Design Skills

I am used to hearing that drawing exactly what you see builds a foundation for an artist. "Traditional" drawing skills require an accurate rendering of what's in front of you. A common mentality is that one should have a good understanding of the mechanics of drawing before they move into abstraction. You know how the saying goes, "Don't break the rules until you learn them". Is realism really the foundation though? I find that an artist having solid ground from which to take liberties with future work is basic design sensibilities. If you take any image and break it down into abstract forms of line, color and form, you can essentially see the "structure" of the picture without the detail. The essence of any composition is the design. Once a person can understand basic design principles, he or she is that much closer to progressing as an artist rather than simply drawing what they see.