Izanagi
ok well thats all good and dandy but drifting in a game that doesnt even support that kind of stuff (since it thinks ur just losing control and sliding around....doesnt realize what u r actually trying to do) is very hard, especially with a D-pad and X button. ive mastered grip driving using only the pad and very well times X button-mashing but driftin gis a whole different ball game....it dont work that easy. i am decent at it and can hold my own but i wanna learn how to be even better....like little things that i could do to improve....idk....i wanna see what other people do and their strategies....as for videos.....sure they r helpful and i have the Drift Bible and tons of other real world as well as GT vids saved on my comp but watching is a lot different than doing....
there's your first problem - the D-Pad
Try cozying up to the analog stick, far more precise.
Secondly, everything joe_neutron said is absolutely true.
Moreover, who cares what the game thinks the you are trying to do? or whether or not the game was designed specifically to allow drifting?
Of course it is not going to pick up on the fact that you're trying to drift, its not intelligent - at best all it can do its give you a blank stare from across the room and go "00111010101110100011101011..." or something like that.
You have to tell it that you are drifting. Its the same as a regular car. A production car is not engineered to drive sideways with smoke billowing off the tires, yet it can be done (albeit with much complaining from the tie-rods and ball joints).
Drifting is all about car balance, and your ability to modulate inputs to control the established equilibrium between the rear wheels slipping, and the front wheels tracing out the corner. You have to allow for the steering and throttle to work in harmony to execute a drift, they should never be used to counteract each other (as is the more typical way of viewing them). This is the biggest fact that i try to nail into people. As a bit of an appendix to that point, the smoother you can make your inputs, the more likely you are to have a nice smooth drift. Impulsive inputs, and/or extreme inputs cause extreme changes in the dynamics of the car, and will almost undoubtedly lead to a chat with the sand and/or tire barriers. I've done all the physics and explained it fully in some very specific (and incredibly boring) terms in the GT3 drifting forum. I avoid doing that now for readability, but the point remains the same.
Watching is different than doing, as you say. So does it not seem natural to just do more and better more consistent drifting should follow?
Practice is what the whole post boils down to. I've spent better than a year drifting in GT3, and I know there are still flaws in my technique. The only way for me to iron them out is by running some laps, observing, and noting any possible improvements. It may not happen fast, but it will happen eventually.
👍
keep at it!
once you get anything you wish to share (if you have the means of uploading a vid) dont hesitate to do so. There are some incredibly skilled drifters that lurk around here that are usually quite anxious to give constructive criticism. You will most likely find that it is a definite way to clamber up that learning curve a bit more quickly.
I will still try to drift those two cars! 
