Preserved Topic: Need some advice on drawing.

OK, stupid question. I am wanting to learn how to draw (pencil scetch and the like).
I know the ol' "Look at what you see and draw it". Well, that's all fine and dandy, but it isn't working out that well.

Was looking for some material that might help me understand "what to look for" and that kind of thing. I have been trying my hand at drawing Manga style but that doesn't really apeal to me. I would like to learn the basics first, before drawing a character. Know what I mean.

When I started to learn classical guitar, I started by learning techniques and scales and stuff. I know there has to be something equivalant to that in drawing (Shading ??)

Any book suggestions and/or websites would be great. I don't really have the time to take any classes.

Thanks in advance!

(If this belongs in another forum, just move it for me )

Later,

C:\


~Binary is best~

http://www.electricscotland.com/art/rightside1.htm


You can also buy the book. Library perhaps. =)


[This message has been edited by NoJive (edited 12-26-2002).]

Well, if you think about how you learned classical guitar, then learning drawing shouldn't be too hard.

The first thing you want to learn is shapes, hence, the ever popular bowl of fruit. Lots of yummv shapes there for you to practice on. Hell, a bottle of scope on a table is a great shape to mess around with.

Next step is light. If you're any good at 3d apps, render a ball, a cone, a cylinder and a cube with a single shadow casting light source. Then try to recreate that on pencil and paper. It will give you a good idea of the light interaction on basic shapes. Also, try to do the same thing in real life with a ball, a box, or some other item with those basic shapes. Once you get an idea of how the light interacts with these basic shapes you can try to apply that to other thing. An arm, for examply, could be thouht of as just a bunch of cylinders.

Now, back to the classical guitar analogy, remember how many times you had to do your scales or practice your techniques? Well, drawing is the same thing. Do it over and over and over again with the same dedication you put into the guitar and you'll be well on your way to really improving your drawing skills.

Try "manga mania" by chritopher knight, I got it for xmas and it is pretty good so far. Go to one of those big book stores where you can get a coffee and read a while that way you can get an idea of his way of teaching it to see if it appeals to you. He covers everything from basic proportions to dynamic fight poses.

Hey Cprompt you dont take an art class neither do I, well but look how I turned out to draw....look at this stuff, I drew them a couple of years ago, dont have a scanner for new stuff, but look foward to it i will get them!
anyway what I actually do is simply fallow my favorite artist....try to buy few comic books the ones you like....learn from them, draw all the time......here are some cool artists I learned from...the most simple and kool Joe Madureira, more advanced Tetsuya Nomura(FF), more of a painter Yoji Shinkawa(MGS), more attention to details Ayami Kojima....and my favorite manga artist, creator of "Blade of the immortal" Hiroaki Samura...by thye way try these books, I got them all try em out they helped a bunch...
"How to draw a comic the marvel way" by: Stan Lee & John Buscema....a good book for introduction to figure, perspective, shadows.
"Dynamic Figure Drawing" by: Burne Hogarth
"Dynamic Anatomy" by Burne Hogarth, last two books are a must have they are very good, probably the best I have found so far...

do a google search on the artists I named....you will definaitly find their work.....

by the way never give up man, I have wasted tons of paper before I could do that stuff

ok i know how to draw but only copied from something so if u really wanted to know just ask me if u want to learn from me...use a good pencils like 2B or HB...

Ars Longa Vita Brevis!

Silence: I think that the "light interaction" is what I really need to focus on. I can draw the shapes pretty well. I can draw simple manga style stuff ( nothing fancy ) just eyes, faces and the like. I think that I will use your suggestion and see if I can work with the light.
I have no problem working on it and practice. I learnd to be patient when I was playing guitar for 6-10 hrs. a day

Ruski: I saw you pics. Good stuff. I actually saw them a few weeks back, from a different thread. Don't know who Tidus Yuna is but it kind of looks like Joe Mad.'s stuff.

Yannah: oy! I don't think that there is going to be much hope for you.

Later,

C:\


~Binary is best~

why @ CPrompt

Ars Longa Vita Brevis!

oh, yannah knows how to draw....er...copy....

C - Depending on what you want to do exactly, there are a variety of directions to go in.

Either way though, Silence's advice is very sound. Start simple, and do it form life, and do it every day!

Set up simple still lifes on you kitchen table - get a lamp that you can use to set up a good sharp light source.

Use anything as subject matter - piece of fruit, soup can, shoe, toys, whatever. Use a little bit of everything so you get used to more than one type of texture.

If you hope to do a lot of figure/character drawing, start studying anatomy. The two best books I have seen for this are "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist" and "Dynamic Figure Drawing".

Both can be found on Amazon.

Yannah: it's because of what you said

quote:

---

but only copied from something

---

I want to learn how to draw, not copy. okey dokey

Thanks DL. I am a working

Later,

C:\


~Binary is best~

[This message has been edited by CPrompt (edited 12-27-2002).]

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Art is long, life is short, right Yannah?

Cell 816~teamEarth~Asylum Quotes

C:\
Set up a still life on a desk or table with a desk lamp off to one side and sketch it several times. Using a close light source gives some dramatic highlights and shadows, and really makes the contours of the shapes obvious. Try the light in several different places.
Then take a few sketches of some outdoor scenery around your house... A tree in the back yard... a rock by the drive... that sort of thing. And then go from there. Those are the sorts of exercises my art teachers always made us do. Boring and monotonous, but it really does provide some good opportunity to work with light.
My sister and I have been having some good conversations about art lately... She was telling me about the importance of letting go of your ego when you draw. To put the pen on the paper and let the drawing come out how it will... The practice gives you some ease and flexibility in your lines... Especially if you're not concerned with how they really look at first. Makes for some interesting first sketches, but after a while your hand gets into it, and actual pictures start appearing. Amazing really. And she did note that if you really can't stand to have sub-standard artwork lying around, then be sure to sketch on a pad you can tear sheets from and just throw them away. She also says put the pencil down and use a pen for a while... That way, you have to learn to incorporate all the lines into the final image. I trust her, she's been drawing since before I was born... And she's quite good. (My intent is to be able to put some of her illustrations on the web site I'm doing for her, but since she's focusing on sculpture right now, she hasn't given me much to use... )
So practice practice practice... And then post what you've done that you're proud of so's we can see how you're doing!


Bodhi - Cell 617

Very god point bodhi - being caught up with how well the image is going to come out can get in the way a great deal, and has made many people give up before they ever had the chance to get anywhere.

Again, DL, I must tip my hat to you. You are right. Hoping for an awesome painting/drawing has more than once swerved me from finishing. A strategy that I use now is to grab an object in my room (or wherever you draw) and try to compose it into a peice that will look really cool, but I never try to envision a really awesome, pro scale drawing. Nope, I just go one step at a time, experimenting untill I get a really cool final result. I know that when I get better, I will be able to draw my envisioned really cool awesome drawing, but for now I just try to work it one step at a time, taking it fairly slow.

Ohh...And when your drawing, think this: I'm bad ass. I can do anything, I can paint anything, I can draw anything.
It really helps (at least me) because I;m a perfectionist and always think that everything I do sucks. Don't think that, when you do a drawing, think: It's really cool, but how can I improve.

Once again, DL said something like this. When your doing figure drawing, go grab some pictures of bodybuilders off of the interent, so that you can easily tell where all the muscles on the body are.

Better yet, look up some anatomy and physiology sites and try to get an A&P book. Understanding the skeleto-muscular structure is not integral to figure drawing, but it really helps you get an idea of what's under the skin (pun intended ) and where everything's supposed to go.

CPrompt: check out this site: http://home.att.net/~graphicarts/ld_index.html It is the basic free lessons on drawing real life.



The programmer's national anthem is 'AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH''

Wolfen's Sig Site

Here is another good resource, more fantasy illustration geared. But there is a lot of good information.
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/

jstuartj



[This message has been edited by jstuartj (edited 12-31-2002).]

Yep, understanding what's underneath will be invaluable in understanding why it looks the way it does on the outside.

My first suggestion (way up there^) was for the atlas of human anatomy for the artist, which to this day is one of my greatest resources (had for about 10 years now...).

Body builder photos are always good for helping out with fantasy art though...

copying helps you learn to draw man. Not talking about tracing an image but the copying in the sense of the "drawing what you see" veign. I hope you don't truly have the disdain for drawing what you see as you mention in your intial post, I'm sure it's a matter of you saying one thing and me hearing another so I just won't listen =)

one of the best copying/drawing techniques I learned to use reeeeally helped me to start drawing from models or references was the grid copying technique:

Take a photo or drawing, something to copy, and lay a piece of tracing paper over it with a grid on it, if you can't see through the paper to the pic underneath clearly, then trace the outlines as detailed as you can onto the gridded paper (or just draw a grid onto the original piece or photocopy). Then get a piece of paper and draw a grid with the corresponding number of columns and rows onto it (great scaling too, wanna scale down? draw your grid squares smaller, up? bigger.) then go to 'copying'/drawing the contents of the original's squares into your new one.

I mention this technique mostly because of your mention of confidence, perfectionism and perseverance. It's a great way to learn to see your work in smaller, more managable bits instead of an overwhelmingly large piece that you'll never finish.

Once you do enough of this to get your legs under you then you'll begin to visualize these smaller bits yourself and and you won't have to fool yourself into being confident with mental affirmations, you'll see results and your confidence can grow from roots founded in truth instead of your own opinion or wishful thinking.

oops just realized I've combined the words of CPrompt and counterfeitbacon in giving my reply. Sorry, still looks applicable tho so...

Jason

JK - that's another good exercise from art class. I had a teacher who used a neat variation on that one which was very helpful as well:

Take the original grid and turn the picture upside-down. Then cover all but one row of blocks, and start drawing exactly what you see. Uncover each successive row, and continue with the drawing. When you finish, you should have an exact replica of the original image, but, of course, upside down! It's another way to take your ego out of the picture (pardon the pun)...

Copying a picture isn't a bad thing, it's just an exercise. It helps you to learn the lighting, the form, and the lines... After much copying and practicing, you should be able to draw pictures from your head like any other artist with as much practice... The copying and the drawing what you see are just like your scales and practice tunes on the guitar... The idea is not to copy a picture and call it your original art, but to copy it and learn from it...

C:\ - is this more advice than you really wanted?


Bodhi - Cell 617