First of all, it is a good way to enroll in classes to learn Chinese painting, but it is more important to choose a good Chinese painting class. For anyone, learning Chinese painting is most afraid of being misled, taking a wild road, spending more money without saying anything, and the most difficult thing is that the aesthetics are distorted and bad habits are formed. The longer it takes, the harder it is to change. The only danger is that many Chinese painting classes now teach the wild way, only about how to draw a painting, not about the origin of this painting, what is the creative background of this painting, whether this painting is worth learning, what is good, why do painters paint like this, and don't talk about professional techniques and painting theories; There are even cases of teaching children to create art in the name of "Chinese painting", which is far from the real Chinese painting. Unfortunately, many people who have never been exposed to Chinese painting simply can't see it. So choosing a truly professional teacher is the most important thing. This teacher can't teach you anything by himself, but should guide you to learn to look at ancient paintings-the paintings of masters of traditional Chinese painting in past dynasties (beginners should look at the paintings of modern masters carefully). The teacher will tell you why masters paint like this. If you watch more, you will naturally develop a good aesthetic, and you will be able to distinguish the real master painting from the Jianghu painting.
It doesn't matter if you are 25 years old and have no painting foundation. Just start from the basic class. Nowadays, many adults have economic conditions and have begun to realize their dream of learning to draw when they were young. Even many retired people learn Chinese painting from holding a pen, so it is very common for adults to learn Chinese painting from scratch. For an experienced and solid teacher, it is very simple to draw Chinese paintings for students with zero foundation step by step.
Reading is not suitable for beginners. A modern Chinese painting teaching book is compiled by modern people, so we should be careful about modern people's paintings, not to mention the Chinese painting book compiled by modern people. Most of the introductory books I've seen are Jianghu paintings, and beautiful books are usually not introductory books. If you must have one, take a look at the Atlas of Mustard Garden. This is an album that Qi Baishi studied before he became famous. It's not misleading. It may be a little difficult. It is recommended to learn from a good teacher, and the first sip of milk will be smooth.
Having a calligraphy foundation is the advantage of learning Chinese painting. In Chinese painting, it often depends on the painter's pen, and a beautiful signature is also a place to add color. It is because I have studied calligraphy since I was a child that it is easier to draw Chinese painting in college than other students. However, you don't have to practice writing brush. If you want to make faster progress, I suggest you practice calligraphy while learning to draw. Learning painting is interesting, and practicing writing brush is to strengthen the feeling of using a pen. Calligraphy and painting are of the same origin, and China's calligraphy and painting complement each other.