Hacker News Books

Strongly seconding Robertson and Bertling's "How to Draw". Continue on to their "How to Render" after that. They break it down into a very mechanical process that doesn't feel very "creative" but makes for a great foundation for architectural or engineering drawing and doing any kind of constructive 3-dimensional drawing.

Or just look for any 'How to draw' book ince the whole right brain/left brain is complete myth.

Optimal way to practice

> Deliberate practice

Best books

> Depends what you want to draw? How to Draw by Scott Robertson and Figure Drawing Design and Invention by Michael Hampton should keep you busy for a while

How do I learn to self critique?

> Take a picture of your drawing I find it easier to see mistakes by looking at a picture of it. Another trick is to get up, walk around and come back in 5 minutes. You'll get a fresh look and see the mistakes.

Honestly I wouldn't worry about optimal practice from experience it's very difficult to achieve until you've built a habit out of drawing and some proficiency.

Step 1: Have fun. Do you enjoy drawing? If not find a way to enjoy it.

Step 2: Build a habit out of practicing and enjoy the process. From reading about many experts and mastery the process is the key to mastery. Enjoy the process, not the outcome.

Step 3: Don't stop. Quitting happens only once. If you stop drawing for a month that's fine, pick it back up. This is a life long journey. Again enjoy the process.

As an aside check out www.artstation.com it's a concept art website where industry professionals post their work. Fantastic site for inspiration.

Read this post: https://noahbradley.com/blogs/blog/dont-go-to-art-school

Pick up a copy of Art & Fear and read it whenever you feel discouraged.

Good luck.

Your hand-brain connection will need some debugging, but just like with engineering, exposure and practice makes you better:

  1. draw, the more the better. 
  2. practice fundamentals. 
  3. have fun.

Some resources worth checking out:

  - Lessons on drawabox.com for basics
  - Digital painting lessons on ctrlpaint.com
  - How to draw by S. Robertson and T. Bertling
  - Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
  - Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
  - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
  - Picture this by Molly Bang

Consider joining Crimson daggers forum (http://crimsondaggers.com/). Good luck!