How to Learn to Draw
How I did, and how you can too
Plus, a How to Learn Drawing Map

If you’re wondering how to learn to draw, you’re in the right place. I’ve been exactly where you are – asking, “How do I learn to draw? Can anyone learn?”

Years later, here we are: I’m a professional visual artist and former college drawing professor, running The Drawing Source – an online school for realistic drawing, designed to guide you from foundational skills to advanced subjects like the portrait and figure.

On this page, I’ll show you my transformation from drawing beginner to college art professor — and give you the 6-step skill map to unlock your own realistic drawing abilities.

"Can you learn to draw? Can anyone learn to draw? Can I learn to draw?"

How to learn to draw and whether it's even possible is a question many beginners face. Whether you’re asking this because:

• You’ve realized that you would absolutely love to be able to draw, or
• You’ve already started learning to draw, are feeling discouraged, and juuuust want to make sure that it’s possible …

I’m thrilled that you found your way here, and even more thrilled to tell you that:

Let’s debunk a common belief or myth right from the beginning:

Myth: Drawing is only for those born with innate artistic talent, ability and creativity.

Fact: Realistic drawing is a learnable skill. Everyone can drastically improve their drawing skills with proper instruction and practice. (It’s worth repeating!)

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“Who’s writing this, and how do you know that I can learn to draw?”

Hi there! My name is Marina Fridman. I’m a visual artist, arts educator, and author (or Drawing Source’ress) of The Drawing Source and the Atelier Membership.

I’m passionate about demystifying realistic drawing and making quality drawing education accessible to anyone wishing to learn how to draw.

I can confidently answer the ‘Can you learn to draw’ question because:

1. I was not born with drawing skills, yet I learned to draw (as you’ll see further on in this article)
2. My students have learned to draw (which you'll also see)!
   
   

In my creative practice these days, I create drawing installations: large-scale drawings that transform a space, such as the one below.

This is entirely hand-drawn using charcoal pencils and compressed charcoal sticks on white paper (including the dark background surrounding the planets). Once your eyes adjust to the dark space, you begin to see the gestural marks that make up the drawn void.

This installation invites viewers to be enveloped in outer space, to approach the celestial body of Mars (the largest planet in the image), to be towered over by one of the rings of Saturn, and to look up at planet Earth and the Moon as though from a great distance.

Below is a more recent addition to this work: Pluto’s moons, drawn in 2022.

Now, I can see why you might look at this and think, “What do you mean you weren’t born with drawing abilities?!”

Nope! This is not how my creative career began. I was not born with drawing skills (and I can prove it)! I had to discover how to learn to draw, just like you.

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“Can You Learn to Draw?”
My Story: How it Began

My mother recently found the notebook below, containing the earliest childhood drawings of mine that we can find.

Is it a cat? Is it a dog? Who’s to say! Was I displaying remarkable drawing skills at this point? No.

(What was evident at this age was actually a gift for piano-playing, unsurprisingly, as both my parents are pianists. I often joke that ‘something went wrong’ and I became a visual artist instead of a musician.)

Fast forward a few years, and I remember a distinct drawing that I wish I could find and show you. For now, a description will have to suffice:

In this drawing was some sort of creature – I can only assume that it was a duck with long, flowing hair. She was looking at herself in the mirror, and there was a caption scrawled in childlike writing that said, ‘Brush your teeth, they’re yellow.’ (This was on my great-aunt’s fridge for years – she was a dentist.)

So: I had learned how to write in English (somewhat)  – that was excellent – and a very practical, useful message in that artwork, but still no earth-shattering drawing skills.

I was enrolled in casual art classes throughout my childhood, but for many years it was not at all evident that this would become my career, passion and calling.

Back then, I wanted to quit my classes every second week, and my father would gently suggest, “Why don’t you just attend one more class, and if you still want to quit, you can.” Each time, I would have a nice time at my class and would continue attending. (That was some great parenting, dad – appreciate you!)

However, by the time I was in high school, art was becoming one of my main interests, and due to the accumulation of various drawing and painting lessons I had taken, some years later we start to see some improvement:

Despite the progress here, in all of these drawings I’m making very typical mistakes made by beginners, that detract from the believable realism of the images.

To become fluent in the visual language of drawing, we focus on three areas: learning to ‘see’, obtaining essential drawing knowledge, and acquiring the drawing skills to translate what you see onto paper.

I simply had not yet developed these three areas thoroughly enough to produce convincing, believably realistic drawings.

Fast-forward to 2008: I was enrolled in business prerequisite courses in University, but I was drawing constantly. The art programs in my city were not what I was looking for at the time, so studying art formally simply did not seem like an option.

That is, until my mother approached me one day as I was drawing, and gently suggested that I could move to a city to attend a program I was inspired by.

I started researching programs the next day, and moved from Canada to the US soon afterwards to begin my formal art education.

What happened once I started gaining the drawing knowledge, technical skill, ability to ‘see’, and combined that with consistent practice?

Boom. At 20 years old, I think it’s safe to say that I ‘could draw’.

At this point, it finally became safe to assume that I probably did have some natural ability, but!

That natural ability had to be unlocked by proper instruction and practice.

So - what worked? How do we actually learn to draw?

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How to Learn to Draw: 4 Key Principles

To learn to draw, we must:

1. Know what to learn, and in what order to learn it.

When figuring out how to learn to draw this is perhaps the greatest barrier as a beginner, because you don’t know .. what you don’t know! Even if you look up tutorials online, you may not be able to determine which exercises are important, why they are important, what level they are, how to practice them effectively, what order to practice them in, etc.

(Trying to grasp advanced skills and concepts before you have foundational skills doesn’t work, no matter what you’re trying to learn!)

Looking up free tutorials can result in spending most of your time researching and trying to figure out these things, rather than studying the actual skills that you need to learn to draw.

2. Be taught essential drawing concepts and techniques.

This is the ‘how.’ For example: How to measure using various measuring techniques, how to view your subject at different stages of the drawing process, and how to shade smoothly. This all becomes much easier when simplified into easily digestible steps that progress from beginner to advanced.

3. Be shown effective exercises to practice.

How do we gain proficiency and comfort with our drawing tools and techniques? By practicing efficiently! There are more and less effective ways to practice the skills needed to create a realistic drawing.

And finally …

4. Practice regularly and consistently.

Learning any new skill takes consistent practice. However, the process and visible progress can be extremely enjoyable and fulfilling!

Nowhere on The Drawing Source will you read that drawing is quick and easy to learn. In my experience, the only ‘shortcut’ to learning anything is qualified instruction or mentorship.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to study at various institutions, to seek out the education I craved, and to discover what works when learning to draw. Now I'm delighted to distill my education and share it with others, so that you, too, can discover how to learn to draw.

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How to Learn Drawing: The Skill Map

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To learn how to draw, we need to develop 6 skills, in this order:

1. Proportion & Shape: Seeing and measuring accurate relationships
2. Construction: Building 3D volumes and forms (before shading)
3. Value Structure: Organizing light and shadow clearly
4. Edge Design: Creating transitions between values to create depth and dimension
5. Refining & Finishing: Adding nuanced values and edges to enhance realism
6. Moving Through the Drawing Process: Knowing what to do, in what order, and how to troubleshoot
   
   

*Don’t know some of the terminology here yet? Don’t worry - you’re in the right place. Learn more about each of these skills here.

No matter what you’re drawing, you'll use these same 6 skills.

Isn’t that great news? You don’t need different skills for different subjects! These 6 foundational skills unlock every drawing subject.

The difference between drawing a beginner and an intermediate/advanced subject - like the figure and portrait - is how well you can use these skills. To draw advanced subjects, we need to use the same skills at a higher level.

Even more good news: These skill categories aren't random.
Together, these foundational skills form the structure of the drawing process itself:

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Continue learning via the Foundational Skills Learning Path here.

Or, if you’re ready to dive into a step-by-step video curriculum, you can join the Atelier here.

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Student Drawing Transformations

Over the years, I've taught over 1,000 students in the drawing courses here at The Drawing Source, and I've watched this same learning path work again and again. Students who arrived convinced they "couldn't draw" or "weren't talented enough" have gone on to create work they never thought possible — simply because they learned the right skills, in the right order, and practiced consistently.

The drawings above are from students who followed the exact paths taught here at The Drawing Source. Their progress isn't magic or luck — it's what happens when anyone is given a clear, reliable method and sticks with it. Here’s what students have said:

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So: when I say realistic drawing is a learnable skill, I don't just mean it worked for me. I've helped hundreds of students learn it, too, and they started right where you are now. You can also learn to draw.

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Learn to Draw in the Atelier

Instead of spending months wondering what to practice next, let's make your progress simple. For a structured, step-by-step video curriculum to build the 6 foundational skills that unlock every drawing subject (with expert guidance), I invite you to join the Atelier membership today. 

Let’s take the guesswork out of what to do or practice next, so that you can focus on the lessons and on your improvement!.

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So, can you learn to draw?

Absolutely! Realistic drawing is a learnable skill. Everyone can drastically improve their drawing skills with proper instruction and practice. Let's get started - I'd love to show you how to learn to draw.

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