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Drawing without Reference: %50 Rule

12:01 AM, Friday June 20th 2025

Hello Everyone! I'm new here and am working through Lesson 1 and having a good time so far.

However, I'm having a lot of trouble free-drawing/play-drawing. This has been an issue for me for a very long time, it's one of the reasons I stopped drawing altogether. Practicing lines, ellipses, and funnels and being able to zone out into the mechanical aspects has been refreshing in a way drawing hasn't been for me in years.

When I think about what I've always wanted to draw, it's dynamic figures and characters. But when I try to let go and draw people, my mind suddenly goes blank. I get caught up in the excitement about an idea in my head: say some guy wielding a cool sword. And then when I start trying to draw it I get bogged down in the details of the image. For example, what the sword or clothing look like, and then I'm thinking "what do arms and legs look like," really? Or, "how do I arrange all these different parts of a human figure?"

I can't help itching for references to fill the gaps or getting distracted searching for tutorials on gesture, form, and construction. I'm realizing that the few times I've drawn in the past years have only been while religiously following a reference image.

I'm aware this is because it's a lot easier for me to handle a funnel looking terrible than a character design I care about looking terrible, but I can't quite get past it. Does anyone have any advice that helped them draw more freely? Even though I really care about learning how to draw people, should I try drawing something else for a while?

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7:43 AM, Friday June 20th 2025
edited at 7:45 AM, Jun 20th 2025

For the 50% rule, the goal is not to do the drawing well. It is about getting into the habit of drawing things without the need for it to be a good. It sucks in the beginning, attempting to draw things you are not experienced in is frustrating because you are sailing uncharted waters; it's like running in a circle over and over. It will take time for it to be even tolerable. Eventually, you will be like a dog chasing cars without caring if you catch the car or not. This will take at least months of daily practice. It is not about fun, it is about building an attitude towards failure. You should focus on your instincts, this is the portion of your drawing time where you do not have to be hyper-attentive to what you are drawing. If your concern is "what do arms and legs look like?", just draw it. If you get it wrong, your response should be "oh well." and move on to the next drawing. You can use reference but, if it is out of fear of getting that drawing wrong, hold off until you have overcome that fear.

It is fantastic that you are attempting more advanced drawings because it will help you in the long run. It will help introduce yourself to concepts you will eventually come across in the future. I would not recommend using the 50% rule on subjects you do not care about, it will increase the chance of you quitting altogether, focus on the parts you are interested in.

Drawabox is not a religion, although we do not besmirch the good name of the one true prophet, Uncomfortable, you should look at tutorials and other resources. You can use drawing classes (in-person or online), Youtube tutorials, New Master's Academy, drawing books, etc. Just add more time to the 50% rule of just drawing for the sake of it.

The beginning of your question you say "being able to zone out into the mechanical aspects", I'm probably misinterpreting that but just in case, do not zone out on the exercises, be hyper-attentive to your mistakes. That will make the process of drawing easier so when you draw the things you want, the exercises will become ingrained in your subconscious so you can focus on "what" you want to draw rather than the "how".

I would recommend watching these videos again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgl6Ll3K3gw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ocmPR_EprE

edited at 7:45 AM, Jun 20th 2025
11:35 PM, Friday June 20th 2025

Thank you for the advice! That helps to clarify, especially that the discomfort is the point and it will take time to be tolerable. I think I meant more that it's easier to know what to focus on when doing simpler exercises but it's a helpful reminder to continue to pay close attention to my practice work.

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Printer Paper

Printer Paper

Where the rest of my recommendations tend to be for specific products, this one is a little more general. It's about printer paper.

As discussed in Lesson 0, printer paper (A4 or 8.5"x11") is what we recommend. It's well suited to the kind of tools we're using, and the nature of the work we're doing (in terms of size). But a lot of students still feel driven to sketchbooks, either by a desire to feel more like an artist, or to be able to compile their work as they go through the course.

Neither is a good enough reason to use something that is going to more expensive, more complex in terms of finding the right kind for the tools we're using, more stress-inducing (in terms of not wanting to "ruin" a sketchbook - we make a lot of mistakes throughout the work in this course), and more likely to keep you from developing the habits we try to instill in our students (like rotating the page to find a comfortable angle of approach).

Whether you grab the ream of printer paper linked here, a different brand, or pick one up from a store near you - do yourself a favour and don't make things even more difficult for you. And if you want to compile your work, you can always keep it in a folder, and even have it bound into a book when you're done.

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