Learning to draw on iPad

How did I git gud at drawing and painting on an iPad? The answer that no one likes to hear is “practice, practice, practice.” I wish there was some magical shortcut for learning how to draw, but there isn’t.

I learn something new every time I drag my finger across the iPad’s screen. The best way to improve your craft is by putting in the time through observation and experimentation.

Dual majoring in graphic design and illustration (with a minor in fine art) at the Rochester Institute of Technology, certainly helped — as did the many drawing and painting classes. I have found memories of lugging huge 18 × 24″ pads of newsprint around campus. To figure drawing classes where I learned the fundamentals of capturing 3-dimensional forms from hours of sketching live models.

After graduating college and starting a job as a print and catalog designer, I stopped sketching and got really rusty. After buying an iPad many years later and discovering the Paper app on iPad, I started a 365 project to build back my drawing skills.

Drawing everyday certainly helped me advance my skills, but I still have a lot more to learn.