Article Comments

I think its an essential skill to have, I wouldn't like to have to sketch out ideas with clients and the drawing look like a pre school scribble.

I also think and maybe its a chliche, but drawing does indeed teach you, Image balance, composition, mark making, tone, light, colour, pattern use etc...I think that equates to your own way of working/your own 'style' of course not being able to draw you wouldn't know this, however there are always other ways to learn these things, but the outcome wont be as individual maybe.

The image above is an example, looks OK, Anyone with an ounce of patience and tracing paper/photoshop could replicate that. there is no drawing skill involved, still it does its job, it looks like a drawing, It all depends on what kind of work or skills you are satisfied with i guess.

I mean who needs to draw to be able to pen-tool a load of paths together in the shape of a trendy skull/tiger/drips add dear horns/type and print. hopefully people who have spent years learning to draw can see straight through that trash to the boring stale copycat images that they are.

While I agree 100% that Designers should maintain a sketchbook, it's not often that we're even given time to elaborately sketch out ideas for clients. 999 out of 1000 designers in the United States don't get the luxury of a huge budget or an extensive creative brief. At least here in the U.S, it's a "run-and-gun" work culture.

Now, I'm by no means saying we shouldn't have the basic drawing skills but it's very hard when a large portion of your work day is spent hustling to get projects done so the boss can collect on invoices.

I do believe that basic drawing skills are essential to the concept development of a brand's identity — or in other words, an elaborate way of saying "logo design".

Ultimately, it comes down to how much TIME you have in your day.

I for one wish we had an eight day of the week for which I could dedicate the entire 24 hours to just learning more about my profession. Photoshop, Cinema4D, Illustrator, Typography, Drawing, Compositing etc., are all things I WANT to improve on but in the end...time is finite.