# Skill Tree — Learn to Draw An **open-ended dependency map**, not a schedule. Do a node when its prerequisites hold; pick your own path. Sessions stay inside ~3 hr/week. **Goal (top of the tree):** line-dominant drawing with *selective*, form-describing hatching — on both an observed natural form (from life) and an invented product (from imagination). ## How to read this - **Branches:** `[O]` observational (see it) · `[C]` constructive (build it) · `[•]` both / shared. - **`needs:`** lists prerequisite nodes. Don't start a node until they hold. - **Priority tags** reflect this learner (ME, CAD-fluent — see `CLAUDE.md` §Learner profile): weak channels first. - `★ INVEST` — genuine gap, not helped by CAD. Spend real time here. - `» FAST` — you already own the concept from CAD; reps are for freehand *execution*, not comprehension. - Each tier carries a **have / lack** line calibrating effort. --- ## T0 · Instrument control `[•]` ★ INVEST — root of everything *Have from CAD: nothing — this is pure motor skill. Lack: all of it. This is the real beginner zone and the bottleneck for every tier above.* - **Grip & motion source** — draw from the shoulder/elbow, not the wrist. - **Straight lines** — ghosted, single confident pass, no re-tracing. `needs: grip` - **Arcs & curves** — same ghosting, smooth. `needs: grip` - **Ellipses** — ghosted, drawn *through*, minor axis honest. `needs: arcs` - **Line-weight control** — vary pressure/lead for a deliberate heavy-vs-light line; the foundation of "line-dominant." `needs: straight lines` **Exit:** confident committed lines and passable freehand ellipses without a straightedge. → unlocks T1 and T2. ## T1 · Perception (observational) `[O]` ★ INVEST — weakest channel *Have from CAD: little — CAD is 100% constructive. Lack: seeing by eye. This is the anti-CAD-brain tier: suspend the urge to construct and measure.* - **Contour (blind → modified)** — draw by the sense of touch, eye on subject. `needs: T0 grip` - **Comparative proportion & measuring** — sight-size ratios, plumb/angle by eye (not by ruler). `needs: T0 grip` - **Negative space** — draw the gaps to correct the object. `needs: contour` - **Gesture** — capture the whole/movement fast before detail. `needs: T0 grip` **Exit:** proportions judged by eye land close; a contour reads as observed, not invented. → feeds T3. ## T2 · Construction (constructive) `[C]` » FAST — ride your CAD skill *Have from CAD: the whole mental model. Lack: only the freehand execution and line convergence. Frame every node in CAD terms; don't re-learn 3D.* - **1pt / 2pt perspective** — vanishing points, horizon, convergence by hand. `needs: T0 straight lines` - **The box in space (250-box challenge)** — freehand convergence reps; the discipline, not the concept. `needs: perspective` - **Primitives from any angle** — box, cylinder, sphere in perspective (= sketch-plane + extrude/revolve). `needs: box, T0 ellipses` - **Ellipses-on-forms** — cylinders, wheels, bores; degree shift with viewing angle. `needs: T0 ellipses + perspective` - **Form intersection / boolean** — combining primitives, drawing the seam (= union/subtract). `needs: primitives` - **Symmetry across perspective** — mirror a form convincingly for product design. `needs: primitives` **Exit:** invent a simple multi-part object in correct perspective, freehand, no ruler. → feeds T3. ## T3 · Surface & structure `[•]` » FAST (CAD head start) *Have from CAD: reading surface curvature and light — zebra, curvature comb, shaded previews. Lack: putting it down by hand.* - **Cross-contour lines** — lines wrapping the surface to describe curvature (= surface isolines by hand). `needs: T1 contour + T2 primitives` - **Planar analysis** — break a form into flat planes; the bridge to hatching. `needs: T2 primitives` - **Form shadow vs cast shadow** — locate the terminator, core shadow, and cast shadow (a shaded model gives you a head start on *where*). `needs: planar analysis` **Exit:** show a form's volume with cross-contours and correctly place its core and cast shadow. → unlocks T4. ## T4 · Hatching / tone (convergence) `[•]` *Have from CAD: intuition for where shadow falls. Lack: the manual mark systems and — crucially — the restraint to hatch* selectively. *needs: T3 form/shadow + T0 line-weight* - **Single hatch → cross-hatch** — even, controlled parallel sets. - **Form-following (curved) hatch** — hatching that rides the cross-contours. `needs: T3 cross-contour` - **Selective placement** — hatch *only* core + cast shadow and accents, not everywhere. This is the "selective" in the goal — the hardest restraint. - **Value via density** — light/mid/dark by spacing, not pressure alone. - **Texture** — bark, stone, matte vs. gloss metal via mark character. **Exit:** a form reads as solid and lit from a few well-placed hatch passes, with most of the paper left as line and white. ## T5 · Integration (the goal) `[•]` *needs: T4* - **Natural form, line + selective hatch, from life** `[O]` — closes the observational track. - **Invented product, constructed → rendered, from imagination** `[C]` — closes the constructive track; your stated end goal. - **Line-weight hierarchy** — heavy contour, lighter interior; the polish that makes it "line-dominant." `needs: T0 line-weight` - **Memory-drawing loop** — draw a studied subject from memory; test retention. --- ## Cross-cutting: CAD-brain failure watchlist Recurring symptoms to catch in error analysis regardless of tier (see `CLAUDE.md` Operating principle 9): - Ruler-straight / mechanically stiff lines → not drawing from the shoulder. - Tentative or re-traced strokes → not committing; ghost then commit once. - Over-construction — every drawing buried in scaffolding → trust the eye (T1). - Drawing as dimensioned projection, not felt gesture → run a gesture/contour warm-up (T1) before constructive work.