The Hardest Part of Drawing

The hardest thing about drawing isn't drawing. It's practicing drawing.  The principles are easy to learn.  Drawing formulas are easy to learn. Techniques are easy to learn.

BUT all of these things require practice.  You can't create the hand eye coordination, or the muscle memory that drawing requires without practice.  Any frustration we have when it comes to drawing comes down to not practicing enough.

And as we all know, practicing can be BORING.  Well...it CAN be if done badly. 

It can also be fun if done correctly.  If done correctly, it can be addicting and can become a habit.  If that happens then your drawing skills have the potential to develop by leaps and bounds.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was a drawing movement that already set up a system of drawing that gave people the ability to create a drawing habit easily.  It's what I call: Draw Chi: Illuminated Draw Fu.

More on that in a moment.

What You May Have Missed So Far

I've written two e-mails about this so far.  If this is your first e-mail or have skipped the last few, you might want to take a look at the first two before this one.

In the first e-mail, I wrote about how drawing is like playing a video game.  How the flow state is the reward you achieve in the best video games and how that is the same state you achieve when drawing.  Flow state is one of the big rewards you get when you draw.

You can read the email here:
http://eepurl.com/I4WYj

In the second e-mail, I wrote about how habits are formed.  How, by applying the habit forming formula of "cue, action, and reward", you can create any habit you'd like. Including a drawing habit.

You can read that email here:
http://eepurl.com/I8F79

Both e-mails where met with overwhelmingly positive responses.  It seems everyone is on the same boat.  We're all looking for an easy win drawing habit, that will help us get better.

I'd like to thank you for your responses.  It helps me know that what I'm writing is relevant.

So without further ado, let me finally get to the point:

What is Draw Chi?

In the same I took drawing and combined it with Kung Fu, I've taken drawing and combined it with Tai Chi Chaun.  So in order to understand Draw Chi, we must first understand what Tai Chi is.

According to Wikipedia:
So you can say that "Draw Chi" is "Ultimate Drawing."

It's purpose is to provide you with "easy drawing wins" that look totally awesome, that anyone can do, no matter what level you are at.  

It's nothing less than "Illuminated art" or, as I prefer to call it, "Illuminated Draw Fu."

I've mentioned this before, in a previous newsletter.  

How would you like to be able to do something as beautiful and wonderful as this page from The Book of Kells, as a beginner?

.
Well you can.

I've had my eyes and ears open since I wrote my book The Art of Draw Fu: Beginner's Level for easy drawing wins. Well I came across this art movement branded as "Zentagle."  It's basically a systemized method of learning to do illuminated designs. And it's SUPER EASY.  Anyone can do it!

It's basically an extention of the exercises I wrote about in my posts:

Lesson 1: How drawing is like writing – The A, B, Cs -Lines.
and
Lesson 2: How drawing is like writing – Sentences, Basic Shapes

Let me show you examples of what everyday people have been able to do with these illuminated designs:

 







None of these people are pros, yet look how cool their art is. And you can do it too.

If you don't believe me, Google "Zentagle." You'll see what I'm talking about.

So this is just really exciting to me. I mean REALLY exciting.  This is an easy win.  I've done a few on my own and you can get lost doing these things.  Once you start drawing these illuminated designs, you get lost in flow state real quick.

Give It a Go

Don't believe me? Here's what I want you to do. Try it out yourself.  Here are four designs and how to make them. Pick one, two or all and learn how to do them.  The Starburst seems easiest, the Tree seems second easiest. Just draw them once or twice on a page until you feel comfortable with the design. 



Now that you've tried one or two, go draw a box and stick some of the patterns you practiced into it. Like this:



I drew this while sitting on a couch at my in-laws, in my sketchbook during Thanksgiving. I improvised by adding a few dots to fill out more of the space.  You can copy what I did or make something up unique to you.

The idea is to play around and maybe hit flow state.  You're not looking to make something beautiful, although it may very well happen.  What you're doing is trying to hit flow state.  That almost, meditative state, as you draw.  THAT'S what truly makes doing this fun. 

You'll find, once you start, you'll become obsessed with patterns and designs.  You'll see them EVERYWHERE and all you'll want to do is draw them.  You'll start craving the moments when you can sit down and draw the designs. Especially if you're constantly hitting flow state with each session.

Drawing will become a habit you can't deny!

I love this movement so much I've decided to highjack it!  That's where Draw Chi comes in.

Okay, so How is Draw Chi Different From Zentangles?

Once I saw how extraordinary the work of ordinary people could get using this method, my mind starting reeling with the possibilities.  How can I push this stuff to the next level?  The easy win is there but where can I take it once people get comfortable with their design process?  How can I take this and develop it into a more "formic" style of drawing?

The moment I asked this question, I saw the answers everywhere I looked. This sort of art has been going on forever. So here's examples of what can be done with this at it's most advanced levels:

















Excited yet? I know I am.

It's amazing how such a simple thing can be taken to such extraordinary places.

And I want to help you go there.

Moving Forward

So here's what I'll be doing about it in the upcoming months.  I'm going to start giving you design formulas from now on in every newsletter.  Or at least examples of patterns. 

The point is to get you comfortable drawing simple, easy Draw Chi designs so that you can then start applying more complex "formic" designs as your skills grow.

Also next week, on Monday, I'm going to be launching the Draw Fu Acolyte Bundle on The Drawing Website Shop.  It will contain a bonus FREE Zentangle DVD that gives you an overview on how to approach doing Illuminated Draw Fu.  This is the DVD that made me aware of this art movement.  After I watched the DVD, my mind was reeling.

I'm giving the DVD away for free with the bundle which contains other things I'll talk about next week in a special Monday edition of this newsletter. 

I'll also be launching a few other things at the shop as well as links to Zentagle books I recommend.

So what do you think? interested? Let me know by responding to this e-mail. I'd love to hear from you.

Luis