Notes on Iterative Drawing

 Iterative Drawing by Sycra

Iterative drawing is the fastest way to improve.

Notes

• Link to video

• I made abridged notes from the transcript.

• My personal notes

• Introduction

• This technique is all about developing your brain from being purely analytical to having intuitive mileage built in

• Especially good for people who are analytical and not quite as intuitive 

• Breaks the habit of overthinking things

• Anything you have trained by repetition starts off analytical but becomes intuitive 

• Applies to any skill

• When you dream, everything looks correct. But when you draw on the page, it’s difficult to carry that information over.

• Learning a new language at first is very analytical: learning the alphabet and basic vocabulary, but with time you become fluent. I.e. It becomes intuitive!

• “You just have to practice”

• You need mileage, but for someone who is analytical, it's vague to just say “draw a lot and you'll get better”

• What if I draw and I put in a ton of mileage and I do this for two years and I still suck? This is why I didn’t improve much for years.

• Let's say you want to practice drawing a figure with a non-iterative approach. You map everything out meticulously and draw as best as you can.

• This, as he mentions, is inefficient. See the pottery class anecdote from Art and Fear.

• “Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.”

• I recently found this advice online and it opened my eyes to a new way of making art.

• You can’t effectively do both at the same time

• The iterative cycle allows for both processes to work together.

• Iterative training

• What is interesting to you? What do you really want to do?

• Without using a reference, draw your chosen subject based on how you remember it. The first iteration is based on instinct. 

• Next, look at it and ask yourself what went wrong; what went right. Ask yourself, why isn’t this working?

• Compare your iterations to each other: “Aha- so that's what I was missing!”

• After this reflecting process, start the next iteration.

• Even a minor difference means you've already fixed something!

• Making repetition worthwhile

• Each iteration is mileage.

• Practicing iterative exercises every day helps accumulate mileage quicker

• This frees you from being stuck in one way of doing things and allows for more creativity.

• Moving from an analytical mindset to an intuitive one

• The left and right sides of the brain build a connection when firing in close duration to each other. This bridge-building is what helps you retain information and improve over time.

• These experimental iterations over time will help you naturally connect things together

• Next time you draw from imagination you will remember what you have learned

• If you’ve done something many times instead of questioning and struggling, you will intuitively know what looks right.

• It is absolutely worth it to write about each art piece.

• Analyze after reaching significant milestones. 

• What looks good so far? 

• What needs to be addressed? 

• What steps do I plan to take moving forward? 

• List references that demonstrate the desired effects.