I Tried Learning How to Draw In 30 DAYS!

EDIT: This is starting to get seen by people outside of my community and some people seem to doubt the legitimacy of all of this. I assure you I drew these, and that I haven't drawn since doodling in class. I understand if you don't believe me - but it's important to remember I also tried to mainly just do illustrations these 30 days AND used reference for all of them. None of this is original. I've been continuing my journey and have been trying to be more lose and less perfect and let me tell you a lot of it is a mess. I'm no prodigy and I'm also no charlatan. I think I can just replicate certain references to an okay degree that might make it seem like I'm more advanced than I am but I assure you I'm not. My recent sketchbook is a lot of hot garbage. Super nervous sharing this but after all the nice comments I had gotten over on Twitter I thought I could share it with you all to see what you think and to hopefully pass on the inspiration to others! If you have any tips or ideas on how to improve in the next 100 days like I mentioned at the end of the video - let me know! Thanks so much for all your support and sorry for the sporadic uploads. Been more depressed than usual but this drawing has really helped me day to day and within the next couple days you'll see my single biggest video project to date. Love you all!

mr fruit out here like 'yeah so this is literally the worst thing i've ever drawn,' drawing masterpieces, meanwhile me in any drawing game out here drawing a stick figure being like 'oh yeah, this is a banger'

No lie, this is maybe top 5 Mr Fruit videos of all time. I love the vulnerability and honesty. Christian is so easy to love and this is a perfect example of that. Christian, I'm old enough to be your father, so I'm just going to throw this out. I'm so proud of you. Keep doing what makes you happy.

Even the most seasoned illustrators and animators use references for their work. Heck, references are used constantly in all forms of art at all skill levels. You’re doing great, Fruit! Just keep at it!

I’m an illustration major and I and I gotta say, you do have that dog in you. Even I struggle with proportions, anatomy & perspectives still. Just keep practicing, even doing things the longer way will is never a detriment to your skill. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like a master.” -Pablo Picasso

Seen the very first page and i was like, this guy hasn't drawn in years and he can still draw something 10x better than i can

Hi Fruit! Freelance artist myself here, very impressed with this!! You've already got a really good handle on values and line weight, it's really well done. And trust me, that's not "just copying from reference", that's a good eye. Also like other people have said, reference is so important, so it's awesome you're using it to practice. Since you asked for recommendations, I might recommend taking a look at Marc Brunet's channel, starting with his "Learn to draw from Lvl 0 to 100" vid from a few weeks ago. His vids helped me out a lot, and he's got a good sort of progression of skills to practice too. If you see this, hope that helps and thanks for the awesome vid! You've inspired me to pick up the pen and draw some more just for fun today too! Hope you have a great day!

My dad has a gift when it comes to art. He can sketch your face, draw backgrounds, shade/color all the above. He used to be a tattoo artist, and one of his favorite things to draw were superheroes/villains or anime characters. Seeing you draw Goku reminded me of his art. Thank you for sharing you did an excellent job!

Now we just need an unedited video of Mr. Fruit cosplaying as bob ross and do bob ross things.

No such thing as an imposter in traditional art. Referencing things around you is just how you learn. Man now I want to this too

“We are our own worst critic” Your art is amazing and it doesn’t matter that you are looking at references. This video has inspired me to try something like this as I have some down time and I used to draw a lot when I was younger.

My favorite part is how he starts off with a casual “yeah this is the first thing I’ve done in 10 years” and I couldn’t even as much get close to what he’s putting on the paper. Impressive good sir

Mr fruit says he isn't confident in his drawing in the beginning. Flips first page and says that it's his first time pencil to paper in 10 years. I'm expecting a meh drawing but instead a pretty damn good drawing. This man has a better drawing first time in 10 years than I have ever had in 29 years -_- I can't even draw stick people man...

got me wanting to do this now - much love mr fruit keep up the grind and have a good day

You were talking about how switching to digital must be awesome and as someone who recently finally got a tablet, its everything you thought and more. This might anger some people, but digital art is just easier than any phisical medium. It doesn't have less value, obviously, but its just so much more beginner friendly. I think when your skill level goes up, the gap between how easy digital vs phisical decreases, but its never gone.

Hey, Fruit! Been following you since the Hawkmoon car commercial video long ago, I knew you were pretty good at art from your own efforts you've shown before (Draw My Life, Jackbox, etc.) and from the Dream Team mentioning it. I went to college specifically for Art and I gotta say your 30 days of drawing is incredibly impressive! The progress definitely shows and it's absolutely normal to have off days or some drawings where it just isn't working out. (I have a friend from college who has kept a piece of my work that I have deemed as my absolute worst, he's keeping it as a way to remind me that even at my worst, it was still something good and uses it to poke fun at me from time to time). It's as you said, "I didn't like it, but at least I did something that day." And that goes a long way towards the craft. I enjoyed your commentary about it and had a good laugh about how you discovered the sketchbook was too small as you continued to progres... it's the thing all artists come to realize: I need more paper space! I need a bigger desk! I need better supplies! :P Once you get into it, the tiny sketchbook just doesn't work as you've noted. When I started, my own Art professor snatched the mechanical pencil out of my hand and put a Woodless 2B in its place for me to draw with. I was too scared of the different kinds of pencils so I never moved away from the mechanical pencil... but the moment she changed it out for the Woodless 2B, it opened up a whole new world of what I could do with graphite and now I can't ever draw with a mechanical pencil again! Your commentary about not having the proper pencil types to get a dark enough value for shadows reminds me of that (A Woodless 6B would definitely help! Get the full spectrum: HB, B, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B, etc.). Your commentary about how you're noting you don't feel like you've made much progress and already having feelings of imposter syndrome... is perfectly normal, actually! We see our own time, effort, and mistakes we put into the work so a sense of progress gets lost because we can note all the similarities between each work. On that particular note, however, I did learn from my Art professor that Anime is a great art form, but it can be difficult to make progress in it since the style is so very concrete and "same-y" across all the types. That isn't a negative on Anime, just an observation. I started by drawing Anime myself! I have since worked on realism, as I greatly enjoy drawing the vast array of unique faces humanity has to offer, including all the asymmetrical features and odd elements that make a face unique to that person! I'm in an over-extended art block where I haven't been able to progress at all and I've felt really crummy about it, even questioning if I wanted to keep going. I heard you mention about the 30 day drawing challenge on the Nuzlock video and I was instantly curious, so I'm glad to see the video here! It's got me motivated somewhat to just pick up pencil and paper (I have... SO MANY sketchbooks!) and draw, not caring about getting it right. It's my biggest hurdle, since I've studied Art and want to make it into something... so my mind is constantly swarmed with, "No, that is the wrong proportions. No, that doesn't work. No, you gotta make sure you're maintaining proper hand technique and posture. No, that's not logically possible in realism work. No, this isn't impressive/good enough to show, so why bother?" ... Those nagging thoughts are just the inner critique trying to stop me before I begin. It has succeeded, but I can change that. This video helped me realize that, so thanks! TL;DR: Coming from an Art major myself, it's truly impressive work, Mr. Fruit! It's also helped me realize my inner critique was getting in the way of my own progress, stifling it completely, so I've got a little motivation now to break this stupid art block.

As a casual (mostly digital) artist who struggles to draw from what I see (not sure why tbh, it’s just a thing with me lmao), I’d say you did very well! I think doodling without references just to see how it turns out could be a nice thing for you to do, when you start feeling more comfortable of course. Regardless, I wish you luck on your artistic endeavors, whatever you decide to do :)

I like how you break down your thought processes!

Even with a reference, it is even more doubtful that a beginner could produce such a high-quality ballpoint pen drawing in just 30 days. Firstly, the technical difficulty of drawing with a ballpoint pen is very high. Ballpoint pen ink cannot be erased, so each stroke requires extreme precision and control. The absence of any erasure marks in this drawing indicates a level of confidence and proficiency in each stroke that is difficult for a beginner to achieve in just 30 days. Secondly, the detailed handling and shading effects in the drawing require a deep understanding of light, shadow, and structure. These skills typically take a long time to develop through practice and learning, involving a lot of trial and error. Beginners usually lack sufficient experience and technique in these areas, making it hard to achieve such results even with a reference. Furthermore, the composition, proportions, and anatomical structure in the drawing display a high level of artistic maturity and skill. These are not things that can be quickly learned just by referencing; they require long-term observation and practice. The learning process for art is generally gradual, and it is unusual to see such dramatic improvement in just 30 days. In conclusion, even with a reference, this drawing is likely to be fake. Creating a work of this caliber requires significant time and continuous practice, not something that can be easily accomplished in a short period.

What a fantastic and inspiring video! Showing real progress is so important. With social media we so often see the fantastic days but rarely if ever see the hard days. Sharing your great days and tough days makes it seem so much more real and helps remind viewers to persevere. Major props - I really enjoy your art. Looking forward to your Bob Ross arc!