You are right. I got a bit disappointed when I tried to draw first time without reference after using tutorials, the result was pretty bad. Luckily a friend of mine gave me couple of his old "How to draw manga" books, sketching techniques I learned from there proved to be very helpful when trying to draw something your own.boat wrote:
This depends on the tutorial, but I honestly believe there is very little learn from tutorials in the form of "how do draw x and y". This of course also depends on your goals, but anyone who's an aspiring illustrative artist should prioritize proper theory over step by step guides.
The difference is obviously, theory, in comparison to building up your visual library. The latter is by all means both good and necessary to practice, but is contradictory to use if your goal is to get better at drawing or painting. Improvement comes quicker and better from practice rather than copying, and if you spent time learning about theory, in an example, values, then the guide on how to paint an apple wouldn't be obsolete and useless when you later on decide to paint a banana instead.
Here is one of my latest drawing I've made without reference. (Same as my avatar) I've been using markers for a little over week now, before that i used colored pencils or just made gray pictures. I would appreciate any commets/tips you guys have to offer. Please don't be too harsh :3
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EDIT: I tried to put it in spoiler, but for some reason it didn't work.