Title:           drawing ecouragement
Author:          Xodious
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/xtdHBXTY
First Edit:      Monday 7th of April 2014 04:48:47 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Monday 7th of April 2014 04:48:47 PM CDT

OK, please don't be deceived by the shortness of these instructions. They aren't meant to contain some cryptic hidden meaning. Everything you need is here.
 
Copy stuff. Perfectly, and slowly. See pic related. It's purposefully a shitty drawing to make a point. You copy this or any drawing or photo (simple at first to gain confidence).
 
There are a few simple keys to quickly become badass.
A: Start out with a quick bad drawing. It can be like a silhouette or outline. Don't dwell in details. Train yourself not to add details until the original silhouette or outline, is flawless. It doesn't matter if the original quick drawing is totally asymmetrical and wrong, but get the entire shitty version of the drawing done first and quickly
 
B: There is no such thing as failing at a drawing. If it isn't perfect yet, that means you're not finished yet. You are allowed to (and professional artists often do) erase and redraw any little detail one thousand times. Get over the idea that failure is possible. I can't stress enough this isn't a hippie metaphysical instruction. I literally mean to think of any incorrect or stupid looking line as a temporary thing you can erase however often you want.
 
C: Copy stuff (not trace) until you start to realize you can draw things naturally without copying. when you copy every aspect matters. if you tried to copy left of pic related. is the line on the left part of the bow perfectly vertical like that? Is the mistake and awkward line on the bottom at the same exact angle? is the triangle formed at the right side of bow between the bow and the head the same shape and angle? if not, erase and try again. Those tiny millimeters of difference matter enough that if an artist doesn't make a pony's eye one millimeter to the left, the whole thing looks kinda wonky. Care about these tiny details, and again don't forget that mistakes are not failures, they are steps along the way to the finished whole.