Reddit reviews An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists (Dover Anatomy for Artists)

Don't start drawing thinking you have to create something beautiful or highly refined. This will leave you always frustrated and feeling unaccomplished. Just allow yourself to freely draw, not concerned with the outcome. Learn to enjoy the action of drawing, and then after that, set goals for yourself.


Here are some easy tips/exercises you can do:

Find Draftsmen you like and emulate their works. The best way to increase the quality of your work is to look at high quality work and strive toward it.

Draw for twenty minutes a day. Anything. Trees, chairs, your cup of coffee, your desk, whatever.

allow drawing to be fun. My girlfriend and I play a game where the one person writes down a word (say "cat") and then the other person has to draw the word using the first letter (C).

If you want some books on drawing, I've found this book and this book helpful for reference with human anatomy.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I'm a big fan of George B. Bridgeman. There are plenty of affordable options.

I also like The atlas of anatomy for artists by by Fritz Schider

But most anatomy books in general are useful. What you want to look for is something that sticks to realism and doesn't distort or cartoon the figure. Learn the rules before you can break them.

And, draw from life whenever possible. Drawing your reflection is a good exercise. Life is always the best teacher. Once you got a hand on realism, it'll be gravy cartooning them however you like.

An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists (Dover Anatomy for Artists) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486202410/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rGB2Bb9G5VZ1B
This was first, a little gross but important. With a proper understanding of anatomy you can start to form your own creatures and understand how others work.