Even if you don't plan to become an artist, a little sketching wont hurt. Just as you go to the gym to keep in shape, drawing is your mental gym.
Drawing is a process that helps to explore; it is a way to study the world, develop your perceptual abilities, show your thought process and help invent thing. There are several categories of drawings, my favourite is figure drawing, and it is especially interesting and prolific to do unrefined drawings also known as sketching. Sketching form life is both creative and scientific, you train your mind to see form and proportions and at he same time you give outlet to your inner feelings. When the two come together skilfully you get an elegant result.
Drawing is a communication skill. Learning to draw is like learning a new language. In fact it is easier to learn how to draw then to pick up a new language and a lot more unique nowadays. In the last few centuries drawing was a mandatory school subject, precisely for that reason that it was an additional communication skill. Hopefully it will come back being part of school curriculum one day. Drawing takes many forms, one of the greatest is artistic drawing . This is the stage when you use your skill and start to experiment. For example looking at artist like Schiele, who plays by the rules yet discovers something new.
Aside from developing your motor function, perceptual abilities and creativity, it literally “opens your eye”. You begin seeing and feeling what went unnoticed before. In short in enriches your life! So how to learn how to draw? and what do you need for starts?
Get a pocket sketch book, something that can fit in your bag ,wont annoy you and is durable enough. I recommend Moleskine beautiful quality and practical.
Drawing tools: this is where it gets all fun and personal… I love and recommend willow charcoal and Ink, but its not practical if you work in an office or simple can’t be bothered with all the mess. So you can get markers, soft pencil, or a ball pen. If I could give an advise here I would recommend a tool that has a wider head so the lines that you cover more surface at once, and lines that you make could have variation, both thin and think, its just more pretty this way :)
15 minutes a day. Still some time daily for a few quick gestures and you will start getting the hang of it and in no time become very good.
Use a cheat sheet. Make a little collection of drawings and sketches you like on your phone and look to them for reference when dealing with difficulties. To start your collection I recommend Andew Loomis he is 1950's illustrator who shows you quick and effective shortcuts, teaches you the nuts of things and provides clear instructions on how too.
That’s it, you're all set on your way to become Michelangelo drop a line and let me know how it goes :) Happy drawing!