Books vs Field Experience

>>2749225
You need both. That's the whole point of having a theory in the first place.

I would say read about concepts enough to understand them, and compare your work with that from the book. But I find drawing from life to be much more enjoyable and rewarding.

>>2749953
I can agree here 100%. Drawing from life or even from reference photographs the best. It really rules out any possibility of making deviations, which you will do if you only draw from theory and imaginations. If you do enough work from reference, the forms and lighting will be burned into your brain and you can take the skills into imaginative drawing.

>>2749225
draw stuff using knowledge from books, don't just read wtf

Understanding theory compliments drawing from life.

Drawing from life helps you comprehend theory.

Do both, both are important. I'd say applying theory is more important than reading theory, but to apply theory you need to comprehend it, so the first step is usually opening a book.

For example, I remember when I was starting out I was trying to draw a mug on my desk, and it looked fucking retarded every time. I couldn't figure out what the fuck I was doing wrong. Then I read up on the theory of how to draw basic shapes in perspective, and how to construct stuff from basic shapes, and that made a huge difference in how I drew the mug on my desk from observation.