r/IDAP

I've been feeling really frustrated with drawing lately.

I spent the last year studying perspective, 3D thinking, construction, forms, all that stuff. I watched tons of tutorials and tried to approach drawing in a very analytical way.

But my original goal was honestly simple: I wanted to become better than this one guy in my class.

The thing is… he never studied drawing seriously. No courses, no perspective exercises, nothing like that. He just drew a lot by himself. And somehow he can copy really difficult manga panels and illustrations with ease.

Today I sat next to him and watched him draw carefully. I tried to analyze how he thinks while drawing.

What surprised me is that he DOESN'T think like I do at all.

He isn't constantly thinking:

- "This is a 3D form"

- "This plane rotates like this"

- "Perspective line here"

- etc.

Instead, his thinking is more like:

- "If the ear is here, where should the nose be?"

- "What angle does this line go?"

- "How far apart are these shapes?"

It looked way more intuitive and efficient.

Then I tried drawing with his mindset instead of my usual "3D construction" mindset… and honestly, my drawing immediately looked better and more natural.

Now I'm questioning everything.

Am I wasting time overcomplicating drawing?

Did all these studies actually help me, or are they slowing me down?

Why does someone with no formal learning seem so much more advanced than me?

Has anyone else gone through this?