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[elmepo]

Hey there. I've decided to learn how to draw both for fun but also to give my personal projects some more substance, hopefully enough to spur myself into no longer abandoning projects after a week of design. So to that end I was wondering if I could get some general tips on how to become a better artist. Whilst I know a few tips from when I did art as part of the second last year of highschool, but this was more theory focused, so whilst I can understand drawings/paintings/etc from a critical point of view (Or at least very basically, there's a reason I dropped the subject), My actual drawing ability is horrible. The only tips I essentially have to go on are to practice regularly, which I do, drawing whatever strikes my mind to the best of my ability before I go to bed, and to use reference photos to help with anatomy, but beyond that I'm lost.

Is there anything more I can do in order to improve my skill, and does the medium result in different results? I only ask this because I'm a guitarist, and when I'm working on speed I practice on an acoustic with thick gauge strings, as this helps to build the muscles up faster, and I would never have guessed this until I was told. Considering I'm not going to be really ever using the drawings as anything more than guiding points on design and concept, should I focus more on digital art, like with a tablet (I have a very cheap wacom style tablet that I bought some time back because it was on sale and I thought it might help with my classes at the time (I was still taking art back then), but since I've stopped art I've mostly just used it to write notes to myself with) or should I learn using physical materials (Pencil, Paint, Charcoal, etc) first?

Thanks in advance.

[Haite]

I'll say something that some may disagree, but it's ok, it is just my opinion, if someone disagree, just comment ok?
Practice is essential, but study is priority. You will only do small steps just practicing without orientation but will do great progress doing study correctly.
Don't just do some exercises that you heard, but learn the WHY you doing it. For example, reference of photos is a great way to learn anatomy and test yourself if you can draw what you can see. But that isn't the only exercise in the world, there are many others.
I recommend you to make draw classes or enter in a draw forum and ask for their help, because you may be doing mistakes that you can't see on your own, you need help of other people to point that to you.
About the physical x digital; I heard many artists complaining about digital, that is best learn with physical. The fact is, digital is much more "merciful" than physical, so in that way, digital is easiest than physical. Personally, I don't see much problem with going digital and because you will probably need some digital arts for you projects maybe practice with both ways is the best approach.

[elmepo]

Thanks for that, I'll go and register for a proper drawing forum and see what they say, and I'll do my best to dig up my old art book and rehash my theory before I find some better resources.

[tylerjhutchison]

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Are you trying to learn to make art using color?  If so please consider looking at this book: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719

Or just nice sketches to get your ideas across?

If you are just trying to learn to draw, all you need is a pencil and paper.  I recommend this way more than digital because you can carry it with you everywhere and it is less cumbersome.

Learn to try and draw all kinds of things.  Draw from life (or photo ref) and try to draw everything!  Do not be afraid to just draw something that might look like crap and throw it away.  Every time you draw your skill will improve a little.  The more stuff you force yourself to draw the better you will get.

Learn to draw and use construction lines.  One of the number one problem I see with people who are learning to draw is they almost never use construction lines.  In most drawing books you will always see someone first draw a stick figure, then a bunch of circles and squares around that stick figure and then they will magically just have detail and a finished drawing.  Those circles and squares are construction lines.  They are like scaffolding for a building and they let you map out where your drawing is going to go.  They are there to help you visualize your drawing before you invest a bunch of time filling in detail.  If you make a mistake or something does not look correct in your scaffolding erasing it is no big deal, just scrap it and re draw it.  However, if you have spent 2 hours making a perfectly detailed hand and start making a very detailed face... but eventually realize that the hand is WAY too tiny compared to the face... it becomes heartbreaking to erase all that work.  So make use of drawing  simple sketches to help you measure out proportion before filling in detail.

If I am making a painting I will probably draw about 3 or 4 sketches before actually making the painting.  I will also probably draw multiple little sketches are different parts that might be in the painting.

ALSO: Do not worry about drawing style.  Try to avoid copying other artists 'style' it will most likely hinder you.  If you want to find a style just draw something from life multiple times.  If you try to draw a bike 100 times (not as exact copys, but just in a way that makes it easy for you to draw the bike), by bike 100 you will have developed a pretty cool style for drawing bikes.  You will probably have developed a pretty good style by bike 4 or 5.

[bftd]

I''d like to add that even if you're not aiming for a realistic and anatomically correct mode of drawing (like "big" game concept art), but something more cartoonish, stylised and/or postmodern like lots of modern illustration, it's quite essential to do drawings from life anyway.

In other words, if you're going to "break the rules", it certainly doesn't hurt to know the rules beforehand.

But (that is important) don't get too fixed and frustrated on proper construction and "photorealism", just draw lots of stuff and get the kicks from it. If you like the process, you're bound to get better (no exceptions). Try to see and capture the dynamics and expression of what you draw - try various swooshy lines, drawing with your other hand, use thick and messy media like charcoal or ink. When you conquer the initial fear of drawing, you can start breaking it down into elements you need to improve and work on them separately (like faces, hands, whatever).

[leonelc29]

Hi yah.

Here's some little tips for yah:

-There's a bunch of thread within this forum that teach about art, but my favorite is Gesture Drawing by Derek Yu and JWK5's Drawing Tips.

-Gesture drawing is recommended if you just start drawing human.
-and JWK5 is for those already good at gesture drawing and are looking on working with concept art.

And here's some tool for you to get started:

-Posemaniacs and Pixel Lovely. both of this is for gesture drawing. Posemaniacs use 3D skinless character, and Pixel Lovely use real picture, which might contain nude girl and guy. yes, completely nude.
-Color Scheme Designer, website that let you chose color(color wheel, color theory and stuff).
-and Color Lovers, website which contain user suggested color set.

I suggest you go over Gesture drawing and practice for sometime. You will really see your skill improve with that. And like everybody say, DON'T START DRAWING IN DIGITAL! Practice traditional art first before goes into digital.

use thick and messy media like charcoal or ink.

this.

[Pedrosanchau]

You can go to CGtalks forums. There is a beginner section with books and tutorials.

The thing to know is how to structurate your work(construction lines, perspective..). Knowing these rules are essential for sketching.

Second step: Shading, the most important after the sketching step to give life to your work

Third step: Color, rules are different for black and white and colored pictures.


The accuracy of your hand, your rapidity comes with years of training. So do not mind if your horizontal lines are not totally horizontal. Learn the rules before. Contrary to what people thinks, drawing accuracy is not the basis of a good drawer but of an experienced drawer. Though, there is everyday exercises to improve this point.

[Ashkin]

Andrew Loomis. That is all.

[ryansumo]

Loomis actually never really worked for me, although I know a lot of people who swear by him.  It's not that he's bad by any means, I think my mind is just wired differently.

My personal journey into art involved just constant practice, putting up my work on forums like conceptart.org, taking in feedback, then rinse, lather repeat.  I went and bought a lot of art videos from the art department and that really helped me a lot, especially the ones where the artist talks about their process.

Listen to podcasts about art like drawntoday.

re: the medium resulting in different results, I think there's definitely a difference but I find it hard to articulate. Drawing from life (on paper) will help you visualize things faster.  When drawing on paper I also almost never erase anything because it captures all the mistake I made along the way, which I can learn from too.  Drawing digitally is where I allow myself to erase at will.  I'll draw a basic sketch, draw a cleaner one on top of that, and almost chip away at it until I'm happy with the final product.  The two disciplines obviously feed into each other in some way but again I'm too lazy/inarticulate to put it in words right now.

Good luck!

[st33d]

Draw every day like you're supposed to draw. These are like drawing press-ups. They will look bad and make you feel like a bad artist, but you need to do them.

Doodle. This will show you how much you have learnt. Carry a sketchbook with you. Play doodling games with your friends.

[Blodyavenger]

Tip1: Draw draw draw draw draw draw draw...dra..dra..drrr... 
Tip2: Watch pieces from other artists. That helps a lot!

Code:

While ( true )
{
  DoAction( tip1 );
  DoAction( tip2 );
}

[Alex Strook]

Get a sketchbook, and draw everything, everyone
This helps a lot, there is no better training, I wish I did that years ago