What is the Best Way to Learn Drawing?

What is the Best Way to Learn Drawing? Skills vs. Creativity

The majority of Western contemporary art colleges have as their main aim developing creative thinking in their art students; yet the focus on professional art skills is lost. They want their graduates to have a creative core; having good drawing skills by the end of college is optional.

The approach in Russian art schools is very different. Above all, they give professional art skills, focusing less on developing the creative personality of a student. The reason for such an approach is that every person is creative by default, especially those who chose art as profession. What these students need to express their creativity are strong skills. That is why Russian art school gives students a solid classical education, which yields great results. With such an education, a person has the possibility to develop their creativity to a very high level. This produces a high number of artists that are creative and having great skills as well.

However, if the education system is focusing on finding a personality and developing creativity without giving the necessary skills of trade, such a student would have to search for skills later in his career. For example, success of an athlete would depend on hard training. If someone wants to become an Olympic champion, they would have to practice every day to develop the necessary skills. So, there is a conflict when an art college develops creative personalities who are not able to produce the art they have in their mind.

The ideal approach is when an academic school develops creativity and gives skills simultaneously. That is why, in Russian art school, apart from drawing and painting, students also learn philosophy, economics, history, and all other subjects to get a deeper understanding of the world, to form their personal views, and to develop their creativity.

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