Why I Gave Up Tracing Pictures – Sharing Week 3 Drawings
I am a professional portrait photographer modernizing Kimon Nicolaïdes’ 1941 classic, The Natural Way to Draw. I am "debugging" the original, intimidating 15-hour-a-week commitment into a manageable One-Hour a Day Drawing Challenge. Follow along as I share my weekly progress and custom reference photos.
I felt trapped with the tracing method. Almost all the online courses I bought encouraged tracing as a shortcut to drawing and painting. But after tracing from a picture, I found myself trapped—I had to use a smaller brush, being extra careful not to step outside of the lines I had just made. I wondered: Isn’t painting supposed to make me feel free? Why didn’t I feel the joy of expressing my energy flow?
A 1-minute “scribble” gesture drawing from my Nicolaïdes practice made me feel that freedom and flow. I realized that the artists I admire all know how to draw well without tracing. Their foundation of drawing practice is what sets them free when they paint. My heart desires that too.
Is it too late to start at 45?
I know it will take years to draw well. At 45, I wonder: Do I still have time to master another skill? Is it too late? Then I wonder if these are real questions or just excuses not to learn something that will one day make me happy.
I’ve spent 20 years practicing photography. I am a professional portrait photographer, and my clients love my work. If I hadn’t spent a massive amount of time mastering that craft, I wouldn’t have work I’m proud of today.
The older I get, the more I look for shortcuts and “quick wins” because I feel I’m running out of time. But that is not how you master drawing. There is no way to speed up. I have to learn to love the journey and the growth to be happy. If the process is the happiness, there is no need to rush. I don’t have to wait until I master the skill to be happy; I’m already happy now because I’m drawing.
Finding a method that fits my neurodivergent brain
Tracing doesn’t make me happy because I wasn’t learning. Learning brings me joy. Tracing just doesn’t work with my brain, and my mind kept resisting it.
The same thing happened with formulas and grids. Most online courses teach the Loomis or grid methods, and I felt deeply repelled by those mechanic styles. I know many people use them to create stunning work, but it is just not for me.
Eventually, I was led to Nicolaïdes’ The Natural Way to Draw, and everything clicked. I love the methods and the encouragement. A few pages in, he says: “Don’t worry about the ‘proportions’ of the figure. That problem will take care of itself in time”. How magical that sounds! My curiosity has led to many discoveries I’m keen to share. I’m on Schedule 12 now.
Looking back at Week 3
My journal from Week 3 show I was struggling:
• Weight and Modelled Drawing: These exercises confused me. I had to look online to see what they actually meant.
• Gesture Doubts: I started having doubts about what I was doing. After watching some tutorials, I realized there are many ways to draw gesture—no “right or wrong”—but I made a huge mistake that I will share with you later.
Happy drawing,
Lili Amanda
