Randall Sly: Observe, Trace and Study.

One of the ways I like to study, is by printing out a picture I like. I then take the time and trace over it.  Now at first this might sound like a big waste of time but it isn't.  Sometimes the mind seems to trick us into thinking a certain line or shape is different than exactly what you see in front of you. We sometimes see what we want to. So with having the added sense of feeling, of going over the same lines that are there, you are able to see and feel the shape, length, direction, thickness, rhythm of each line. You will start to feel the design. You are adding another sense while studying.  It's kind of like what a blind person would do when they touch things. They are using the sense of touch to see. Well when I trace over a picture, I get that added help of seeing by feeling the drawing as well. My drawing skills grew when I started doing this. So don't be embarrassed to trace over things, you will learn a lot.

The next thing I do is make sure I am studying good art.  There is a phrase that says "Garbage In Garbage Out".
Meaning... if  you are looking, studying or around bad stuff (in this case art) you will absorb it naturally, and then when you put pencil to paper that is what will come out.  You can only produce what you know.  So if you would like to be a great artist study great art work, be surrounded by it. Study just the good stuff.

One more thing... Glen Keane once said "if you are drawing a blank, or are having a hard time drawing a certain thing, then it is because you have not studied it enough". You can only draw what you know. Sadly there is no magical dust (believe me I have tried searching for the stuff) that will make you a better artist. The fruit of great art comes from the roots of studying, observation, and hard work.

So for people like me that have a hard time drawing hands this is the type of (Great) artwork I would printout, trace, study, and observe. 

Rad Sechrist: studying

Guest: "I'd love to see the best way to maximize practice. Say you sit down for a couple hours each day study: where do you focus? How do you make it stick?"

Here is how I learned to draw. I put on an animated movie and pause it and try to figure out how to draw it. this is still something I do almost every day for about an hour. For figure drawing, I take out a master drawing and do a master copy on newsprint. I also do studies from comics. I find it easier to do studies from art. For me (and this is just a very personal opinion) drawing from life, or from photos is like taking a test. You find out what you need to study more of and you go back and study artist to figure out how they handled things, then you go and take the test again. If you only ever draw from life, you run the risk of just repeating the same mistakes over and over again and never improving. there are pros and cons to this method. At first, your drawings will be very unoriginal, but eventually you can break free and develop your own style. The other side of the coin is to be very fresh and original, but not "technically" as good of a draftsmen (never study). It's a very personal decision that each artist gets to make and I don't think one way is better than the other.