It totally is. Without it, you cannot apply shading for example. Or make caricatures. Or literally do anything in drawing that would be considered a normal rout

It totally is. Without it, you cannot apply shading for example. Or make caricatures. Or literally do anything in drawing that would be considered a normal routine expectation from an artist. I’m speaking about a specific skill here, not emulating Jackson Pollock or doing something crazy in the art world. Talking about strictly the ability to draw well.