i believe i can sing, but peoples seem to disagree with me

The whole phineas And ferb animated like this.

The worst thing you can ever do is say that you can't do something. It's upsetting to believe that so many people have passed on never fulfilling a dream because they told themselves they can never do it. Always believe in yourself and give it a go, what's the worst that can happen?

He looks like a teacher that would actually help you when you’re sad, unlike someone. **cough**counselor**cough**

"Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up" -Pablo Picasso

I drew a human once and my dad said "that's a great looking dog, sweetheart, keep going." I'm dead inside

My older brother taught me to draw when I was five. I recently retired from the Motion Picture industry after 41 years as a scenic artist in Hollywood. Thanks for the great story.

As an artist, I will say, these are actually great drawings! If you aren’t an artist and you were thinking “oh well, no one would actually like this anyways” (idk if anyone would actually say that, but that’s smth I would say tbh) if I saw this, I would genuinely love seeing these. If I could get my own portrait in this style, I would genuinely frame it on my wall. I genuinely adore this type of art style, idk why, but I love it.

It’s not that I think I can’t draw, its that I can’t draw *well*

Instructions unclear. I drew a Michelangelo art piece

As an aspiring artist whos been drawing for over a year, getting frustrated, seemingly getting nowhere, seeing this really reminded me about the joy of drawing. The feeling of creating something out of nothing. Seeing that reaction from those people, all those smiles on their faces. That really helps me to appreciate the craft more.

People think that they cannot do things, simply because they do not know where to start. Information overload is a real thing, especially in todays world of seemingly infinite distractions. It's all about breaking things down into smaller parts, and analyzing them. To truly understand something, we must look at the smaller components that make up the whole equation. Same goes for time, something I am still learning is that to not be overwhelmed with life and to remain peaceful, you must treat each day one step at a time, literally and metaphorically. Focus on the moment. Seek clarity and understanding in things that you wish to, and for God's sake, do not forget how much potential you have. Remember, everyone who ever did anything amazing, was doubted by everyone around them, and a lot of our self doubt, comes from the fact that we tend to believe what others say at times we shouldn't. All I wish by commenting here right now is that maybe one person even reads this and decides to go on with something that they have been doubting that they could do for some time, and that it takes you on a journey that changes you life for the better, and I, will do my best to do the same.

Teacher: Draw yourself *Draws horribly* Teacher: Perfect

I was really hoping he would suddenly go full bob ross on them and just start making a masterpiece in seconds and just keep saying a line right there

People really think drawing is some impossible task when they've never spent any time doing it, but the way he demonstrated it really is all there is to it. I tend to draw more realistic or stylized images, but can confirm that the process is the exact same. I learned how to draw noses by copying one I saw in a comic book of mine, and all I do now is follow the same process making slight alterations when I want something that looks different.

Great session and very good communication skills i felt like i am there in that room sitting in front of him. Loved it thanks a lot TedX

When he turned an extra blank sheet it felt quite disturbing to me

UKposts put this in my recommended and I feel personally attacked.

I draw for fun, and if you're young or just starting off you should try to remember this: Grades in school mean next to nothing, if you get a bad grade in arts don't let that destroy your interest in it. This nearly happened to me, but luckily I was able to avoid it. Extra note: Always finish a drawing, I personally keep all drawings in a little notebook with their date of when I drew them. While you're drawing something you might believe that it isn't good, or that you can do better but if you finish the drawing and look at it again a few months/years later you'll be able to look at it in a different way and truly appreciate it. I also love sharing my drawings with someone, it's not needed to have fun but it personally makes me motivated to get even better, and the feedback/compliments you'll receive will be really helpful :)

This guy is so delightful. Kind and patient and convinced that all his students can succeed. He has made me feel so joyful this morning.

Jokes on you, I draw like Picasso 👁 👄 👂🏼 👃🏼 👂🏼 👁

Police: So what did the bank robber look like when he fled the scene Me: Line to the left....

My grade 5 teacher made us draw the cartoons in our notes that she had done on the blackboard for each lesson. It made the notes more fun to study and it never dawned on me, as a child, that it would be a memory aid for me and for other students. Each student learns differently. She was amazing!! That was almost 50 years ago and I remember her with such fondness.

He is not creating drawings,he is creating confidence

**DIFFICULTY** Head : 7/10 Back : 5/10 Hands : 100/10 Other eye : 1000000001/10

Instructions unclear, accidentally drew the sistine chapel

How uplifting. I’m a retired public school art teacher and I adored this. My heart was so moved by the stroke sufferers delight…how freeing this must have felt to them. My first thought was ‘I wonder which hand they are drawing with!’ I especially liked the end speech. Thank you so much for sharing and the work you do. I’m a pretty good artist and I still learned.❤

I told a friend I wished I could draw, he said I could I just didn't know it. I tried and I like the result, it was terrible in hindsight but I thought it was good, he gave me tips and encouraged me (while probably cringing inside at my attempts) and I got far better, I love art now so much and I'm actually quite good. Art inspired me to take up photography and I'm really good at that, I knew I had to practice and now I'm professional level. I'm neurodivergent though and that has helped (and hindered) me a lot.

Why people believe they can't draw: THE OTHER DAMN EYE

Man with no hands: “I can’t draw” This guy: “that’s just an illusion”

YES!!! The same goes for music! Being musically inclined isn’t always something you’re born with, you just need to practice. I firmly believe anybody can be a musician, if they want to.

WONDERFUL reminder that it is WE who limits ourselves! I am semi-retired and wanted to challenge myself with a rather difficult art medium, watercolors. I have little talent for doing original paintings, but I am surprising myself at how well I can copy (for my own enjoyment). Now I want to do more challenging things, especially after seeing this humble man prove to me I CAN do what I thought I couldn't! Thank you, Sir!

I always think he's drawing too far apart and then when he's done it looks totally fine

Now I upgraded from a stickman to this... Can't wait to flex this when school may or may not be back.

I forget what professor it was, but he asked a group of students if anyone could draw, dance, or sing. No one raised their hand. He then went on to talk about what happened to them. When they were 5, 6, whatever, they could do every one of those things. I really enjoyed that video wherever I saw that.

I don’t know why I clicked on this video, I don’t have much of an interest in drawing. But this ended up being one of the most profound videos I have seen in a long time. it’s mind blowing to me that I was able to draw those pictures that easily.

"Just hold your drawings up and show everyone." The drawings: ⬜

im a teenager who mostly watches gaming channels, how did i end up here lol

Art is a skill too and I find it astonishing how many people don't realise it's something you can practice, and something you HAVE TO practice to become good at it. If you think artists are born with a brush in hand, painting like the old masters, you're undermining countless hours of hard work and practice they've put into art. You could do that too and be one of them. Nothing's stopping you but yourself.

An absolute masterclass, Teachers like these make the difference. Most of the time, how we learn the first-class affects how we perceive the subject - brilliant.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. ~wisdom~

Now I can draw a small comic where everyone’s looking to the left, even as they talk to each other

I've always thought I couldn't draw even though I've always been fascinated by drawing, painting and art in general. Recently, I've thought if I decided to learn how to draw how could I start? Well, I came across this TED talk then and I learned a lot more than about drawing but about challenging our beliefs. Such a powerful message!

This is the kind of teacher everyone respected at school.

People can’t draw because they don’t know where to put the lines without instruction

Top 3 unresolved mysteries: 1. Bermuda Triangle 2. Ocean Underneath Mysteries 3. UKposts recommendations

Man, as a kid I always thought that my drawings were masterpiece and I was good at it, but now looking back at my sketchbooks I realized how bad it actually was, but yet my teachers and parents motivated me. And now I'm way better at art and I'm very happy I didn't give up lol

It's been half an hour, I'm still scribbling cartoons. Haven't had this much fun drawing for at least 15 years.

when people say "OMG I CAN'T DRAW A STICKMAN" I'm like "Bitch, please, you just don't want to." Like 75% of my friends draw. It's not hard. Nobody gives a shit if you suck, you draw for fun.

He seems too wholesome for this world.

Came across this while I was bored due to having a broken arm and ended up picking up my pen with my left hand and giving it a go expecting it to not work. I realised i could still do the drawings pretty easily just a bit slower and it was awesome when he explained how he taught the stroke victims. Basically it proved everything he was preaching in the video to be true what a great life lesson!

The key bit is being willing to try And willing to fail And willing to keep trying, in spite of failing This goes for all sorts of things

I instantly painted the mona lisa after I watched this video ☠

Look how normal a cough is back then 😂

I have been trying to build my art skills and the thing that keeps surprising me over and over again is the epiphany I keep having of “oh. Art is just basic shapes interacting with each other in different ways.” Haha. Like it’s really that simple, and now the task is figuring out how to make it all work together. Haha

it's not that I think I can't draw it's just that I don't draw as good as I would like to.

Line to the left. Line to the right *_CRISS CROSS!_*

for two years, i had a best friend who i always hung out with, she was an artist. this was back in third grade-5th grade btw. people would always come up to us and tell her, "wow, your art is amazing!" and completely ignore me. this angered me greatly, and i started drawing less and less. well, one day, this kid in my class came over to my desk, looked at the drawing in my notebook, and said to me, "wow, _Leaf-, that looks great! maybe even better than ryker!"(ryker was some other kid who copied my art and always got praise for it) well, this made me feel amazing. at that moment, even though the drawing looked awful, even though the words of a fourth grader dont mean much, i decided to get back into art. i started drawing more, and showing my art to more people. my artist friend complimented me, gave me kind words. its been three years since then, i am thirteen, and one of my favorite things to do is make art for my friends. if you didnt get bored reading that, thanks i guess. and if you ever start to give up on something, try and see what you can manage, it can change a lot.

This guy is the most delightful person ever, isn’t he?

We’re gathered here today thanks to the UKposts algorithm.

Alternative title: Why people have high standards - and how to lower them.

I'm a self-taught artist who loves to draw animals and especially birds. I experiment with all sort of things and of course, not everything turns great bc my drawings can't all be perfect. I started my journey when I was a little kid, spending my days scribbling with markers instead of playing with dolls. When I was 5 or 6, I started to have a real interest into drawing and drew all kinds of things that were in my mind whenever I had free time. When I was in grade 2, I started to have a real interest in birds and animals and little did I knew my passion would lead me where I am now. I started self-teaching myself the techniques by drawing out of photos. Literally. Now, I only need a little bit of inspiration and a bird photo reference (mainly for the species so I don't mess up the color scheme) to create a masterpiece. That little 80 pages sketchbook that I got for literally CA$10 at my college's store gives me the motivation I need to continue my studies by filling a page every Tuesday between my maths and English classes while I have 3h to kill. After growing up drawing, I truly think it's smth you learn and need to tackle every day in order to get better. Being an artist is like being a musician: practice every day or you won't get better. I want to give a piece of advice for every artist who doubts themselves: try everything, by doing that, you will find what you like to draw the most as well as your style. See your art as a way to express yourself instead of seeing it as "it always needs to be perfect and please others". It doesn't need to be perfect, nor does it need to even make sense. Your sketchbook is like your little kingdom, no one needs to see it nor does every page needs to be a masterpiece.

This is a game changer for me. As u said, i believed I couldn't draw, but with these simple line n curves n ur instructions, it got me smiling. Ur an inspiration 😍😍. Thank you

When will Ted himself actually show up to the talk?

Am I the only one who notices that every freaking teacher ever says they can't draw? (I mean non-art teachers, like science or something.)

TEDx events serve as a reminder that innovation knows no boundaries. I'm continually impressed by the creativity and ingenuity showcased by speakers from diverse backgrounds.

From teaching others how to draw to becoming Amazon's ceo The hard work is real🔥

Lol I thought he was actually gonna explain the psychology or something but he literally just taught everyone how to draw XD

Me:I can’t draw Mom: it’s because of that damn pho-

I couldn't bored watching this man for 3 hours. With this 15 minutes tutor i start sketching some crazy cartoons. He is great.

What a beautiful session I was so very depressed today and one friend of mine shared this link. Trust me. It made me smile and giggle like a kid after the traumatizing day

You can draw Me: *breaks the pen*

I'm reallygood at realistic drawings, but I simply CAN'T draw a cartoon. What is wrong with me.

Yay, wholesome stuff! This made me smile and reminded me of a quote from a movie years ago "You only think you can't dance because someone told you that you can't"

Great video! but let's shift our attention to something productive. As we all know, becoming a successful person is not an overnight job, but the secret they use is what the middle class is hesitant to do, like the stock market.

this video is so pure. i bet all the adults there giggling are remembering what it felt like to draw when they were children. this gives me hope in humanity honestly

Me: **trying to figure out how much paper he has**

That's true. Like Mathematics, Communication, Drawing and any other form of arts are skills that can be learned. It's like the saying that we have in our place, "You'll never know how good you are at Math, unless you do more Maths." Because learning a skill consumes time and effort. The problem is that we easily give up, we lack motivation, or we're uninterested.

Very subjective and really depends on context though. This is like asking someone if they can do Math, them saying no, and you giving them a equation of simple addition.

THE REAL QUESTION IS... *WHY ARE ALL THE DRAWINGS LOOKING UP*

I like how he says "Line to the left, line to the right"

so sorry that i didn’t see this years ago. Thank you for doing this. What I always get frustrated by is when someone says that they “cannot” or simply “I am not creative”. The reason that humans are top of the food chain is our ability to adapt. Our creativity. We are fairly frail, not the best vision, slow moving, cannot swim.. Our creativity is what makes us what we are.

Watched this in highschool! Kids were complaining over art projects how they couldn’t draw, this video actually made some kids try after that

Him: names the characters The crowd: AHAHAHAHHAHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

let’s be honest, no one searched for this but everyone is happy they found it

15:02 As someone who’s growing up thinking I can’t draw. This guy has utterly proved me wrong.

This is very true. I think I would have never explored drawing if I didn't have my sisters. I never thought I could draw and also never paid much attention to drawing in school. Both my sisters would draw out of interest and someday(out of boredom) I thought maybe I should give it a try. I did, and I surprised myself. Suddenly I discovered it isn't that difficult. You just had to copy from the book stroke by stroke. With every trial I got better. It's also true that you don't realise you like something until you try it. I started liking art. Till date when someone tells me 'you draw so well, I can't draw at all'. I tell them, "anyone can draw, you just haven't tried it enough".

No artist will say their drawing is the best, because in their eyes they could be better. They can be satisfied with an artwork, but still think that it could be better.

We all can draw. The real question is:How well can we draw!

I was so skeptical about this video for months when UKposts recommended it to me. But now that I have watched it, I can see how brilliant this man is!!

the fastest fifteen minutes of my life yet the most productive. who knew that after the end of this short video you will be equipped with a skill that has no boundaries. drawing. Thanks Graham. You are a great man!

I love it when he says “line to the left, line to the right”

I am disappointed, not that the art is bad, but that the title was misleading. I expected to actually learn why people think they can't draw and how to teach them that they can, not doodle with a guy and listen to his stories

Thank you! I'm a wildlife artist who does live painting demonstrations at special events for natural science museums and have wanted to have a better response to the folks who say "I can't draw a straight line". I've always believed that art is more of a learned skill than any sort of special talent, but your teaching approach is wonderful! I've got a "Darwin Day" event next Saturday so it will be a perfect venue to demonstrate how people can "evolve" their drawing skills!

This was absolutely Awesome!! I do wedding cakes and that is a challenge, trying to make swirls, straight lines but I'll bet if I watched you more I could do it with confidence! I am so happy you went into the home and did drawing with the people who had strokes nobody dose much with them but that got the going, and proud they could do it!

He sounds like a very nice person. We need poeple like him!

For some people creativity and the talent of drawing just comes natural

This was a fun watch. Im an artist, the best advice is be willing to make mistakes. Welcome them, have fun with them. Theyre one of the fastest ways to imrpove.

he sounds like a very nice person. We need more people like him

I retired at 65 and pick up a pencil and can't put it down. filling sketch pads like a mad man