Learn to Draw by Making Mistakes: Drawing Ideas That Went Wrong

When people gathered around to watch me draw I was often asked “Do you ever go wrong?” The short answer? All the time!

Mistakes are part of the creative process, and here’s the thing, going wrong isn’t the same as failing. I rarely scrap a drawing and start again.

Mistakes are a setback and present a puzzle to be solved. Every misstep is an opportunity to learn what you did wrong, how to fix the issue, and how to avoid the same thing from happening again.

I treat going wrong as part of the deal. Constant corrections are part and parcel of drawing and painting. Indeed, a ‘happy accident’ can transform an otherwise ordinary picture into a stunning work of art.

The trick is being able to adapt and follow a new direction.

Let’s go over a few of my drawings and I’ll explain what went wrong and how I dealt with it.

A Red Deer Drawing, Before and After

At first sight you may not think that this drawing went wrong. I took the reference photo of a large red stag in Richmond Park in London. It was rutting season and this guy was fuelled up and ready to go.

I loved the raised head and intense eyes but the sideways pose gave me problems. I wasn’t happy with the balance. I needed the stags head in the center but if I drew the full body in it would weight the composition awkwardly to the right.

That wouldn’t work so I faded the drawing out at the shoulderline. Hmm. Photorealism and a stilted sketchy edge wasn’t great either. I put the drawing to one side for a while until I figured out what to do.

This was my solution. I scoured the net for images with a deer looking straight on at the camera with the body symmetrically aligned. I had most of the details but I wanted to be sure of the correct anatomy.

That was a fairly straight forward adjustment. I had to erase part of the original drawing without damaging the paper or leaving pencil marks exposed.

Night Flight A Pencil Drawing of a Barn Owl

This drawing of a barn owl sold perfectly well. So, why change it? Let me explain.

I have a problem with conflicting drawing styles. On the one hand I want to draw accurately and do the best job possible. On the other hand, I want to convey movement and have a looser feel to the finished work.

These aims are difficult to combine.

Drawing photorealism requires a meticulous attension to detail. It requires a steady hand and laser-like focus. There is nothing expressive about it.

In an attempt to loosen the drawing up, I cross-hatched the background, but I was afraid to abandon my tight my control. I was timid and it shows. The background is an artificial contivence. It almost works, but not quite.

I’m not sure the darker background works as well I hoped either, but it’s better than it was before, in my opinion.

At least the title ‘Night Flight’ fits the image. The barn owl stands out against the night sky, and the image is more dynamic.

I might darken the lighter streaks and have a uniform background.

‘Hippo Calling’ Before and After

I had the same issues with ‘Hippo Calling’. I have never liked the contrived spontiniety of the background.

It’s a more attractive drawing with a dark background, but it still lacks the oomph I was looking for. Adding some plashing water might solve the problem.

‘Doe-Eyed’ A Deer Fawn

Another drawing that nearly made it. The deer fawn is very cute but my reference shot was lousy. Rather than just draw a portrait, I tried to be clever with the background hatching. Again, I didn’t quite pull it off.

Blocking in the background isn’t working either. Not as it is at this moment in time.

N.B. The right hand ‘after’ images of the hippo and the fawn are my own photos. The left hand images are professional scans, hence the difference in quality.

‘Hanging Around’ A Drawing of a Baby Orangutan

I’ve never liked this drawing. That’s not something I should say, because it was one of my bestselling prints for years.

People loved it. They smiled and ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ and it hit the heart strings. That should be enough right? Nope, not for me.

As soon as I printed a ‘better’ alternative, I stopped publishing this print. I’ll tell you what I don’t like.

It’s over sentimental. I’m not at all averse to drawing cute animals, as long as they are well composed and drawn. This drawing is neither of those things.

The drawing is very basic by my standards. It lacks the photorealism that I spent years trying to master, yet lacks the free movement and expression of a good sketch.

I drew it, then printed it, when I had very few prints to sell and very few of my own reference photos to work with. I made do with what I had, and that usually works out fine.

You could argue that this drawing worked too, that is, if you only counted the cash.

But that’s not how life is for me. I feel that I sold myself short, and to some extent, sold the public short too. I adopted a ‘that will do’ attitude and I’ve always regretted it.

If you need more help with drawing, then I urge you to check out
Dorian Iten on Proko. His course is reasonably priced and inspiring

Drawings That Failed

I don’t give up easily but there comes a time when you must admit defeat and move on. The following drawings are in that category. Please be aware that these are home scans so not top notch.

I remember where I was when I started this drawing. I was in Thailand, camping on a beach in a national park, copying a photo of an elephant I saw playing in the Chobe river in Botswana. Talk about a name-dropping travel bore!

I gathered a crowd as I was drawing it in the park canteen. I remember thinking at the time that this is a winner. Yeah, well I was ahead of myself. It started well but I lost my way. The composition is dull. Looking back I should’ve drawn a close-up of the head only.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

You know, I could say something very similar with this drawing. I had high hopes. The pose was great. You wouldn’t think this was a captive leopard.

Shall I name drop? Why not. I was visiting a successful snow leopard breeding project in Darjeeling in N.E. India, this was in the zoo opposite.

Again only the face is interesting and thats all I should’ve drawn. I tried and tried to rescue this one. Eventually I binned it. I couldn’t look at it anymore.

I can’t remember where I saw this alley cat, somewhere in Asia I think. I remember being having artists block when I drew this one. I was uninspired and it shows.

The cats pose is fine but the setting ruins it.

This is an early drawing. I drew it sometime in the mid 90’s. I was trying to envisage a rhino kicking up dust and scattering a flock of birds. I was trying to emulate Robert Bateman, unsuccessfully as it turned out.

I don’t recall where I saw the rhino, it was in a zoo somewhere. I didn’t have any photos of birds flying so I ‘borrowed’ some images, probably from a library book. Tut-tut.

The rhino is badly rendered and the face is flat and unconvincing. The dust is timid and should’ve been more dynamic. The birds are well drawn but, as they are not my references, it negates their worth.

The lesson here is if you like the face, just draw the face. I’m a repeat offender. Maybe I’m a slow learner.

I had a vague idea about drawing this leopard emerging from the undergrowth, but in all honesty, I ran out of interest before I got that far. It just fizzled. I stopped and never returned.

‘Head of the Family’ A Pencil Drawing of a Proud Lion

What’s wrong with this one? Nothing important, but it’s a good example of how the resulting drawing was not as originally intended.

I had a hell of a time drawing the fur. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew the pose was great. It was, and is, a classic lion image, but my technique was lacking.

I drew this before I started using mechanical pencils and I relied too heavily on scoring the paper to create the fur effect.

A few scored lines can work well, but when you overdo it, the result is a ruined paper surface that is hard to adjust and repair.

I went over and over the chest mane until they paper was so thin I risked losing the drawing altogether. I stopped when there no way forward. I was less than happy with my ‘failure’.

As it turned out the pose was sufficiently good to rescue the drawing and when I saw it with fresh eyes, it was good enough to risk printing. That turned out well as this drawing has always been popular.

Few people have ever commented negatively on the drawing itself, but there was one comment I remember well. A guy told me that he liked the drawing but an ear is missing. That had never occured to me, and sure enough, the left ear was missing.

I refered back to my reference photo and it doesn’t appear there either, so obviously, the lion had only pricked up one ear. The problem is, I can’t look at this drawing anymore without thinking it’s missing an ear.

Drawing That Go Wrong: Final Thoughts

I’m going to stop here because I could list most of my drawings and pick holes in them. It’s the creators curse.

I am my own worst critic. I can’t look at my own work objectively. I usually resign myself to accepting that my artwork is OK but could be a lot better.

I’m not alone, I meet few artists who are secure in their own efforts. We all seem to carry around an imposter syndrome to a lesser or greater degree.

I comfort myself in appreciating that many people like my drawings enough to have them hanging on the wall at home, and that’s humbling and special.

When people ask me what’s my favorite drawing, I tell them the truth, as far as it goes, but in the back of my mind I always think the real answer is – ‘the next one’.

‘Heat and Dust’ A Pencil Drawing that Worked

If you want to try things for yourself, this is my basic kit

Now take a look at these articles:

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• How to Draw Realistically: 11 Realistic Drawing Tips
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• How to Draw Water in Pencil: Drawing Water The Right Way

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