I Asked 16 Inspiring Artists Their Reason For Drawing And Here’s What They Had To Say.

I had written in one of my earlier blogs about how much of an impact drawing has made on my life and the way I think. Seriously, it’s baffling how different the world can appear after learning something new.

Despite my love for drawing, and the amount of time I put into it, I never asked myself these questions.

Why am I drawing?

What factors make me grab a tool and start drawing?

What are my reasons and motivations?

It was only a while ago when I did and felt mildly surprised by not being able to think of any plausible answer for it.

All I could come up with was, “because it’s fun!”

I commend simplicity in many aspects and understand that not everything needs to have a reason. But this answer was unsatisfactory, at least for me. Probably because I knew that there was something more left to be mined.

Back when I had started drawing, it was solely out of curiosity and not with any agenda in mind. Only when I dived deeper, did I get wrapped up in numerous experiences and related philosophies, which sort of guided me in shaping an answer to this question.

Before I speak to you of personal thoughts, below are some of my favorite artists who gave their answers to this question.

They are my favorite not because of their crafting skills, but because I find them interesting as a people and wanted to know more about them. Their knowledge brought forth many insights and got me a clear understanding of them and their motivations.

Here we go!

1. Victoria Ong

“Drawing has always been my favorite hobby. When I started working, life got busy with college and looking for jobs or moving to a new city, I stopped for about 10 years and mourned the fact that I did not do it for so long. I returned to drawing because the pandemic shut everything down, and after making three books on Turkish needle lace, it gave me a boost of confidence to try and make something of my drawings. What makes me want to grab my tools the most is getting to know my fictional characters better. Their personality, their design, their stories”.

2. Swendly Benilia

“My main motivation has always been ideas! I have so many creative ideas in my mind that I need to express”.

3. Jeffrey Smith

“ 1. I’ll see other’s art which gets me excited to draw.
2. When I see myself improving, it makes me hungry to keep going and getting better.
3. It’s a bit of an “escape” for me. I can forget about almost anything for hours. :)))
For me it’s a hobby, I don’t see it as a “job”. So I think that’s a big reason I still love it😅”.

4. Donald Craig

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have video games just balls ⚽️, crayons, and simple things like books to color, etc. So drawing has been something I had fun doing until I was out of high school. Then I started working, moved out on my own, and dating girls became my interest. Since then I’ve worked hard to pay bills for twenty-some years as a cook and got back into art as a hobby but not drawing, instead working with polymer clay, then wood carving for about fifteen years as my job. I realized that I wanted to carve better which meant drawing better, so when Covid-19 hit the world, I had more time on my hands and found Force Drawing and thought it would be great for carving more exciting work. I’ve found my love for drawing again and enjoy the challenge of drawing the figure almost like solving a puzzle. I’m addicted and would even love to teach someday if I get good enough 🙏🏼 Aloha!”

5. Gerardo Labana

“Well, it’s pretty simple, man, I love to draw and also animate. When I grab a pencil and paper or the stylus and I start to do it’s so delightful, funny, and one of the most gratifying experiences. But sometimes I just don’t feel the focus but it’s okay, I try to relax, do some other stuff and then come back to the table or the screen, and then I feel it again that concentration and excitement to improve my skills for getting a job on which I could draw or animate or both”.

6. Liz Murphy

“Simply because I enjoy it, I find it fun trying to figure out how to draw something, it brings me great joy. Sorry if you were expecting something more profound 😂”

7. Mritunjay Varun

“The excitement and the adventure of the process. The thrilling nature of the whole path and finally the preservation of the memories”.

8. James Zahra

“There’s more than one reason, but ultimately the main things are:
1. My goal of creating my own graphic novel.
2. Proving to myself that I’m good enough I’m smart enough and that nothing is impossible.
3. Getting a job working for a major comic Corporation, even if it’s only temporary”.

9. Gilles Roger

“Perhaps it’s a bit weird but when I look at something I see a lot of things that don’t belong to reality. Million lines for human figures, color stains for landscapes, movements like waves in the fur of animals, etc. And a picture forms in my mind. And I would so much like to be able to paint or draw it. It’s essential for me but I don’t know why”.

10. Prince

“Up until recently, all I’ve ever wanted to draw was anything that had a story to it. And I’m not talking about just comics, but illustrations as well. Something anyone can look at and feel like there’s a story behind it. Something anyone can look at and feel I know what happened to this character or what he does or why he does it. My reason for drawing such stuff is that I love stories. I discovered my talent because I wanted to tell stories and art happened to be the best medium, in my opinion, to tell it”.

11. Emilio Alcala

“The answer is simple:

It’s fun! That’s really all there is to it. 😅 It’s the only thing I’m any good at too, so I like to see my own improvement. That’s why I keep going.

THAT’S IT”.

12. Analise B.

“I draw for two reasons. It’s a great way to process my thoughts, and I love to tell stories through my art. Things that inspire me to draw are life experiences, nature, stories, theology, and anthropology🤷‍♀️😆 My reasons to create are to create a connection with and for people and to provide entertainment and hopefully possibilities🤗”.

13. Valerie Rieker

“I just love it, it’s in my soul to want to draw. I don’t know where that desire comes from. I like going places in my mind, and creating things😄”.

14. Pablo M. Lopez

“I’ve been drawing all my life. It is just something I do. I just don’t think about it that much. Maybe lately a reason to draw is to get really good at it, since I’ve never really taken any courses before Drawing Force, and I felt that I have never pushed my skills far enough until a few years ago. But overall it gives me pleasure, it is a respite from the demands of the work, and sometimes some drawings fill me with pride”.

15. Anonymous

“ It really depends on where I am in my life and the drive at that moment. Sometimes I draw because I have a literal need for it, it’s what gives me joy and purpose and is integral to my identity. Sometimes I draw for healing and/or work through certain thoughts and emotions. I’ve always had a hard time articulating myself verbally and often find myself being more easily understood once I’ve done some kind of visual/creative activity beforehand. Sometimes I do it to boost my confidence because it’s where I feel most in my element and the least judged and/or misunderstood. Sometimes I am motivated by something political and/or unjust that I need to expel my viewpoint into visual form. There are probably more reasons as to why I draw, but as you can see I am motivated by the complexity of life/living/being a human being — and that means being motivated by more than one thing :)”

16. boercki_art

“I was always fascinated by anime/manga since being a kid. I grew up with Dragon ball (Z) and this was kinda my life! I tried to draw the show’s characters and acted like them. Since then I actually wanted to become a manga/anime artist. Somehow I lost this desire/dream as I grew older and life continued. I never lost my deepest admiration of art though, and so I picked up the pencil again because I would love to earn a living with something I really like. Probably will never achieve it but I‘m stubborn enough to keep trying/ keep going nevertheless. Seeing other artists’ work or seeing them draw makes me wanna pick up the pen and draw myself”.

Personal Motivation

There was no sort of personal history with art or anything, at least in my field of awareness, before I began my art/drawing journey. It was nothing but a random skill that I picked to try in the hopes of finding something that I liked.

And weirdly, I started craving improvement as I started to draw more and more. All I wanted was just to become better, that’s it. I wanted to hack/master the skill. I wanted to be the best at it. It was pure competence.

But now, as I said earlier, I also have a few thoughts along with the hunger for improvement that has become my reason for drawing.

I draw because I have started to build a sense of awe for everything that surrounds me, or at least I try to. Because doing so helps me build empathy and be cognizant that I share an existence and relationship with the subject. We exist in the same space. That’s fascinating. Another reason is that we humans have always had an innate desire or perhaps an instinct to express, and communicate. Not just through drawing but any form of art, be it drawing, literature, or cinematography, and that attracts me.

There are more artists whom I admire but didn’t add in this post. Perhaps in any future ones.

That’s it for this post. I hope you had fun.

Thank you for reading.

Take cares,

Byes.