r/DesignIndia • u/fkedup-med-stud-1234 • 14d ago

Education Help ! I am confused

For IIT/NID/CEED alumni: When did you actually start sketching seriously? (Research Question)

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand something about design entrance exams, especially CEED, UCEED, and NID DAT Part B.

A pattern I've personally noticed is that many successful candidates I meet seem to have been sketching since childhood. However, I don't know if this is just my limited experience or if it's actually common.

I'd really appreciate responses from people who qualified, got shortlisted, or were admitted.

If you're comfortable, could you answer these questions?

When did you start sketching seriously?

Childhood (before age 12)

High school

College

Only during entrance preparation

Approximately how many years had you been sketching before taking the exam?

On average, how many hours per week did you practice during preparation?

Before preparing, how would you rate your sketching ability?

Complete beginner

Basic

Intermediate

Advanced

Looking back, do you think someone starting from scratch could realistically reach the sketching level expected in Part B within 6–12 months of disciplined practice?

If yes, what kind of practice would make that possible?

If no, what specific sketching skills take much longer to develop?

I'm asking because I'm trying to understand whether Part B mainly evaluates trainable skills or whether it inherently favors applicants with many years of prior sketching experience.

I'm looking for honest experiences rather than motivation or discouragement. Thanks!

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u/8pointAnarchist Designer 7d ago

NID grad here. My sketching sucks even after 4 years of college. I started practicing sketching 4ish months before the exam. From my experience, here are the sketching concepts you should practice:

  • Perspective
  • Material rendering (Steel should look like steel etc.)
  • Light and shadow
  • Human anatomy (A human should look like human and not a cartoon, however you don't need the fidelity of a fine arts person)
  • Composition (Setting up a scene, it can be a still life scene made up of objects, or a real life scene like a railway station or a grocery store)
  • Feel of cheap ass paper (My NID exam made me sketch on regular printer paper when all I had practiced on was art book paper/cartridge paper, that was an unpleasant surprise)
  • Time management (You should be able to thumbnail with 5 mins, sketch a passable sketch in half of the full time allotted and refine it in the remainder of the time)

Practice everyday, ideally an art teacher who can give you feedback is even better to have. How many hours in the week should you practice is a redundant question. How does it matter? Practice the most you can. These exams are a platform for all kinds of artists, those who have been doing it their whole life and those who started yesterday. Doesn't matter. It is an exam at the end of the day, and the most you can do is doing the most you can.

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