Learning how to Draw

[Stiganator]

..

 

[DarrelSPowers]

cheap route: pick up a pen and paper and start doodling... then hit the art store for some new media/instruction books.

expensive/pointless route: art school

 

[nboy22]

There's really only one way to do this.

Learn the tools, which is simple, Pencils, Pens, Blending stumps, Erasers, different weights of paper. Learn what a blending stump is used for and Learn the different types pencil softness and hardness.

And here comes the fun part.... Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.

Practice does make perfect in this sense, the more and more I draw I can feel myself getting a grasp for shadows and highlights and how different things should go.

Just the other day I was actually drawing the best hands I've ever drawn with my new $1000 Wacom Cintiq 12wx. Very expensive tool but this is my major so I will need one in the future anyways.

There's also the Villpu training dvds, If you look them up on google and buy them they should help you get a great grasp on figure drawing.

 

[Baked]

Kindergarten. It's a bit late for you I'm afraid.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Draw people from real life or photographs. Get some literature on gesture drawing to help you, such as the Villpu Drawing Manual.

 

[JDub02]

i think it's a talent that you either have or don't.

with that said, i hear that if you devote 1 hour a day, every day, for a year to learning something, you will master it by the end of the year.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Baked
Kindergarten. It's a bit late for you I'm afraid.

Bull. Go back to a kindergarten class, sit in one of those tiny 1-foot tall chairs and start drawing some hand-turkeys, stat!

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: Baked
Kindergarten. It's a bit late for you I'm afraid.

Bull. Go back to a kindergarten class, sit in one of those tiny 1-foot tall chairs and start drawing some hand-turkeys, stat!

heh heh.
He said hand turkey.

 

[MrChad]

It's been a while since I've read it, but Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was a great resource for improving drawing technique.

 

[arrfep]

With CasioTech banned, the potential for this thread to hit epic status is very slim.

IMO, best place to learn is by taking a class. I'm sure your JuCo offers some beginning classes in drawing. It's good to get feedback from someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[Modelworks]

My picks:
Fun with a Pencil - Andrew Loomis. ---- My favorite , good for adults and kids.
Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy - Christopher Hart
Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain - Christopher Hart
How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains - Christoper Hart
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way - Stan Lee
The Art of Animal Drawing - Ken Hultgren



There are a couple comic book artist books I recommended because they have really good drawing techniques and are not the same old draw a posed figure over and over books.


From fun with a pencil:

MR. WEBSTER DEFINES DRAWING
AS DELINEATION. THAT DOESN?T
TELL YOU HOW MUCH OF A REAL
?BANG? THERE IS IN IT. MAYBE
HE NEVER KNEW. MOST FOLKS
LOVE TO DRAW EVEN WHEN
THEY KNOW LITTLE ABOUT IT. IT
STARTED WITH THE CAVE MAN,
AND STILL SURVIVES ON THE
WALLS OF PUBLIC PLACES... BECAUSE
IT?S SO MUCH FUN, AND
SO EASY, IT?S A SHAME NOT TO BE
ABLE TO DO IT BETTER.
ANDREW LOOMIS

ALL THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, TO START
THIS BOOK, IS HOW TO DRAW A CIRCLE.

I forgot to add to get the Loomis books you can download them.
Some of his books are no longer in print and worth serious cash if you find them.
The copy I have of Fun with a Pencil sells for about $140.
http://www.artcone.com/forum/a...s_downloads-t1772.html

 

[Baked]

Just found this speed drawing by Gabe of Penny-Arcade using photoshop and Wacom tablet. Damn he's good.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: JDub02
i think it's a talent that you either have or don't.

The qualities necessary to be a professional illustrator or artist might be a talent, but the ability to produce pretty darn good pen and ink sketches is a skill that nearly anyone can learn. It just takes time and dedication.

 

[sonambulo]

Originally posted by: MrChad
It's been a while since I've read it, but Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was a great resource for improving drawing technique.

Edwards is a great way to train your brain to see things correctly. Once you've mastered the concepts laid out in her book you're going to want to move up.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: BeauJangles

Originally posted by: JDub02
i think it's a talent that you either have or don't.

The qualities necessary to be a professional illustrator or artist might be a talent, but the ability to produce pretty darn good pen and ink sketches is a skill that nearly anyone can learn. It just takes time and dedication.

Yup.

It comes down to a matter of being able to mimic the shapes you see... getting the curves right and getting sizes and perspective to match.

Then you gotta learn shading, which can be tricky if you want to do it perfectly, but getting the idea behind it is something that can be easily looked up on the interwebs.

The best way to get started is to get yourself a sketchbook and some regular pencils (Mechanical pencils aren't as great) and give it a whirl. I'd be happy to critique you over PM if you are reluctant to post what you come up with.

Overall, the best advice I can give you is that you have to pay attention to the little things and their relation to the big idea. If you try to draw everything at once you're going to come up with something that is flat, lacks emotion and is generally uninteresting.

Now when you get down the idea of concept art and the like, a lot of that requires some talent in the area of imagination and visualization, and the ability to have the portion of your brain that's thinking of something be able to break the though down enough for the portion of your brain that is trying to draw it.

Edit: A few things to try when you get a sketch book and some pencils

Find a picture of a person (The larger the better, really) and concentrate on just drawing portions of them. On one page, draw their eye or eyes a few times. Don't draw anything else, just focus on making the eye as accurate as possible. Then on a separate page try the lips. Then the nose, etc.

Get a posing dummy and try drawing non-detailed figures. Try drawing the dummy exactly as you see it. Then when you're ready to move on, do a light sketch of the dummy and without erasing it, try drawing clothes or muscle mass on to it. Try different poses and if it doesn't seem to be going well, try sticking to just an arm or a leg or something.

Try to avoid drawing pictures already done in comic books. Everyone has their own style and simply trying to mimic another artist's picture won't help you develop your own.

DON'T try drawing yourself unless you feel ready for the task. A lot of people have a hard time just liking a picture of themselves... you likely aren't going to be too satisfied with a self-drawing unless you've gotten really good and don't mind embellishing a bit.

 

[alkemyst]

get your favorite handgun and drive to the hood. Get out and pick any derogatory term you want and use it against the first group of dudes wearing mostly red or blue.

You will be a gunslinger in no time.