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Getting better at drawing?

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Sats

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Like really better?

I've wanted to be an artist for a long time. Honestly, just being able to think of something in my head, and actually have it kind of look like what I was thinking on the page. Maybe something of a cartoony style, but I wouldn't try to force anything like that.

Everytime I think about trying to draw something, it comes out looking like shit, and then I get discouraged and stop. I guess that happens to good artists too, but it just pisses me off.

Can I really practice and get better? What tools or guides would any of you recommend, if any?
 
Just keep drawing. Anything, everything and whatnot. Best to draw from reality to get the basics down. Perspective drawing, figure drawing and other essential basics can help regardless of the style you pursue.

Every 100 pieces of garbage you draw can lead to one great piece of art that you'll treasure.
 
Is there any sort of program where you can simply position an anatomically correct human body, change angles, change body size, lighting, etc? I keep thinking about eventually making such a thing, but I'm actually too lazy to even do enough research to see if one exists.

If such a thing exists, it could be great for learning how to draw, as well as for professional artists.
 
Draw anything. Go to places where you wouldn't sit at in your house or normally look at and try drawing it.

When it comes to people, try drawing gestures, or mapping out a pose of someone really quickly. It trains your perceptive ability. Like 10 seconds to draw someone standing in a pose.

Having an idea of lighting helps, but you gain that from learning to draw. Learn to proportion with your eyes, and use some lengths you can see to compare to others in order to judge. You can even hold up your pencil if it helps and use that as a ruler. This will help you even in more stylized drawings like cartoons.

But most importantly, draw as much as you can, and draw something new every time.
 
Man, as a small kid I loved to draw. I drawed all day. But then I stopped doing it as soon as I left High-School. It's a shame. And right now I don't have the time for it anymore.
 
I dabbled in drawing when I was younger but was never good at it. However, I saw a big improvement when I changed how I approached it.

Are you trying to draw something whole, or are you thinking about the individual shapes and lines that comprise the whole? Any drawing consists of many smaller elements that combine to create larger elements. For example, if you're drawing a person's face, think about how you craft each individual element.
 
tumblr_lfakl69GRi1qec7r8o1_500.jpg


tumblr_inline_mj34giztTp1qz4rgp.jpg


These two books are a tremendous help and you can get them for pretty cheap.

I've been drawing since I was a kid, but I've never been all that good. Been working with these to really see if I've got what it takes, and they're really informative.

And of course, like everyone else is saying, draw everything. Draw everyday if you can. You'll be terrible at first, but everyone is. You just gotta stick with it.
 
As an artist who was an accountant, here's my tips:
  • Draw a lot-at least 30-60 minutes a day, every day.
  • Don't draw people at first. Focus on still lifes or, better yet, boxes or things with really boxy shapes.
  • That's pretty much it.
You can only really become a better artist with practice and that's really 95% of the work involved.

Once you get better, there are a ton of things you can do to specialize and focus. Most importantly, do not draw from your own head/imagination in the beginning. It'll likely look like crap and you'll get discouraged again.

If you have more specific questions, especially in the field of art for video games, ask away or PM me.
 
I don't think I ever learned anything in any of my drawing classes. It was all like obvious stuff with shading and perspective. In higher level art classes what do you learn?
 
The only way to get better is to draw, draw, draw and draw some more. There's really no shortcut to it, it's the only real way to develop your technique and visual eye. It's also important to keep an eye for inspiration and good tricks from other artists though.
 
Some tips for you:

-Focus on the general idea of what the shape is when drawing before going into detail. Most people get caught up in detail too fast.

-Like everyone said above, draw everything. literally everything in sight.

If your into character art draw from live figures.
I recommend this book to help:

http://vilppustore.com/Vilppu_Drawing_Manual.htm

Glen Vilppu has a really nice way of breaking down anatomy into simple shapes.

most importantly, practice makes perfect :D
There are no shortcuts!
 
Sorry for the thread highjack, but is there anyway to get into painting?

I have no idea where to start, or even what materials I need, lol

edit: On topic, I found Andrew Loomis's books to be pretty great help at understanding how to draw people.
 
Timedog said:
I don't think I ever learned anything in any of my drawing classes. It was all like obvious stuff with shading and perspective. In higher level art classes what do you learn?
Click to expand...
Depending on what you're doing shading and perspective is probably about 70-80% of what makes a piece look right so it's going to be the focus of beginning art classes.

In more "advanced" classes I learned the basics about different media (i.e. painting in acrylic, watercolor or oil), digital art programs (Photoshop, Zbrush, Max/Maya), color, composition and art history. Most advanced art classes are really more about just giving you (hopefully good) critique on your pieces as you crank out art studies focusing on specific areas of your own artistic development.

More than almost any other subject I've studied, it's very self-directed and that makes it harder to me.
 
Does anyone here(artists) believe that some are hopeless?

Like people who have been drawing for years and yet what theyre doing or what they put out is just wrong.
 
I was never a fan of drawing something from a source image or an idea in your head. What I like to do is start drawing any random thing and then as I make mistakes I look for ways to take the picture into a completely new direction. By the end I get something really cool that I would have never gotten if I just stuck to a single idea. Keep drawing like this to get confidence in what you can create and then move on to more formal techniques to help expand your creative horizon. Just don't let your lack of 'skill' deter you from drawing something you love, and as others have said just keep practicing.
 
EVOL 100% said:
Sorry for the thread highjack, but is there anyway to get into painting?

I have no idea where to start, or even what materials I need, lol

edit: On topic, I found Andrew Loomis's books to be pretty great help at understanding how to draw people.
Click to expand...

I don't know how valid this tip is, but a low cost, low mess way is digital painting, whether it's on a computer with a tablet or on an iPad with a brush stylus. Some apps are better than others at emulating certain mediums so keep that in mind. I did traditional painting for a year and it gets really messy and obtaining paints, brushes, canvases, and an easel can be an expensive investment.

You should also find resources on learning how to use color, strokes, and also how different painting media work and proper ways to layer on paint. I don't have any links on me though since I did it in a classroom a while ago.

-------

Gesture drawings are a good way to practice capturing form and motion too. It's a good way to practice capturing movement and general form of figures and avoiding being hung up on unnecessary details. I don't really have much else to contribute since I'm still learning too lol.
 
Sats said:
I have the same question.
Click to expand...

I would say no one is hopeless at it if they are willing to get better and learn no matter how discouraged they get in the beginning.
That's the thing though, it's like anything really. If you want to get better at it, you will.
 
Thorakai said:
I was never a fan of drawing something from a source image or an idea in your head. What I like to do is start drawing any random thing and then as I make mistakes I look for ways to take the picture into a completely new direction. By the end I get something really cool that I would have never gotten if I just stuck to a single idea. Keep drawing like this to get confidence in what you can create and then move on to more formal techniques to help expand your creative horizon. Just don't let your lack of 'skill' deter you from drawing something you love, and as others have said just keep practicing.
Click to expand...
This is me. Only I find it frustrating that Im often unable to execute my original intention. The result might be cool and unexpected but it makes me feel like a hack.
 
There's a forum thread that follows one guy from not being able to draw anything till he became an art teacher. If someone can find that thread it would be extremely inspiring to anyone who wants to learn how to draw.
 
yogloo said:
There's a forum thread that follows one guy from not being able to draw anything till he became an art teacher. If someone can find it that would be extremely inspiring to anyone who wants to learn how to draw.
Click to expand...

This is now my thread for that. Lol :p

I love seeing the images of artists re-drawing something from years ago, and how much better it is.
 
EVOL 100% said:
Sorry for the thread highjack, but is there anyway to get into painting?

I have no idea where to start, or even what materials I need, lol

edit: On topic, I found Andrew Loomis's books to be pretty great help at understanding how to draw people.
Click to expand...
Depends on what you want to paint with. Note that I'm going to be very basic and make huge generalizations here.

Want to make stuff that looks like this? Then look for watercolors.
1AtBbuo.jpg
Click to expand...

Want something with a bit more texture and study stuff from the Old Masters like this? Oil is what you want.
9NkGzQx.jpg
Click to expand...

Acrylics are somewhere in between and can also have a very unique look but, to me at least, they're harder to work with. More versatile, in some ways, but trickier.

Generally speaking, get a good starter set of brushes, some solvent (never dispose of solvent down the drain) and just practice. It'll help to do a pencil underdrawing at first and really focus on objects with really basic colors and shapes.

Ratrat said:
Does anyone here(artists) believe that some are hopeless?
Click to expand...
That some artists are hopeless? No, I don't believe that. I sincerely and honestly believe that everyone can learn to become a great artist in more than one aspect of artistic representation. The only difference between different people is the amount of time it takes for you to reach your goal. Some people may grasp certain principles (value and perspective, for example) faster than others and may therefore be better able to apply them sooner but everyone can become a good artist.

You're only hopeless if you give up or you never try. Sounds cheesy but absolutely true.

EDIT: I'm thinking of starting a Drawing a Day thread or something like that. I work in 3D all fucking day and I haven't seriously drawn/sketched for myself in months. Anyone else interested?
 
Ratrat said:
Does anyone here(artists) believe that some are hopeless?

Like people who have been drawing for years and yet what theyre doing or what they put out is just wrong.
Click to expand...

Not at all.

I think it comes down to how much you're willing to work and if you can find the right resources to help you learn. Taking some classes with a good teacher doesn't hurt either. Even the most awful artist can become at least acceptable if they try at it.

Natural talent does exist, but doesn't really come into play until you start talking about great or "master" tier artists. Most people have it in them to become good.

Keikaku said:
EDIT: I'm thinking of starting a Drawing a Day thread or something like that. I work in 3D all fucking day and I haven't seriously drawn/sketched for myself in months. Anyone else interested?
Click to expand...
I been putting off drawing for a minute, so something like this would be a great motivator to get back into the groove. Nothing like have Gaf kick you in the ass to get you to work. lol
 
I went from a complete bigginner to learning to draw in about 6 months.

A recent "sketch" (3 hour digital painting)

crash_web.jpg
Click to expand...

There's a couple of major tips that really helped me.

1. draw a lot, and draw everything. Even if you cant think of anything, there's always an opportunity to practice. You can practice texutre skills (like brick or stone or treebark), draw different kind of lines, practice pressure control. Draw simple boxes and shade different sides. Draw circles/spheres These small things add up.

2. if your drawings look like crap, who cares. Hell, grab some really messy pens or markers and some crappy paper and let yourself suck for a while. If you let yourself fail, you will loosen up with your drawing and they'll get better much faster. It's when you're so focused on not being "horrible" that you get fustrated, and it just makes the process harder. Having a loose hand is much better then over concentrating and trying to force it.

3. there's no such thing as cheating. Tracing is a fine way to learn porpotions or to make custom changes to images. Get tracing paper and practice the lines others have made. Even better, find drawings you like and draw basic shapes over top, this helps you learn to see how they drew it and elements like porportion, negative space and composition.

4. there's no such thing as "talent" in art. If you can write your name you can draw. All the lines used in every single drawing can be found in the alphabet. People have affinity for it, they might be better at parts of it, but the visual arts are mainly about seeing, and learning to see better.
 
les papillons sexuels said:
I went from a complete bigginner to learning to draw in about 6 months.

A recent "sketch" (3 hour digital painting)



There's a couple of major tips that really helped me.

1. draw a lot, and draw everything. Even if you cant think of anything, there's always an opportunity to practice. You can practice texutre skills (like brick or stone or treebark), draw different kind of lines, practice pressure control. Draw simple boxes and shade different sides. Draw circles/spheres These small things add up.

2. if your drawings look like crap, who cares. Hell, grab some really messy pens or markers and some crappy paper and let yourself suck for a while. If you let yourself fail, you're loosen up with your drawing and they'll get better much faster. It's when you're so focused on not being "horrible" that you get fustrated, and it just makes the process harder.

3. there's no such thing as cheating. Tracing is a fine way to learn porpotions or to make custom changes to images. Get tracing paper and practice the lines others have made. Even better, find drawings you like and draw basic shapes over top, this helps you learn to see and porportion, negative space and composition.

4. there's no such thing as "talent" in art. If you can write your name you can draw. All the lines used in every single drawing can be found in the alphabet. People have affinity for it, they might be better at parts of it, but the visual arts are mainly about seeing, and learning to see better.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's really good, especially after 6 months of practice! And thank you for the great tips.
 
Timedog said:
Is there any sort of program where you can simply position an anatomically correct human body, change angles, change body size, lighting, etc? I keep thinking about eventually making such a thing, but I'm actually too lazy to even do enough research to see if one exists.

If such a thing exists, it could be great for learning how to draw, as well as for professional artists.
Click to expand...

It isn't exactly what you're looking for, but I think Posemaniacs is useful.
 
The first post gets it. Like any other talent in life, you just need to practice.

Drawing from pieces of art that you like is a good place to start. It should help you get comfortable with drawing techniques and proportions, just don't go calling it your own art (unless it significantly differs from the original). This is how I became decent at drawing.

Like you said, drawing from your head is one of the hardest parts of art. That's why many people use photographs, observation and references to draw things. It takes a huge amount of practice and mental power to recreate a vision from your mind, but it gets easier once you train yourself.

A few more notes. Draw things you are comfortable with first! It can be very discouraging to force yourself to draw things that just aren't working for you.

If you lack inspiration and don't have anything to draw on your mind, just take a break and come back later. You may just come back and impress yourself with what you are capable of.

Keikaku said:
EDIT: I'm thinking of starting a Drawing a Day thread or something like that. I work in 3D all fucking day and I haven't seriously drawn/sketched for myself in months. Anyone else interested?
Click to expand...
Do this please. I will try to participate.
 
Timedog said:
Is there any sort of program where you can simply position an anatomically correct human body, change angles, change body size, lighting, etc? I keep thinking about eventually making such a thing, but I'm actually too lazy to even do enough research to see if one exists.

If such a thing exists, it could be great for learning how to draw, as well as for professional artists.
Click to expand...

You can always use a 3d modeling program and some google warehouse models, but normally I just go and look at porn, because it tends to be a lot more accurate and you can almost always find a position, body type and angle that suits your needs.

btw

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438626
 
learning drawing, especially as you get older, is probably a pain in the ass because it's just such a non-instant gratification kind of thing when you start out with it, for so many people. They quickly get discouraged and move on. And there;s so many other things to occupy one's time nowadays that it's easy to get impatient and just move onto the next thing.

but if you are really interested, like anything else - just start DOING it. a lot. don't get fancy.. don't screw around with photoshop or expensive materials. just get some pens or pencils and a simple sketchbook and get moving. the rules are all around you, draw from life. start very primitive and you will quickly get complicated; and an understanding of the complex way everything fits together, even if in just a simple manner.

it will take time, but if there's a seed for it in you then it won't take too long to get over that initial hump. to get actually really GOOD will take a very long time and a lot of hard work, but if you enjoy it then that is the most important part and you won't even care how long it takes - that's the point!

like anything, it's a muscle which must be exercised. spend time and energy (and thought) and it will definitely grow in some way.

are some people hopeless with it? sure, I will argue that that there are certain people who simply don't have it in them to "get" it, but again if you can find that rudimentary enjoyment out of it regardless of what you are making then it probably won't even matter. Art can be hugely therapeutic..
 
Along with what everyone said, I'm going to add my $.02 regarding progressing as an artist based on personal observation. It's true, draw as often as possible but you also need to understand and deal with getting stuck or stagnating.

Every time you draw or think about drawing, it's like making a deposit into your skill. Sometimes, your deposits will pay off sooner rather than later. As you get better, your progression slows but you never stop progressing. Just because you don't see progress that moment you are drawing doesn't mean you are not progressing. It's in this attitude you need to believe in and never give up.

There are some days where the things that I learn directly translate into my drawing. Meaning, in my mind, I level up my understanding and at the same time it shows in my drawing.

However, there are days where the perception of progress quickly goes away and I seem to have gotten "stuck", meaning it doesn't look like my drawings are progressing and I used to get frustrated and give up.

As I got older, I learned that even if I stopped drawing but pursued my understanding of drawing (form, relationships, proportion etc) every once in awhile I make a "breakthrough" where progress shows up on my paper that moment.

There is also a connection to what some of my favorite artists refer to as "building up a visual library" but that could be a whole other post.

TL;DR Draw to build up your physical connection to drawing and also build up your mental connection and understanding. If you are not drawing, continually try to build your mental connection and understanding anyway and eventually you'll have breakthroughs in your drawings

sorry if that was wordy. Gambatte!
 
Yea, drawing is definitely one of those things where you have to feel it out to get better.
If it hasn't been said before, always draw through at all times when learning how to create object or subject from, don't try to skimp and draw from outward appearance alone. Once you have a comfortable understanding then you can start to create shortcuts or workarounds.
 
Draw often, but make sure you're giving the drawing your full attention. Especially when you're starting out, where most of your effort will be purely academic (e.g. learning perspective, form, shading). Just going through the motions won't help beyond hand eye coordination and loosening up.

It depends on a person's sensibilities and goals, but what helped me was trying to get a solid understanding of form. How something exists in space, and how to represent it in 2D. That way you're not relying on a memory of a specific view/pose of something you've drawn in the past. My goal starting out was drawing thumbnails for character animation.
 
practice by just looking at things and noticing things, you can do this when you're just outside going places

everything is influenced by fucking light yo

be brutally honest with what you see and don't exaggerate or manipulate things ever until you've mastered its nature

this is the detailed version of 'draw often' homie, peace
 
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