I’m not quite sure what I mean by that, but I used to have a good friend who was an editorial cartoonist. He could draw anything he wanted purely from memory. That’s a nice skill to have, but it isn’t necessary to become a designer. For that matter, I know good designers who don’t draw at all. Still, I think many graphic designers were originally interested in art because of some baic drawing skill (that was the case with me), then got sidetracked into design.
I think basic talent can be refined and enhanced, but if that innate ability isn’t there, I’m not sure it can be learned.
Are you confusing art with design? There’s a significant overlap, but they’re not the same. Fine art is often done for the sake of doing it. It’s a personal exploration of how the artists want to express themselves. Graphic design isn’t like that. Design relies heavily on a combination of analytical and artistic skills to solve visual problems for clients.
Good design is easy to spot since it depends on how well it solves the problem, which usually involves, but isn’t limited to, aesthetics. Visual fine art is more difficult to judge since it depends on the artist’s intended objective. If an artist wants to draw a realistic picture of a dog, the success of the drawing can be judged by its realism. Modern art is more complicated because it often depends on… well, I could go off on a tangent, so I’ll stop.
If that basic innate talent and interest are there, those things can be learned. And I’d be willing to bet that you’re not giving yourself enough credit. Would you paint a toddler’s bedroom walls and ceiling with fluorescent orange paint with big emerald green polka-dots? Probably not, since the kids would probably have nightmares and develop a psychological illness. Instead, a soft blue might work out a bit better.
We’re all like that, but with schooling and experience, graphic designers learn to set aside their personal favorites and use their analytical skills to create something more appropriate for the job at hand.
Drawing ability is a valuable skill, but there are plenty of great graphic designers who aren’t good at drawing (or sculpting, weaving, pottery, or interior design).
Yes, I couldn’t agree more. I spent six years in university coursework learning how to see without a single class on using a computer. Of course, graphics software wasn’t available when I was in college, but all things considered, I’m probably better off for it because, as you said, learning the software is the easy part. Learning to see is much more difficult.
If you have a strong interest, I suspect you’re totally capable of that, but you need to focus on learning to see rather than spending all your time on software. I haven’t checked to see if they’re available, but look for online classes on design rather than classes on design software. As @Steve_O said, graphic design is an incredibly competitive field, where the business dynamics are changing in ways that stress low-cost instead of high-quality. However, if you’re aiming to do this as a hobby, it’s totally doable (to an extent).
One other thing… Have you heard of the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain? If not, please buy a copy. The book is about learning to draw by shifting your perception from the analytical, verbal, and symbolic left-brain processing to the more intuitive, visual, and spatial processing of the right brain. Whether brain hemispheres have anything to do with it, I don’t know. Still, the idea of setting aside analytical thinking and embracing a more intuitive approach will leave your stick figures in the rear-view mirror.
