you have still succeeded in your tasks.  Let's say after a bit you get comfortable with proportion;
now you can level up your gesture game.  The more comfortable you get; the more ideas you juggle at once.

2.)  Learn from your bad drawings.  Try and find a master drawing that contains a solution to your drawing problem and copy it.
What did that artist do that you didn't?  If you figure it out; now you have one solution in your tool box for that drawing issue.
Don't just stop there.  Try and find more artists that solved the same drawing problem and do a master study.  This will show
you similarities and variances in solutions ( different ways of solving the same problem )  This will help you to come up with your
own solutions as well.  Don't forget to re draw your drawing after so you can apply what you learned while it's fresh.

3.)  Look twice and mark once/ think twice and mark once.  Line economy is a result of you being very clear about what you
want to convey as well as mileage.  Best way to learn this is to do longer studies.  If you have to; talk to yourself.  Justify every mark
that you put down.

4.)  Finish your drawings.  This takes discipline and a lot of patience.  Most of your growth will come through this.  Sketches
are great but at some point you have to learn refine a drawing.  This actually gives you more confidence
in your quicker sketches.  You start to understand how to organize your marks and what you need to convey in a sketch
so that you can finish.  A lot of artists hide behind quick sketches/doodles.  You need both disciplines.  Artists that can
make things look finished quickly have gone through the grueling hours of refining their work.  It's through this that they
learn how much they " actually " need to put down so that the image looks finished ( Finishes are relative ). They can 
control their finish levels.

Hope this helps


Cheers

Bryan