Why people believe they can’t draw - and how to prove they can | Graham Shaw | TEDxHull 

The whole phineas And ferb animated like this.

I was really hoping he would suddenly go full bob ross on them and just start making a masterpiece in seconds and just keep saying a line right there

The worst thing you can ever do is say that you can't do something. It's upsetting to believe that so many people have passed on never fulfilling a dream because they told themselves they can never do it. Always believe in yourself and give it a go, what's the worst that can happen?

My older brother taught me to draw when I was five. I recently retired from the Motion Picture industry after 41 years as a scenic artist in Hollywood. Thanks for the great story.

He seems too wholesome for this world.

Now I upgraded from a stickman to this... Can't wait to flex this when school may or may not be back.

He looks like a teacher that would actually help you when you’re sad, unlike someone. **cough**counselor**cough**

As an artist, I will say, these are actually great drawings! If you aren’t an artist and you were thinking “oh well, no one would actually like this anyways” (idk if anyone would actually say that, but that’s smth I would say tbh) if I saw this, I would genuinely love seeing these. If I could get my own portrait in this style, I would genuinely frame it on my wall. I genuinely adore this type of art style, idk why, but I love it.

I drew a human once and my dad said "that's a great looking dog, sweetheart, keep going." I'm dead inside

It’s not that I think I can’t draw, its that I can’t draw *well*

People think that they cannot do things, simply because they do not know where to start. Information overload is a real thing, especially in todays world of seemingly infinite distractions. It's all about breaking things down into smaller parts, and analyzing them. To truly understand something, we must look at the smaller components that make up the whole equation. Same goes for time, something I am still learning is that to not be overwhelmed with life and to remain peaceful, you must treat each day one step at a time, literally and metaphorically. Focus on the moment. Seek clarity and understanding in things that you wish to, and for God's sake, do not forget how much potential you have. Remember, everyone who ever did anything amazing, was doubted by everyone around them, and a lot of our self doubt, comes from the fact that we tend to believe what others say at times we shouldn't. All I wish by commenting here right now is that maybe one person even reads this and decides to go on with something that they have been doubting that they could do for some time, and that it takes you on a journey that changes you life for the better, and I, will do my best to do the same.

As an aspiring artist whos been drawing for over a year, getting frustrated, seemingly getting nowhere, seeing this really reminded me about the joy of drawing. The feeling of creating something out of nothing. Seeing that reaction from those people, all those smiles on their faces. That really helps me to appreciate the craft more.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. ~wisdom~

When he turned an extra blank sheet it felt quite disturbing to me

People really think drawing is some impossible task when they've never spent any time doing it, but the way he demonstrated it really is all there is to it. I tend to draw more realistic or stylized images, but can confirm that the process is the exact same. I learned how to draw noses by copying one I saw in a comic book of mine, and all I do now is follow the same process making slight alterations when I want something that looks different.

This guy is so delightful. Kind and patient and convinced that all his students can succeed. He has made me feel so joyful this morning.

"Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up" -Pablo Picasso

this video is so pure. i bet all the adults there giggling are remembering what it felt like to draw when they were children. this gives me hope in humanity honestly

I draw for fun, and if you're young or just starting off you should try to remember this: Grades in school mean next to nothing, if you get a bad grade in arts don't let that destroy your interest in it. This nearly happened to me, but luckily I was able to avoid it. Extra note: Always finish a drawing, I personally keep all drawings in a little notebook with their date of when I drew them. While you're drawing something you might believe that it isn't good, or that you can do better but if you finish the drawing and look at it again a few months/years later you'll be able to look at it in a different way and truly appreciate it. I also love sharing my drawings with someone, it's not needed to have fun but it personally makes me motivated to get even better, and the feedback/compliments you'll receive will be really helpful :)

My grade 5 teacher made us draw the cartoons in our notes that she had done on the blackboard for each lesson. It made the notes more fun to study and it never dawned on me, as a child, that it would be a memory aid for me and for other students. Each student learns differently. She was amazing!! That was almost 50 years ago and I remember her with such fondness.

i believe i can sing, but peoples seem to disagree with me

Why people believe they can't draw: THE OTHER DAMN EYE

He is not creating drawings,he is creating confidence

Great session and very good communication skills i felt like i am there in that room sitting in front of him. Loved it thanks a lot TedX

I always think he's drawing too far apart and then when he's done it looks totally fine

I love it when he says “line to the left, line to the right”

How uplifting. I’m a retired public school art teacher and I adored this. My heart was so moved by the stroke sufferers delight…how freeing this must have felt to them. My first thought was ‘I wonder which hand they are drawing with!’ I especially liked the end speech. Thank you so much for sharing and the work you do. I’m a pretty good artist and I still learned.❤

Great video! but let's shift our attention to something productive. As we all know, becoming a successful person is not an overnight job, but the secret they use is what the middle class is hesitant to do, like the stock market.

Police: So what did the bank robber look like when he fled the scene Me: Line to the left....

I always feel like I'm invincible after these TED Talks! (at least for a couple of hours )

I told a friend I wished I could draw, he said I could I just didn't know it. I tried and I like the result, it was terrible in hindsight but I thought it was good, he gave me tips and encouraged me (while probably cringing inside at my attempts) and I got far better, I love art now so much and I'm actually quite good. Art inspired me to take up photography and I'm really good at that, I knew I had to practice and now I'm professional level. I'm neurodivergent though and that has helped (and hindered) me a lot.

Very subjective and really depends on context though. This is like asking someone if they can do Math, them saying no, and you giving them a equation of simple addition.

Now I can draw a small comic where everyone’s looking to the left, even as they talk to each other

"Just hold your drawings up and show everyone." The drawings: ⬜

WONDERFUL reminder that it is WE who limits ourselves! I am semi-retired and wanted to challenge myself with a rather difficult art medium, watercolors. I have little talent for doing original paintings, but I am surprising myself at how well I can copy (for my own enjoyment). Now I want to do more challenging things, especially after seeing this humble man prove to me I CAN do what I thought I couldn't! Thank you, Sir!

I forget what professor it was, but he asked a group of students if anyone could draw, dance, or sing. No one raised their hand. He then went on to talk about what happened to them. When they were 5, 6, whatever, they could do every one of those things. I really enjoyed that video wherever I saw that.

I like how he says "Line to the left, line to the right"

Line to the left. Line to the right *_CRISS CROSS!_*

YES!!! The same goes for music! Being musically inclined isn’t always something you’re born with, you just need to practice. I firmly believe anybody can be a musician, if they want to.

An absolute masterclass, Teachers like these make the difference. Most of the time, how we learn the first-class affects how we perceive the subject - brilliant.

Teacher: Draw yourself *Draws horribly* Teacher: Perfect

He sounds like a very nice person. We need poeple like him!

Came across this while I was bored due to having a broken arm and ended up picking up my pen with my left hand and giving it a go expecting it to not work. I realised i could still do the drawings pretty easily just a bit slower and it was awesome when he explained how he taught the stroke victims. Basically it proved everything he was preaching in the video to be true what a great life lesson!

Art is a skill too and I find it astonishing how many people don't realise it's something you can practice, and something you HAVE TO practice to become good at it. If you think artists are born with a brush in hand, painting like the old masters, you're undermining countless hours of hard work and practice they've put into art. You could do that too and be one of them. Nothing's stopping you but yourself.

I retired at 65 and pick up a pencil and can't put it down. filling sketch pads like a mad man

Jokes on you, I draw like Picasso 👁 👄 👂🏼 👃🏼 👂🏼 👁

I don’t know why I clicked on this video, I don’t have much of an interest in drawing. But this ended up being one of the most profound videos I have seen in a long time. it’s mind blowing to me that I was able to draw those pictures that easily.

I've always thought I couldn't draw even though I've always been fascinated by drawing, painting and art in general. Recently, I've thought if I decided to learn how to draw how could I start? Well, I came across this TED talk then and I learned a lot more than about drawing but about challenging our beliefs. Such a powerful message!

For some people creativity and the talent of drawing just comes natural

Lol I thought he was actually gonna explain the psychology or something but he literally just taught everyone how to draw XD

Man, as a kid I always thought that my drawings were masterpiece and I was good at it, but now looking back at my sketchbooks I realized how bad it actually was, but yet my teachers and parents motivated me. And now I'm way better at art and I'm very happy I didn't give up lol

This is the kind of teacher everyone respected at school.

This guy came to my school and did an almost exact presentation like this...the nostalgia

**DIFFICULTY** Head : 7/10 Back : 5/10 Hands : 100/10 Other eye : 1000000001/10

This guy is the most delightful person ever, isn’t he?

It's been half an hour, I'm still scribbling cartoons. Haven't had this much fun drawing for at least 15 years.

im a teenager who mostly watches gaming channels, how did i end up here lol

Look how normal a cough is back then 😂

so sorry that i didn’t see this years ago. Thank you for doing this. What I always get frustrated by is when someone says that they “cannot” or simply “I am not creative”. The reason that humans are top of the food chain is our ability to adapt. Our creativity. We are fairly frail, not the best vision, slow moving, cannot swim.. Our creativity is what makes us what we are.

he sounds like a very nice person. We need more people like him

*line to the left...line to the right*

Alternative title: Why people have high standards - and how to lower them.

This is a game changer for me. As u said, i believed I couldn't draw, but with these simple line n curves n ur instructions, it got me smiling. Ur an inspiration 😍😍. Thank you

it's not that I think I can't draw it's just that I don't draw as good as I would like to.

Despite some opinions seeing this video as a "connect the dots" or "paint by numbers" method, it's more about the mentality and limits people are challenged with. The end of the video is the most important part of being an artist. This guy gets it. The entirety of this video is just to give the masses the lens to finally see what is possible in all of us....drawing or anything else.

I have been trying to build my art skills and the thing that keeps surprising me over and over again is the epiphany I keep having of “oh. Art is just basic shapes interacting with each other in different ways.” Haha. Like it’s really that simple, and now the task is figuring out how to make it all work together. Haha

I'm a self-taught artist who loves to draw animals and especially birds. I experiment with all sort of things and of course, not everything turns great bc my drawings can't all be perfect. I started my journey when I was a little kid, spending my days scribbling with markers instead of playing with dolls. When I was 5 or 6, I started to have a real interest into drawing and drew all kinds of things that were in my mind whenever I had free time. When I was in grade 2, I started to have a real interest in birds and animals and little did I knew my passion would lead me where I am now. I started self-teaching myself the techniques by drawing out of photos. Literally. Now, I only need a little bit of inspiration and a bird photo reference (mainly for the species so I don't mess up the color scheme) to create a masterpiece. That little 80 pages sketchbook that I got for literally CA$10 at my college's store gives me the motivation I need to continue my studies by filling a page every Tuesday between my maths and English classes while I have 3h to kill. After growing up drawing, I truly think it's smth you learn and need to tackle every day in order to get better. Being an artist is like being a musician: practice every day or you won't get better. I want to give a piece of advice for every artist who doubts themselves: try everything, by doing that, you will find what you like to draw the most as well as your style. See your art as a way to express yourself instead of seeing it as "it always needs to be perfect and please others". It doesn't need to be perfect, nor does it need to even make sense. Your sketchbook is like your little kingdom, no one needs to see it nor does every page needs to be a masterpiece.

When will Ted himself actually show up to the talk?

Him: names the characters The crowd: AHAHAHAHHAHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

What a lovely man! I could listen to him talk for hours

This recommended video pops out in 2023! He is so inspirational. I do draw; but he simplifies and beautifies the basics. ❤

Michaelangelo: "We are all born artists, we just have to discover it"

I instantly painted the mona lisa after I watched this video ☠

I was so skeptical about this video for months when RU-vid recommended it to me. But now that I have watched it, I can see how brilliant this man is!!

9:15 im 17 years old and i just started using this trick and it works like magic for me i can understand concepts more clearly than ever before in my entire life. 😅

The most important thing to learn when trying to draw, is to fully incorporate the White of the paper you're drawing on. What I mean is this - When we try to draw, for example a human head and face, or maybe a cat, dog etc, we draw the full shape, i.e. we draw a full circle for the head and try to add things to it, or we draw the full shape of a cat and then try to add a tail etc, but what Graham Shaw wants us to realize, and something I realized after seeing countless of videos etc, is that you don't need to draw the full shape, but rather, you need to utilize the White of the paper. Just like in the video, you draw a few lines where you want the neck to be, or the ears to be etc, and then the rest of it is already filled in by the White background of the paper. This is the biggest barrier that most people have when it comes to drawing. A person needs to realize that most drawings create the illusion that a full picture is in front of you, even though its just a few drawn lines that represent the basic shape of an object, and then the paper itself fills in the rest and creates a full image. Everything is in the imagination. When you draw, you should be relaxed and not overthink it. It takes practice, and of course, a lot of imagination, but this video is correct, everyone can draw, you just have to realize that a lot of drawings are creating the illusion of a full picture, even if only a few lines exist on the paper itself :) (I know this comment is a repost, I do it on purpose so that new people can find it easier)

You can draw Me: *breaks the pen*

Seeing those smiles on the peoples faces in the end warmed my heart

The key bit is being willing to try And willing to fail And willing to keep trying, in spite of failing This goes for all sorts of things

when people say "OMG I CAN'T DRAW A STICKMAN" I'm like "Bitch, please, you just don't want to." Like 75% of my friends draw. It's not hard. Nobody gives a shit if you suck, you draw for fun.

I didn't think much of the video when I clicked on it but when I finished it I was quiet inspired

I couldn't bored watching this man for 3 hours. With this 15 minutes tutor i start sketching some crazy cartoons. He is great.

Saw this guy years ago as a kid in person and just loved it 😊

Yes, me and you dont have nothing to do during the quarentine

No artist will say their drawing is the best, because in their eyes they could be better. They can be satisfied with an artwork, but still think that it could be better.

15:02 As someone who’s growing up thinking I can’t draw. This guy has utterly proved me wrong.

What a beautiful session I was so very depressed today and one friend of mine shared this link. Trust me. It made me smile and giggle like a kid after the traumatizing day

Am I the only one who notices that every freaking teacher ever says they can't draw? (I mean non-art teachers, like science or something.)

What an adorable presentation.

the fastest fifteen minutes of my life yet the most productive. who knew that after the end of this short video you will be equipped with a skill that has no boundaries. drawing. Thanks Graham. You are a great man!

I work in a nursing home , I'll be bringing this new skill to my residents.

Man with no hands: “I can’t draw” This guy: “that’s just an illusion”

This is very true. I think I would have never explored drawing if I didn't have my sisters. I never thought I could draw and also never paid much attention to drawing in school. Both my sisters would draw out of interest and someday(out of boredom) I thought maybe I should give it a try. I did, and I surprised myself. Suddenly I discovered it isn't that difficult. You just had to copy from the book stroke by stroke. With every trial I got better. It's also true that you don't realise you like something until you try it. I started liking art. Till date when someone tells me 'you draw so well, I can't draw at all'. I tell them, "anyone can draw, you just haven't tried it enough".

Really enjoyed this TED Talk. The last quote he said was pretty accurate, I will keep that in mind as anybody need to do.

Top 3 unresolved mysteries: 1. Bermuda Triangle 2. Ocean Underneath Mysteries 3. RU-vid recommendations

I can't believe there is so much criticism on this TedX. I thought it was a fun presentation.

That's true. Like Mathematics, Communication, Drawing and any other form of arts are skills that can be learned. It's like the saying that we have in our place, "You'll never know how good you are at Math, unless you do more Maths." Because learning a skill consumes time and effort. The problem is that we easily give up, we lack motivation, or we're uninterested.

I like to draw. But then i suddenly stop drawing when i see somebody who draw more prettier. After some years, i stop comparing my art with other and start to draw. And get some others art as inspiration And try to copy but change it some of them to make it much easier. And yuh even i make many mistakes but i still try to not erase it but instead i draw on top of it. Drawing is about practice sometimes you make mistakes but after that you can fix it. I like to get inspiration by others sketch.

This Is Exactly How Drawing Should Be Taught At School.

my hypothesis is that when drawing these cartoons, each step or stroke is computers like a character when handwriting. the nose is a C, the eyes are obviously 6s etc. this means that instead of the brain thinking "ugh, I can't draw" it's thinking "hey, I can write characters like this!" and the lines end up very clean and confident, just like handwriting.