You Don’t Have to Draw Perfectly to Think Visually

Drawing can sometimes feel intimidating.

Particularly when we're surrounded by beautifully polished artwork and finished creative projects.

But drawing doesn't always need to be about producing something beautiful.

Sometimes, drawing is simply thinking on paper.

At Alchemy Studios, sketches, rough ideas and visual thinking are an important part of the animation process. Before anything becomes a finished frame, drawing can help us explore an idea, solve a problem, test a composition or communicate something that might take several paragraphs to explain in words.

And it doesn't need to be perfect.

Giving ideas somewhere to begin

One of the dangers of aiming for perfection too early is that we can become reluctant to experiment.

If every mark needs to be good, making that first mark becomes much harder.

A rough sketch gives an idea somewhere to exist.

From there it can change, develop or disappear completely.

All of those outcomes are useful.

Visual thinking isn't just for artists

You don't have to consider yourself an artist to use drawing as a thinking tool.

Diagrams, storyboards, doodles, arrows, stick figures and scribbled notes can all help us process and communicate ideas.

Sometimes putting something visual onto a page allows us to see a problem differently.

And that can be where the interesting ideas begin.

Creativity before perfection

Creative work is rarely created perfectly on the first attempt.

It develops through experimentation.

So the next time you're tempted not to draw something because you think you "can't draw", try changing the objective.

Don't draw to make something beautiful.

Draw to explore an idea.

You might be surprised where it takes you.