How To Spot A Bad Drawing

What is a bad drawing?
While doing today’s fire hydrant, I was thinking, “Oh wow, this drawing looks bad.” And then I thought—well, what is bad? It kind of looks like it was done by a child, or someone who really doesn’t care about nailing realistic shapes. Is that bad? If my goal is to capture realism, then yes, it probably is. But you can also capture realism using other tools, like values or colours—and that’s what I did. So I decided to keep my “bad” drawing and move forward, just as an experiment.

How do you spot a bad drawing?
First, you need a frame of reference—something to compare your drawing to, so you can make accurate judgements. If your reference is only your memory or imagination, it’s much harder to spot errors. But if you’re looking straight at your reference and carefully observing what’s off in your drawing, you’ll have a better chance of spotting what’s “bad”—and then you can work on fixing it.

What to do with a bad drawing
Assuming you’re intentionally leaving the drawing as-is, even after checking against your reference (like I did today), that’s fine—it’s not truly “bad” if it serves your purpose. But if you’re not comfortable with the result, the key is more observation than technique. You have to see what’s not working. Drawing is about noticing.

Here are three simple ways to practise seeing better:

1. Flip your drawing and reference horizontally – After staring at a drawing for a while, it gets harder to spot errors. Flipping both the drawing and the reference refreshes your perception and helps you see problems more clearly. You can also take a short break and come back, but I find flipping quicker and more effective.

2. Use your finger or pen to measure – Compare sizes, angles, and distances directly. Try zooming out or making the canvas smaller so you can judge proportions from a distance. In traditional drawing, artists often hold up a pencil or finger to measure. I personally compare anatomical points—for example, is the hand in my drawing aligned with the upper part of the thigh (muslo) like in the reference? If not, I adjust. The pencil or finger method might be even quicker.

3. Lastly, the old and often hated idea of overlaying the reference on top – I suggest doing this only at the end of the process, after you've made your best effort to fix things on your own. Think of it like playing the lottery: if your shapes and proportions match, great—you win. If not, look closely at what’s off. Are the legs too short? The head too small? The arms too long? Identify one issue and focus on improving just that next time. Don’t try to fix everything at once—you’ll get overwhelmed. And don’t get frustrated if you fail again. This is a process, and now you know more precisely what made it “bad.”

Ultimately, “bad” just means insufficient compared to a goal. People often judge drawings by comparing them to reality, but not every artist wants perfect realism. Sometimes the drawing is just a stepping stone for other parts of the work. What matters is whether the drawing does what you need it to do.

It’s important to distinguish between choosing not to pursue realism and simply being unable to. Ideally, you learn the technique first—and then decide whether to use it. That deeper understanding of reality gives you freedom, and helps you avoid staying in a comfortable place out of fear. You can skip that challenge—but be honest with yourself.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense!. We’re still running the Kickstarter campaign for my book Life in Every Sketch this whole month—don’t forget to get your copy along with a free print using these links:

Signed book + print:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1906838062/the-art-of-ramonn90?secret_reward_token=5629261e

Unsigned book + print:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1906838062/the-art-of-ramonn90?secret_reward_token=89737f38

Thank you so much for your support, greetings!