How to draw anything - even if you can't draw

+ some resources at the end.

Drawing is intimidating. “I can’t draw” and “I could never draw like that” are two very common reactions when the subject of drawing comes up. But I think this is because we overcomplicate the drawing process.

Look at these drawings for example:

The framework that I used to draw these, and to learn to draw in general, is called

Sketchnoting is when you listen to a lecture, a podcast, or sit at a meeting, and take notes in a way that combines text and images to help you remember the key ideas of what you have heard.

The guy who came up with this concept is called Mike Rohde and he has a great substack that you can check out here: www.sketchnotelab.com

I’ll share more resources at the end.

In this post, I’ll talk about:

• drawing ideas instead of making art

• the five elements that make up a drawing

• how to draw anything using the five elements

• how to use sketchnoting in your everyday life to improve your drawing skills

So now, let’s get to it!

1. The difference between drawing ideas and making art

In his book, The Sketchnote Handbook, Mike introduced this concept of “ideas, not art”.

He describes how the point of sketchnotes is to share ideas that everyone can understand, and to take notes quickly that help us remember. Focusing on beautifying every little icon on small illustration will result in us missing some of the key messages, and when it comes to sketchnotes, that’s a big problem.

But then are sketchnotes art or not?

I think it’s all about our intention. When we draw sketchnotes, our primary intention is to make them useful. To us, and also our clients, if we do it for them. But then, our secondary intention could be to make them look nice, for sure!

I think what

Mike Rohde

may or may not have considered (I should ask him) is that drawing sketchnotes might actually help us find our “illustration style”, that coveted magical holy grail that all illustrators are hoping to find for the first roughly ten years of their career.

My sketchnotes/drawings don’t need to be artistic. I want them to be simple and easy to understand. I want people to “get it”. Then, the message they convey can be artistic, and thus, I can call myself an artist if I want to. (Which I do.)

Does this make sense?

2. The five elements of drawing, and how to use them

When it comes to sketchnoting, the magic is that we only need five elements to draw anything and these are available to everyone. Here they are:

With just these five elements, we can draw a simplified version of anything that surrounds us, places we have visited, scenes from our daily life, etc. Anything is possible.

Here is an example:

As you see, I used the five elements to make these small icons I showed you above. Now let’s see a more complex example (this is a drawing of my brother):

As they say, the proof is in the pudding, so here’s a challenge for you.

1. Look at some items in your house, maybe some stuff in the kitchen, some stationary things, anything.

2. Analyse each item one by one. Can you identify the five elements in the items?

3. Now take a piece of paper and draw the items. Try to make them as simple as possible - while still recognisable.

Ok, that’s it!

3. How to use sketchnoting to improve your drawing skills

To me, sketchnoting was like a “gateway drug” to illustration. It was a technique I learned first and by practicing, I started to improve my drawing skills and developing a “style”.

Some ways that you can use sketchnoting to get better at drawing:

• if you have a lot of online meetings, try sketchnoting instead of taking regular notes

• draw your shopping list

• draw in your diary

• draw for your kids for them to color it

• start putting together a visual vocabulary, similar to these:

Sketchnoting is different from other illustration styles, such as the beautiful and intricate drawings you might see in children’s books or graphic novels, and it may not be for everyone. But if it’s appealing to you, why not give it a try?

Here are a couple of resources, if you are interested:

• Mike’s book

• An online course by The Sketch Effect

• A course on domestica from the Scriberia team

• Emily Mills has a lot of great courses at the Sketch Academy

If you decide to give sketchnoting a try and want to share what you drew with me, please reply to this email or tag me in notes “@zsofilang”.