JCC So I'm going to learn how to draw

So I've thought of this for a long time now. I've always wanted to draw stuff, be able to accurately draw my characters for stories, or storyboard my scenes, or make stuff in general. Trouble is it looks like a kid drew it, I suck at it. Every painting attempt, every doodle to me looks bad in the past.

Well, as a project to better myself or learn something new, why not learn how to do it properly now? So today I spent about an hour following just a beginner video of basics. Just drawing squares, circles, cubes, spheres, and triangles. Cylinders I have to do better on.

One trick though said in this video is moving you're whole arm, not just using your wrist to do lines, and it is helpful. Also I've noticed as supposed to drawing a circle from the right, if I start it on the left it comes out better.

I'm not sure what my styling will be, or how far it will look, but I want to do something different in learning.

Any tips from artists here?

 

This was my bible growing up. It actually does a great job of making you see the forms in every day objects and knowing how to start drawing.



That said, I wouldn't worry about style or arm movement yet. Just try breaking down things you see all around you (paper cup, bottle, chair, ball, etc) and start from there. The gestural and more elaborate figurative stuff comes after. God. So many beginners and first year college art students worry about 'style'. Hell, I did. It comes. But really only after you learn the basics and how to actually draw.

And what you're noticing with the 'supposed to drawing a circle from the right, if I start it on the left it comes out better." is perfectly natural. One eye is dominate. One hand dominate. Your brain is going to draw everything with a slight dominance to that side. Artists will usually flip their drawings upside down (or invert it digitally) to see how outrageously warped their forms are actually being drawn. Sometimes to funny results. In time, you learn to overcompensate and know better. But it will always happen to some degree.

Drawing and art isn't magic. It's a skill. It's a muscle. And it's knowledge. It's about learning to really look at the world around us. Almost scientifically.

 

Some things I have found very helpful - but keep in mind, a pro I am NOT! I'm gonna run out of years before I ever get "as good at it " as I want to be (assuming I even have the base talent to be as good as I wanna be!). I can't emphasize enough that I am not a professional, and my drawings are probably marginal at best - but I've always enjoyed it, I still do, and I am still learning!

(1) There are tons of "drawing tips" videos on You Tube, and I very much recommend looking at a lot of them. If you're like me, some will work for you and many won't - but that's cool and the key is to find the ones that DO work for you. I have found a lot of people can draw very very very well but can't necessarily help YOU draw better. But with so much out there, you are almost certain to find some that help you out!
(2) Not saying you HAVE to lock in a style early. At all. BUT...I suspect it helps somewhat if you know what you are aiming for. Do you want to draw comic book characters? Do you want to draw anime/manga style? Do you want to be able to draw in a "realistic" style? Etc. You will hear from some people that it doesn't matter, the basic building blocks are the same - and I get that. BUT I think if you know what you are aiming for, it can help you focus some.
(3) Don't be afraid to use references. I used to resist this mightily, feeling that it just taught you to "copy"... and then stubborn ol' me finally had to conceded that many many many of the artists I enjoyed either used references while learning OR STILL used references for their work, especially when figuring out lighting, shadow, etc. The internet, again, has TONS of references, for free. You can also take pictures of action figures or mannequins (action figure size).
(4) Be patient with yourself, and have fun. Look, if you are looking at the work of pros, its kinda like watching NBA players in an effort to improve your game. It might help but if you get discouraged that you aren't as good as an NBA player, that COULD take the fun out of basketball for you, right? Guess what I am trying to say here is that even great artists often aren't happy with their work, their style, etc. And if you are learning, you have to cut yourself some slack, and you HAVE to have fun with it and enjoy the "getting there", wherever "there" ends up!
(5) Challenge yourself to try to draw "what you are not good at". Don't take shortcuts and cheats and avoid those things, or you'll never get better. For example, a lot (and I mean A LOT) of artists find it challenging to draw human hands. So if you are one of those, don't rely too much on hiding the hands, or "just" drawing blocky fists, etc. Attack that shortcoming. But keep #4 in mind!
(6) Draw a lot. Get a sketchbook and draw on your lunch break, draw while listening to boring camera-off work meetings, draw while watching sports on TV, draw draw draw. Don't worry about creating finished pictures - draw basic forms, draw poses, draw hands, draw whatever.

Hope you find something here that helps/you can use, and have fun!

 

That's nice but it depends on the position, if you are up a pawn you might want to go for the win instead.

 

Make sure you enjoy it.

 

Yeah the whole "I did this in 20 min and didn't use any reference. All from my head" brags are funny.

Use reference. Our brains can't possibly remember everything. Save the brain power for what it needs to do.

 

Have to second that.

I found drawing fighter jets and SW spacecraft hugely fun, but I needed some reference visuals at the start.

Eventually, I got to the point where I could do a Star Destroyer without it, but that's much later on.

 

@Master_Lok might have some advice for you.

 

And don't pull an Alec Baldwin

 

I thought the point in those quickdraw situations was to pull an Alec Baldwin.

 

I personally do not draw much but I've taken up acrylic painting in the last year. Practice has been helpful, and having a session with an artist at the beginning to help learn some technique things

 

How to draw the marvel way was my suggestion.

suggestion two. Enroll in a drawing class. It will help you way more and way faster than doing it on your own.

You’re in the military, right? Lets us know what’s harder to draw with a pistol or a pencil.

 

I only have pens on me currently

 

Do a lot of people really think using references is copying/ cheating? I mean, what do they think the best painters in history were doing when they were looking at things while painting them?

I think he meant don’t shoot Directors of Photography.

 

@AutumnLight91

My thoughts are all over the place, given no sleep etc. TBH, the past 3 years have been ridiculous here. I copy comic art and some photographs/screenshots. Yes, I third, fourth, fifth the notion that using reference is your friend. Some excellent advice in this thread!

When I started out, I watched some of Proko’s tutorials on YouTube. I’ve yet to master the Loomis method for heads etc., it’s a goal and Stan Prokopenko is a very good teacher.

I sketch digitally and am always learning, pushing myself. I am very forgiving with my art because I know and enjoy the process (including messing up).

I often redraw the same comic panel or photograph. This trains my eye in seeing more details with each attempt (I get closer to the source material the more I redo a particular piece.)

Right now, slowly investigating tutorials I bought for Procreate years ago (the drawing app I use to draw on an iPad.) Yes, line control and practice are a big part of it. Yeah, I’m finally working on line control. Next up shapes and values.

There are many drawing tutorials, so my advice is try a few and see what works for you. I’ve come across using your entire arm to draw in traditional art tutorials, but I believe there’s many ways to learn how to draw and just finding your way into what inspires you to draw.

An aside, my favorite artist, Marvel’s Marco Checchetto, does not use dummy models. He’s been drawing since he was 7 or 8 and his style has some heavy manga influence. I’ve been berated for copying his art in learning how to draw, but I don’t care. Marco’s been at Marvel for 15 years now. A cool bonus, we have a nice acquaintanceship (He occasionally comments on my fan art, and is very flattered by my homages & decade plus support of his work.) It’s because of Marco, I’m still drawing 4.5 years later.

In finding his own way, Marco’s inspired me to take what I want from tutorials, know there is always room for growth, and just keep drawing.

The great thing is, despite my lack of formal training, I’ve become friends or acquaintances with some very talented professional comic & fine artists who are very supportive of my learning to draw (and not just because I’ve spent $$$ on original art by these folks.) I’ve found “my people” and am blown away at how kind and supportive most of them have been.

My dream is to ultimately make money with my art & becoming a part of the pro community, keep having fun, and growing as an artist. It’s a process, but one of the very few I truly enjoy.

And, yeah, I think it’s time I bought How To Draw The Marvel Way.

So all this in saying, try every tutorial that looks interesting. Take what you want and leave the rest.

Looking forward to seeing what you do(odle).

 

These kinds of threads make me feel the warm and fuzzies. So good to see people embarking on creative journeys.

 

Gonna emphasize this..I am a a 110% less than amateur artist. I am basically a guy who draws for his own amusement, and a fair-to-middling level on my good days. I DON'T want to come off as thinking I am some kind of expert on how to learn to be a great artist or penciller or whatever! Can't say that enough. On the other hand, given my long term struggles, figure a few of the things I have gone through MIGHT be of use to someone who wants to learn!

1) I can't speak for others re references, but I do see artists (who make tutorial You Tube videos!) encouraging students to not shy away, so I have to think it's more than just me! And while I came around on that point, here's what made me hesitant...

What I wanted was to be able to sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and draw ...whatever. Spider-Man diving off a roof? All Might hefting a huge piece of rubble over his head? Darth Vader Force-choking someone? Whatever! Given that, I had concerns that if I became dependent on references, I would never get there. I did feel, and to some extent I still DO feel, that "different parts of my brain" engage when I draw without a reference and when I draw FROM a reference. Same thing with me drawing from my head OR copying a piece of artwork by one of my favorite comic book artists. Where I reached a compromise (with myself!) is that working from references is good, and copying existing artwork is good, AS LONG AS you don't simply "copy" but keep your brain engaged to understand why you're drawing what you're drawing (so you're learning versus copying).

2) DRAWING COMICS THE MARVEL WAY is a fantastic book if you are interested in learning to draw...er... well, comics the old-school Marvel way (which I happen to love). Of course, that's not everyone's goal, and even there styles change in terms of what people like and what's in vogue. But it's a great book that's tremendous fun if you're a comic book fan (and especially a fan of 1960s'/1970's Marvel art style!). One thing the book clearly shows, since we are talking about references, is that the classic Marvel style was about pushing the boundaries of realism. I remember, for example, using a picture of Mike Tyson punching someone as a reference model for a drawing of Iron Man slugging someone. It turned out pretty good- but didn't quite have that Marvel OOOMPH. And that's despite Mike Tyson landing a punch, HARD. And I found myself thinking of that page in DRAWING COMICS THE MARVEL WAY that illustrated how Marvel heroes tended to wind up for a punch with their fist almost back to their heel and threw a punch so that the follow through had their fist back down below their knee. Ha!

3) There is SO MUCH free stuff on the Internet that I hesitate to offer up books - AND again, depends on what style you are trying to learn, right? But if you are into "comic book style" and/or anime/manga style, I found these to be great..

HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY (already mentioned!)
COLOSSAL COLLECTION OF ACTION POSES (Scalera) - TONS of photo references tailored for action, comic books, sci fi, fantasy drawing)
HOW TO CREATE MANGA (Series of books with different focuses - one on facial expressions, one on the body, one on action, etc)
MANGA DRAWING DELUXE (Yazawa)
STAN LEE's HOW TO WRITE COMICS (discusses writing but lots of artwork and ideas about translating a story to the page)

 

Don't forget we also have a Fan Art forum. You might want to see if you can pick up some tips there.

https://boards.theforce.net/forums/fan-art.10020/

 

Did you draw deez yet?

 

I’m starting to understand the why underneath as I redraw comic panels and/or work from photos.

As mentioned, the Proko YT tutorials go into those in great detail, so if learning the human figure is a goal, I recommend Proko.

Slowly going into the how and whys with these tutorials.

I enjoy breaking down the line work and/or shapes some artists deploy. I notice more of the lines etc. as I redo a piece.

Comic artist and art professor Mike Hawthorne (Currently drawing Batman) has created several editions of an anatomy book. Just watching videos of how he lays down the human form with shapes and values is really neat. I appreciate his style now: Super clean with excellent action.

 

Also check out any of the drawing books by Andrew Loomis. Especially the figures ones.

When I was in school they were impossible to find because his estate controlled everything after his death and refused to republish them. I had to photocopy pages from the library. But they've started selling them again. And you can now fine used ones on Ebay and Etsy.

 

what what what? NO! You draw on the subject, you don't draw on the cinematographer and one of the directors! That is not appropriate to say the least!

 

Don't kid yourself Darth_Accipter, given the opportunity a secondary filming unit would shoot you and everyone you care about.