Best drawing books according to redditors

We found 1,730 Reddit comments discussing the best drawing books. We ranked the 414 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Subcategories:

Pastel drawing books
Pen & ink drawing books
Pencil drawing books
Drawing specific objects books
Colored pencil guides
Figure drawing guides

Top Reddit comments about Drawing:

u/MeltedGalaxy · 364 pointsr/me_irl

Ok, now take note of what went wrong with your drawing and try again, and again, and again. Then after a few weeks go back and compare your latest drawings to this one.

The master has failed more times then the novice has tried.

If you want some resources, here are some youtube channels:

u/mygrapefruit · 122 pointsr/pics

I coloured this photo, here's the original at Library of Congress. These are curb brokers on Broad Street, around the 1900s it was common to trade stocks on the literal street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curbstone_broker

>The curb brokers had been kicked out of the Mills Building front by 1907, and had moved to the pavement outside the Blair Building where cabbies lined up. There they were given a "little domain of asphalt" fenced off by the police on Broad Street between Exchange Place and Beaver Street, after Police Commissioner McAddo took office.[8] As of 1907, the curb market operated starting at 10'clock in the morning, each day except Sundays, until a gong at 3 o'clock. Orders for the purchase and sale of securities were shouted down from the windows of nearby brokerages, with the execution of the sale then shouted back up to the brokerage.[8]

>The noise caused by the curb market led to a number of attempts to shut it down.[1] In August 1907, for example, a Wall Street lawyer sent an open letter to the newspapers and the police commissioner, begging for the New York Curb Market on Broad Street to be immediately abolished as a public nuisance. He argued the curb exchange served "no legitimate or beneficial purpose" and was a "gambling institution, pure and simple." He further cited laws relating to street use, arguing blocking the thoroughfare was illegal. The New York Times, reporting on the open letter, wrote that brokers informed of the letter "were not inclined to worry." The article described "their present ground on the broad asphalt in front of 40 Broad Street, south of the Exchange Place, is the first haven of which they have had anything like indisputed possession."[8]

Other streets usually weren't as crowded as this, although people seemed to walk more freely compared to today.

A quote to imagine what the noise was like:

>"...journalist Edwin C. Hill described the curb trading on lower Broad Street as "a roaring, swirling whirlpool... like nothing else under the astonishing sky that is its only roof.”

A bit about the process: Color Mode in Photoshop and choosing a colour is all guesswork - you will never get the colours 100% right but you can get pretty close by looking at color photos or videos of historical clothing and other man-made objects from museums, movie sets, paintings etc.

Over time you will get a feel for how colours for different materials (clothing, stone, wood etc) behave in different lighting. You look at what time of day and setting the photograph is taken in and adjust your colors to reflect the proper tones. You are practically a painter aiming for realistic colors so knowledge in how colors interact with the atmosphere come in handy. I'm self taught but early on I learned a lot about this in this book by James Gurney: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

u/kaze_ni_naru · 102 pointsr/learnart

Thanks! I highly recommend New Masters Academy, they have a free trial and also Cyber Monday sale ($11/month for 3 months). I'm not sponsored by them but they are by far the best resource for anatomy I've come across. I recommend going through Rey Bustos's Anatomy first, then Glenn Vilppu, then Steve Huston once you know your muscles.

As for books, Thieme's Anatomy is great, and Bridgman's Anatomy is also great (bridgman only if you're more advanced though otherwise it'll confuse you). All other anatomy books are pretty lackluster tbh, compared to having an instructor teach you. I've actually talked to Glenn Vilppu in person and he recommends medical anatomy books + observing the body and coming to your own conclusions, over artists' anatomy books.

Observe how the body works as a machine, for example observe how body weight is applied to the legs. Or how your thigh bone always sits at a 15 degree angle when standing. Or how there's a slight inward curve to your shinbones. Or how your inner ankle sits higher than outer. Lots of details like that add so much to believable anatomy.

Do lots of figure drawings, know your muscles and bones and where things attach, and you'll be set :)

edit: one thing NOT to do - is to spam figure drawings without knowing your muscles/attachments/bones. I did this for 1-2 years, and ended up with the before picture. Get your anatomy knowledge first then go into figure drawing KNOWING your stuff. You'll learn way quicker.

u/icefalldozed · 71 pointsr/IWantToLearn

https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0671530771/ref=nodl_

Every comic book artist has gone through several copies of this book during their career. It’s all you need to get started

u/mechtonia · 51 pointsr/pics

I had really good luck learning to draw at age 25 after no real effort, interest, or talent beforehand by reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I try to plug the book on every thread like this in the hope that someone will stumble across it just like I did years ago.

Here is my before and after (having read the book) drawings:

u/ranma · 42 pointsr/anime

(30+ years experience as a commercial artist, animator, broadcast designer and special effects designer speaking here. Plus I got into digital graphics back in the late '70s before anyone even knew what it was.)

The best place to start is to learn to draw. Anything else is a distraction and an attractive nuisance. Software is the least of your worries for quite some time. And even then, a cheap scanner or digital camera and some simple software are all you need to do a whole lot of learning.

And by drawing, I mean drawing from life. Find a life drawing class in your community if at all possible. I can not stress this enough. This may or may not be what your daughter has in mind, but it is like learning your scales to a musician. It's certainly possible to become a cartoonist without this type of training, but if you succeed you succeed in spite of the lack not because of it. I would say it is not possible to succeed as an animator without formal training. To become good enough to do this for a living, or even for fun, is a lot of work. But very satisfying.

Some books I recommend are:

  • _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ by Betty Edwards

  • _The Natural Way To Draw_ by Nicolaides

  • _Figure Drawing For All It's Worth_ by Andrew Loomis (and back in print after 30 years for a very reasonable price! $25 at Amazon!)

  • Animation by Preston Blair. This is a Walter Foster How-To-Draw book and it is the best introduction to cartooning for animation. It is a very fun book, and very worth while, but don't neglect the other areas of study.

    When she gets a little farther along, get a copy of _The Animator's Survival Kit_ by Richard Williams.

    Edit: Your biggest expense isn't going to be software or computers, but time and paper and pencils. I recommend cheap printer paper, 8.5 x 11 and 11 x 17. Regular pencils work just fine. Get them at the office supply store. Better art supplies can make a difference when you are much farther along, but the main thing when starting out is to do lots of drawings, and make lots of mistakes. Ward Kimball, one of Disney's master animators used to joke that, "the first hundred thousand drawings are the hardest." And it's not really a joke.
u/rex15 · 30 pointsr/Art

This guy is a brilliant painter. One of my favorite painting books is written by him:
light and color

u/Dont-quote-me · 30 pointsr/anime

Honestly, learning the software isn't going to teach you how to animate, you'll just know where the buttons are. I still have a raggedy copy of Preston Blair's book in my book case, which has been around for 40 years.

Another really great book is Tony White's Animator's Workbook. It has practical lessons and some good simple demonstrations of key frames, and exaggerated actions and setting up cycles.

And since you want to learn, you should also get a peg bar, some paper, some pencils, and buy or make a light box.

Now, all of this is if you wish to do animation traditionally on paper, scan the drawings, and finish them in the computer. If you want to draw directly into the software, you'll need to ask someone more knowledgeable than me on which tablet to buy. I understand the Cintique tablets are good, but they are basically a Windows tablet designed for drawing on.

Edit: Cintiq -ue. Told you. Don't know nothing about them.

u/OnlyTim · 29 pointsr/Art

Thank you! Here's a quick list of the ones I can recall. :)

Figure drawing - Michael Hampton

alla prima - Richard Schmid

figure drawing for all it's worth - Andrew Loomis

drawing from life - George Bridgman

Color and light - James Gurney

As for videos, a whole lot of youtube ones, specifically from these channels;

Bugmeyer

Feng Zhu

Stylusmonkey

and a few workshop videos by Whit Brachna, Brad Rigney and Donato Giancola.

hope it helps some. thanks for the interest! :)

u/kellyeddington · 24 pointsr/Art

That's a big question! I've been painting for 30 years and was an art teacher for 17. I think the secret ingredient to what I do is TIME--literally decades of practice--and a heaping dose of patience. I've recently started a channel on YouTube where I attempt to show people my techniques, if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/user/pupedd As far as books go, I don't have much to recommend for watercolor, but I received this one recently and it blew my mind as far as color and light are concerned. Wish I would have had this as a student! http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719

u/Geersart · 21 pointsr/TheLastAirbender

adobe photoshop CS6, Wacom intuos 3, this is a good book http://amzn.com/0740797719

u/Hedgerow_Snuffler · 20 pointsr/museum

...and your point is?

Almost all illustrators, and artist use reference material. Hell, there are books published that comprised entirely posed photographic reference for artists. And these have been in print for years.

The Fairburn system

The one that I used while at college.

u/mcdronkz · 19 pointsr/photography

The most important thing that 99% percent of the photographers don't seem to know: if you want to make good photos consistently, learn the fundamentals.

Because a photo can be made in an instant, a lot of photographers work intuitively, without making any informed decisions about their pictures whatsoever. This is why a lot of photos taken without any training aren't appealing.

If you learn about composition, color, light, etc. like an illustrator or a painter does, you will be able to make repeatable successful photos. In the beginning, you shouldn't be overly concerned with sharpness, depth of field or your equipment. No, you should be concerned with how your photo looks at the most basic, fundamental level.

Since I started taking drawing lessons and reading books on color and composition this year, I feel way more confident about my photography. I make informed decisions that I know will work. I am able to analyze pictures that work for me, and I know why they work now. Thanks to drawing lessons, I can see a lot better, which is also a great help for retouching. I can think in terms of lines, shapes, forms, spaces, light, shadow. But the most important thing of all: I feel like I can reach the level of photography that I only could dream about last year, the high-end commercial automotive photography.

Some books that helped me a lot:

u/terribleatkaraoke · 18 pointsr/Calligraphy

This was me early 2012. I was using shitty paper and shitty ink and had shitty results. This was March 2012 when I didn't give a shit.

Eventually I decided to take things seriously. This was late 2012. I started getting better materials but still got arrogant/lazy and refused to study proper forms and shades. So it looks haphazard and unnatural.

So I bought Eleanor Winter's book and did some practice. This was probably Dec 2012. Another pic, you can see I'm using Higgins Eternal and a Speedball holder.

So around February I decided I didn't like copperplate and wanted to focus on spencerian instead. I first tried to do shaded spencerian but again I was too lazy to learn the proper forms.

I toned down the shading and studied just on fine lines. This was in March.

Eventually I got more consistent. This was written two weeks ago in April. This was late april's open letter submission.

And this was written tonight (the bottom one). May 9.
Still working on shaded spencerian though :)

u/opopopopop12 · 14 pointsr/ffxiv

If you're serious about learning and this isn't a shitpost I would suggest reading through
https://www.amazon.com.au/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/0857680978
and
https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819

You could probably find them online if you can't afford to buy them. Working through those books and practicing what they teach will help you see massive improvements. As much as people will say to just keep practicing, it's important that you practice correctly lest you get into bad habits.

u/Varo · 13 pointsr/SketchDaily

I've been reading this NSFW book. I sketched this lion with some of its principles in mind.

u/Spuzman · 12 pointsr/learnart

My biggest tip: take a figure drawing class, if you have the time and money. There's no substitute for a good teacher, and as a bonus you'll get the chance to draw from life (which can be very helpful). Don't be afraid to ask stupid questions!

If you're looking for theory, the best books I've seen are Jack Hamm and Andrew Loomis, both of whom offer intelligent simplifications of the figure along with breakdowns of specific anatomy if you want it.
This basic figure frame from Loomis is one of the best things you can learn (though don't place too much emphasis on meeting those measurements-- after all, they don't help for crap once you have to foreshorten).

Try this study tool. Set it to 30 second or 1 minute intervals with nude models and fill up the page with Loomis-style mannequin figures. Don't worry about getting each one perfect; move on once your time is up. Get a bunch of paper and do it for 20 minutes straight.

Think, especially about the shape of the ribcage, spine, and hips. Notice how the ribcage is kind of egg-shaped, how the spine curves, and how the hips are shaped like a wide V.

u/IrisHopp · 12 pointsr/learntodraw

From the top of my head...

I don't know every single source out there, so this list could definitely be improved.

Proportions & placement:

Sketching, life drawing, master studies, gesture drawing, … (basically building a visual library)

Form & Construction:

Loomis Fun with A Pencil (see sidebar), Draw-through (need to know perspective first)

Perspective

Perspective Made Easy + lots of practice

Anatomy

Loomis, Vilppu, Hampton, Bridgeman, … photo reference studies, drawing yourself from a mirror

Gesture

Proko, life drawing, gesture drawing.

Composition

Don’t know the go-to source for this one, but learn about: separation of foreground, middleground, background, rule of thirds + experiment by making a lot of thumbnails + analyse master paintings/photographs/classic movies

Values

Scott Robertson How to Render

Colour

James Gurney: Book, [Blog series on Gamut Mask](james gurney color gamut)

Master studies + experiment by thumbnailing lots

u/AnonD · 12 pointsr/SketchDaily

A foot, chanelling my inner Burne Hogarth.

u/capnrob · 12 pointsr/AskReddit

Dude, as an art professor: First off, it's a matter of practice. As other people have said, if you have three years to kill, Nikolaides (http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249173883&sr=1-1) and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain will get you there.

For another thing, remarkably few people draw the final version right off the bat. If you want to draw a tree, get a blue pencil. Draw a cylinder about where you want the trunk. Draw another one where you want a branch. Once you have the tree blocked out, you can put shadows in. Once you've got that, you can start using the cylinders and shading you've generated to draw the Tree Itself.

A knowledge of perspective can also help; I usually recommend David Chelsea's Perspective! For Comic Book Artists here - but, again, the idea boils down to: You draw a framework FIRST, and then put the fine details in.

Gestural drawing and contour drawings are very useful tools to loosen up - particularly blind contour drawing - and they'll help you train your muscles to do what your brain wants. If you want to do loose, sketchy drawings, what you can do is get a thin, hard pencil, and just start scribbling. If you like where the scribble winds up, you do more there. If you don't like it, don't reinforce it. Once you have some practice with gestural and blind contour drawing - that is, once you can trust your muscles to do what you want once your eyes aren't on them - this is an effective way to get reasonable results early on.

I've been told that, if you really work on it, say, eight hours a day, you can get to be reasonably good at drawing in about three weeks. When I've taught this kind of stuff, we go over a semester, but I think it's about the same time investment.

u/ThenWhenceComethEvil · 12 pointsr/Calligraphy

> Trying to do a copperplate.

Perfect! I'd suggest checking out the lessons on Zanerian.com. Specifically Brown, Lupfer, and Zaner.

You could also try checking out Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy. I've hated on this book pretty heavily in the past, but it is an okay enough beginner resource. Has a lot of information to get you up and running. But only if you realize that it's a stepping stone. Use it for a bit, but make sure you move on to better resources.

> umm. so what's wrong over at /r/handwriting

They can't help you. It's just a sub for "look at a pretty 'm' I made in my bio notes today."

u/ValentinoZ · 12 pointsr/gamedev

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB40B4FFED0CCB1FC

I created a video series, that's still unfinished(I promise I'll finish it before october!) but will give you a basic idea of how the art pipeline for low poly games works. It's not a howto(as there are really awesome tutorials for that online for whichever package you want, and I link to them in the description)

As far as traditional art goes. it really is just drawing a lot. Buy the book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way , it's probably one of the best books on dynamic poses and sketching I've ever read. I went to an art school, I've read a lot of art books.

Art is really just about practice. Practice drawing from real still lifes until you get it down. You do this because it helps you develop the muscles in your hand, and your eyes so you can draw smooth lines and curves. Also stay away from a style for as long as you can. It just teaches you bad habits. I can always tell the difference between an artist drawing an anime style and one drawing an anime style but also having a background in traditional art. It's night and day.

To practice drawing characters:

Go to model websites, or porn websites. It sounds perverted, but really you need to practice drawing nudes so you can understand how the human body works. Once you get really good at drawing nudes, start drawing folds of cloth laid drapped over them. You'll need to study by using a real life blanket and pinching it at areas to see how it works. Once you get good at drawing folds of cloth, move onto clothes and such. Macy's catalogues are good for this.

To practice drawing environments:

You need to study proportion and perspective. It's a pretty deep subject. You need to at least understand why and how things work the way they do in 2d, then you can start doing paint overs in maya or blender. You build a scene in blender using cubes, and what not, render out the angle you want, then draw over it. This way you can just focus on shape. But seriously, for reals, study proportion and perspective, and do it by hand first before doing the 3d mockup. The 3d mockup is just to speed the process along when you are in a professional setting. You still need to understand perspective to add details.

tl;dr DRAW A LOT

u/OldSkoolVFX · 11 pointsr/blender

Your sculpting technique is fine but your anatomy is atrocious.

The rib cage and abdominal musculature anatomy is off. You don't just have abdominal muscles on your lower trunk. Also the abdominals should have a limited width. To the nipple line would work but your nipples are set out too far. They should be in the mid clavicular line but you don't have any clavicles. The 6 pack is nice but the hole in the top one would hurt as it's not present in real life and is where the xiphoid under the bottom of the rib cage should be. So your abdominals are to high and too wide and too bulky. There should also be one long one below the navel which is way too low. The pecs attach to the sternum and manubrium and go to the inside of the arm. That's what forms the axilla (armpit). The lat in the back and the pec in the front. So along the sternum the pecs should go outward not downward. Also that deep line separating the pec from the shoulder would sever the pec muscles from the arms. That is not existent in normal anatomy. People do tend to shift there humerus foward but that is an abnormality caused by bad posture and muscle imbalances. There is no rib cage giving the upper trunk its form. The serratus muscles are just sliding downward and fading out instead of inserting onto the ribs along the lateral side under the axilla. You've created a new muscle under the arm that doesn't exist. The deltoid muscle is nonexistant in the front and top and is in the wrong place on the back. There are three heads to the deltoid. The anterior (front) middle (on top) and posterior (rear). They blend together midway down on the lateral side of the humerus at about your cutoff. The posterior one attaches to the spine of the scapula where your attaches to nothing. The anterior attaches to the lateral aspect of the clavicle (which you don't have) and the anterior acromion. The middle attaches to the lateral acromion. The upper traps also go outward from the nuchal ridge on the skull to the acromion on the top of the shoulder then down the back along the spine of the scapula to the spinus' of the vertebra. The lower trap is also on the spine of the scapula to the vertebra and the lateral aspect goes down diagonally to the 12th vertebral spinus process. So you have no lower trap. The lats sweep up from the lumbosacral fascia which starts along the upper boarder of the illium (which again does not exist) moving laterally and inserts onto the humerus in the same medial groove the pec inserts into. You con't have any lats either. You also don't have any paraspinal muscles along the spine and you have no posterior hip fold where the glut medius is. I could go on and on.

You NEED to read a book on artistic anatomy. I love Bridgeman's books. They would be great for you due to your focus on muscles.

The Human Machine (Dover Anatomy for Artists)

Constructive Anatomy (Dover Anatomy for Artists)

You MUST start with the bones. Get a GOOD inexpensive or free skeleton. Put it in a separate collection and use it as a reference so you know where the bones are and can attach the muscles appropriately. Once you know your anatomy that will be superfluous or only needed as a check. But you really REALLY need to learn anatomy if you are going to do this kind of work. It LOOKS good but anyone who knows anatomy will go "nope, it's not right". When you create art about a subject always keep in mind that somewhere in your audience there will almost always be a content expert. Like me. An an artist, I always strive to impress them. If I make a spaceship, I keep in mind as best as I can the physics involved. You con't need the math. Just like in art anatomy you don't need to know the innervation of the muscles like a doctor would need. You need to know enough that you can sell your art to an expert. Keep that in mind as you do all your art. That is one thing that will separate out the pro from the amateur. There is always artistic license ... but not with human anatomy. Even is you're doing an anime or cartoon, the best artists embed their knowledge in the subtle way they do their linework or design their mesh. That's why we buy it.

I hope that helps. Don't give up or get frustrated. Your sculpting technique is good. Your knowledge must match. One thing I learned doing art is that a good artist researches and expands their knowledge about not only their craft, but their subject matter as well. Do that and you can only get better.

Good luck.

u/Serapth · 11 pointsr/gamedev

... well I'm going to lose my geek cred here, but...


If you want 2D artistic skills, go to the store, but a box of quality pencils and a sketchbook you can take with you. Also buy this book ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486404730/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1 ) on drawing with perspective and well... draw. I recommend that book because a) I own it b) it's 6 bucks c) it works. Any other book will work to.


I honestly think drawing on pen and paper is still the best way to pick up 2D skills, at least when it comes to the basics. When you get to stuff like lighting/shading/shadowing, it makes sense to switch to a computer. The skills are 100% transferable though.

I myself have to spend a bit more time with pen and paper, but sadly, the day only has so many hours.

EDIT: Wow, I just recommended a book written in 1939 on /r/gamedev. #whodathunk

u/BIRDsnoozer · 11 pointsr/learnart

Not bad not bad. Keep it up.

I don't mean to flame you, I'm just trying to help. I'd suggest building a figure out of 3d shapes.

Practice drawing 3d shapes of all kinds, cones, cylinders, cubes, pyramids, spheres, prisms of all kinds etc, then build a person out of those. That becomes your first sketch, and then over top you can smooth it out to make a body that looks humanlike.

Here's an example of me doing it... There's a very old and good book by Stan Lee and John Buschema that goes into detail on this technique. It's called "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" It helped me a lot as a youngster.

Right now it seems like what you're doing is representational drawing. All the individual parts are drawn to "represent" the things they do, and are recognizable as those things (for instance, the face as a perfectly round circle, the sunglasses as a kind of black W shape, the nose as a < etc) instead of looking realistic.

It just takes practice, so keep it up!

u/iamthepandaofdoom · 11 pointsr/minipainting

In approximate order of importance in my opinion:

  1. Paint a little bit every day you possibly can, even if it's only half an hour. The goal is to keep painting on the mind, half the learning happens when you don't even have a brush in your hand.

  2. Don't worry about not having perfect equipment right from the off or at least don't let it stop you painting. If you're rich, this doesn't apply - just buy top end stuff from the start. For mortals, don't worry so much about that just follow point 1. That said proper miniature paint and at least one good brush goes a very long way and should be first on the list of upgrades if you're not already starting with them. Anyway, the point is go and re-read point 1 and do that even if you have to use a stick and different coloured mud.

  3. Don't panic so much if the mini you paint looks rubbish. You will almost always think your mini looks rubbish; your ability to spot flaws increases at the same time as your skill at painting and this is not an accident. Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Go read point 1.

  4. Always try to paint a better mini than your last. This may sound obvious but I think a lot of people, me included, sometimes get stuck in a rut. Think you've painted the same or similar for the last few minis? Try a new technique. Came out looking rubbish? See point 3. You're learning, get used to thinking you're a bit rubbish.

  5. Watch videos and read tutorials. I'm a bit odd here in that I'd suggest trying to watch high end painters from the very start. If you really want to learn how to paint you don't want to learn the low end cheats that form bad habits. There are so many things that didn't even occur to me before I watched some pros that I wish I'd done this part far earlier. Your mileage may vary on this one but while a lot of beginners find they get decent results by, for example, dousing the model in wash I guarantee once you get good you will not do this at all. Hence, if you're going to good painting then skip the quick hacks and look at the proper techniques. Just want to spit out a load of troops quickly rather than focus on quality? Ignore this bit, wash away.

  6. Go and learn a bit of colour theory and/or some appreciating of art in general. Some colours go together better than others and picking the correct colours can make a mini look so much better even if the technical skill isn't perfect. Similarly positioning highlights better helps a great deal. There's even mini specific books on his sort of thing, as well as traditional art books. Knowing a little bit about why you're painting this colour or that is half the battle.

  7. Go to 1)
u/PhiloDoe · 10 pointsr/gamedev

The ability to become skilled at something is mostly a question of hard work, I think.

Is there a school near you where you could take a drawing course? I took one, and this book that went along with the course helped a lot too.

u/Zulu_Sierra · 10 pointsr/learnart

Sorry, man, your perspective is wonky, maybe focus only on perspective studies next time and ignore color/texture.

If you are serious about art, read Perspective made easy, it's a solid beginner friendly book.

u/def_jeff · 9 pointsr/learnart

I disagree with this answer. You do need to improve on your shading and proportion, but this isn't why your drawing looks flat.

When drawing anything, try to think in terms of it being a 3D form. Check out these images from legendary Disney animator Glen Keane. Something that will help you is to break things down into basic geometric shapes like cylinders (good for people and animals), spheres (basketballs, baseballs, bowling balls) cones, and cubes (mostly architectural structures). Here is a basic example of a cone on top of a cylinder.

Another thing that can help you to start thinking this way is to do some cross contour drawing. Google for examples, but this is what I mean. You don't even have to do two directions. Just draw around the forms, like this.

I don't know what you're into, but a book that may help you is How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. Some of those old comic book artist had amazing skill in drawing an accurate figure in 3D space all kinds of angles.

Good luck, and remember that your paper is a window into a three dimensional world much like our own. You must sculpt things into existence!

u/old_fig_newtons · 9 pointsr/learnart

You need to specify which medium you're interested in learning first, since they work differently. Pick a medium, and invest in a some medium specific books and more general theory ones (example).

If you're interested in oils, check out Bob Ross. He had a tv series that ran for a while, and each episode he instructed you on how to build up different landscapes. I'm a watercolor painter, but I still looked at Ross's videos to understand the process of building a painting up (very important i believe).

Ultimately google is your friend. Just google "(your medium) techniques/tutorials/etc" and you will be pleasantly surprised. Youtube also posses a great wealth of knowledge in video form.

u/Rayek_Elfin · 9 pointsr/OpenToonz

OpenTOonz is more than an excellent choice for classic 2d frame-by-frame animation. Even better than Toonboom Harmony in my opinion. You must keep in mind that OT is very much studio production level oriented, and it shows in the way an animation project is handled. Be sure to read the first couple of chapters of the manual (see link below) to wrap your head around the concepts as used in OT.


For more painterly backgrounds Krita is a brilliant side-kick. It can also be helpful to use a 3d application such as Blender and/or Sketchup to assist you in creating quick perspective mockups for overpainting in Krita.

Get the latest and greatest release of OpenTOonz here:

https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_nightlies/releases

First, a number of OpenTOonz related Youtube channels are available:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLaNbnJtXu6j7o3Sy3eWIg

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-t3I3gSAsZWsCvsxUkBZRA

The manual can be downloaded here (Harlequin was/is the commercial version, and OT is 95% compatible):

http://www.toonz.com/cgi-shl/download/71H/Toonz%20Harlequin%2071%20User%20Guide.pdf

Two good (paper) tutorials explaining both the paperless digital and paper-based workflow can be found here (includes exercise files):

http://www.toonz.com/htm/support/suppw.htm

http://www.toonz.com/htm/support/supTWtut.htm

A more active "official" forum for questions and support is here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!categories/opentoonz_en

As for your questions:

  1. OT supports vector, "Toonz raster", and raster "levels" (the name used in OT for animated content). Bitmaps can be imported into frames. If you created animated assets in an external application (for example 3d animated backgrounds, or vehicles from Blender or a similar 3d app, or Krita background painted animations) these can be imported as a sequence of images using the following file name syntax: name.XXXX.ext (for example my3dcarAnim.0001.png, my3dcarAnim.0002.png, etc.). As long as you save your phone-shot photo sequences using this file name rule, you can directly import these in the timeline/Xsheet.

  2. you can start an animation by sketching in a raster level, and then creating a vector level for inking/cleanup.

  3. the latest beta version includes a quite flexible Camera Capture option: hook up a compatible webcam, and take reference shots (even entire sequences) with your web camera, and these shots are directly inserted as new frames in OpenTOonz. Useful for paper pencil tests, or reference shots. My Logitech webcam is directly supported in OpenTOonz. Super handy.

  4. Importing QuickTime movies works for me. I have had little luck with AVI - too many variants of AVI out there. Do not expect stellar playback frame rates. It can be used for reference. I prefer to convert reference movies to PNG or jpg image sequences first myself, since playback is much faster.

    PS when you install Quicktime, PREVENT the player component from being installed. This is a known security risk. (I assume you will be working with Windows.)

  5. Rotoscoping is supported (importing live footage as reference as explained in (4) and then increasing the opacity level of the reference footage. It is possible to draw over the reference footage this way.

    To learn more about traditional 2d animation techniques (timing, spacing, poses, inbetweening, and so on) I recommend getting the books by Preston Blair and Richard Williams, and Eric Goldberg. All three are/were masters of the craft.

    https://www.amazon.ca/Cartoon-Animation-Preston-Blair/dp/1560100842

    https://www.amazon.ca/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/B00HTJZS48/ (get the expanded edition!)

    https://www.amazon.ca/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975/

    Sites of interest for the beginning animator:

    http://animationresources.org/

    http://www.animatorisland.com/51-great-animation-exercises-to-master/

    http://johnkstuff.blogspot.ca/

    http://cartooncave.blogspot.ca/

    And most importantly, have fun learning!
u/DiQUjeX · 9 pointsr/DnD

How to Draw Fantasy Art and RPG Maps: Step by Step Cartography for Gamers and Fans https://www.amazon.com/dp/1440340242/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_yzD3wb2FTK43P

u/ZombieButch · 8 pointsr/learnart

Folks who are linking to the 'Save Loomis' sites: the Loomis books aren't in the public domain.

Now, at one time, they were extremely difficult to find in print - Disney Studios in California had a standing order with every bookstore on the west coast for any Loomis books that came in - and when you could find them they cost an arm and a leg. For many years, too, the Loomis family withheld reprinting rights to the books, so there was no prospect for a very, very long time of ever seeing new editions. So at that time, "Save Loomis" websites at least had a moral ground to stand on.

Titan Books has, for several years now, been releasing the Loomis books in really lovely, affordable hardbacks. There's no reason to save Loomis any longer; he's been saved. We really ought to be pointing folks to where they can buy the books legally, now, and not to download sites.

For what it's worth, I think his best is Figure Drawing For All It's Worth. If there was only one I could recommend to someone who's new to drawing, though, rather than one I'd keep for myself, it's Fun With a Pencil. Figure Drawing is the gold standard of proportions and anatomy, as far as I'm concerned, but the material in it has been covered similarly by lots of different folks. Fun With A Pencil is geared more towards folks who've never drawn before and is a great book for absolute beginners.

u/TheBlankCanvas · 8 pointsr/gamedev

http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm

This is widely considered to be one of the most comprehensive art tutorials anywhere.

I urge you to keep in mind; Simplicity. Flat shapes and well coordinated colors (Think about saturation, use color palette creators like Adobe's KULER thing- there are dozens of free ones around the web) A basic, but well explored understanding of artistic principles can net you fresh, competent visuals. Good art doesn't need to be complex.

Other great things:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_elements_and_principles
http://www.amazon.com/101-Things-Learned-Architecture-School/dp/0262062666
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719

u/Mr_Piddles · 8 pointsr/learnart

The anatomy is funky. Comic books aren't a good place to go for anatomical research. Go to a library/book store (or amazon) and pick up this book. Read and draw EVERYTHING in this book. Seriously, cover to cover this book, and while you're doing that, go to coffee shops and draw everyone you see. Draw from real life while studying anatomy.

u/Cheeseho12 · 8 pointsr/altcomix

I'm gonna disagree with a lot of people and tell you to not buy Understanding Comics. I mean, you can, I don't disagree with most of what he teaches, but I disagree with his results. Perhaps it's one of those 'good in theory, terrible in practice' things. The Sculptor, his latest (?) book uses his UC technique 100% and while it makes for an easy read, it's visually boring and the story is just one unbelievable trope after another, complete garbage.

I'm also not going to tell you to copy other comic artists, that's a very common mistake in comics. When you copy other comic artists you learn their mistakes, or shortcuts, or cheats. I still find after I've drawn a page I'll go back and see where I unintentionally swiped a pose or technique from John Buscema (How to make Comics the Marvel Way had a big influence on me as a teenager, which is who it was made for).

For figure drawing you want George Bridgeman. His figure drawing techniques are the foundation for pretty much every other great illustrator in the last 100 years.

Another good source is Burne Hogarth (Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing) his stuff is more action and hero based, but his lessons are sound. He founded what became the School of Visual Arts. These were my first art books when I was a teenager, and they still hold up.

For storytelling, I go for Will Eisner's Graphic Storytelling and the Visual Narrative, Sequential Art Principles and throw in Expressive Anatomy, because, why not?

David Chelsea's Perspective for Comic Artists is great, because it teaches you exactly how to do correct perspective, then in the last chapter he tells you how to cheat at all of it.

For classes, take a look at the horribly designed website for http://comicsworkbook.com/ it's run by a guy, Frank Santoro, who's actually not one of my favorite artists, but he knows his shit, for sure, and he's a helluva nice guy who loves comics 100%. I think his full online class is $500 and he runs it twice a year, I think. Also look in your area for a college or art store that might have figure drawing classes, they are invaluable.

u/blackstarin123 · 8 pointsr/FurryArtSchool

Example 1

Here is my red line, the legs was what I think could be improved on. I just put the legs in perspective and fixed it up.

Example 2

Here is the version showing the shapes to think about. Think about shapes and how they wrap around the body.

Another example showing the perspective.

Example 3

I would recommend is to practice drawing form. Here is a video explaining it.

The Basics: what they mean

Also read some books on animal anatomy I recommend :

Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form

Science of Creature Design: understanding animal anatomy

Also here is a book about perspective:

Perspective Made Easy (Dover Art Instruction)

I hope it helps :)

u/MahaDraws · 8 pointsr/television

If you want to get into animation, the best thing you can do for yourself is to jump right in.

Get this book

Want to go deeper? [Get this book too] (http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Richard-Williams/dp/0571202284/ref=la_B001H6GEXI_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409836955&sr=1-2)

John K's online Curriculum is a series of FREE lessons and a good place to learn fundamentals

Grab yourself a pencil and a stack of paper and go. Even better, find yourself a copy of flash and get yourself a drawing tablet. This will speed up learning since you get an instant playback on your animation.

If you want to animate don't waste time sitting on your hands waiting for someone to let you learn. Get some pencil mileage under your belt. All the concepts in the world will mean nothing to you until you try them out, fail at them, re-read the learning material, and try again with a new perspective and better context to what your actually doing.

u/Nausved · 7 pointsr/learnart

Skin is hard, because skin isn't actually opaque. It is translucent, so it picks up light and colors and scatters them within itself, as if it were a thin layer of wax all over your body. This is called subsurface scattering, and it gives skin a softer appearance, a reddish glow (from blood vessels), and more color and depth in the shadows.

Look at this image. It does a good job of breaking down the different elements of a face. The left image, of course, is the actual shape of the face. The second image is the flat shading; there is no scattering here, just straight up "Does the light hit this spot directly?" It also includes a "specular" map, which indicates which parts of the image are glossy and shiny; notice the area around the nose is shiny, for example. I'll get back to specularity later on.

The third image includes the coloration alongside the flat shading. A "diffuse" map shows the appearance of something when bright, diffuse light hits it from all angles. Basically, it shows the colors at the brightest and most saturated they can ever be. A computer program applies shading to a model, and then adds the color, such that the colors are their most vivid where the model is lit most brightly.

The fourth image shows flat shading with subsurface scattering added. Notice how the left side of the face--which does not get hit directly by light at all, and was previously almost black--is now rather bright and varied. That's because her skin is now transmitting light, which helps even the light out. And the fifth image just adds the diffuse map (essentially, the color map) back in.

---

Basically, this is what you want to create. And like a computer, it may help you to think about it in pieces, and then add all those different pieces together.

  1. As you probably know, when you're learning art, you start by learning how to depict 3D shapes in 2D. This is very much like creating a mesh for a 3D model, except traditional artists use a much more simplified construction.

  2. Artists next learn how to do flat shading. They think about where the light source is coming from, and they make the planes of the head that are facing toward that light brighter, while the planes facing away are darker. Beginner art schools make their students spend endless hours practicing stuff like this.

  3. Then artists tend to start thinking about color (including pigment colors and light colors) and light scattering (including subsurface scattering and light reflection). This is the step you're stuck on--and, to be fair, this is about as complicated as shading gets. It's simply not intuitive, and even in computer graphics, it's only fairly recently that subsurface scattering has become a common thing. But without it, skin lacks luster and life. There is no rule of thumb I can offer here, sadly. The best you can do is try to draw from life or from photos as much as you can, and eventually you'll start to pick it up. You'll learn which parts of the face scatter light differently, and you'll learn how it changes as the light direction changes (e.g., backlighting is dramatically different from front lighting). Don't be afraid to open a photo in some art software and actually sample colors from it; this can help you learn how to identify colors better and avoid falling trap to this classic illusion.

  4. Artists often add specularity last. This also relates to diffuse coloration, which is something I think you need help with, so I'll go into a bit of detail about that.

    ---

    When coloring and lighting an object, there are three basic sections: the part that falls into shadow, the part that is in light, and the part that receives a specular highlight. The part that falls into shadow tends to reflect light from the surrounding area, and it also tends to be cast in a different color from the part that is in light. Specifically, shadows will tend to be the opposite of the light color. However, when I say "opposite colors" here, I'm talking about light colors (in which red, green, and blue are the primary colors, and cyan, magenta, and yellow are the secondary colors). Here are the pairings of opposite colors, if it might help you:

  • red - cyan
  • blue - yellow
  • green -magenta

    So, for example, if you have a reddish-blueish light (i.e., a magenta light), the shadows will tend to look greenish. They will also take on a bit of the color reflected off nearby objects (such as the ground), though.

    A common approach is slightly yellow (perhaps verging on red) light with slightly blue (perhaps verging on cyan) shadows, especially if sunlight is coming in from a low angle, as in this painting.

    The opposite (blueish light, yellowish shadows) can also look good, especially if the sunlight comes from direct above.

    Under moonlight, firelight, incandescent light, fluorescent light, etc., you can get different effects; for example, this painting depicts reddish light with greenish shadows.

    You can very effectively avoid the use of black altogether in your shadows by making dark areas the opposite color to light areas. For example, look at this picture. The part of her face that is in shade is not much darker than the part that is in light. However, it is blueish, which makes it immediately apparent that it's shaded. (Also, note that the edge of her jaw is picking up white light reflected from her T-shirt.)

    ---

    Now let's talk about the second part of an image, the part that is in light. Remember what I said earlier about diffuse maps? How they represent the object when it is in bright, diffuse light--and they, effectively, show the color at the brightest and most saturated that it will get in that image? Well, this is what you need to do. Figure out what color your character's skin is, and give him that color of skin in the parts where he is in bright light. Where parts of his face aren't as bright, tone down the saturation and brightness a bit.

    Going back to the photo here, you can see that her skin is pinkest where the light is bright (ignoring the shiny bits for the moment). You can see it in here hair, too. Where her hair is in bright light, it is very vividly colored.

    ---

    Now let's talk about the last section, the part that receives a specular highlight. The specular highlight is the part that is so bright that it gets washed out. There is very little (if any) color; it's usually just bright white (assuming the light source is also close to white).

    The shinier the object is, the smaller and sharper the specular highlight becomes, and the more it reflects the shape of the light source.

    The more matte the object is, the wider and duller the specular highlight becomes. It's worth noting that even objects that you wouldn't expect to have a specular highlight often still do; it's just very subtle, like on this cardboard tube.

    Also, the harsher the light is, the bigger and brighter the specular highlight will be. Even matte objects can get overexposed under the right conditions. But no matter how big or bright a specular highlight is, it will never occur in a place that is in shadow (assuming only a single light source; as you add more light sources, things get complicated--and keep in mind that nearby reflective surfaces do act as minor secondary light sources).

    When painting a face, think about the parts of the face that are the most oily or glossy. These tend to be the eyelids, the lips, the nose, the scalp (on bald people), the eyeballs, and so on. These are places you'll see smaller, brighter specular highlights. Perhaps needless to say, sweat also adds glossiness, while makeup tends to remove glossiness.

    ---

    If you want to learn more or if you want these concepts explained better, I highly recommend this book.

    Also, this is intended for pixel artists, but you may be interested in this tutorial, which illustrates a common method for creating a rich, harmonious color palette for matte objects.
u/artistwithquestions · 7 pointsr/learnart

Last time I tried to give advice on drawings the person got upset and quit reddit, soooo, please don't do that. My suggestion if you're absolutely serious about drawing is to absolutely learn the fundamentals.

Fun With A Pencil: How Everybody Can Easily Learn to Draw https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857687603/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ijZZDbCWDFEAQ

Drawing the Head and Hands https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857680978/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AjZZDb0B3RBPF

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857680986/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OjZZDbW37G79H

Successful Drawing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857687611/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4jZZDb95Z0W96

Creative Illustration https://www.amazon.com/dp/1845769287/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ikZZDbFRJYAJD

And after the basics


Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (Volume 1) (James Gurney Art) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0740785508/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_alZZDbZW0Y1P4


Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2) (James Gurney Art) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DlZZDb676AWT6



It doesn't matter what medium you use, learning how to draw and understanding what you're doing will help out the most.

u/ladykristianna · 7 pointsr/ArtistLounge

If he's wanting to get into drawing, I'd suggest picking up a book or two from Andrew Loomis. They were written back in the early-mid twentieth century, and they're still popular among artists today, and for good reason. I personally have Drawing the Head and the Hands by Andrew Loomis, and it's a wonderful reference tool for drawing/painting the human face. [Amazon]

Another great artist's reference book is Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney. [Amazon] James Gurney also has a great informational YouTube channel that's worth checking out.

Also, please don't start with cheapo supplies kits whether they're watercolors, acrylics, or oils. They're not well made and can be frustrating to work with for beginners and pros alike. Read or watch some reviews first (YouTube review videos are a great place to see a lot of supplies in action from real artists).

I think a fun medium to start with would be gouache (it's like a cross between acrylic and watercolors). Arteza is a good quality middle of the road brand (not cheap quality, but not pro grade either) that you can get for a relatively good price [[Gouache 24 pk on Amazon]](https://www.amazon.com/ARTEZA-Gouache-Premium-Artist-Paints/dp/B077Y6TVC8/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-YXJ0ZXphIGdvdWFjaGU%3D-ac_d_rm&crid=2JWZ3D4I54A2Z&keywords=arteza+gouache&pd_rd_i=B077Y6TVC8&pd_rd_r=942fb13e-2eb9-4ca8-b9a8-bd5e0b48cb65&pd_rd_w=a9GyB&pd_rd_wg=dNTqd&pf_rd_p=ed481207-4bea-4e19-bbad-73ed40fdc292&pf_rd_r=FKJM040T2XS3HPN4EJTA&psc=1&qid=1572883675&sprefix=arteza+gouache%2Caps%2C195), and they're fun to work with too. You'll need something to paint on too. Watercolor paper or multimedia paper/sketchbook are good to start with. A plastic or porcelain palette and some watercolor brushes will be needed too. You can pick up some of these at your local art store. Heck, I've even seen some artists using porcelain plates or deviled egg servers from a thrift store as a palette for their watercolors and gouache!

There are lots of tutorial videos on YouTube that you or he can check out. Skillshare, like some of the others mentioned, is a good learning resource too.

u/RyvenZ · 7 pointsr/Warframe

This looks like you just looked at a reference image of Ash and drew what you saw. The character looks distorted, as a result, because you really shouldn't draw that way.

You should frame out the body parts, using simple placeholder shapes (mostly ovals) and study other images of the character to get the details. There are parts here where it would seem that the reference was too dark and you just kind of scribbled to show shadow where detail should actually exist.

Even if you are only a hobbyist, you should grab a copy of Figure Drawing for All It's Worth and actually use the principles in that book. It will help even simple sketches to look amazing, if you get it down.

We weren't meant to be copy machines. You'll be a much better artist if you get away from that.

u/JoshMLees · 7 pointsr/manga

I'd say your strongest point is your ability to convey action. The leaping on page 16 is particularly well executed. You also actually have a pretty good grasp of perspective drawing with the environments! It could use a little work, but I feel like every artist could do with more practice!!

The main suggestion I could give you is to start drawing from life. I know you are heavily influenced by Japanese comics, but trust me when I say that all professional manga artists are able to draw from life. What I mean is, take a figure drawing class, or at the very least pick up this book, or any other figure drawing book really. It will help you greatly with getting proportions correct, as well as help you with understanding the internal structure of the body. By skipping learning how to draw from life, and learning to draw from looking at Manga, you're really only taking the face value. Like, have you ever used a copy machine to make a copy of a copy? The original page looks crisp and clean, but that first copy has a few spots and scratches, and then the copy of that copy has big black splotches on it, and eventually the text is completely illegible. Not to say that your art is really bad! It's actually pretty decent for your first comics! I just believe that doing some observational studies will help your work greatly!

The next major thing you should work on is the writing. I get that his blindfold is what keeps his demons at bay, but by starting the comic off with the central character punching a guy's body in two, and then ripping another guy's arm off... it makes me not care about the character. I feel like if you would have shown the readers that he was a kind person, by like, helping the elderly, or defending his father or something, then I'd be like, "Why is this sweet kid suddenly a vicious murderer?" But since you didn't I was like, "Is this a violent comic for the sake of drawing a violent comic?" Therefore, when the dad was brought in to be killed, he started talking about how innocent the kid was, which is the exact opposite of my first impression. Also, why did they kill the dad? Why, then, did they let evil demon kid live, only to exile him? Wouldn't killing Kai solve all of their problems?

Anyway, I feel like you have potential, mainly because you were actually able to produce this much work! Do you have any idea how many people say they want to make comics but pale at the sight of how much work it is? You are a hard worker, and I know that you will be able to persevere and evolve into something so much better than you already are! On that note, buy Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. It will change your life. I'm being 100% serious here. McCloud is not only the go-to comics theorist, but he was also one of the first professional Americans to see the potential of drawing comics influenced by the Japanese! Once you have devoured this book, because you will want more, buy Making Comics, also by Scott McCloud. While Understanding dissects the medium and explains things you never would have thought about before, Making Comics applies those thoughts into a school-like setting.

tl;dr: It's good, but could be much better. Worship Scott McCloud.

u/Mynt0202 · 7 pointsr/learnHentaiDrawing

This is currently my holy bible. MikeyMM is such a nice YT channel, has a lot of good tutooorials.

Now if you want something more fundamental, i practiced proportions based on this book

It's a good book, not planning on reading it all, but has a lot of illustrations kinda like this one that make everything more easy to comprehend. Not uploading the original pics, cuz maybe it's illegal ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

u/JohnCthulhu · 7 pointsr/comicbooks

Thing is, not every potential comic artist out there wants to draw actual sequential images. There are many, many artists that get far more enjoyment out of drawing pinups/covers than they do comics. Nothing wrong with that.

Also, suggesting the OP focus more on the art of drawing a sequential page than learning how to improve their drawing skills is the wrong way to go about things. A person could lay out the most wonderful sequence of panels ever seen, however if they are unable to fill said panels with good art then it is completely pointless.

Drawing comes first.

--------------------

To the OP:

-------------

As the top voted comment has stated: never, ever give up. The first thing that I should drill into your head is that you shouldn't expect to become a talented artist overnight; drawing well takes years of toil and practice. There are times when you'll feel like giving up, but don't (in fact, any artist worth their mettle will never feel like they've truly mastered their craft, no matter how talented they are).

Anyways, if you are serious about learning to draw well, you need to start focusing on the basics first (basic underlying shapes, volume, how light affects basic objects, perspective, etc.). If you do not learn the basics, you will not become a good artist. Full stop.

It is only once you have a good grasp of the basics that you can hope to achieve more complex stuff. For example (and please don't take this the wrong way), your drawing is solid enough but there is a complete lack of any kind of underlying shape or perspective to the character; as a result, the whole image just feels completely flat. Whenever you draw a figure, you must keep its underlying shapes and its perspective in mind.

For example, when I draw a figure, I start off with a basic 'mannequin' (egg shape for head, a roundish box for the chest, spheres for the joints, cylinders for the limbs, etc.) and then start gradually adding more and more detail on top. Drawing in this manner allows the artist to get a good idea in their head of how their character will look in 3D space. Even the most basic of cartoon characters tend to be created this way.

If there is no underlying shape to your character then there is no hope of convincing those viewing your work that your character is a living, breathing being.

Also, your pencil lines are very, very scratchy right now. Obviously, this is because you're not entirely confident in your skills as of yet (don't worry about this, it's only natural). When drawing, try to draw with your arm rather than drawing with your wrist. This takes a lot of practice to pull off but you will find that it will allow you to create smooth, flowing lines. As you get better at your art, you will find that you will start using less and less lines in order to build up your creations.

One thing I would highly recommend you do is to start keeping a 'daily draw journal.' Just draw every day. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, even if you only do a few scratchy doodles, it still counts! The important thing is that you're drawing. You would be utterly amazed how much you will gradually improve over time (I often look back at some of my older work and cringe!).

If you have the money, I'd recommend picking up a 'Moleskine' sketchbook as they are compact, solid and very high quality.

Anyways, sorry about the huge block of text! I hope that this may have been of some use to you. The best of luck to you and your drawing!

----------------

PS:

---------------

Some books I would highly, highly recommend you check out:

  • How to Draw on the Right Side of the Brain: I bought this book nearly 10 years ago and it is still one of the most important books I've ever read. The book doesn't so much teach you how to draw, but rather teaches you how to see the world about you with an 'artist's eye.' That may sound utterly pretentious but, believe me, it works. My drawing skills improved immensely thanks to the lessons I learned from this book.

  • Various instructional books by Andrew Loomis: While many of these books are out of print, most of them are available in digital form (I've provided the link). These books are an absolute treasure and need to be in any self-respecting artist's collection, be they professional or amateur (Alex Ross, for example, is a huge fan). Loomis covers just about every single thing you will need to learn, so you should seriously give these books a look.
u/Brother_Nature · 7 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Check out /r/learnart and /r/drawing. I just discovered them myself & have begun starting to try drawing. I also bought this book. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I can't give a personal review of it just yet - but it's been recommended by several people on the learnart sub, so I figure it's a good place to start. Good luck!

u/WizardNinjaPirate · 7 pointsr/architecture
u/funisher · 7 pointsr/ArtistLounge

I'm a big fan of George Bridgman's "Complete Guide to Drawing from Life" and Gottfried Bammes "Complete Guide to Life Drawing" is also pretty great.

Also, here are all of my figure structure drawings from college. It's a little sloppy, but it's free. :)

u/patronoftheinhuman · 6 pointsr/tattoo

That's pretty solid, man. I'm no expert at tattooing though I feel like you might be able to see a portion of the inside of the skull through that gap between the teeth and jaw, and his brow is a little big. I want to recommend you this book that my professor gave me a long time ago back in college. I was already able to draw pretty well but this solidified my skills as an illustrator. Keep it up and big ups to your friend for taking you in and teaching you seriously. There are no bad students, only bad teachers. What most people wanting to do anything with art need is to be given a chance and taught with some patience.

u/dmjh93 · 6 pointsr/anime

If you want my advice, I would almost always start with realism before stylized. I made the mistake of starting with an anime/manga style when I was young and it took me years to even come close to breaking the bad habit of pointy chins and broken proportions.


This is the book I used when I started out; https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-How-Handbook/dp/0399507914. It's very beginner friendly and I still use it for reference when I'm not sure about something.

​

And yes, I did go to art school, but I would recommend against it, especially if it's a private one. I've seen a lot of friends go six figures into debt and never get the chance to put their skills to use. You can get just as much done through just hard work and practice (in my opinion).


Hope this helps!

u/GrGrG · 6 pointsr/gameofthrones

Middle school art teacher here! Good job! You'd get an A for sure! One thing that I like doing with my students portrait art works is see if it can fool a computer, I take a camera phone and see if the phone recognizes the picture as a human face. (Note, this doesn't work well with dark skinned or darker images, computer AI is dumb, but I guess if Skynet takes over dark skinned people will be able to move around undetected.) Anyways, your picture passes my camera test! So that's cool!


Constructive Criticism: Is this the reference? Overall, you placed major structures of the face well in relation to each other, but you drew them to big compared to the size of the head. This raised his eyes further from the center of the face upward and shortened his forehead. It's probably easier to fix the head shape vs shrinking the eyes, nose and mouth. To fix this next time, you could move his hair upward (expand the top of his head). If it ends up going a bit off page, that's ok. Proportions are very tough to get and until you've drawn a lot you're going to have a tough time visualizing where things are supposed to be on the page. I'm not sure your training, or past experience, but I would look into the term "eye-length", or if you're using google "eye-length drawing". In my class, I use some pages out of Drawing The Head & Figure by Jack Hamm and from other sources to help students. I'd look into those older books to help because they cover the same stuff as newer books (human anatomy hasn't changed much, lol) and the older books are often cheaper.


Keep this drawing. Keep practicing and try to draw the same image in a few years to challenge yourself to do better. ♥♥♥ : )

u/StressCavity · 6 pointsr/animation

While your end goal might be cartoons, you will HAVE to learn to draw realistically to some extent. No way would you be able to animate anything in perspective otherwise, understand lighting, or know how to composite complex scenes. There are fundamentals that you must understand that are key to 2D animation, regardless of art style, which should be continuously worked on alongside your stylistic development.

Books:

Simple book on perspective

My favorite anatomy book

A pretty simple book on light (More pictures/examples than in-depth detail)


Overall beginners drawing book

This covers light/shadow and materials decently for beginners

I personally think you should focus on fundamentals alone until you have a decent grasp before looking at animation. But if you want to learn concurrently, this book is pretty well-known in the industry: LINK

There's tons more, but I already think this might be too much to take in all at once. Discover for yourself the rest, it's not good to have everything handed to you with fundamentals, gotta reign it in personally.

u/KHOUG · 6 pointsr/Watercolor

Cool! If you like drawing buildings I recommend d picking up https://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Made-Easy-Dover-Instruction/dp/0486404730

Awesome book on prespective.

u/fxscreamer · 6 pointsr/furry

Not that I've mastered anything I'm going to tell you, but there's definitely some issues here. It appears you're drawing by contour, and not setting up your structure, gesture, and volume for the character. They are very flat, out of perspective, proportions are off, and anatomy is wobbly. There's also not a sense of weight and gravity to his punch. Forget line work and coloring for now. There's no point furnishing a house with beautiful furniture, curtains, landscaping, etc if the house itself is unstable and about ready to fall over. Basically, your fundamentals are lacking.

Books that have been recommend to me that I've been studying are:

Perspective Made Easy by Ernest Norling: http://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Made-Easy-Dover-Instruction/dp/0486404730

Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair: http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Animation-Collectors-Preston-Blair/dp/1560100842

These address all the issues that I've spoken of and believe me, it's my 2015 homework as well. This stuff isn't easy, but practice and repetition will get you the results you want. Keep drawing, and keep going. You'll get there. :D

EDIT: I'm going to give a shoutout to the artist Retehi and provide an example of what I'm talking about that is similar to your piece. The image below addresses many, if not all the issues I'm explaining so it's easier to see the results when you apply them. Notice the gesture (arch of the back), the 3d space in which he stands (volume and perspective), the proportions (structure and anatomy), and the weight / gravity as he's punching the bag. Try to disregard his coloring and production and focus on the character drawing itself. Hopefully this will help you in the future as a reference.

https://www.weasyl.com/submission/633588/fight-to-survive

u/qquicksilver · 6 pointsr/reddit.com

This book instructs you to draw disproportionate people for various reasons. I think the people who wrote that book might be a little more successful at their craft than you are at yours.

Or even better

http://howtodealwithjealousy.com/

u/mmm27 · 6 pointsr/IWantToLearn

As my art teacher says: "If you know how to use a pencil, you know how to draw." I'm still a beginner but I've realized that all you have to do to draw well, is just...draw.

Nobody can teach you how to do it but yourself, sure there are people out there that teach you how to draw little things, but ultimately, YOU have to practice as hard as you can!

Just learn the basics (perspective, shading, figure drawing, materials etc.) first, and from there on out, you can learn tips, but the main way to get better after learning the basics is just to practice, which is something I've learned partly from experience and from dozens of tutorials I've used.

ONE HUGE, HUGE, TIP: REMEMBER: YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF. It is really, really good to challenge yourself, and try to do it a majority of the time you spend drawing. HOWEVER, every now and then, revisit your comfort zone and draw something that'll look nice but is still easy to draw. If you're always out of your comfort zone when drawing, you will realize that drawing will quickly get frustratingly boring.

^ I've learned this because for a lot of time when I drew, I felt it was too hard and so I stopped every now and then because I felt I couldn't do anything. That was because I barely ever brought myself back to drawing what I KNEW how to draw and instead only focused on what I didn't. CHALLENGE MAKES YOU BETTER, BUT COMFORT LETS YOU HAVE FUN. Have a little fun sometimes and revisit your comfort zone! :)

Remember that you don't have to be the best drawer in the world, I'm sure there are some artists today that can't draw, but are skilled at digitally remastering their drawings to look better than they could make them, and if you're into this digital work more than traditional drawing, then do what they do and learn to make your drawings better using a computer! This is ultimately your decision.

Draw your favorite characters of shows, draw real life objects, draw people you know or just see on the street. Don't be afraid to whip out your sketchpad and draw like shit in front of people, because EVERYBODY draws like shit when they're starting and if you're quickly sketching, you WILL draw like shit, but it doesn't matter because most people sketch just to practice, just to recognize the contours of objects, the details of some things, etc.

A FEW RESOURCES I USED

How to draw comics the Marvel Way This book doesn't teach much but it's good for the bare essentials of figure drawing and perspective (and comics if you're into that sort of thing).

http://www.drawspace.com/ Some essentials and tips for drawing.

You can use STUMBLEUPON to stumble under drawing or art for tutorials and tips!

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-For-Dummies-Sports-Hobbies/dp/0470618426 Never read the entire thing, but hey, give it a shot if you want to.

*Pretty much ANYTHING you type on Google will be given to you. Ex. Just type in how to draw hands and you'll get a link of 35 tutorials. You can easily find resources if you Google "how to draw __".

WHEW! THAT was a mouthful. (That's what she said.)

Anyway, I've given you as much advice as I can give you. Trust me, I've just begun to master the basics of drawing, but these are the things I've learned so far, and trust me, whatever tutorial you look up will tell you the P word: PRACTICE. That's it. The whole big scheme.

PRACTICE.

There is no way to learn than to

PRACTICE.

Do not try to master it unless you are willing to

PRACTICE.

PRACTICE
PRACTICE
PRACTICE

Dam, that word looks funny now.

Anyway, get out there and learn how to draw and shit! But remember to have fun along the way, don't push yourself to the point of frustration, take breaks and reward yourself a little from time to time with easier drawing projects!

ONE MORE THING: Keep all of your drawings ever since from when you started, and when you're feeling low on motivation, scan through them and compare them to your new drawings, and trust me, if you've been working, you will see a difference, even the slightest one and that'll definitely help you believe that your practicing has been working.




u/intothewoodscomic · 6 pointsr/comicbookart

Love the attention to detail on the costume, as well as the Kirby energy around Mjolnir/background. Colours are spot on, too.

The pose isn’t working for me, though. It lacks dynamism (one of the hallmarks of Kirby’s works) and the silhouette is muddled. The limbs are twisted every which way and there’s no clear line of action of action through the figure.

If you’ve not already read it, How to Draw Comic the Marvel Way is pretty essential. Some of the specifics are a little dated by modern standards, but the fundamental advice around posing and composition still holds true. Every comic artist should have it in their library.

u/[deleted] · 6 pointsr/ArtCrit

your proportions are off. if you're looking to improve on that, i recommend these two books-

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

The Art of Learning


the Marvel book will help with sketching and give you a really great grasp of the basics. it helped me so dam much and i still use it to this day.


The Art of Learning is a fantastic book! it has nothing to do with drawing or art itself, its all to do with learning. i got more from this book than any art teacher i've ever had. if you want to improve this is a must.

you might also want to try and use a reference too, that always helps.

check out posemaniacs for references to help with your anatomy or deviantArt's stock images that's always good

i hope what i've said helps you out

u/dec92010 · 6 pointsr/AskWomen

Learn to draw. a book like this can help you get started.

u/superchives · 6 pointsr/conceptart

THIS BOOK, and THIS BOOK, are damn near the gold standard for getting started and professionals alike.

u/KnivesMillions is dead on with the point on fundamentals. Start with a good foundation of drawing and color theory. Drawing and painting from life and observation are also an excellent way to get better quickly.

A fantastic convention/gallery show to attend would be Illuxcon (if you can make it to Pennsylvania), where you can meet top-tier working artists in the industry (Danato Gincola, Scott Fisher, Iris Compt, both of the Gerards, etc.), see their work in the flesh, and ask them questions (they are usually quite receptive to questions if you are professional and polite).

Also, there are no set in stone rules for what constitutes "amazing fantasy art" aside from craft. All is chaos, embrace it.

u/gameguran · 6 pointsr/Sleepycabin

I have a more painterly background but I figure that this is exactly the same mindset in practically everything you draw.

> Mind the color of your background.

Everything you draw plays of the background color, it is the most important supporting character in everything you draw. So mind your hues, I love to incorporate it in my base colors.

> What is the color of the light.

Light reflecting on surfaces and bouncing into our eyes is what makes us see things. So naturally the color of the light is going to affect a surface and what hue is going to affect the shadow. Use a color wheel to find the complementary colors. I am currently subscribing to the Goethe version.

> Where is the area placed.


Further back it blends into the atmosphere, making it harder for the light to reach our eyes without being diluted on the way.

Some examples with most of that stuff.
With everything 1
With everything 2
Without background 1
without background 2

For further read I recommend Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney

I included an amazon link, but this is the internet. You can probably find it.

u/kurtgustavwilckens · 6 pointsr/batman

Dude you have potential for drawing. It shows in your use of shadows and the fact that you actually draw feet that don't look deformed. You have an OK usage of proportions, cheers to you.

I would recommend, humbly, getting a book on drawing human anatomy. I really like Burne Hogarth since he uses a very shadow-focused technique, with really exaggerated factions that come in real handy on comicbook type drawing.

I haven't drawn for a while now but I did when I was younger and this book did wonders for me. Also, PROTIP: If you wanna learn how to draw women, look up drawings by Milo Manara.

EDIT: this book

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015777/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450897871&sr=1-8&keywords=human+figure+drawing

u/DrFacemelt · 6 pointsr/ArtFundamentals

You can practice curves or arcs in the same way you practice straight lines. Make lots of them! You goal should be to make fluid, confident strokes from your shoulder. Lots of books go over this including this one from Scott Robertson or this one from Andrew Loomis. Also check out this From Foundation Patreon.

u/OhNoRhino · 6 pointsr/learnart
u/ComixBoox · 6 pointsr/ArtCrit

http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986 This is the best book on the figure ever written(/drawn) hands down. Loomis is a god among artists and his figure drawing and explanations of figure drawing are unmatched. This book is back in print after being out of print for forever. I have had this book recommended to me by no less than 30 professors and professional artists. Its amazing.

u/nosejapones · 6 pointsr/gamedev

/u/AppStoreVeteran gave you a great reply, but I just wanted to add in another perspective:

If you're interested in a more traditional approach to learning art, you can get to the point where you're making decent (not mind-blowing, but functional) illustrations with just a few months of serious effort. If you treat it like a semester-long course and put in the work, you can reach art student levels in a little under half a year.

  1. Pick up either this or this book (I recommend the first one if you lack confidence/motivation, but the second one is great too; in fact, pick up both if you can).
  2. Set aside 30-60 minutes every day to practice (using the book[s] as a guide).
  3. Practice faithfully and with legitimate effort.

    Art is learning just like programming, playing an instrument, or public speaking, so, if you're even vaguely interested in it, I highly recommend you give it a serious try.
u/Bulleta · 5 pointsr/IWantToLearn

The quickest, most reliable way to humanoid character drawing (without previous knowledge in the subject) is to use Andrew Loomis' method. The best book on this subject is Figure Drawing For All It's Worth. You can find "free" copies of it online, if you don't mind that it's a scanned copy from the 1950's.

Pre-rendered landscape art demands that you know enough about perspective, and thus I would also recommend looking at Andrew Loomis' Successful Drawing.

As for putting your skills into use and transferring them into a game, it seems that everything you need is available at Digital Tutors. If you are ready to begin this stage, be sure to have the proper software, and that you know the basics on how to use it.

I can go into much greater detail, and even help you gather resources, but let's make sure you aren't overwhelmed just yet.

u/k_r_oscuro · 5 pointsr/pics

Get this book.
It's THE classic on learning to draw when you think you can't.

u/CtrlShiftZ · 5 pointsr/AskReddit

Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson will give you the fundamentals which is the most important thing, from there you can apply them to whatever style you choose.

Practice practice practice.

u/dv12900 · 5 pointsr/Filmmakers

Color and Light by James Gurney is one of my favorite books. It's a painter's guide, but it does provide a lot of insight in how color determines the mood and atmosphere of a picture, and how it interacts with our eyes. I have gotten a lot out of it as a digital artist, but it also proved useful for VFX, and might even be of help to a director. Even if it doesn't tell you anything new, the art depicted in the book is absolutely beautiful.

u/Garret_AJ · 5 pointsr/conceptart

[Quick paintover/ color correction to help with the crit.]
(http://imgur.com/oBr6zkm)

I can see potential, but there's work to be done. If we had time I could take you through design/storytelling, perspective, and stroke technique issues, but for now I want to focus on color.

  • Color choices: I kept your pink and yellow scheme to show what can be done with color and lighting. That being said they don't quite go together well. There's not a lot of cases where something is fully saturated, and you have a highly saturated yellow contrasting with a very saturated pink. You don't need highly saturated complementary colors to get the image to pop; that's mostly done in the design. The first thing I did when I color corrected the image was turn down the saturation.

    Also, it appears to be daytime judging by the background photo, but there's no strong shadows or bright sunlit areas. The sky is kinda dark and washed out. If it's daytime we (the viewer) need to really feel the warm sun and cool shadows.

    I numbered the points of critique here:

  1. I fixed the hard yellow dust and made a mix to look more like the beams are hitting the surface.
  2. When a color bounces off another color, those colors (in most cases) mix together. When yellow and pink mix they make orange. The eye will believe it looks pink when the right color is used. These are called context colors. For example, the two colors with the arrows are the same color.
  3. Think about where the light is coming from. The yellow swamp is going to bounce yellow light up onto the structures. Also the blue sky will add a bluish hue to shadows.
  4. You may notice in the shadows the water color is green. Again, this is because the sky is blue and when the light from the sky hits the yellow water it will mix to make green. Take a look around your images and think about how color and light will react with the colors around them.
  5. Sky need's to be brighter in the daytime.
  6. The sun is bright white (with a hint of yellow). When something is in the sun it should be well lit.
  7. I used some yellow mist to push the structure on the right further into the distance.
  8. (not numbered) I noticed you had trouble connecting your structures to the ground. They just stop at the ground. There needs to be a hand shake (of sorts) they should mingle a bit. They should be around the same value, and some of the colors should be bouncing off the ground on to the structure.

    My general advice: drop the photobashing for now. Save it for when you're killing it on the rendering. It's a good technique to hit those deadlines during production, but this early on it's gonna make you miss out on all those skills you'd develop painting those mountains. Also, get this book on color theory by James Gurney. It will explain color theory way better than I can.

    TL;DR learn how to render like a pro before you can photobash like a pro. Learn up on your color theory. Hope that helps.
u/tilkau · 5 pointsr/ArtFundamentals

Uncomfortable is, in my experience, quite able to explain why exercises are well founded, and generally responds constructively to criticism.
But as he points out here, careless giving of non-essential details can really bog down the learner.

Nicolaides in "Natural Way to Draw" strongly puts across this same viewpoint; he carefully explains everything, but so so gradually. It's IMO correct to assess it as cultish, but it also works very well to get the learner to stop fucking thinking and pay attention to the process. (A review quote on the front says "not only the best how-to book on drawing, but the best how-to book we know on any subject". From my experience doing the course, I fully agree.)

As someone who wants to teach art, this is something I've had to come to grips with : I want to explain everything, but that is flatly bad and confusing. The teacher has to have the restraint to keep things minimal, digestible and structured; the student has to have some acceptance that effective instruction is not at all like reading a tutorial, doing lots of work per information unit is needed to avoid getting bogged down in analysis.

u/kevodoom · 5 pointsr/drawing

I would absolutely recommend beginning by reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and doing the exercises. I'd follow it up with The Natural Way to Draw, again, doing the exercises.

1836to1846 has the right idea about focusing on shapes, not ideas, and drawing upside-down while you're first training your verbal mind to get out of the way and let you draw what you see, rather than the symbols you think you see. Drawing on the Right Side is exactly about that - teaching you that you can draw, and teaching you how to get out of your own way. After that, Nicolaides' book will teach you how to practice effectively.

Practice is absolutely the key, but getting some grounding in what to practice and how to practice effectively will allow you to get more out of it faster.

u/mcrumb · 5 pointsr/drawing

I'm hoping someone with some experience will chime in. As a fellow beginner, I like the following:

Figure Drawing, Design and Invention

Jack Hamm, Drawing the Head and Figure

But, with that said, the one I've had the most success with is:

Vilppu Drawing Manual. If I could only have one book, that is probably the one I would pick.

u/mcantrell · 5 pointsr/KotakuInAction

> Antarctic Press :D my 3rd most frequently purchased comics publisher after Slave Labor Graphics and Dark Horse! mainly just the odd issue of Fred Perry's Gold Digger but mainly their How to Draw Manga books.

Didn't realize they were the How to Draw Manga book guys. Have a ton of them.

I remember back in the day the guy behind "Listening to 11.975Mhz" had a page up on them. He uh... wasn't a fan. He suggested instead an actual book on Figure Drawing / Anatomy -- Jack Hamm's was specifically suggested and a book by Stan Lee on how old school, pre-diversity hire retards Marvel did comicing -- How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.

u/ZaradZapp · 5 pointsr/rupaulsdragrace

I think it's interesting that people make snide little jokes when someone has obviously put their own mark on something, produced it by hand, and actually used a reference for their own work and not completely duplicated that reference pixel for pixel. You are absolutely on the right track here. With your illustrative style I'd check out this book, [How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way] (https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0671530771) By Stan Lee and John Buscema. At $11.00 it's a lot of info on the cheap. I had an artist who I really admired suggest it to me when I was younger and it was a godsend. It's a really good guide to hammer down some basic perspective and anatomy as well as grow the natural lines that I can see in your work. Things like getting those eyes to look in the same place, and blocking out areas of your work to show depth. Very on point with your subject. Great job. Toot.

u/wavv · 5 pointsr/howto

She's not the original artist and the text is lifted as well from the book these images were taken from. It's "How to Draw Comic the Marvel Way"

It's kinda funny I recognize the boob drawings.

u/bronkula · 5 pointsr/sanfrancisco

I was taught to do caricature when I worked in theme parks. I learned a lot from How to Draw the Marvel Way and studying great comic artists like Moebius and classic pen and ink artists like Charles Dana Gibson

u/Zepp_BR · 5 pointsr/brasil

Vamos lá. Minha experiência com desenho:

  • Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, da Betty Edwards.

    Tentei, cheguei até um pouco antes da metade. Me frustrei e desisti.
    Motivo da frustração: Grande parte do livro é a moça te falando "agora você deve estar satisfeito com o que fez, olha o que meus melhores alunos fizeram para você comparar". BITCH EU NÃO ESTAVA SATISFEITO OK?!

    Depois de anos, revisitei meus desenhos e pensei "Olha, até que ficaram legais sim, pqp".

  • Já testei o /r/ArtFundamentals (Drawabox).

    Extremamente massante e arranca a tapa toda a maravilha de desenhar algo. Fiz durante uns 3 meses, não cheguei nem na lição 3 (depois de formas livres). Mas foi o que mais me manteve disciplinado, e a qualidade de alguns dos meus traços (até na escrita) melhorou um pouco.

  • Ctrl+Paint:

    Testei muito pouco a parte de desenho "clássico", mas o cara desenha bem. Minha crítica é que logo na primeira aula ele já recomenda comprar um lápis que não é lá muito comum.

  • Drawing for the Utter and Absolute Beginner, da Claire Garcia.

    É interessante, as primeiras lições são uma mistura das lições do Drawing on the Right Side e do ArtFundamentals. Não consegui avançar mais por falta de tempo, mas pelo que eu folheei o livro, é o que mais mostra técnicas diferentes (e por isso, aumenta o custo de materiais).

  • Curso presencial:

    Fiz um uma vez um tempo atrás. Não suportei mais de 3 aulas porque o professor era péssimo.


    Dito isso, vou de acordo com o /u/crazy_student, vá com o Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (se concentre só nas técnicas).
    Recomendo também o ..For the Utter and Absolute Beginner. O livro se baseia nas mesmas técnicas da Betty Edwards no começo, tendo em vista o desenho observacional (na vida real), então um complementa o outro.

  • Bonus: Eu tenho também o You Can Draw in 30 days. Dá pra brincar de perder o medo de produzir algo.

    NOTA:


    Eu sei que existem outros autores, livros e conteúdos. Sempre existiu e sempre existirão, mas foram esses que eu corri atrás.
u/juxtalittle · 5 pointsr/littlespace

You could probably find some at thrift/dollar stores, but, the 10$ adult coloring books on Amazon are all very well worth it, for what you get!

The ones by Johanna Basford are incredibly detailed, and I'm surprised they are so cheap for the quality and quantity (80-96 page books.. front and back of each page..!) that you're getting. I have this one, and I've only completed 2 1/2 pages from it... in the 5 months I've had it (granted I don't color that often cause my thumb goes numb, but it would take me at least a few hours to finish one picture!)

u/photojacker · 4 pointsr/ColorizedHistory

Hello!

Thanks, you are very kind and I'm pleased my colour images have inspired you to do your own. Whilst I have my own way of doing things which have just come out of practice, as a general rule of thumb, I offer the following advice:

  • Don't be afraid to add plenty of saturation - this is important because I see a lot of work that is really devoid of saturated colour, as a sort of strange cognitive reaction to seeing images with too much.

  • More layers increase the perception of realism. For a face, I average about 14 layers of colour. Not the most efficient way of doing things, but the layering up is important, even on a near imperceptible level.

  • It's worth exploring two areas beyond doing your research: the first is trying to understand how light affects colour on different surfaces, and the second is trying to understand how film emulsions affect the final luminosity - I see very little adjustments at the end to correct a washed out blue or a deeply saturated red. /u/mygrapefruit recommended me James Gurney's Color & Light a long time ago, and it's worth buying.

  • Observe how cameras record colour nowadays and try to match it.

  • Practice doing differently lit subjects, and different kinds of images. It really helps.

  • Practice, and do it a lot. Apart from commissions, I have loads of unfinished or incomplete images where I was planning on just exploring a certain technique.

    And lastly...

  • Have patience. This is your biggest asset and there is a temptation to rush on the background details, but it's ignoring those details that give it away.

    Cheers!
u/HalleyOrion · 4 pointsr/learnart

You might find this book helpful. It's more a reference manual than a tutorial, but it provides very excellent information on color.

It's not focused on pixel art, but most of the principles can be carried into pixel art (and any other art style that makes use of color or lighting).

u/CaptainFiddlebottom · 4 pointsr/learnart

Theres so much you need to know to make a good piece, and I'm really only starting to get there after about 4-6 years of off and on 'serious' studying/practice. I also taught myself, used books, dvds, and online articles/tutorials.. with a little assistance from some art school friends for a short period of time.

You're really going to be accumulating a lot of books/dvds/tutorials through the years.. and they're all going to be valuable to you.

Maybe you should pick something you want to focus on.. and then move towards it by practicing everything it encompasses.

Could start with the elements and principles of design.

Composition

Value

Color Theory (Color and Light by James Gurney, Kecleon Color Theory)

Perspective

Life Drawing to understand light/values.

Figure drawing to understand the human figure. (Anatomy books, Figure Drawing For All It's Worth, Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators, Force: Character Design from Life Drawing.) I love the Force books because they taught me how to SEE, INTERPRET, and EXPAND on an idea when it came to figure drawings.


The Animator's Survival Kit/Drawn to Life to understand motion, even if you don't want to be an animator.

Thegnomonworkshop.com has been an invaluable resource to me throughout the years too. (It's mostly digital stuff, but there really is no huge difference. It's all the same principles, just less preparation and knowledge about brush types/liquin. Once you understand how they work.. you're set anyway.)

And I'm constantly searching for more material to help me out. I just bought that Color and Light book because my understanding of how color works was atrocious.

I don't even know if this is going to be all the helpful.. but, uhh.. here. lol TL;DR.

u/Alterscape · 4 pointsr/krita

Unclear without context how long you've been drawing, but, good on ya for posting! A couple of bits of crit:

Have you read Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy? (US Amazon link, but I'm sure if you sail the seven seas you can find PDFs) (Edit: after looking at that, seems like the reviewers also recommend Dynamic Figure Drawing, which apparently has less dense prose and more examples). Was very helpful to me as a teenager trying to figure out drawing bodies, even without life-drawing classes.

Your colors are all really saturated. I still have to fight this today. Part of that's a stylistic thing (your face style says "anime/comic" to me so full saturation is less of a deal?) Maybe try experimenting with slightly lower saturation though and see where that takes you?

Your colors also don't seem to be picking up any of the blue light from the water. You might want to look at some photos of underwater dance to see how the lighting is. Again, I think you're going for a more stylized manga/comic illustration look so you don't have to lean in so far to that, but it might be helpful!

u/badmonkey0001 · 4 pointsr/Stargate

Critique mode enabled...

The sense of perspective in the lower half of the work is outstanding. Really conveys a three dimensional space. The unrealistic anatomy of the shoulders in the top half pretty much throws everything off.

Placing your hand over the top half will give the impression that you're looking at a full 3D render from a mid-level game engine or something. Moving your hand to the bottom starts a weird session of chanting "Liefeld" over and over should you expose the image to a comic-book fan.

Think of how his collarbones would have to be positioned for us to see the patch on his right (our left). Look at how close that right shoulder is to his chin. It's not totally physically impossible for someone to get into such an extreme pose, but Teal'c is no contortionist. I'd recommend picking up a copy of Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth. It is the bible of drawing heroic figures in great poses.

Overall score: http://i.imgur.com/NdKExr6.gifv

[edit: typos]

u/MarmaladeChainsaw · 4 pointsr/ArtCrit

First of all I would say you need to study how light falls on forms and how to make them look 3d. Like iamnikolatesla said, a good way to learn this is by doing still life paintings of simple objects.

Some tips for stuff to look out for when painting an apple:

  • try and get the values as close as possible to what you actually see.
  • pay attention to where the darkest part of the shadow is. (it will not be at the very bottom of the apple because light will reflect off the surface the apple is sitting on)
  • Look at the edges of the apple and the shadow it creates. Some edges should appear softer and some should be sharper.

    To critique your actual painting I would say your proportions are off, I recommend this book, Drawing The Head And Hands by Andrew Loomis. Also when you want to make something darker don't just add black, it makes the painting look muddy. Skin tends to be more saturated in colour in the shadows. Try not to make the whites of the eyes so bright, if you look in a mirror your eyes will not be so bright that they stand out. Lastly, try and think of hair as bigger shapes and don't render it so much, if you keep it simpler it ends up looking much more realistic. Good luck and have fun, faces really are a very difficult subject to paint.
u/rhysium · 4 pointsr/Surface

I don't think I'm really qualified to give any advice... I don't have a lot of formal experience (dabbled 1 quarter as an art major and then ended up getting a CS degree, lol) and have been teaching myself very haphazardly and probably have a lot of bad habits. That said, a book that helped me greatly with anatomy is Loomis's "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth". http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986 and a way to practice it without going to an actual figure drawing session is with a tool like http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/. Concept Cookie http://cgcookie.com/concept/ has some excellent free tutorials, and I really enjoyed watching this recent video by Noah Bradley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfF-P70V2Q It's part of his "ArtCamp" program, which I am seriously eyeing due to its very reasonable cost, but the summer session is already halfway through. Maybe next time! Here's his recommended art education: https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/dont-go-to-art-school-138c5efd45e9#b9fa


And of course the most critical part is to just practice! Draw a lot even when you feel shitty about it! (....I still need to take this to heart myself)

u/TunaNugget · 4 pointsr/pics

You obviously have the drive. Go here next:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241
(but remember: that's just a step, too).

u/Cr4ke · 4 pointsr/Art

Try Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and, well, practice makes perfect.

u/KingOCarrotFlowers · 4 pointsr/IWantToLearn

At the age of 23, with the drawing skill of the average five year old, I decided that I wanted to start learning to draw. A friend / roommate of mine had a book titled Drawing on the right side of the brain, which he swore up and down is the best text for beginners. Basically, if you go through the excersizes, you will learn to be able to draw.

I made it through the book, and I can now draw decently. I highly reccommend it.

u/waahuli · 4 pointsr/AskReddit

Read "Drawing on the right side of the brain." http://www.amazon.com/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241

u/frostylakes · 4 pointsr/comic_crits

Alright, you requested a critique and I've had time to give some thought to your work now.

Right off the bat I'm going to agree with the common sentiment here: The writing is strong. The story has some great propulsion. I'll go as far to say that you know how to write at a fairly proficient level. That's excellent! To paraphrase the guy who made Beetle Bailey, you can be an unskilled artist and still have people read your comics, but you can't be an unskilled writer.

Here's where the actual critique of detailed points starts.

Off the bat, the art is very rough. Like the art of anyone who is starting out, the art here shows a lack of practice. It seems like you know what you want to do, but don't have the mastery over the basics that is necessary to execute on it the way you want to. There are plenty of ways to build these skills. For human figures, figure drawing with a live model will help immensely in understanding how humans work, and help you understand how your favorite artists have stylized their work with their own understanding of human anatomy, which in turn should help you take what you have here and turn it into something closer to what you want from it, or at least what I'm assuming you want from it.

However, despite it being rough on a technical level, you achieved something very cool with the character designs. Morris is drawn in a much more insane-looking, much less realistic looking way to Angela White, which lends to us, as readers, feeling that insanity even before we're told. Combined with the warped camera angles you use when he encounters the alien warden and surreal pages we get when he is being questioned ends up reinforcing this idea that he is insane. White is drawn more like a reasonable human being by comparison, and this reinforces the idea that we should trust her. You've used the medium to your advantage despite being unrefined in skill. You have a good sense of how to approach these things that will only serve you further if you decide to improve your drawing skills.

You've got some interesting paneling going on, and I do not want to discourage that experimentation, but I do want to give you feedback on the effect it has had on your page flow and balance.


On Page 4 you've got a problem with the weight of the composition along with the overall flow of the page. My eye was drawn around the page as the red line indicates. Everything about the page wants to keep your eyes on the right side of the page (this is what I mean by weight, you could think of it as a kind of gravity as well) until you reach the bottom of the page where you are given an invitation to move back up the page into the center and left-hand side. This creates a situation where a reader who is taking in the art and isn't just reading from text box to text box will read the panels as I've indicated with the green numbers, rather than the intended reading order indicated with the blue. I can see that you did think about the flow of this page and it looks like it is intended to flow like this, but the text itself in the first box of text leaves your eye in a place where it wants to be pulled down by the slope of the Metro Waste dumpster when you're done reading it, undermining the page flow. If there is a less to be learned about this specific page, I think it's that text leads the eye as much as shape and rhythm, and keeping that in mind when you are designing a page will help you control the reader's eye more effectively in the future.

There are similar issues on some other pages. The layout itself in many cases is perfectly fine, the problem ends up being the flow of the page leading the reader to read the dialogue out of order, making for a confusing experience. Don't you dare think that I'm telling you to stop being so ambitious with your layouts. I don't think that's the answer at all. Keep trying to make these work. Keep these things in mind when making your own pages and while reading other people's comics. When something works, figure out why. When it doesn't, ask yourself why.

You can use a disjointed or chaotic pageflow to your advantage though. I don't really know if there is a name for this in comics, but in music there is the idea of "word painting", which is when music matches up with the meaning of the song. This page of A Lesson Is Learned, But The Damage Is Irreversible does just that. As the tidal wave hits and the man goes outside, the page gets more and more chaotic. You'll be scanning things twice and trying to figure out what is going on, but you still have the flow of the water in the center of the page to return to to guide you through the image, as well as sudden, clear borders in color creating panels without using panel gutters. It's really just the illusion of chaos, but this is what can be achieved through a solid understanding of how to guide the eye through a page. It's a pretty well known example among people who read a lot of webcomics I think. I'd highly recommend giving their archive a read.

You attempted something interesting on this page right here. The motion of the hammer going from resting position to smack dab into the Alien Warden's head was a cool, good idea. From the other comments here, I see that you have read Understanding Comics, and so probably remember from that book that Scott McCloud equates the space between panels to time. What happens between any two panels? Time passes. With so many panels and no other indications of speed, despite being probably one of my favorite things you attempted here (I do really love when motion is created in a still image, which you totally achieved!), it feels very slow, like he's sort of pushing the hammer into the Warden's head rather than a quick and violent bash that the situation seems to call for. I otherwise like what you did with this page. There are a number of ways you could change the perceived speed of the attack, from using less frames to complete the action (animation techniques like less frames = less time apply here), to somehow indicating that it only felt slow somehow and using that "time" for some purpose. Like any advice given here, it's mostly just trying to arm you to make more informed decisions in the future, not tell you what to do flat out.

Bringing it back to this musical idea of "word painting", here is Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie using the technique you used above to create a wonderful scene. You're on the right track by attempting these things.

The reading order on this page doesn't seem right to me. The red numbers are the order I read them in, and the blue are what I perceived to be the intended reading order. It appears you're supposed to read it in a clockwise motion, but there's nothing to actually indicate that to the reader, which will leave them lost momentarily. I really enjoy the line of action you have created for just the character's head in panel 1, and I find the final panel on the page to be delightfully creepy.

So, as far as actionable advice goes, working on your technical skills is the most obvious place to improve. Keys to Drawing and Perspective Made Easy are both books that focus on some basics that will help you improve. If you can, a figure drawing class is probably the best way to learn how to draw people, along with studying anatomy on your own time. If you can't do that, you can draw timed from photos, but drawing from life is definitely best. I haven't read a whole lot of horror comics, but I know that with those I have, grotesque detail often heightens the feelings of unease and can get me feeling squeamish. Junji Ito comes to mind for that. If you haven't read it, maybe The Enigma of Amigara Fault could provide some visual inspiration. Ito's other works often go more overtly detailed and grotesque, so it's possible that you may want to look further into him if he isn't already someone you've read.

You'll notice I haven't much touched on your story in detail. I could, and if you want to I will to the best of my ability, but I wanted to cover the art bit first since you seem to have a better handle on telling a story at the moment, and because this has gone on long and might be better digestible in parts anyway.

I hope this is helpful.

u/Fey_fox · 4 pointsr/learnart

Holey muffins yes, without the basics you will never improve.

In order to draw something you must be able to (in an artistic sense) understand it's nature. Like how a cylinder sits in space, how to draw light, how muscles and bones sit in the body (anatomy), all that.

A good cartoonist always has learned to draw realistically first. To give a cartoon body a sense of realism you need to get how real bodies work. Basically you got to know the rules before you can break them.

You can go to a used book store and go to the art section and pick up anatomy books and life drawing books pretty easily. If you see anything by this author, grab it. When you draw from life, start with simple stuff first like just a ball, or an opaque glass like a mug, or even a box where you can see the interior. Don't smudge the graphite, and don't press too hard with it either. Learn how to create light and shadow with the graphite alone.

The more you draw realistically the better you will get. It may not be the topics that excite you, but these exercises that don't seem as much fun are the way to get you to get better at drawing the stuff that is fun.

Good luck

u/Pankin · 4 pointsr/3DMA

I think you're on the right track, definitely spend time modeling and animating before leaving your current job.

I would recommend getting started doing modeling and rigging yourself (then feel free to use pre-built rigs and such if you want). This is basically just so you know what's going on behind the scenes of rigs you'll use in the future. Even if you never create a model or rig throughout your career as an animator at a studio (which many times may be the case), you'll have the knowledge to communicate with modelers / riggers to get what you need to animate.

For animation, I do think it's worthwhile to have some experience in 2D animation (a little easier to get started in and helps you practice fundamentals you'll end up using in 3D) Acting for Animators, Animators Survival Kit, and Drawn to Life are all highly recommended books for 2D animation. Oh, and good news! you can practice all the fundamentals of animation with stick figures!

On that note, I would highly recommend practicing drawing. Ctrl+Paint has some decent video things on drawing and painting. While you don't need to be Da Vinci to go into modeling / animation (I'm not great at drawing / painting myself) it does help to be able to sketch out quick ideas (concepts for models, storyboards, etc). Just a little practice each day goes a long way!

As far as 3D software goes, it depends on where you work what you'll use, but the fundamentals will all be roughly the same. The company I work at uses Motion Builder for our animation, though I primarily use Maya for any work (and I know plenty of people using 3DS Max, Blender, and other software for the whole process). Some companies may even use proprietary software that you have no access to outside of the company and will expect you to learn it after being hired. Just stick with whatever you use, learn it well and you'll be able to transfer that knowledge into whatever software you'll need in the future

TL;DR Take your time, learn some 2D animation, draw stuff, and learn a 3D modeling / animation program like the back of your hand.

PS. I know a lot of people say you don't NEED 2D animation, and I'm not saying you NEED to know it, it's just useful.

u/Yung__Buck · 4 pointsr/animation

Getting good at drawing is like getting in shape: sadly there's no easy way to do it other than to be disciplined and work hard at it every day. Enroll in a figure drawing class. Ask friends to sit for you for 2/5/10/20 minute poses. Draw from life as much as possible, anywhere. Go to a cafe and do a big panoramic spread of the whole room. Go to an art store and buy a bunch of different drawing materials; don't just draw with pencil. Get some pens, force yourself to draw without an eraser. Look at the masters like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Ingres or contemporary artists like Alex Katz and David Hockney. Look at what techniques they're using with their figures, what kind of lines, how do they render volume. Copy from them and steal from them. Pick a new artist every week and try out drawing like them. The most important thing: draw all the time, draw everything you see. You won't get better unless you do it all the time. If you keep it up for even six months, you'll notice a big change, and it will make jumping into animation much easier (you'll know how to do perspective, pose characters, rotates volumes in your head, etc).

Here are a couple of animation specific drawing books that you might find useful/inspiring: Drawn to Life http://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449817164&sr=1-1&keywords=drawn+from+life // The Animators Survival Kit (mostly an animation book, but opens with a great chapter about drawing) http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/086547897X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449817420&sr=1-1&keywords=animation+survival+kit

u/stilesjp · 4 pointsr/Art

couple of things.

One, with the watercolors. Suggest things. Don't outline them. Things in real life don't have outlines. They have shadows behind them, or darker colors.

Two, take your phone number off your site. Unless you feel comfortable with it up there, and it's a throwaway number.

Three, keep drawing. Every day. And if you're really interested in portraits or the human figure, get an anatomy book. Bridgeman has a huge one called Constructive Anatomy. Get some tracing paper and trace the book 3 or 4 times. You'll see a difference almost immediately.

Good luck!

u/WingHallow · 4 pointsr/Calligraphy

I learned copperplate first, and now do it a little more freehand, it's not truly copperplate at this point. These two books have been incredibly helpful to me :)

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Copperplate-Calligraphy-Step-Step/dp/0486409511/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AP5DQ18Y53SR62ED2AD

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Calligraphy-Everything-Started-Script/dp/1250016320

u/Cartwheels4Days · 4 pointsr/learntodraw

Hello! Would love good resources for Disney-style art, if you could spare those.


Here are some of the best things I've found for comic art

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way A classic. Can be bought used for next to nothing. My only gripe is that it moves very fast and superficially

Incredible Comics with Tom Nguyen: He has a really clean style. Communicates a lot with very few lines. Excellent resource.


How to Draw: Heroic Anatomy More advanced resource. Uses a lot more lines and shading.


Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels How to construct the actual comic panels and books


u/RJ_Ramrod · 4 pointsr/ComicWriting

OP you can't learn everything all at once, so you're gonna have to start from the ground up and grind your way toward proficiency in different skills individually

I would strongly recommend setting this particular piece aside for the time being and stop thinking about what else you can do to improve upon it—it's about as good as it's going to get right now

Instead, get your hands on a few big newsprint pads and burn through them, focusing exclusively on your penciling and your ability to recreate 3D forms at will—start with basic geometry and work your way up to putting them together into humanoid shapes and then fleshing them out—this is all about developing a skill called "drawing through the page," where you can look at a blank page and already sort of see how things are going to fit together and what the finished product will look like

Later (much later) you can come back to this page as a reference, and practice telling the same short little sequence in different ways, with different numbers of panels and different layouts, focusing on different things, etc.

You don't need to worry about inking for awhile—but if you really want to, Google for examples of other artists' work, find some of their unfinished pencils, and play around with inking those in various ways to achieve different feelings/emotions/tones/effects

But definitely spend a lot of time scribbling and sketching on that newsprint, because it's the most important investment you can possibly make right now in your future as an artist

edit: also because you asked about resources, this is a fairly old but still excellent primer on everything you're working on learning

But if you're anything at all like me and find it next to impossible to learn things from reading about then in books, seriously consider seeing if you can find a life drawing class you can join—your local community college is a great place to start, as they often give non-students the opportunity to audit classes, and those classes are usually small enough that you can get a decent amount of individual attention from the instructors

u/Dionysus_Eye · 4 pointsr/learntodraw

i just started with "You can draw in 30 days" http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

only 10 days in and already i'm seeing an improvement!

day1: http://imgur.com/vqnEDgg

day9: http://imgur.com/tbwyGbc

u/NotchedWhip · 4 pointsr/learntodraw
u/neverwhere86 · 3 pointsr/animation

You'll need to get the basics down, using resources such as these will help you learn the Principles of Animation:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0571238343/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=30T6VO4VE88VV&coliid=I1WXJPDZ88EXNM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XGJ08AG811TMQCZ3Y3QZ

Then there's software such as OpenToonz (2d) and Blender (3D) that are free open source options for you to put your work into practice. YouTube tutorials and trial and error are a great way to learn. If you can't figure something out, Google it.
Lastly, draw. A lot. Every day. https://line-of-action.com/ is a great resource for reference images for anything from 10 second gesture sketches to full on concept poses.

Good luck!

u/Tricky_e · 3 pointsr/animation

Luckily,you live now! Lots and lots of information for free on this here internetz.

John K has an online curriculum for drawing cartoons. If you go through all the links in order on that page, your skills will almost certainly improve a little!

But to be honest, it will only get you so far. If you really want to learn how to draw, I would recommend The Natural Way To Draw.

It's a book that contains about a years worth of a drawing course. It's more suited to life drawing, but the skills learned here will transfer into your imaginative work (hopefully!).

Much of the drawing techniques I learned at uni come straight from that book.

One important thing you need to get your head around now though; don't worry aboutmaking nice pictures. That isnt your aim now. Your aim now is just to learn how to train your hand to spit out exactly what is in your head. This takes time. Years, even.

So if you dont produce beautiful art straight away, don't worry. They say you got 10,000 shitty drawings to get through before you get to the good stuff, so just start working through those and have fun learning.

I would recommend thinking of your drawings as completely disposable right now. Its about learning the skill, not making beautiful art. I'd recommend the cheapest, nastiest paper (utterly disposable) and lots of it!

If you ever want critiques or some help, hit me up :D

Oh yeah, and if you really want to level up, be prepared to have your work seriously critiqued, you have to put your ego aside :)

u/just_broke_up · 3 pointsr/LifeProTips

You might wanna check out this. I don't have high aspirations of becoming a visual artist, but I find that his technique helps me concentrate on one thing and one thing alone. Very good if your depression takes the form of a million judgmental thoughts in your head.

u/kaldrazidrim · 3 pointsr/pics

Keep it up! I want to recommend two books to you. The first was used as the curriculum in my Figure Drawing class: The Natural Way to Draw - Nicolaides

The other is called Constructive Anatomy and takes the mystery out of those trouble spots like hands and faces.

u/42147 · 3 pointsr/Sleepycabin

This book is the quintessential drawing book full of exercises to do. Highly recommend looking into it.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-Way-Draw-Working/dp/0395530075

u/bobthefish · 3 pointsr/learnart

Let's start with the basics, when you draw people, there are average ratios for a person's face and body. I would recommend picking up Jack Hamm's books: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-How-Handbook/dp/0399507914/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

it's great for beginners.

Here's an excerpt to give you an idea of what I'm talking about: People are around 7 1/2 heads, idealized people are around 8 heads (https://witness2fashion.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/8-head-figure-jack-hamm-drawing-the-head-and-figure.jpg)

Faces, notice the width of the nose, the angle between the eyes and the bottom of the nose, etc... this should give you an approximation of getting closer to a correct face (http://loyalkng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/jack-hamms-drawing-the-head-figure-eyes-sketchbook-pervy.jpg)

Once you've achieved satisfactory ratios for face and body, and you're quite close to getting it right every time. Then move onto doing Bargue plates.

u/indigoshift · 3 pointsr/learnart

Start with Figure Drawing For All Its Worth. It's worth its weight in gold. Those Loomis books are available in softcover at Amazon again, which is good.

Also pick up Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm.

Both those books are a fantastic way to get started! Not only do they show you anatomy, but also composition, perspective, and all the other fundamentals you'll need to get started.

u/spaceicecream · 3 pointsr/learnart

Anatomy books are the real deal, but not always inspirational starting points. The important thing to practice when drawing people, is proportions...as in why are the figure's arms too short and legs too long. You might want to look at a book that doesn't obsess over where muscles go on huge naked men. For example, http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321976718&sr=8-2


But most importantly, don't burn out on this stuff. Remember to draw what you love and have fun once and a while. With the right mindset to improve, you can only get better.

u/robodrew · 3 pointsr/ZBrush

IMO go lower in resolution. Focus on form first before you do any detailing. I would also highly suggest diving into this book and making it everything you think about:

https://www.amazon.com/Constructive-Anatomy-Dover-Artists/dp/0486211045

edit: another great one: https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Anatomy-Expanded-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015521

u/Sat-AM · 3 pointsr/FurryArtSchool

Looks pretty good!

In the future, I'd suggest that you try to think structurally, building up basic forms before you try to solidify your contours. A professor I had in school used to repeat to us, "Earn your edges." What that means is that you should understand the forms that are in your image, and then define your contours based on those. What's a sphere? A cube? A cylinder? A combination of any of those? A distortion of those? Where is the cheekbone? The eye sockets? What can you break the shape of the bridge of the nose down to?

Obviously, you're not really going to know any of that just by default! That's when you bring in reference as you need it! Whenever you attempt to draw something, look references up for it. If you're drawing an ocelot, try looking at photos of them from various angles. See if you can discern what forms make up their heads. If you're not squeamish, you might even consider finding pictures of their skulls to really understand the underlying structure. Draw them as close to the references as you can! Start your sketch lightly and decide "This is a cube. I can take this cube and remove chunks to make the head shape. Here's a wedge shape. It fits here." After you've got this lightly drawn in, move on to darker pencils and start refining your edges. You can use those forms you defined to start deciding where light will go and how it'll behave on your drawing!

If you haven't already, I suggest you pick up copies of George Bridgman's Constructive Anatomy and Louise Gordon's How to Draw The Human Figure: An Anatomical Approach. Both of these books are chock full of information about breaking things down into simpler shapes and understanding what goes on under the skin of a figure, which is very applicable to anthro art!

u/worldseed · 3 pointsr/learnart

Proko is probably the best for this on Youtube. His website is good too. Constructive Anatomy is a nice cheap book. I have Figure Drawing: Design and Invention which I really like, but it's a bit more expensive. The author also has a good website

u/CottonSkeleton · 3 pointsr/Watercolor

Water in my experience is a lot trickier. Again, you've got a great start by using thinner lines on the stems to show they're behind a transparent object. Since the thickness of the stems is similar below and above the water level, you could make the line even thinner (like, super thin implied baby lines) when it's underwater. Or, you could forego linework completely and rely on colour to show the form (which I think looks super cool with watercolours).

I think using a thin line for the water surface worked well. A way to push the depth further would be to use perspective. Continue the water line around the back of the vase to show the surface of the water as a flat circle, instead of a curved 2D line - image searching 'cylinder in perspective' can show I mean. If you do this, it's best to be consistent and do the same with the vase as well, otherwise it looks kinda weird.

Another theory about line weight applies to objects in perspective - the further an object is from the viewer, the less detail the viewer sees, so the line work should be thinner as the object moves back.

You've got the right idea about using colours to show some reflection on the surface of the water. I think by using perspective to turn it into a flat plane instead of a line, it'll also make it easier for you to visualize when you try to add those reflections.

As for colouring underwater, that's... something I'm still learning myself lol

There's lots of information out there on the internet about perspective and colour theory that goes into way more depth (hah) than I can, but if you're looking for books check out Color and Light by James Gurney and Perspective Made Easy by Ernest Norling.

u/fanatical · 3 pointsr/learntodraw

You have some options.

If you wish to simply attain some better looking results and not have to be burdened with the long and arduous process of learning to draw intuitively, I'd recommend you look into the sight-size method of drawing. Where you set up your canvas next to your subject, whether it's a picture or a model and measure angles and distances in a "one to one" ratio kind of way. this will produce very accurate results and placement of features and works very well as a blocking in method. From there on it's just all practice. And understanding how to measure is a useful skill in and of itself.

Unfortunately I don't dabble much with sight-size anymore, although I recognize its benefits. I can't give you any good material, but from a glance, https://www.sightsize.com/ probably isn't a bad idea to start.

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If time is of no concern I would recommend you start on the long and slow and painful process of understanding construction. To do so you'll need a very good grasp of forms in perspective. 1,2 and 3 point perspective being the most used. (sometimes 4, but it's not essential unless you're looking at specific effects). Understanding forms in perspective, usually starting with boxes, will lead you onto understanding how to light forms in perspective. From there you can go on to lighting forms in perspective and these kinds of methods and practice of drawing every living and non-living thing under the sun are the basics of all drawing. And from there it's a lot of practice. Years of practice. This is the past most kids try to go down these days because they want to be able to.. in their own imaginations... "draw from imagination". A term that's so overused and misunderstood that it will most likely cause my ulcer to burst and kill me on the spot one day. But it is the road to the aforementioned "intuitive" way of drawing, were you use the same method for basically everything. And you'll simply be relying on reference to guide the information you choose for your work, rather than having a need to copy what you see religiously.

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Good material for learning perspective, are Scott Robertson's books, but they can be .. a bit heavy for beginners, so as an introduction, "Perspective made easy" is a decent grab

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perspective-Made-Easy-Dover-Instruction/dp/0486404730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549974784&sr=8-1&keywords=perspective+made+easy

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As for construction. I'm partial to Karl Gnass head drawing book and Michael Hampton's Figure drawing design and invention.

https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819

https://www.amazon.com/Head-Shots-Artists-Guide-Drawing/dp/0975281232

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I hope I haven't confused you too much. What I think you should do is to practice both of these methods, and if faster results to compliment your painting is your cup of tea, I would recommend sight-size. If you are simply drawing for your own enjoyment and personal progression, I would recommend looking into perspective, simple forms in perspective and then use that as a starting point for construction.

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People will undoubtedly mention anatomy, but I tend to leave that bit out until it presents itself naturally.

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Mind you. This is just my opinion. Others may have other and/or better ideas for your personal goals.

u/shaolinphunk · 3 pointsr/learnart

There is a book I used named Perspective Made Easy by Ernest Cline. It takes about a day to read and has exercises to follow along. It has helped me incredibly and is a great tool to learn the basics.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0486404730/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487822251&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=perspective+made+easy

u/tlf9888 · 3 pointsr/Calligraphy

Hello, all!

This is the first sentence I've (attempted) to write in Copperplate. I know it needs quite a bit of work so I thought I'd ask for suggestions.

Right now I'm using a Pilot Plumix until my nib, holder, and dip ink arrives. I'm using a Rhodia notebook. I'm working with this book, which is where I got the sentence from.

So far, I know:

  • my angle needs work
  • my spacing needs work
  • my "x" is terrible, and
  • my loops are not consistent

    Could anyone please point me to any other areas of improvement?
u/jemath · 3 pointsr/Calligraphy

You can get a decent set for cheap. I'll write this up as if you are looking for entry-level stuff - not the fancy stuff. If you want fancier stuff, I will have to defer to someone else. One thing that I didnt realize when I started calligraphy is how much studying and practicing I would need to do. If you want to do it right, you shouldnt just dive in. You really need to study the forms, and techniques for making the proper strokes. One book I have says that calligraphy is more similar to painting than to handwriting and you probably woundnt expect to just start painting without practicing, right?

At a minimum, you just need a pen with a nib ($10), ink ($5) and paper ($20). Speedball makes good beginner sets.

Books

Personally, I like the 1800s script-y stuff with a little modern thrown in. I have been working out of Mastering Coppoer Plate Calligraphy and Modern Calligraphy: Everything You Need to Know To Get Started In Script Calligraphy. The former book is more technical and is strictly about practicing and technique. The latter will go into more detail about supplies, writing media, and finding your personal style. I think they complement each other well.

Pen

If you dont know what she likes, I would recommend both a straight holder and an oblique holder. A straight holder is good for broad nib stuff (italic and gothic) and modern calligraphy whereas an oblique holder is good for 1800s script-y stuff. Scroll down to the NIB HOLDER CHARACTERISTICS section for a reference image. The speedball sets often come with a nice variety of nibs to swap in and out. Otherwise, you have to hand pick the nibs and that will probably be above your pay grade (I know its above mine!)

Ink

Ink shouldnt really make too much of a difference for a beginner. Just get anything for calligraphy. Again, Speedball has decent stuff for cheap.

Paper

Paper is really important. These pens will put a lot of ink on the paper so the paper needs to be able to absorb it and maintain clean, straight lines. This guy did not choose good paper for his project so you can see how it bleeds. Rhodia makes good paper notebooks. Its more expensive than regular notebooks but it will still be worth it. The really good calligraphers use fancy paper, but this often requires extra skill that your fiance might not be ready for.

Extras

Instead of ink, some people use watercolor or gouche. These can be a lot of fun to use and make a big difference in the final product. They are a little more advanced, but shouldnt be too difficult. She should really be pretty competent with her skill before getting into this stuff. You dont want to use your expensive gouche for practice sessions.

u/spicypenis · 3 pointsr/fountainpens

Thanks! It's nothing compared to the folks over /r/calligraphy though. I started practicing a few months ago with this. Long as you have patience, you can write better than I do in no time!

u/Kallistrate · 3 pointsr/learnart

I have a ton of comic art instruction books which I will check when I get the chance, but the closest one off the top of my head is the classic How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way. It's John Buscema and not Jack Kirby, but it might be the closest you'll find to the early Marvel style (if you're going for characters).

u/Myriaderoc · 3 pointsr/gigantic

Step 1: Buy "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671530771/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_pMmeAbVDBX1NP

Step 2: Go to Deviant Art, Twitter, Tumblr, Fur Affinity, CG Society, or other artist hub and look for tutorials. You can also be specific and look for certain species. A search for "frog fighter" might net you results similar to Wu. "Dragon taur" will get you things like Charnok. "Retro female gunner" might result in things like Beckett.

Step 3: Take what you learned in steps 1 and 2 and apply it to works by the most impactful artists you've come across. Download their work, trace, and deconstruct it into simple forms. Learn the foundational shapes and proportions they used. Study the detail and technique. Check out progress or timelapse videos. Remember that this is for learning. Do not post or claim this work as your own, and do not fixate excessively on one artist -- develop your own style.

Also consider doing timed practice sketches imitating things you like. Timed sketches make a HUGE difference if you stick with them. Spend an hour doing 30 second to 10 minute sketches. https://www.quickposes.com/en/gestures/timed and http://www.posemaniacs.com/thirtysecond are good examples.

Step 4: Come up with your own scenes, characters, and environments from scratch. Practice what you learned. It will be bad. You must be a bad artist before you can be a good one. Join an artist community and you might grow a following, or posting art will at least get other artists to let you into their circles. I know I treat other artists (and good commenters) differently than randoms. Some artists create their own characters or adoptables with various features that you can use as creative inspiration. Don't copy -- be inspired.

Step 5: Consider checking out programming for a local art, comic, gaming, or furry convention. These usually attract artists. Some (like me) will run panels trying to help newer artists.

Tools you need: Paper and pencil. Consider a set of pencils at different hardnesses. Stick to greyscale before moving to color. Also consider PC pen tablets with pressure sensitivity, but beware the urge to over use undo and fixate on little details and perfection. Adopt an "on to the next" mentality so you do not burn out.

u/_speezy · 3 pointsr/Earwolf

For those interested in drawing Brock the Marvel way: Here you go

u/combatchuck · 3 pointsr/learntodraw

I realize that this is a quick sketch, but you're asking for critique, so here goes.

You have to learn to draw spheres before you can draw boobs. Work on the basic shapes first. Spheres, cylinders, cubes. Learn to shade them, how light interacts. Then move on to anatomy and what muscles go where, how they attach to the skeleton, and what skin does on top of them. And as much fun as it is to draw a naked lady, that picture already exists. And if you learn shapes, anatomy, and shading, you don't have to draw from a reference if you don't want to.

EDIT: I see a lot of people making good progress using this guy's lessons: http://drawabox.com/ Personally, I can't speak to their effectiveness because I learned most of what I know a long time ago from Stan Lee and John Buscema.

u/ryanoh · 3 pointsr/drawing

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-The-Marvel/dp/0671530771

Seriously, buy that.

What kind of comic art are you interested in? Old school stuff? New stuff? Manga? Ligne claire?

u/soapdealer · 3 pointsr/TrueFilm

I think what Siskel means has more to do with the Silver Age Jack Kirby comics style than what we may think of in contemporary comics.

I think you'd sum up the style by saying there's an extreme emphasis on dramatic, exaggerated angles (including Dutching the camera to achieve this) and a deep frames with a large space between foreground and background achieved through wide angle lenses.

u/Crystal_Charmer · 3 pointsr/SanctionedSuicide

I will to bet after you get this book you will be more then amazed of what you are capable of- https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510439433&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=you+cna+sraw+in+30+days. Its seriously one of the best books to learn how to draw, and lots of fun.

u/beckys32 · 3 pointsr/infp

http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415?sa-no-redirect=1

This is a great book for those wanting to develop a few drawing skills and some confidence. I highly recommend it to begin with. I've found myself revisiting parts of it when I feel like I need a refresher.

u/puppy_time · 3 pointsr/DigitalPainting

No, although the further you recede, the less saturated everything is, including the shadows, but also the highlights. Atmospheric perspective indicates that they start to fade into the color of the sky...but what I meant was (and this happens to everyone starting out) you picked the colors of the sky, mountain, road, as colors that you think each of those elements are. So, grass is green, right? okay I'll pick a shade of green. The road is grey, right? Okay so pick grey for the road...when in reality light is a little more complicated than that, and a pleasant composition requires a cohesive color scheme. It means picking a different color for the road even though you think of it as 'grey' you simulate grey by choosing a less saturated green for example, or blue or whatever you have in your color palette.

This book is a wonderful reference and talks more about it if you're interested. The author made this video that explains a couple exercises you can do that will help.

u/Choppa790 · 3 pointsr/ArtistLounge
u/Axikita · 3 pointsr/learnart

I would suggest picking up Gurney's Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter.

Color theory is a technical subject, it can be taught, and Gurney does an excellent job of teaching it. To touch briefly on the example question you brought up, the temperature and color of your highlights and shadows (and even midtones) will depend on your lighting conditions. For example, a sunny outdoor scene will have warm highlights and cool shadows.

That amazon link has a preview, I encourage you to poke through the table of contents. I think the book does a good job of showing how to put the abstract color relationships you already know into practice.

u/kmichruss · 3 pointsr/NoIJustColoredIt

Color theory is such a monster. That's why I haven't really tackled it yet, because others have done it better than I ever could.

I would say this is required reading for colorists: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719
It's a painting book, but most of it applies to both.

And if you haven't seen Sycra's YouTube videos on light, shadow, and choosing colors, go watch it... TONIGHT! It's so good.

I just updated the sidebar with that book and Sycra's video links.

I've got a new video coming on Thursday that talks a little about using gradient maps to come up with color palettes, but it's really just a short cut to get you a good starting point.

I will do a video on palettes soon. It keeps coming up. I recently added a bonus video that talks about it in my coloring course, but I can throw a little something on YouTube too.

u/itsoverbuddyboyo · 3 pointsr/IncelExit

I want to make it into a website, but I haven't done that part yet. Right now, it is just standalone, so you can only run it if you have the code.

I do digital art, watercolor and acrylic. No one knows though lol. Can't get myself to go to local clubs for that stuff.

You should read : https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

It is a very good book for color theory.

u/conteaparis · 3 pointsr/learnart

Gurney is a great resource for beginning painters. He goes really in depth about how colours work, how to use them, how to pick a palette, etc. This book by Richard Yot takes it a step further and teaches you why colour (and light more specifically) behaves the way it does, and will help you learn to properly observe colour from real life. Those are my go to resources. They are both enjoyable reads too, not overly verbose with many clear examples.

However, all the books in the world won't help you unless you actually take the time to put it all into practice. What you need is to learn about colour, yes, but also start making some paintings where you apply some of those concepts. A simple still life is a good place to start. Once you can do that, you might look into painting outdoor landscapes for a more dynamic lighting situation. Even if your paintings suck at first, the act of observing, analyzing, and trying to conceptualize light/colour from observation will gradually build up your familiarity with colour. It's no different from drawing, really. You just have to do the thing to get better at it.

u/EyesOnEverything · 3 pointsr/DotA2

Unfortunately there's no definitive guide for that kind of stuff, and it comes to different artists in different ways. "No-outline art" encompasses an awful lot, and it's kind of hard to know where the difference begins. There's no one step-by-step tutorial that's better than any others, just a basic set of rules that, when applied by different artists, create a lot of different results!

For general painterly-looking stuff, I would recommend this book. I've found it really helpful, since I struggle with color and a painterly look in particular.

Reddit has some gems hidden in the rough as well. There are several art subreddits. Some of them are pretty dead, but they'll usually have some links in their sidebar to resources! This one's alright, and you can look around their related subs to go from sub to sub! I found this user mulling around /r/redditgetsdrawn. There's tons of speed-paint videos out there, but his are faster and looser while still coming together really nicely in the end. It's a good example of simplified painterly style, although that doesn't mean he's any less talented!

Sorry to not be more help, that's a very big question! There are resources all over, half the trouble is knowing how and where to look.

u/sketchius · 3 pointsr/learnart

When the surface of a body of water is not still, like this, it will refract light onto objects below that will looks something like this or this. You could try appying that sort of light pattern on your sea floor, but I think it would be challenging.

The further (or deeper) light travels through water, the more it is affected by the water molecules. This scatters the light, making more ambient, or coming from all directions.

Color is also important in an underwater scene. James Gurney explains this in his book, Color and Light.
> Water selectively filters out colors of light passing through it. Red is mostly absorbed at ten feet, Orange and yellow wavelenths are gone by twenty feet, leaving a blue cast.

So, I would recommend toning down your reds, oranges, and yellows, to give it a more underwater quality.

Also, keep in mind that even blue light gets absorbed, given enough distance, making far-away objects difficult to see. You might consider fading out some of the background sharks and terrain.

I took the liberty of doing a quick paintover to show what I mean with the colors and fading.

But in terms of the light and shadow itself, I think you could still have a weak light source from above (the sun), combined with an ambient bluish light. Your illustration is quite strong as is, and I don't know if the lighting need to get super-realistic.

u/AK_Art · 3 pointsr/painting

If you're looking a book that's about color overall, definitely look at James Gurney's Color and Light.

It is THE resource every artist should own regardless of skill. As for mixing colors and paints, I can't provide too much there, but try Jeff Miracola. He's a fantasy painter who does mostly acrylic work, but he's got a lot of tutorials and walkthroughs that may be of assistance.

Color theory and application can be difficult to master, and hopefully these resources can get you on a path to other resources that may be valuable.

u/surecmeregoway · 3 pointsr/tumblr

I bought this book years ago, when I started to get more into landscapes and colour theory. It's a good book, with solid advice.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0740797719/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Beyond that, observation and experimentation are invaluable. Don't be afraid to try different colors on things, see how they mesh and work. Don't be afraid to repaint. Knowing what works becomes natural over time, I swear. You'll instinctively know what colors to choose to enable a specific mood and how to easily mix them.

It's also not just about colour. It's about the hue, the saturation and the value. Value = dark and light. Hue = the shade. Saturation = how 'strong' or muted that color is. How close to neutral grey it is. Like, the image on the left doesn't seem to have a strong contrast in the foreground, but it does have red (okay, it's orange but orange is only red+yellow) and green shades which are complimentary colors: so it pops. The red is warm, it's inviting. The image on the right ditches a lot of the saturation in favor of strong color values, colors are muted (except for the green) and cool , there's no warmth in this image and that fence is a sharp, dark (ominous) contrast to the misty grey/neutral-ish background. Saturation and value play as much as part as just color when it comes to mood.

But this can all be learned and really easily! Youtube is also great for this kind of stuff.

u/wiseoldtabbycat · 3 pointsr/HunterXHunter

> If there is literature/links/methods that you find especially effective (particularly for a newbie with 0 experience) I would be grateful. %)

Michael Hampton is my favourite anatomy artist

All of Andrew Loomis's books are available at that link, they are completely invaluable - I particularly recommend "fun with a pencil" for newbies

learn to paint with Reilly's Papers absolutely invaluable for digital painting.

Posemaniacs is my favourite site for practicing gesture drawing and poses, the pose timer is fantastic.

James Gurney is the king of imaginative realism, follow his blog and buy his books they will serve you very well.

linesandcolours is a wonderful art blog

Most importantly - read and keep a record of artists you enjoy, don't be afraid to try out their styles and techniques and copy your favourite paintings - "mastercopying" is a legitimate technique for learning how to improve your own work - as they say "all art is theft".

And the best advice I can give you - have fun with what you do. Keep multiple projects on the go, big and small. If you aren't in the mood to do a big painting, make something shitty and hilarious in MS paint. Find someone to art-trade with (hell, I'll art trade with you anytime - I'm always looking for people to collab and share with). Don't be scared to make absolute crap because being loose and free with your work at any level of complexity teaches you not be precious and will ultimately make you a more relaxed artist.

u/ObeyMyBrain · 3 pointsr/artistspeakeasy

Maybe the James Gurney books, Imaginative Realism and Color and Light

u/186394 · 3 pointsr/learnart

Color and Light by James Gurney.
How to Draw by Scott Robertson.
Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton.

And for perspectice specifically, this $12 video series by Marshall Vandruff.

u/CathulianCG · 3 pointsr/animation

Hey, I'm a CG Lighting artist by trade, I'll let you know some good resources that have helped me.

As a lighter, your goal is things things, Setting the mood/atmosphere, Shaping (making sure you can make out forms of the scene), and Leading the eye (I feel like there is a fourth, but I can't think of it this morning lol)

Some good books to read:

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

Light for Visual Artists (hard book to find, but worth finding a copy)

Digital Lighting and Rendering(new edition coming out soon)

Great resources to start and help train your eye, studying films is the next step. Picking apart scenes to understand how and why they lit the scene the way they did, studying photography is a great place to look as well.

Also if you can afford it, TD-U has a fantastic online course from a couple of great instructors to help you on your way of understanding CG Lighting. If you can afford the class it will be a great place to start. I took the class last year and it was an AMAZING resource, I didn't know anything beyond the technical understanding of lighting, this course really helped me understand the artistic side of lighting. The instructors are great and very helpful.

anyways, hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to message me.

u/p1zawL · 3 pointsr/figuredrawing

Please bear in mind, that the fundamental skills of good drawing are universal and when you learn a consistent approach in how to draw the human form well, it doesn't matter what the size, shape, or skin colour of your model is. That's one of the reassuring things about human anatomy: despite differences between individuals, you can learn to find consistencies in structure that will always be there.

Having said that, allow me to share with you my 3 favourite life drawing books, each of which include references for models of various ethnicities.

A book you definitely want to check out is Sarah Simblet's "Anatomy for the Artist" Her drawings are immaculate, but what I really like is that the photos are if equally high quality.

Another example of high quality work is Henry Yan's Figure Drawing Techniques and Tips. These images will blow your mind, he has total mastery of charcoal. This book includes a good range of young and old models, male and female, white, black, and asian.

You might also like Michael Hampton's "Figure Drawing: Design and Invention. Probably the best book I know for showing a progressive approach to skill building using geometry and the best examples of gesture drawings.

Even though I'm white, I share your frustration. I'm always trying to find resources for drawing different ethnicities and find that they are lacking. The books I've recommended are the best I've found yet.

u/Jeltown · 3 pointsr/thelastofus

Perspective can be pretty difficult, so that's understandable. If you're interested, Burne Hogarth made a pretty good book about foreshortening - it's mainly for figure drawing, but I figured it could come in handy.

u/jarvispeen · 3 pointsr/tipofmytongue

If you are into figure drawing, this book by Burne Hogarth has been my bible.

u/Seifuu · 3 pointsr/bleach

The way you drew it, the skull doesn't continue underneath his hair. I see the faint lines of your figure work, which is good. Now you have to learn how facial features morph in relation to each other.

For example, the flattened portion of the bottom of his eye indicates a fairly raised cheek, however his mouth is only slightly tilted. So either he's squinting (in which case add stress lines around his eyes) or you need to raise the corners of his mouth/show them interacting with his cheek.

The jaw line ends where the ear meets the face and hair sprouts, so try to draw it, or at least think of it, growing from the scalp/back-center of the head. A neck connects under the chin in a dramatic swoop, not just a straight line. This is why Ichigo's head is wrongly positioned in your picture.

If you're going to include light reflection in the eyes, you should at least add shading to the rest of the picture so it looks organic.

All in all, not bad. You're on the right track with those structural lines and just need to study and practice a bit more. I suggest practicing with 30 second drawings on Posemaniacs. This is an excellent book

P.S. As someone who practiced by copying pages from Bleach, it's really easy to make noses (and therefore faces) too long and mouths really boring when you practice Kubo's style too much. Keep at it!

u/egypturnash · 3 pointsr/woahdude

Oh yeah, and since I seem to have written a couple other essays here, let me talk about the "how I learnt" part.

  1. I was obsessed with cartoons when I was a kid. Watched a lot of them, read everything I could get my hands on about animation history and methods, drew a lot of flipbooks in the corners of my sketchbooks and notebooks.
  2. I started analyzing cartoons by single-stepping the VCR. This was the eighties. It's a lot easier now.
  3. I got a copy of the Preston Blair book and started trying to make sense of what he was saying in it.
  4. I managed to cobble together a horrible, awkward animation toolchain involving drawing stuff on paper, a slow-scan-digitizer hooked up to a huge, clunky video camera, and two different software packages on my Amiga. I made all of one 30-second short with that.
  5. I went to animation school, where they had a much better pencil-test rig that I could start to learn stuff on. Did a bunch of walk cycles. Walk cycles are really useful - they teach you a lot about the basic procedure of animating, and they're short things that you can crank out pretty quickly. Did other things too of course. Never did a personal short, I kinda regret that wasn't part of the curriculum at my school.
  6. I started working in the industry and got regular critique from people better than me.
  7. I burnt out and left animation to go live cheaply and draw my own comics instead. (THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL)

    So yeah, watch lots of well-animated cartoons, single-step them and think about what they're doing. Watch and analyze video too! Animate, critique your own work, find people to critique it, critique their work, learn to detach your own ego from your work so all this criticism doesn't leave you a sobbing/angry mess. Find keyframes from masters, try inbetweening them, compare to the actual inbetweens. Get involved in group projects.

    Flash really really tends to encourage a stiff paper-doll style of animation rather than providing useful tools to help you crank out the drawings. I've seen people do amazing things to work around it - a while back Pringle gave me a tour of the character setups he did for "Foster's" and my eyes popped out of my sockets - but it's a hell of a lot of work that requires arcane knowledge of Flash. Like I said, fool with Toon Boom or TVPaint instead. Or maybe

    Animating is a LOT EASIER than it used to be, you can buy a cheap Wacom tablet for less than a hundred bucks and get software for a few hundred more, or for nothing if you're willing to compromise your morals, and have animation capabilities I could only dream of when I was a kid.

    I mentioned the Preston Blair book above; it's still a major classic. I also highly recommend The Animator's Survival Kit; it's equally thorough. Both belong in any aspiring animator's library; what they teach you will help a ton in analyzing animation and making your own.

    AND ALSO.

    Here is a collection of the various exercises John Kricfalusi has given on his blog. THEY ARE AWESOME. He's bitched about being an unofficial school for the industry in the past, for good reason - he knows his stuff, and is passionate about passing it on. I learnt a lot hanging around his studio. You could do a lot worse than to start going down the list of drawing and animation exercises; they'll give you the mental tools to make stuff believably 3D.
u/micha111 · 3 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Life IS about using the whole box of crayons! The giant box of 100 colors!

this looks like so much fun! I've had my eye on one for so long, I feel like it'd be such a fun activity!

I feel like /u/pinalope4real would dig the secret garden coloring book since I'm always receiving such awesome snaps from her garden ;)

yay coloring! Thanks for the contest <3

u/Nezumify · 3 pointsr/raisedbynarcissists

Have you tried picking up a hobby that forces the body to relax? I have a lot of troble 'winding down' sometimes and sitting to watch TV with my hubby can be hard.

I find knitting, spinning, and coloring in really intricate coloring books to be very relaxing. But those are just my favorites.

Anything that's mostly monotonous but enjoyable is good. It helps it the same way meditation would. Slows you down, makes you focus on one thing, and once you get into it there's this wonderful absence in which to think and sort through problems.

I knit/spin/color with music when I need time to think. And when I watch tv, it keeps my hands busy so I can enjoy the show.

If you pick a craft type hobby, you also end up with gifts for everyone at the end of the year. Yay christmas!

u/_kashmir_ · 3 pointsr/getting_over_it

Try a colouring book for adults. They're great for keeping you focused (and hopefully steering away negative thoughts) and are fun and simple to use. Here are a few good ones: 1 2 3

u/ilovesojulee · 3 pointsr/HelpMeFind

My girlfriend recently got this as a present and loves it. It's not hardback, but it's nicely bound and the paper is high quality.

u/50_imoutos · 3 pointsr/manga

Both of these books are excellent.

1

2

If you can't aford them, here are the PDFs.

u/nibot2 · 3 pointsr/comics

The only advice you need right now is to improve your draftsmanship. You need to understand anatomy to be able to draw people, no matter what level of detail/realism you wish to achieve. Animators and cartoonists who who draw all varieties of cartoon characters are always masters of drawing the human form. Even drawing characters like Fred Flinstone requires you to understand anatomy, such as the way joints bend, or hands and fingers function. Having a grasp on anatomy will help your story telling, no matter how you choose to exercise (or disregard) the knowledge. The best place to start learning is a very well known book authored by Andrew Loomis: Figure Drawing for What its Worth (this is one of the most well known peices of instructional drawing literature) Buy this book and study. You already have ideas that you want to draw, and thats great, and improving your draftsmanship will help you be able to get your ideas out. In addition to anatomy, You will also need to learn some basics of perspective, to be able to convincingly draw your stage for example, or how to set up characters around the stage and make them appear to all be on the same plane. Scott Robertson has a great book that teaches fundamentals of perspective, worth looking in to How to Draw Good Luck!

u/Pixel_Jum · 3 pointsr/PixelArt

This is the one I have and I can't recommend it enough.

u/TheSkinja · 3 pointsr/comicbookart
u/test_1234567890 · 3 pointsr/learnHentaiDrawing

Only good anatomy book i know of

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Always I look at anatomy and proportions first, coloring shading etc... are built from that.

I am new to modding and helping you all, aka teaching, so I will do all I can to assist, and these is the best I can think of.

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Watch the spine, think of the spine, no Rob Liefield!

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https://imgur.com/g9ySVHJ

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With that being said, look at this weeks "challenge" thread for a good penis reference, and her backside is a bit of broken spine syndrome.

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Keep going at it, never give up, draw draw draw!

u/Golden_Crane · 3 pointsr/learnart

I don't know that much. On this subreddit every "beginner" is told to get "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. I personally don't have this book, but I have this one "Keys to Drawing" by Bert Dodson, which basicly teaches the same stuff as Betty Edwards. Both these books will help you get started and teach you to draw what you see. I prefer "Keys to Drawing and is in my opinion better because I prefer the language he uses.

Also check out ctrl+paint. The "traditional drawing" section and the "Drawing 2" is quite helpful.

I don't know how much you practice, but you should draw everyday, even if it's just a five minute scribble. I personally try to draw one hour a day (which is really little). Maybe start with 30 min a day and then go upwards from there. It's quite hard to do this, but if you manage to do it everyday for about 2 weeks it will become automatic in a way...

u/LockAndCode · 3 pointsr/reddit.com

>My hands are fine and I can't draw at all. I'm fairly certain nearly all of one's ability to draw comes from the heart and the mind

Nah, the heart is a blood pump. Drawing is all on the right side of the brain. The reason most people find they can't draw is that the left side of the brain is constantly saying "I know how to draw! let me do it!" and then you end up with two circles for eyes and a line for a mouth because the left side of the brain is all about substituting simplified symbology for complex real world concepts.

Now, if you can just get your left brain to shut the fuck up and let the right side work, you can actually get reasonable replication of reality. Let it really work and it can come up with some really wacky shit. The reason when you ask an artist how they draw so well they are nearly always at a complete loss to explain is because the right side does the art, and the left side handles verbalization. Left side has no clue how the drawing is happening, so you end up with something nebulous like "I dunno, I just kinda draw what I see". Most skilled artists didn't have to train themselves to let their right brain draw, so they have no experience of not being able to draw. They still had to practice drawing to get good, of course.

Anyone interested in a really good book for left-brainers who want to learn to access right-brain drawing skills more easily, check out Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Note that there's apparently a revised new edition. I have the old one so I can't compare, but apparently a few people familiar with both editions think the new version over-complicates the process somewhat.

u/lollyburger · 3 pointsr/tattoo

Solid advice. This was one of my favorite books that was recommended by my Drawing Fundamentals teacher when I started college.

u/Ihateyourdick · 3 pointsr/funny

Check Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain out if you haven't already. I was already what most people would call good at drawing when I picked it up and it made a big difference for me.

u/jawston · 3 pointsr/offbeat

People tend to think artistic talent like drawing or music are inate abilities, but they can actually be learned if you put in the effort and time. If you're interested in draw I suggest picking up this book Drawing on the right side of the brain and a sketch pad and start learning. It turned me into a rather decent drawer (sorry no examples online), and now I'm thinking of learning the piano or cello, all it takes is time patience and work to learn.

u/porn_flakes · 3 pointsr/comicbooks

If you're using comics as a reference, try flipping the image upside down and drawing from that. You might be surprised.

Try this book for more exercises.

u/laserpilot · 3 pointsr/nyc

I just picked up drawing on the right side of the brain and it's workbook and it seems like a good one...I've been busy looking for a job so I haven't gotten to do a ton of the exercises yet..but I like the angle it's going for.

Protip: if you google the book title and add 'pdf'...you might get it for free

u/Tramagust · 3 pointsr/askscience

There are drawing courses that try exactly to overcome that. After a lifetime of failure it took me a week to learn to draw relatively ok by following a course that took great care to disrupt schemas.

I know this is anecdotal but it's not a top level comment.

This is the book based on the course I followed.

u/Bobby_Newmark · 3 pointsr/comicbookart

Big thing: learn how to draw figures in space. Right now your drawings look flat. In particular, you need to be able to show how one part of the human anatomy overlaps another part. This is actually really hard to do, because it requires you to keep a three dimensional model (of some sort) in your head. That's why these are so popular.

Jim Lee actually breaks down the human body into three dimensional shapes and places them in order from front to back. The only place to learn this sort of thing is drawing from life, but even then that doesn't quite give you a framework to use. Personally, I suggest Bridgman's works, but he puts a surprising premium on explaining rather than showing.

When you get this down you'll find that your art becomes much more dynamic. Also, it'll allow you to create believable action shots with more than once person.

Check these out, because they're great examples of figures in space and overlapping anatomy (you'll see that I love me some X-Men):

u/broken_point · 3 pointsr/ipad

Apple Notes is great for sketching, if you want to go further then yes definitely Procreate, best bang for your buck and my personal favourite.

I can't recommend any apps for learning how to draw, but I can recommend these books to get you started, that is if you'll be interested in designing characters or drawing people etc;

Bridgmans Complete Guide Drawing From Life

Force by Mike Mattesi

The Silver Way by Stephen Silver

u/tiaphoto · 3 pointsr/animation

Amazing list! All of these are essential. These are also my favorites for animation:

Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators (Force Drawing Series)

Timing for Animation


Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

Bridgman's was a must for me when it came to learning anatomy.

u/RexSvea · 3 pointsr/mapmaking

If you are starting with photoshop, I suggest you first get a basic understanding of how the program itself works. What I did was just to look up tutorials on youtube (There are thousands) and just follow along. In the start you don't really need to know what you are doing, just to get comfortable with the buttons and shortcuts.
Then I'd suggest learning about layers, since it's very important to know how they interact with eachother. Following that, try a map-making tutorial (which you can also find on youtube there are also several on cartographers guild, and after you finish it, try to recreate it from memory and see how it goes. Be prepared to put in a lot of time however, my first map took me some 50-60 hours to make. However I was learning as I was going along, seeing what works, and what does not work.

If you decide to try to do it by hand, all I can say is that practice makes perfect. I have a friend who bought ( http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Fantasy-Art-Maps/dp/1440340242#reader_1440340242) and managed to bang out incredible looking maps, and he's not at all a naturally talented artist.

u/monoblue · 3 pointsr/dndnext

This book by Jared Blando really helped my group's map artist up their game by leaps and bounds. Cannot recommend highly enough.

u/tinyporcelainehorses · 3 pointsr/worldbuilding

They were both done in photoshop. Photoshop CS2 is effectively free if you don't have it - i don't have the link to hand, but a quick google should help you out.

Draft one was done using this guide, and the linked brushes etc. I obviously feel like I can do a fair bit better now, but it was a great starting point.

For draft two, I bought a wacom drawing tablet/stylus for my computer, and pretty much drew on that as I would by hand. I also had this book to help, and it's invaluable as a general mapping resource - it's clearly for someone working at a much closer scale than me, though.

The main thing I'd stress when doing maps digitally is saving EVERYTHNG on separate layers. It makes it very easy to move around and edit each individual thing in a way you really can't with pen and paper.

u/ThunderousOath · 3 pointsr/DnD

Try out How to Draw Fantasy Art and RPG Maps, it helped me out along with a lot of links I found by searching "drawing fantasy maps". I'm not art inclined at all, but I was pretty happy with my first map.

Inkarnate is a good digital tool, I'm personally a pen and paper fan, though. Gave me something I was proud to hang on my wall.

u/DashingQuill23 · 3 pointsr/DungeonsAndDragons

Get this amazing book in the meantime to help your cartography! Worked for a beginner like me maybe it'll help you too :)

u/Kishq · 2 pointsr/wow

Really nice work. Just a little tip tho. Try to pick up the Loomis anatomy books. This will help you with sculpting faces. You are really missing some major planes in there. Which makes it a less bit realistic then what i think you were going for.

Loomis really helped me learning to sculpt faces and build proper anatomy. It's a subject we artist will probably never master but it is something that helps us improve our work for the audience.

Proof: http://imgur.com/fjPU3oc

Book recommendation:

Figure Drawing For All It's Worth

Drawing The Head And Hands

Sorry if this was unwanted advice!

u/Pisodeuorrior · 2 pointsr/Art

Still a bit awkward to me if you don't mind me saying that. Especially her right hand.
I recommend this book. Old but still one of the best around for this kind of things.
Plus, it's a must have for anyone into drawing. Every artist friend spotting it on your bookshelf would go "aah, good old Loomis", and they'll like you a little bit more. Owning that book just makes you a better person.

u/PXB_art · 2 pointsr/comicbooks

Great work. As others mentioned, the next step is getting her some anatomy art books Andrew Loomis' Drawing the Head and Hands and Figure Drawing for All It's Worth are great ones I've used myself and found very valuable. The best thing a budding comics illustrator can do is draw from life and not just from other comics/cartoons, that way their own style develops organically. Thanks for sharing!

u/guiguismall · 2 pointsr/learnart

It's hard to tell without seing your work and current skill level. Some of it you'll have to figure out yourself, some of it a teacher or mentor can help you with. Usually, popular authors such as Loomis, Hampton and Scott Robertson won't teach you anything that you "don't need", so they can be a good start.

u/SolidSquid · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

Check if you can do it at other schools. Otherwise there's a lot of tutorials around, check youtube and conceptart.org

edit: Oh, and the Andrew Loomis books have been getting re-released, well worth a look along with Bridgeman's stuff (think both are still available online too, they were out of print for years and there was a whole movement to try and get them re-printed, or at least preserve them)

http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319139330&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/0857680978/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319139330&sr=8-2

Also, look into gesture drawing and do it in places like cafes and pubs, just drawing the people around you. Free life drawing classes :p

u/DocUnissis · 2 pointsr/learnart

This book does a fairly good job at explaining how to make pictures look like they're "in motion" but assumes you already have a pretty good grasp of drawing the human form.

This book will, with practice, get you that grasp.

u/linksoep · 2 pointsr/learnart

Start with gesture drawing. Watch Proko and Reiq first, to see what it's all about, then go to Quickposes. Do the 30 second timed gestures until you've reached level 1. Concentrate on the line of action. Don't get stuck on details. It will be impossible to do at first, but your skills will increase rapidly. Your hand will loosen up, and you will find something of a personal style. After that, read Andrew Loomis. It will be a revelation.

u/ICBanMI · 2 pointsr/learnart

Figure Drawing for All it's Worth has some good info on the subject. If you google it, you can find the pdf for free online.

u/encyclopediapocrypha · 2 pointsr/NoStupidQuestions

Hey, Retlih!
How awesome that you're looking to start drawing! You've gotten some good advice in the thread already(taking your time, especially) but in the event that you're looking to learn more, I've got some great books to suggest you work through.

Andrew Loomis - Figure Drawing for All Its Worth

Bridgman - Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

While they may seem very human anatomy-focused(and in a way, they are), they also describe some great general principles and advice to start your journey down pencil road. They also heavily emphasize looking - no, I mean really looking - at things in everyday life and doing your outmost to depict them, which is a great exercise of the hand, the eye and the mind. (practicing this will make you much better over time, but it will take time, much, MUCH more than a month. I'm a concept artist by trade, and I have never met a person even half-decent at drawing who wasn't already a few years or decades into drawing)

If you're serious about this, do avoid focusing too heavily on making and sharing - be it facebook or instagram - pretty portraits of celebrities or dogs or cats or fruit, or you'll be forever trapped in mediocre-pencil-portrait-land where praise comes easy and you'll always feel like an impostor and/or artistically handicapped charlatan. Learn to draw for yourself and in your own pace, making sure not to rush through the process. Think of how you would train your muscles; don't immediately go and try to pull an airliner with your teeth, start with the core and work from there - let it take time, and find ways to make the journey enjoyable.

u/lncubl · 2 pointsr/learntodraw

To tag do u/(inserttheirnamehere) and the human body is a lot to learn I’ve been doing a ton of study here lately and I would suggest Andrew loomis’s figure drawing for all its worth https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986 and also I have had some success with using Skillshare and taking figure drawing classes on there for starting out.

u/PopsicleMainframe · 2 pointsr/zootopia

Even master artists feel like they don't know what they're doing. The more you learn, the more you realize is left to learn. There is no point where you go from someone who can't draw to someone who can. It's just something you keep getting better at the more you practice and study. Copying from reference is a great place to start, keep at it. and don't be afraid to ask for critique if you really get stuck.

Just do what you can now, and as you improve it will get more fun and less frustrating.

If you want some resources, here's some youtube channels that have helped me:


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5dyu9y0EV0cSvGtbBtHw_w

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUQTqWAaSzhAKRanOpes1nA

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvM8sIthAK1KOQ4nq5mYCTw

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwJheV30gHVOjBps2DU7k9A

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCno-YPZ8BiLrN0Wbl8qICFA

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIGRhqYssT6IGPYOnZBFYKw

https://www.youtube.com/user/ProkoTV

And also some books:

https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

https://www.amazon.com/Framed-Ink-Drawing-Composition-Storytellers/dp/1933492953

https://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/086547897X/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZNC6E0ET0QNFQAPH01WB

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-McCloud/dp/006097625X

You could also check out http://drawabox.com/ and https://www.ctrlpaint.com/ which both offer a more ridged lesson by lesson approach to learning to draw.

u/jjackrabbitt · 2 pointsr/Marvel

You have an eye for detail! Study anatomy, it will really breathe life into your work. I recommend Andrew Loomis' book on figure drawing. You can also get an ebook of it on Google Play for dirt cheap.

u/ItIsaMostElusiveFish · 2 pointsr/gifs

The illustration is from Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, if anyone's interested.

u/Scoo · 2 pointsr/ProCreate

Totally worth purchasing:
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857680986/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7tnODbS3A9XZ1

u/spitnik11 · 2 pointsr/ArtCrit

Alright bro rather than critique your work I'm going to directly answer your question on how to improve. I got two pieces of advice for you based on what I see.

First off, and it may sound a little vague but ask yourself honesty what do you want out of art? You say you tend to draw on and off in short burst, so do you really enjoy it? What do you see yourself creating if you possessed the required skills to do so? Try to find an answer to that question so you have a direction to work towards.

Secondly, "realism" in arts, to quote Wikipedia "is the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements" in other words to not add your own style to a drawing and capture purely what you see. Its really just life drawing, and I'm not exaggerating when I say you cannot become a competent or confident artist without learning, appreciating, and devoting time to mastering it. Realism is not a genera of art its the foundation, drawing as an art form has no shortcuts, that boring stuff an art teacher tries to make us do in art class such as drawing straight lines towards a horizon, or drawing a mannequin over and over aren't options that an artist can opt out of if he so chooses, like any science it's the basic background you require to frame your thinking and let creativity flow naturally through the canvas. If a musician doesn't know his scales how can he concentrate on giving the performance? Forget drawing freehand if you cant properly life draw. A human cannot be learned in sections, if we focus on things like eyes, the head, and hair, every other part will lack definition and consideration resulting in them fading into the background, the whole body must be considered. A regular adult male body is measured in about 8 heads in length starting from the actual head and moving down dividing the body into sections ending at the feet. If you study these landmarks along with the more specific ones than life drawing will become simplified and much more enjoyable.

I'm not leading you astray here, this is the hard truth about drawing, we all started for a reason but sooner or later we gotta decide how far are we gonna take this and how exactly we get there. If you really want to get serous about drawing, learn anatomy, learn perspective, and never focus on development a style, just concentrate on drawing and the style will occur. Start here for anatomy, because when it comes to anatomy Loomis is the authority and we are his students, he has many good books but this is probably his most popular. Though all of his books should be considered as they go into more detail on specific body parts such as hands and the head.
Then go here, it really is perspective made easy and is should probably be read first as a good understanding of perspective is required to properly frame drawing. Almost all of these books have PDFs that can downloaded for free since they were out of print at one point but were put back up for sale. If Loomis isn't your style you can check out this list, most of these have free PDFs as well which can simply be google searched.

But know that there is no foolproof formula to make you a great artist from books or even other great artist, its simply the courage to stand on ones own two feet and seek out enlightenment. I'm no art genius, all of this wisdom is from my personal experiences and lots of books. I just recognized your path as similar to mine and wanted to give some honest advice.

you have potential and its your choice if you want to see how far can you take it.



u/Potbat · 2 pointsr/SketchDaily

I think your figures great. I like the way your draw their expressions.

I've only been drawing for a short while but I found the book ['Figure Drawing for All it's Worth'] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Figure-Drawing-All-its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453510308&sr=8-1&keywords=andrew+loomis) to be really helpful. It's all about anatomy, drawing figures in proportion, perspective and shadows/planes. It's a bit pricey but I thought it was worth it.

I hope this helps.

u/EntropyArchiver · 2 pointsr/SketchDaily

Only 5~ months ago did I decide to get serious about improving my art in my free time. For most of my life I only doodled occasionally. So I thought I would describe my plan of action with books and resources that I will likely be using. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My process will be basics of construction-> perspective -> figure drawing -> digital art and rendering. Approximately 45% will be improving, 45% will be doing what I want for fun and 10% will be a daily sketch(this subreddit) that takes anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to complete. for fun I will be doing anything from digital to water color.

Construction and perspective: First I am starting my art journey by completing draw a box . Next I will go through Marshall Vandruff's Linear Perspective Videos and Perspective Made Easy simultaneously while referencing with how to draw by Scott Robertson. Briefly I will gloss at Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain or keys to drawing pulling ideas of where I might find weakness.

Figure drawing: Once those are finished, I will begin my figure drawing phase. I will move onto free proko subsided with loomis books such as this, other photo references sites like http://reference.sketchdaily.net/en and Figure Drawing: Design and Invention. I will also reference Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist and maybe more depending on my budget.

digital art and rendering: For the final stage of my journey, I will venture into ctrlpaint. Simultaneously I will be reading How to Render, Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

After that.... I don't know. We will see were I am in a year.

u/BraveConeDog · 2 pointsr/comicbooks

Thanks for all your feedback, I really appreciate it!

As an aside, and as one comic-creator-doing-it-for-the-love-of-it to another, if you're looking to improve your artistic skills, I've recently picked up a few Andrew Loomis books to read, including Figure Drawing For All It's Worth. I'm not sure if you're looking to improve in a specific area, or just overall, but that book seems to be pretty good for figure drawing pointers. And furthermore, in the same vein, I highly recommend studying anatomy--knowing exactly what's underneath the skin and how it moves does absolute wonders for improving the look of figures on the page.

Also, you don't have to be ridiculously proficient at drawing or anything to make successful comics. If you look at a book like Persepolis, the drawings are very simplistic, yet distinct. Nothing is highly rendered or incredibly detailed, but that in no way makes it any less successful than, say, an Alex Ross-illustrated book. It's all in what you're trying to do with the story you want to tell.

u/FaceSmashedHammer · 2 pointsr/learnanimation

Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for all it's worth
has some excellent breakdown of drawing the figure in perspective.

Michael Hampton [Figure Drawing: Design and Invention] (http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819) demonstrates an excellent constructive approach to anatomy of the human figure.

Preston Blairs Cartoon Animation isn't so much a book on figure drawing or anatomy, but a book on the process of drawing for animation. While a lot of the work might be outdated, the process can be an indispensable foundation for artists.

u/YOjulian · 2 pointsr/Art

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Arguably the best drawing instruction book available.

u/Blasphemic_Porky · 2 pointsr/learntodraw

Drawing with the right side of your Brain by Betty Edwards is a great book. She took the time to do studies and research to figure out how the drawing process works and it will help beginners get into the mode of the drawing that you need. After that you can branch off to drawing techniques like lines, perspective, shadows and light logic, texturing, then color.

I know you say free but I started using a copy from my local library. If you do not like that resource or are lazy... then look to the right under the "subscribe" button and there are 3 links with resources there.

Note: You do not need a lot of materials that she asks you to get! I am not sure if she recommends a grid but I personally hate grids so I never use them... But I do recommend in getting a GOOD ERASER! A white one and a knead eraser! Especially the knead... I love mine to the fullest! After you have a good eraser then look towards getting 2-4 good pencils where the range is quite large. So a nice 2H pencil, maybe a 2B, 4B, and 8B or something. Doesn't matter when you start out.

And a tip! DARK LINES! Do not scared to make things nice and dark.

u/GrammarAnneFrank · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

I'm in the exact same position as you. After some searching around, I picked up the highly recommended Drawing With the Right Side of the Brain, and I've made a ton of progress in the span of about a week. It seems like a pretty great starting point.

u/kmshiva · 2 pointsr/Design

I would recommend you take a look at the book The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Until a few months ago I really thought I couldn't draw and had pretty much given up on being able to draw anything. This frustrated me quite a lot, but I'd pretty much come to terms with it. I then picked up this book and have gone through about 1/3rd of the book so far. It was an amazing feeling to find out that I really could draw!

The only problem is that I'm filled with the regret that I didn't realize sooner that I could draw. I wonder if I would've been followed a different career path if I had.

u/murrum · 2 pointsr/drawing

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

I've found it a good resource for going back to the basics of representational drawing. If you've had some drawing training or experience most concepts won't be new, but they're explained well and accompanied by straightforward exercises (most of which would fit in your hour/night plan easily).

u/Deinos_Mousike · 2 pointsr/learnart

You might want to read this book. It's for learning how to SEE and draw from there. I've heard people say it's one of the best books to learn how to draw, though, it definitely differs depending on your medium.

I actually have the book, if you want to see a photograph of a page or two, I'll go out of my way a little bit for ya'.

u/rusemean · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Well, practice, obviously. But also: this book. It's aimed at people with no starting drawing abiliity, but I found it was great for learning to draw more realistically.

u/mynameischumpy · 2 pointsr/MLPdrawingschool

I've been drawin' since I was a wee child. Up til' recently I was really arse at any sort of drawing. [](/rarityannoyed "Confound these ponies, they drive me to draw.")

Read guides, read art books, etc.

I quite like this book.

[](/fluttershh "You could probably get a pdf of it if you look hard enough")

Lots of free books on art online.

Practice.

If you have lots of time, (and if you want to) go look at people draw on Livestreams. It's great to see how others work. Lots of amazing artists on there, despite lack of ponies most times.

u/Coldcat99 · 2 pointsr/iphone

Actually, I am bringing along some books which help teach drawing and animation, and I was just looking for some games to play in-between parts of the books.

u/Ali_Tarpati · 2 pointsr/pics
u/Shit_Fazed · 2 pointsr/FurryArtSchool

Too true, so many tutorials and guides seem to focus too heavily on the technical skills and not enough on the proper artistic mindset. As someone to whom art did not come naturally, this book and its early chapters focusing on getting in the proper mindset of an artist has been more valuable than most anything else I've seen. I'd love to see more of that, not just here but in tutorials in general.

u/ozFErXjMKQ · 2 pointsr/learnart

I'm going to play devil's advocate and not recommend Drawing on the right side of the brain.
The exercises are standard introduction to drawing exercises, which are fine, but the text is ... really debatable.
She took "Quit drawing symbols" and applied all kinds of psychology to it, when it's important to just stop drawing symbols.
The book's exercises itself are great however, if you can get your hands on the workbook instead, I would recommend that because it's just all the exercises with 5% of the text.
The most important part of drawing is actually doing it, especially when you're just starting out.

Also, I've heard good things about Keys To Drawing

u/OutsiderInArt · 2 pointsr/learnart

Different strokes for different folks. Depending on their learning style, some love Loomis but hate Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain or say Keys to Drawing didn’t help them a bit. Truth is, most artists eventually read them all and use portions from each of them.


My personal reading focused more on the philosophy of art. I wanted to learn the traits and mentality of a successful artist and why they do what they do.


Books by Steven Pressfield:
The War of Art,
Do the Work,
Turning Pro.


I also re-read The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.

u/PresidentYummy · 2 pointsr/drawing

Books, books and more books. Or courses.

I like to draw anime and I spent a few years just photocopying.
https://www.instagram.com/chrissyatsea/
The problem with that is that it made me better at copying not composing. Also I didnt like to get off my comfortable areas. I didnt know why the artist drew it like or how they did it. I just copied it. Like if you are copying a math problem you dont know what it means at all. So you need to be taught why it works like that. Unless of course you are gifted.<br /> <br /> So there is a good handful of books out there to help you with such things.<br /> <br /> The whole case on books is that if you arent a talented or gifted artist youre gonna have to do what we normies do best. Learn the fundamentals. Gifted people are gifted with the ability to just do and not know. Since we arent we start here.

Another thing to ask yourself if you arent willing to commit atleast an hour or more a day or atleast a good amount of hours a week on drawing is this: &quot;Does this just sound good or do I really want it?&quot;<br /> <br /> Here is a few books<br /> <br /> http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201<br /> http://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377/ref=pd_sim_14_5/189-6540426-4014231?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;dpID=51BQ2AW%2BCWL&amp;amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;amp;preST=_AC_UL160_SR124%2C160_&amp;amp;refRID=181BN40T9TTX026F0EBF<br /> <br /> I am currently working with anatomy on George Bridgman Books.<br /> <br /> http://www.amazon.com/Constructive-Anatomy-Dover-Artists/dp/0486211045/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;dpID=51vQXcL6ZyL&amp;amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;amp;preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&amp;amp;refRID=13K2R2Y1Y6FZD3BJCBKK<br /> <br /> (Oh yeah try to find all the PDFS to these if you can`t afford them. I know that sounds wrong but these books are bestsellers if that makes you feel any better..)

u/anthema · 2 pointsr/graffhelp

If that's as far as you've got in "years" then you need to approach the craft from a different angle. Study typography (for letter structure) and architecture (for learning how to draw).

Two books worth reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

http://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377/ref=pd_sim_b_5


u/shackra · 2 pointsr/learnart

complementary to what /u/cajolerisms as said about resources, someone else recommended the book Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson. It is a book from the 90s, however, people gave it good reviews on Amazon and no one else has recommended other book instead. I bought my copy few weeks ago and I'm waiting to wrap my hand around it :)

u/CaptainPixel · 2 pointsr/h1z1

Not really.

In an adult male with normal proportions the distance between the top of the head and the groin is the same as the distance between the groin and the feet. The original player model has these proportions. In your mock-up the torso is too short.

http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/instruction/2008/10/17-10-622362.jpg

You'll also notice in this proportion chart that distance between the navel (which is in line with the elbow) and the knee is roughly the same as the distance between the shoulder and the groin. Once again the original model has these proportions and your altered image does not.

I think there is a bit of over-saturation with games that use exaggerated character models. You get used to it so when you see something that has correct anatomy it feels different. That doesn't make it wrong. I think what's "off" about the model that people are noticing is the rigging might need some work and the animations are a bit stiff. As far as I'm aware they're already reanimating the walk and run cycles.

Source: I studied Animation Arts and Design, been working as a CG artist for over 10 years.

Edit: These two books are excellent resources for anyone who is interested proportions and figure construction

Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

http://www.amazon.com/Bridgmans-Complete-Guide-Drawing-Life/dp/1402766785/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1410012003&amp;amp;sr=8-32&amp;amp;keywords=figure+drawing

and

Vilppu Drawing Manual

http://www.amazon.com/Vilppu-Drawing-Manual-Vol-Drawings-ebook/dp/B00A0ZU4BA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1410012025&amp;amp;sr=8-2&amp;amp;keywords=vilppu

u/Strangersaurus · 2 pointsr/learnart

Probably Bridgman. George Brant Bridgman. Heard great things about his books, though I can't say I've added them to my collection yet. Here are some links to them on amazon.

Box set of three books(Bridgman's Life Drawing | The Book of a Hundred Hands | Heads, Features and Faces)

Constructive Anatomy

The Human Machine(Has quite a few bad reviews concerning the print quality, I'm afraid.)

Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life(This one is kind of a combination of all his other books, taking the best from each of them, though leaving some bits out.)

u/evilanimator1138 · 2 pointsr/animation
u/aghzombies · 2 pointsr/Art

Okay, speaking as a disabled person, if you're going to be around this kid a fair bit you need to completely let go of this notion that his disabilities make him less capable of honing his talents. Not because you'll necessarily interfere with the development of his skills but because that attitude is incredibly toxic. He isn't talented despite being disabled, he is both talented and disabled. Happens all the time.

I would suggest buying him some books, like maybe this one Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1402766785/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_rS5AybXHBE8CN or How to Draw Cool Stuff: A Drawing Guide for Teachers and Students https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0615991424/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_ET5Ayb7CCF5ZN - find something that matches what he likes to draw or would like to draw. Make sure he has decent materials - they don't have to be top of the line, just decent. Take him with you to get the materials, let him start learning what's out there and figuring out what he wants to try working with next. Let him interact with the shop assistants as much as possible. Let this be his thing, and he will hopefully gradually expand his own horizons.

u/Khaos_Zand3r · 2 pointsr/WorldAnvil

In regards to your world map, it's a good start but has a lot of room for improvement. For one, I recommend drawing it on newspaper (there are sketch pads of the stuff at most art/craft stores). Then you can age the paper by soaking it in coffee, and that will make it look the part. More specifically, sketch the full map in pencil, then soak it, then ink over the pencil once dry. Otherwise the ink will bleed and come out of the paper. It is also missing a scale, so there is no way of gauging distances. Roads don't need to be fully drawn out like that; a dashed line is enough to convey the meaning without conflicting with the scale.

For a better guide and reference, this book has been invaluable to me in map making. It covers all of the principles and will give you ideas you may have never even considered. If this is for an RPG, players really appreciate a well laid out map.

u/swishchee · 2 pointsr/furry

Thank you. The biggest help for me has been Color and Light by James Gurney

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

For the tech aspects of how to use photoshop, I used ctrlpaint.com

To learn to draw, I used https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/

u/garg · 2 pointsr/learnart

This artist is color blind: http://www.bonnieauten.com/gallery/pages/01-labino-glass.html

My suggestion would be to purchase http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719 Color and Light by James Gurney. Study it and then practice it.

Then do color studies. If you have photoshop, then try to reproduce a painting (something by the masters is preferable) by 'eye' and then once you're done, use the color picker on your painting and the original master painting and figure out the differences between the color you chose and the colors in the original. Don't get discouraged --- color is difficult for non-color-blind people as well!

Go and get the hue (H), values (B), and saturation (S) right in the color picker. Do this daily with different paintings and I guarantee that you'll improve a lot! :)

u/RobertRoehrig · 2 pointsr/IDAP

Ah that's sweet, but you know what, light and color is a super complex subject...it's something I struggle with too every time I make a new painting, so don't be discouraged! If you haven't read Color and Light book by James Gurney, I would HIGHLY recommend it! https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IXNICKVA7KDK


Haha I'm sure you're better than you think you are -- just keep at it! Thank you a ton! =)

u/xucoalex · 2 pointsr/pokemon

Well that's a bit of a complex question. It all comes down to understanding how light works which is a thing you learn as you learn how to draw. If you pick up any decent book on drawing it is sure to cover this. One I can definitely recommend is Color and Light by James Gurney. Though it is geared towards painters, the principles are very much the same!

Here is a collection of quick tutorials as well. Please note some of these contain nude models as examples :P

Anyway I hope that helps!

u/thebestwes · 2 pointsr/learnart

Here's a good intro to color theory. For more advanced learning, I'd highly recommend James Gurney's Color and Light. Don't forget that, much like value, color only appears vibrant in contrast. In the words of blogger and painter Stapleton Kearns (who you should also look up), "All color is no color."

u/XnFM · 2 pointsr/minipainting

They exist, but they're not particularly common anymore. I have Scale 75's Steampunk in Miniature, which has some good stuff in it, but it clearly wasn't proofread by a native English speaker so you have to work out what the author's actually mean here and there. I would assume the rest of their line is of comparable quality, but I currently only own the one.

James Gurney's Color and Light is a really good reference. While it's not about miniature painting specifically, it covers how shadows work in different lighting situations in a way I haven't seen in other references and the section on color theory seems pretty good (I'm only halfway through the book at the moment).

u/YANN_LIFE · 2 pointsr/ArtistLounge

it's definitely not a natural thing, it is a learned skill. the problem is that most people don't know enough to understand and notice it, how it behaves and how it can be affected by everything around it.

this book is also incredible https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

even if you are not aiming to be a realistic painter, the excerpts are easy to understand and explains some very basic fundamentals in interesting ways.

check this free resource out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo

lighting studies. understanding how light works really helps me imagine it on the fly.so i did this exercise for 2 weeks.

once you have watched the above video and memorize its contents, pick a simple cube with some good lighting, and try to complete an almost completed study in 30 minutes, at best as possible.

once you can do an accurate 30 min study accurately, move onto something more complex, like a sphere or a another subject. apply the same 30 min study rule, if you can do it accurately in 30 mins move on to other subjects.

rinse and repeat, and eventually you will gain an understanding of how light acts, so you can improvise with the knowledge.

u/nearlynoon · 2 pointsr/learnart

Juliette Aristides has two books on painting from WG: 'Classical Painting Atelier' is a good overview (and has a really good section of good artists in the back) and 'Lessons in Classical Painting' is sort of an expansion. Aristides teaches at NMA, for reference.

Also from the same WG series is 'Elements of Landscape Oil Painting' which is really good, and 'Portrait Painting Atelier' by Suzanne Brooker, also good.

Also I don't care who you are, if you don't already own 'Color and Light' by James Gurney, you are doing yourself a massive disservice.

(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و!!

u/derek_the_deliman · 2 pointsr/Art

I have a degree in graphic design so it wasn't a huge career change for me. There's lots of overlap in terms of software/skills for both design and illustration.

As for tips, I would recommend learning about light and color. Even if you're doing pen drawings, knowing how to look at an object is just as important as anything else. [This was a fantastic book by James Gurney I always recommend.] (https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719)

u/sasquatchinheat · 2 pointsr/Art

It's a great start! An underpainting is a really good way to bring out depth and variance in your colors and painting.

If you want a really good book on painting and color, check out this:

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1499313656&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=color+and+light

u/artistacat · 2 pointsr/learnart

Two resources you need to read on color: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719 and http://www.amazon.com/Light-Visual-Artists-Understanding-Design/dp/185669660X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1419319385&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=light+for+visual+artists

Lots of illustrations and examples, very easy to understand and yet both are no more than 250 pages. I have both of these books and they are great! I would also look at Cubebrush and Ctrl+paint. You need to definitely focus on color theory as well.

Along with learning these, also check out Andrew Loomis' books (Google Save Loomis to find pdf of his books for free). And this one -- &gt; http://www.amazon.com/Human-Anatomy-Artists-Andr%C3%81s-Szunyoghy/dp/3833162562/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1419319599&amp;amp;sr=1-4&amp;amp;keywords=andras+szunyoghy

But once your learn color theory and look at the resources I suggested, you will definitely improve on your coloring skills. Gurney's may be aimed at painters, but it's for everyone really. I can't give much advice since I'm learning color theory but these results have been very helpful.

u/kirkisartist · 2 pointsr/painting

Oh cool, you'll have fun with color theory then. I recommend you check out James Gurney's book Color &amp; Light. You should also study up on perspective. This is the only book I can recommend that won't make your life hell.

u/Gramnaster · 2 pointsr/LearnConceptArt

I think it's a bit difficult and unfair for me to comment based on one painting alone. Do you have any sketches (line drawing, preferably) of this painting, or anything that showcase what you can do so far? Almost everyone will suggest we start designing anything in line sketches, especially if learning, so I'm interested to see what you got :D

Edit: Since you're looking for advice on how to start, I'll just say a few things that might be able to help you start.

(1) Drawing, imo, is the very foundation of all art. I think before you start painting, you should start drawing first! Here are a few links that may help you start with drawing:

  • Art Fundamentals (Free, and pretty good)
  • Foundation Group (Paid, but pretty good)
  • Ctrl+Paint (Free and Paid. Both are pretty good)

    (2) I suggest you follow an art school's course outline so you can progress pretty well. Feng Zhu Design School has an outline that they use for their students to learn how to do concept art in 1 year (16 hours per day). You can also download a detailed version of what they offer in their course, then you can have an idea on what each component means.

  • FZD Course Outline

    (3) There are also a few books that would be really useful to you when learning how to draw and render. These are supposedly the best on the internet (I only have two, the first two books in the list) Here they are:

  • How to Draw
  • How to Render
  • Figure Drawing
  • Color and Light
  • Imaginative Realism

    I think those are all I have for you now. I'm not in any way a professional artist (I'm currently studying Industrial Design), but I think the above things I've mentioned should prove useful to you. If you have any questions, you can send me a PM :D Work hard and practise every day!
u/ParanoidAndroid67 · 2 pointsr/learnart

I would recommend Color And Light by James Gurney. This one is a really good book to just understand the principles of color and light used by traditional painters. You can extract lot of information from it to apply on digital environment painting.

If you'd like to check out art books, along with review and some images of the pages, check out Parka Blogs. This website has an extensive list of art books ('art-of' and instructional).

I would even recommend checking out some websites like

Ctrl-Paint.com

Enlighten

u/co_samo · 2 pointsr/graphic_design

This book was created for painters, but this book is spectacular for learning how to mix color and use it well.

u/MrHankScorpio · 2 pointsr/Art

I'm glad to hear that, though it's a shame to hear he's that sensitive about it. That's another reason I'd recommend against the gallery system (which I'm not a part of myself); many of my peers are and to be honest it's a very...unkind system.

I don't consider myself a sensitive artist but I deal with them on a regular basis so i understand your plight all too well. I might have an idea for how to help that. I recently bought this book, it's by James Gurney the author of the blog I linked to in the sub-comment of this. It could be an excellent christmas gift and at only $16 it won't break the bank. It's probably the single greatest book I've encountered about painting. It's succinct and well written and relies mostly on examples rather than big blocks of text. And if you decided to give it to him you could play it off pretty naieve like, "I know you like painting, here's a cool book about painting!" and probably not hurt his feelings.

Just an idea, might be a good way to circumvent the "sensitive artist" but still give him a good resource to improve.

In any case I salute your effort! Tell him to keep at it :D

u/Livipedia · 2 pointsr/Art

I wouldn't critique this if I didn't like this-- so, disclaimer. I also realize it is a doodle, but you posted it on the internet, so I'm assuming you would like feedback.

A little more fluidity and variance in line weight would be nice. Your anatomy needs some work-- even if this is supposed to be stylized. The jaw is very square, more characteristic of a male face, and the eyes and pupils are not pointed the same directions (A good way to help with this is to look at the drawing in a mirror, ocular dominance can be a bitch). The mouth and the nose are too high up on the face and could be pulled down a little further. I don't think the lines for the clavicles were necessary-- they pull my eye away from the face. You did a really nice job shading most of the nose, but the rest of the face lacks structure and I'm not really sure where your light sources are going, especially with the reflections on the eyes. Maybe emphasize those a little more.

I did a really quick redline here to better illustrate my points.

Some good books to help with the fundamentals that are causing these issues:

u/BasicDesignAdvice · 2 pointsr/learnart

check out James Gurney's book Color &amp; Light. it's broken down into chapters based on different kinds of lighting conditions. creating distance in a landscape is addressed several times.

u/thinknervous · 2 pointsr/ArtCrit

Okay so those images are of an entire painting that is mostly warm and an entire painting that is mostly cool. I'm talking about the relationship between light and shadow within the same painting. Here's a better example:

https://31.media.tumblr.com/cae91e1b08a12487beeb21475df64b61/tumblr_inline_n7l409ZuZw1s86nd4.png

In a given scene, there is at least one direct light source and at least one ambient light source. The shadows aren't simply the lack of illumination from the direct light source; they're lit up by the ambient light. In a sunlit scene, the direct light source is pure white (the sun), but the ambient light source is blue (the sky) and/or the color of the ground or other surroundings (for example, in the forest it might be green). Most of the surfaces not directly illuminated by the sun are illuminated by the ambient light, which means that in most settings the shadows will actually be cool. Even though the sun's light is pure white (if it's midday), because our eyes adjust to the blue ambience its light appears slightly yellow-orange (warm). A good rule of thumb is that most of the time, the ambient color is the complement of the direct light source. So, a cool light will cast warm shadows and a warm light will cast cool shadows. At a more advanced level it can become much more complicated than that, but this is enough to get you started. The main times you'll have a cool light source as your main light are when your subject is in the shade, indoors with natural lighting, or at night. Warm light sources are far more common, both in nature and in man-made settings.

For more information and examples, I highly recommend this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1506048298&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=james+gurney+color+and+light

u/IndigoPisces · 2 pointsr/Watercolor

Hey just was thinking if you're learning

http://www.amazon.ca/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719

Is a fantastic book!

edit: fixed link that was posted on my phone

u/Kriss-Kringle · 2 pointsr/DCcomics

You need to pick up an anatomy book because right now you're inventing muscles and applying too many shadows until the whole drawing becomes visual noise and it doesn't read clearly.

First off, I'd recommend you study Figure drawing for all it's worth by Andrew Loomis. You can probably find a PDF of it online for free and it's not overly complicated for a kid to understand. Then, if you feel you want to stick with drawing in the long run convince your parents to invest in these books:

Atlas of human anatomy for the artist

Human anatomy for artists : The elements of form

Classic human anatomy: The artist's guide to form, function, and movement

Figure drawing: Design and invention

How to draw: Drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination

How to render: The fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity

Color and light: A guide for the realist painter

u/bethyweasley · 2 pointsr/Illustration
u/onyxdale · 2 pointsr/Art

Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet. Helps you better understand how the body is constructed = better drawings

http://www.amazon.ca/Anatomy-Artist-Sarah-Simblet/dp/078948045X

u/Felbeef · 2 pointsr/drawing

You do not need a textbook for a drawing course the only text i would even consider would be Anatomy for the Artist but be aware that there are many nudes in this text. Typically i will photocopy important pages from this text that are safe for school and create packets for my students. meaning you would only need to purchase 1 copy of this book and be golden. As far as materials for a typical into to drawing course you would need:

multiple sets of drawing pencils. 4h, 2h, hb, 2b, 4b, 6b and i prefer prismacolor's Ebony jet black pencils.
Compressed and vine charcoal (you could also go with charcoal pencils)
Kneaded Erasers
Gum Erasers
India ink (you can buy this in large bottles which last quite a while)
Cheap watercolor sets
18x24 drawing paper with decent weight (i go through 1 ream a year with my classes)
11x14 watercolor paper (cheap canson pads can be purchased at walmart)
18x24 Newsprint

The teacher will also surely need a paper cutter if they do not have on already and perhaps drawing boards (a class set) if they intend on doing any drawings on site.

Get in touch with Sax or Blick art supply companies and shop around for good pricing.

Hope this helps

u/Mitoza · 2 pointsr/Art

A book called anatomy for the artist

http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Artist-Sarah-Simblet/dp/078948045X

I had it at my college library and it was pretty good.

u/Quaz122 · 2 pointsr/drawing

You'd have to toss in a little more money but this book is amazing. They have it listed for $27.19, but it is worth it. Now it is anatomy, but if you apply that with some exaggerated elements you have it knocked out.

u/DrDougExeter · 2 pointsr/learnart

I can definitely help you with this.


How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination

This is the best book on perspective you can buy. Perspective is the number one thing you need to have a grasp on if you want to draw, especially from imagination. Practice this until it clicks for you.

For setting up scenes I recommend Andrew Loomis books, Creative Illustration in particular. Loomis has several books out and they're all amazing. Many artists have learned to draw from Loomis.

Burne Hogarth is another master of the craft and you can learn a lot about musculature and anatomy from his books. These are generally a step up from Loomis so you could move on to these once you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals to take your work to the next level. Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Drawing the Human Head.

For people and anatomy, Proko (http://www.proko.com/library/) has good free youtube videos. He uses a lot of Loomis and Hogarth methods (which are pretty much the standard) and presents them in a way that is easy to digest. He's constantly updating his channel and adding new videos.

If you can only get a few books, I would get the How to Draw perspective book first, then go through the Proko material, then move onto the Loomis and Hogarth stuff. These learning materials will take you pretty much as far as you want to go.

Also I highly recommend sticking to traditional materials (pencil and paper) while you're learning. Once you have the fundamentals down then you can move on to digital. You're going to make things much easier on yourself if you stick with traditional while you nail these fundamentals down.

u/Alex321432 · 2 pointsr/ArtCrit

&gt;It's a great balance between technical information and illustrative information for artists. Even if an artist isn't going full-on photo-realistic, knowing where bones, muscles and other structures under the skin lay and fill out what goes on top will help.

I Also suggest checking out Dynamic Anatomy by Burne Hogarth!

u/PinkBiko · 2 pointsr/graphic_design

Check out a book called Dynamic Anatomy.
I have the old version, but it's literally the best bit of anatomical instruction I've seen.

This is really good work. The kerning and hands could use a little work but it's off to a great start. It's always good to ask for critiques. So.. . Kudos on you.

Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and Expanded Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0823015521/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Zj22BbHYV7FTB

u/Funky_Bibimbap · 2 pointsr/hearthstone

The style you are using, with no outline, looks nice.

You need to work on your anatomy. For example, look at his right hand, and look at where your thumb is on your own right hand when you are holding it like that.
I would recommend getting a good book on understanding and drawing anatomy and muscles, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Anatomy-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0823015521

u/Phnglui · 2 pointsr/KillLaKill

I highly recommend learning to draw real people before learning to draw anime. The skills you learn to draw from life will transfer over to anime style, but not the other way around.

I don't know of any resources to learn since I taught myself, but I think Sycra's videos are probably pretty good.

Oh, I also recommend the books Dynamic Anatomy and Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth.

u/JeffBlakeArt · 2 pointsr/comicbookart

Hey dude! Byrne Hogarth's "Dynamic Figure Drawing" is a good resource for this. https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Anatomy-Expanded-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=burne+hogarth+dynamic+anatomy&amp;qid=1570068434&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-1

- Nice drawing! Hands need work ..fingers look two dimensional and flat. The book covers this; simplifying the human form into shapes for foreshortening.

- You did an awesome job with the right arm! The left arm is not foreshortened and doesn't appear to be extended parallel with the torso since it is smaller; this makes it appear disfigured.

Keep drawing man lots of potential here!

u/finelytunedwalnut · 2 pointsr/ArtistLounge

Definitely check out Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy

it gets into the thought and theory behind figure and form, and helped me through some major roadblocks

u/Howlibu · 2 pointsr/furry

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0823015521 This was helpful to me and I've had classes use it as a reference. I stopped reading 'how to' manga/cartooning books a long time ago (I don't think any less of them, I just didn't really need to anymore) so I can't really give you a list of those. You don't really need to either, to be honest, because your style will show through your work no matter what.

What I recommend instead is taking a figure drawing class if you can. Having a live model is the best way to learn the body. You can see how muscles shape given tensity of a stance, how fat sits on the muscle and the softness of skin. More than you can receive from a photo..it really does make a difference. You can also try to ask a friend to model for you:) It surprised me the number of people willing to do it for art, so it doesn't hurt to try! All bodies are different, remember that ;3

Before you do that, though, you should draw the musculatory system. Why? It forces you to understand just what's going on under the skin and why these things are shaped the way they are. One of my favorite assignments was:

  • Take a picture of a dynamic pose (usually an athlete, gymnasts are pretty interesting)
  • Draw them without their skin! :D Just have a medical drawing handy.

    Good luck! Feel free to pm me if you need anything :3
u/mr_wowtrousers · 2 pointsr/conceptart

Check out Burne Hogarth books, if you haven't already. Obviously not the best for T poses etc, but very handy

https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015777

u/huxtiblejones · 2 pointsr/NeedAHobby

You could take up drawing, it's extremely cheap and is a very good way to spend time by yourself. I find drawing to be meditative and rewarding, you have the satisfaction of making something yourself as well as learning to see the world differently.

All you need are a set of pencils, a decent sketchbook, a kneaded eraser, and some decent instruction. I'd recommend learning first from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and then moving on to figure drawing. Try Dynamic Figure Drawing or Bridgman's Life Drawing. You can also look up the work of Andrew Loomis for more instruction, which are available as free PDFs.

Later you can experiment using vine charcoal (which can be erased easily) to get the hang of a different instrument than a pencil. Try laying charcoal on its side and making big strokes. This is the first step towards painting. You could even try painting with black and white acrylic only which really isn't much different in terms of skills or cost. If you can get good at drawing I promise you can get good at painting. It just takes a bit of dedication.

u/callouskitty · 2 pointsr/learnart

Draw torsos, lots of them. The movements of the limbs originate in the torso.

u/AllisZero · 2 pointsr/AnimeSketch

&gt;Reference things and add in my own inspiration that leads to understanding the idea?

This right here is exactly what I meant by "reinventing the wheel", right? So a little bit of fun history - during the Renaissance, a nice fellow by the name of Leonardo DaVinci got frustrated with his painting and how they wouldn't "come out the way he liked it". So he started to observe the world and figured out many of the rules that let us depict a three-dimensional world in the two dimensions of a canvas/paper/Photoshop file. Things like perspective didn't have may written rules before then, so he had to come up with those rules. I'm loosely paraphrasing here, but that's the gist of it.

Modern artists such as ourselves don't have to go through the trial-and-error method of the classics, we have much easier ways of doing that:

Dynamic Figure Drawing - I like this book but it's a bit more advanced. He doesn't explain much about what he's doing and how the basics work. Avoid for now.

Figure Drawing - Design and Invention - Good book. Also a bit advanced.

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth - Now this I have a PDF on Dropbox for whenever I need it. You can buy the book on Amazon, but this is the original from the 1930s. The copyright expired on it, so they can be shared.

Fun with a Pencil Same deal. Most of Loomis' books are available for free online. If you want to draw faces, start here. His method is essentially &gt;The&lt; go-to method for correctly doing faces of today.

I took those off a post I made last week for someone else, but it's about the same thing. If you view any of the books on anatomy for artists, for example, the authors are very good at building the body in its basic shapes and teaching you how to draw not only based on what you see, but what you know something should look like.

You can always do drawing classes, I think they're a good way to start, but they're not necessary. What you would get out of them is a personal sort of coach that will oversee what you're doing and try to steer you in the right direction and give you pointers on where you need to improve. Obviously, though, most art teachers will teach you realism (which I strongly recommend you start with to strengthen your basics). However, being self-taught myself I can't speak from experience on how much help a class could be.

Mentality wise you need to understand that, in the long run, having strong understanding of the basic rules of drawing, of drawing people especially, will save you much frustration in the future. And like I said before, if you're good at visualizing things and translating them onto paper, it's already a huge part of your work being done for you. This is a bit humorous but I think it's very accurate. If you can avoid steps 1-3, I think you'll be on the right track!

u/JimDraws · 2 pointsr/drawing

Well to actually construct the head shape I used the Loomis Method, then I implemented my style by making the outlines solid and adding more line weight to lines near more heavily shaded areas. To shade the piece I used cross hatching, but in this case, I put the lines so close together to create the smoothness that you might see here.

u/Firez_hn · 2 pointsr/learnart

I misread this thread title but paradoxically now I think that my misreading was still relevant: Get through an art book.

I've been slowly going through "Drawing the Head and Hands" by Loomis and "Figure Drawing - Design and Invention" by Hampton.

No matter how "blocked" you may be, with a book you only need to pick your pen and tablet/paper and start replicating its drawings and doing its exercises.

Not everything you draw has to be a final/perfectly rendered piece. In my case I would say that I only upload to my dA and Pixiv page a tenth of what I actually draw.

u/KaJashey · 2 pointsr/Cubers

Yep remember when PC geeks and most IT didn't know about virtualization? It holds my ligit copy of windows XP pro. I don't know how ligit as it was OEM and the "hardware" it was bundled with is a piece of software that's been replaced by newer software. That whole section of the shelf has some old software. Final Cut Pro 3 -just 3 not studio 3- is really old. It was an educational copy and when I wanted to sell it to some other student Apple totally blocked me from doing so on Ebay. So I don't really use that version but couldn't sell it when it was worth anything because of "anti-piracy" bots. I don't even want to talk about the Adobe box sitting next to it.

Crammed in behind the old software is a good older book. Drawing the head and hands with Andrew Loomis is a re-issue of an antique. Wife wanted to buy a "how to draw" book for my daughter, I wanted to show her someone with talent. Unfortunately sneaking in with the incredible dedication and stunning talent are some antique gender and race notions. Not so bad in this book.

u/captainfuckmyanus · 2 pointsr/learnart

ok. I don't what style you want to go for, and I'm going to assume that you want to get into the comic book style. That doesn't matter though, where you need to begin is with Andrew Loomis' Creative illustration, Figure Drawing for all its worth(the free pdf, but I would recommend getting the book, because why not), Drawing on the right side of the brain, and Drawing the hands and face. All of these resources are what you need to start out. It doesn't look like you are out of the gate "I draw stick figures" level. But you have to keep in mind, that the ultimate tutor, is time. If you really want to get better quickly, then you have to devote a lot of time to studies and just drawing in general. Good luck, I hope I helped you at least a little bit.

u/argonzark · 2 pointsr/learntodraw
u/ragred · 2 pointsr/drawing

I'm no pro by any means but I have a lot of fun drawing after work and certainly I'd love my SO surprised me with something like:

u/mcs80 · 2 pointsr/animation


First, I think a 12F port-a-disc, some 12F paper, and a pack of col-erase pencils would make a good starter set for about what you're looking to spend. Just be sure the holes on the paper match the pegbar on the disc. Check out http://www.lightfootltd.com/

Next, something I've been looking into is the Don Bluth DVD tutorial series. What I've seen on youtube looks really solid, and informative (9 DVDs for $155): http://donbluthanimation.com/index.php?act=viewCat

Finally, a personal favorite - Walt Stanchfield's Draw to Life (2 volumes of notes from his Disney master classes): http://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961

u/jsimone · 2 pointsr/animation

Understanding traditional arts will always help you no matter what because it helps develop an analytically eye. I would try to find places around your location that offer figure drawing sessions for like $20. Doing figure drawing sessions will help you come to a greater understanding about shape, form, weight, pose; All of those are extremely important to understand in animation. You don't have to draw well by any means (if your doing 3d), just develop your eye.

If you're not coming from an art background, I recommend reading 'Drawn to Life', 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brian' or 'Understanding Comics' as these will help change the way you think about art. They have to do a lot with Art Philosophy.

Understanding Comics: (a vastly underrated book)
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-Mccloud/dp/006097625X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1319966876&amp;amp;sr=8-1

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774195/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1319966921&amp;amp;sr=8-1

Drawn to Life:
http://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1319966942&amp;amp;sr=1-1

u/phife · 2 pointsr/learnart

You might be interested in this book: http://www.amazon.ca/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y/181-1157278-5783305

Gesture is really about design. Simplifying the big movements into a beautiful shape.

u/Pkeod · 2 pointsr/gamedev

I recommend these two books for general art learning.

https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961

https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240811070

For pixel art, you need basic art knowledge, and practice making pixel art. If you are a super beginner a good exercise is to copy 1:1 a square of a pixel art sprite you like without using the color picker. Do that a bunch of times, and you'll learn which kinds of colors work well together and many of the techniques that go into producing good looking pixel art.

u/squidpasta · 2 pointsr/Design

Drawn to Life

Not so much "How to draw" as "How to think about drawing"

u/konstatierung · 2 pointsr/Metal

This book was assigned for drawing classes when I was in college. Lots of the exercises sound kind of batty, and they often demand long drawing sessions. But I think it's supposed to get you to understand the spatial aspects of figures super well.

u/LanguageDelights · 2 pointsr/doodles

The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395530075/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zMwjDbYDY64CW

Cheap but difficult. And rewarding. Worth looking up threads of people following it

u/jtmengel · 2 pointsr/Overwatch

That's solid for 12 man, congratulate him. And if you are thinking about encouraging this but don't know how, maybe consider getting him some books to study if he wants to be harcore.

...Now, you draw one so we can power rank your skills.

u/attackedbyrats · 2 pointsr/Art

The Natural Way to Draw has excellent exercises and is designed to mirror a rigorous drawing course. You can go your own speed and IMO it's really the best DIY for improving skills.

u/TRK27 · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

There are two main approaches to learning to draw, and the introductory drawing courses I remember taking in art school typically combined both of them.

The first deals with formal elements and constructing images out of them - lines, boxes, 3d shapes, linear perspective, etc. This is the sort of stuff you'll get from /r/ArtFundamentals and similar online guides.

The second is more concerned with experience and observation. This is more about learning to look than it is learning to draw. Gesture drawings, blind contour drawings, form-mass drawings, and similar exercises. This approach was first and best laid out by Kimon Nicolaïdes in his 1941 The Natural Way to Draw and has been very influential in art teaching. It's also the approach you'll see in the very popular Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, although that book is basically Nicolaïdes warmed over with some questionable science overlaid on it.

Both are important - they're both approaches to the same thing, but one more or less bottom-up and the other one top-down. But most importantly, learning to draw - like any skill - is about iteration. Don't be too concerned about results at first, just keep doing it and get the habit down.

u/honma-ni · 2 pointsr/ArtistLounge

The colors are really nice, but, going forward, it may be worth doing some anatomical sketches on the side. Any art instructor worth their salt will point out that photos often lie when it comes to lighting, form, color, etc. (Think about the last time you tried to snap a pic of an awesome sunset!) That's why, if you do work from photos, it is so helpful to work from life as often as possible.

Not sure if this will help, but I'm finally getting around to reading an old copy of The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study. Kimon Nicolaides has broken down drawing into a self-directed study course that will allow you to strengthen your drawing skills on your own schedule!

u/Buck_Thorn · 2 pointsr/mildlyinteresting

EVERYBODY sucks at drawing until they practice. The technical part can be learned. The art part comes more in knowing what to draw.

Get yourself a copy of this book, and work the exercises. You will draw.

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075

u/nosferatv · 2 pointsr/trees

Thats funny... BUT - that is some terrible proportional reference. What the heck?!

Please please please pick up Drawing the Head &amp; Figure - By Jack Hamm. Thats an Amazon link, though this book is very common. Not only is this book dirt cheap, it's a great place to get started on simplified but correct proportion, basic anatomy and life drawing skills. Whatever reference you're using there is gonna seriously fuck you up in the long run (sorry).

Also: How to draw comics the Marvel Way is another great place to start drawing people (and even cheaper!).

u/DaMangaka · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

All I want for X-mas is youuuuuu ... ♫

Wait. .it isn't X-mas yet? Um.. oops...
Well, maybe this would be a great help.
See, I know how to draw. Here are some examples of what I can do and while pretty I want to broaden my drawing skills.
Not everyone likes the japanese anime style and even some people go as bad as to frowning it and saying it's stupid due to it's popularity, the stereotypes, etc and I can't blame them, it is rather popular and it might work with what they want.
So as somebody who who wants to make epic stories, I want to draw epicly, this can also open me doors for better jobs (instead of the one I have which I barely get enough money to spend;; ) and simply raise the bar in my skill.

So, if you'd help me on this quest, I'd appreciate it very much.

u/One_Left_Shoe · 2 pointsr/fountainpens

Ok, for constructive criticism:

  • get lined paper or get a sheet as guidlines to place under your paper.

  • Choose an exemplar (some form of copperplate or roundhand)

  • Practice and aim for consistency.

    If you really want to get into it, a good book to have around with information on how to practice and some good/fun examples of copperplate is Eleanor Winters Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy.

    I would also suggest watching a few of the videos by Paul Antonio on his YouTube.

    These things are all geared towards calligraphy with a dip pen, but the style and techniques will be useful to apply to using your pen.

    Good luck.

u/sinkeddd · 2 pointsr/PenmanshipPorn

No problem! That's so awesome that you do brush lettering-- I actually have a small calligraphy business and brush lettering is my go-to style, so while I might be a little biased, I'm a total sucker for brush lettering. :) I'm not sure if you've tried using brush markers at all, but I've heard from a few lefty calligraphy buddies that they're really great for brush lettering practice since they dry quickly and you don't have to worry as much about smudging.

Oh, and when you decide to learn pointed pen calligraphy, I can't recommend this book enough! I tried a couple books that I didn't love, then after being told by countless people to try this one, I did and it made everything click.

u/Thinkinaboutu · 2 pointsr/fountainpens

For Copperplate

For Spencerian


For Cursive basics(The content is good, but the paper isn't great for FPs, so you will probably need to use a Fine nib)

u/DinkyThePornstar · 2 pointsr/Beginner_Art

The best bit of advice I can give is to go out and buy a sketchbook. If you want to focus on anime/manga inspired drawing, a medium grit medium weight paper sketchbook offers a durable surface that is perfect for practicing. As you improve and, should you so choose, incorporate inks, you can move to a smoother, medium weight paper, to prolong the life of your pens (especially if you like the brush tips).

There isn't really a "best" paper to use, and spiral notebooks are the preferred media for artists who are bored in class, but for the times when you are free of distractions and can sit down to draw, I'd recommend an artist sketchbook. Do some browsing online, find a reasonably priced sketchbook, then go to art stores or even places like Staples that offer art supplies. Open the books, feel the paper, make sure you like the quality of hue, grit, and weight before you buy. And don't be suckered in by the more expensive books and papers. Some papers are much heavier and are used for different projects. You don't, for example, need a heavy, high grit, expensive paper meant for watercolors, if you plan on doing pencil drawings and ink pens.

If you have any questions on pencils, pens, inks, markers, or any other materials, ask away.

As for the drawings themselves, there are a lot of resources available online for free. Or, if you are the kind of learner who benefits most from having a book to read from, How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way is a resource I can recommend. It's good for beginners and practiced hands alike, and has a lot of overlap with manga style drawing.

Keep at it, don't get discouraged, and make sure you don't forget to pay attention in class from time to time.

u/spacesoulboi · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Here you can read up on it

u/TheMaskedHamster · 2 pointsr/funny

Keep working on it. You have a sense for humor and timing that is deserving of the effort to refine not only it, but your art as well.

Some books that may interest you:

  • Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards - This is handy as an inspiring introduction to the mental perspective of art, ie how to draw what you see and not what you think you see.

  • How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema - There are hundreds of lousy books with instructions on how to draw cartoon characters. This isn't one of them. This is a breakdown of how comic art is formed, from the elements of illustration to the basics of composition, all packaged in a format to be enticing to novice artists who happen to be comic fans.

  • Perspective! for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea - A straightforward guide on how to represent perspective in illustration, with lots of supplementary explanation and art, in an amusing comic format.

u/ThePain · 2 pointsr/learnart

A good starting point that I and a lot of my friends used for getting in to art was "How to Draw the Marvel Way"

It's comic book artwork, but it includes the fundamentals and gives you something fun to draw as well as a firm starting point to launch into more lifelike drawings.

u/billydelicious · 2 pointsr/GraphicDesign

This was a great place to start for me when I was a kid: "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way" http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-The-Marvel/dp/0671530771/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1409077196&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=learn+to+draw+the+marvel+way

There's just a ton of great info about perspective, composition, communication, balance. Sure it's more about illustration but most of the lessons apply to graphic design in general. Also, knowing how to draw will really give you a leg up in the industry - it's a very valuable skill set to have.

u/Brikar99 · 2 pointsr/comicbooks

If you haven't already, you should check out [How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way by Stan Lee] (https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0671530771/). It really helped me out a lot when I was younger, and has a lot of great lessons on the basics of drawing superheroes, backgrounds and storytelling.

u/Redfoxyboy · 2 pointsr/comicbooks

I would read How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. It's a really great learning tool

u/SpicerJones · 2 pointsr/Marvel

Hey dude - I am also teaching myself - its tough work but stick with it.

Pick up a copy of “How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way” - it will become your bible.

How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671530771/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_2akBCbP1Z9ANJ

u/mckickass · 2 pointsr/Art

Mark Kistler's Draw Squad for $.23 from amazon

It is aimed at kids, but it is a great start for fundamentals of drawing. After that, i'd pick up How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

It has one of the best explanations for perspective that i have found

Edit: I suck at links

u/kagamaru · 2 pointsr/drawing

When I was in high school we didn’t have art classes. I bought a book called Drawing Comics the Marvel Way and my world was never the same. It is a great primer for drawing the figure without being too academic. Check it out

u/mattwandcow · 2 pointsr/learnart

I'll be the 3rd person to recommend Understanding comics. It is required reading.

The big thing is practice. Practice. Practice. Then go practice. I've been working kinda on comics for a while and sometimes, I can churn out a panel like nobodies buisness. The pose aligns just right and its super easy. Other times, a single panel takes me hours, because I keep finding I'm doing it wrong.

But you know what? the next time I do a scene like that, I do it a bit faster. I rarely go online to find references. Instead, I stand up from my pen and paper, and make whatever stupid pose I'm trying to draw and mentally take inventory of where all my limbs are, how my body looks and feels. A mirror may help.

In regards to asking the artist, a quick google claims that
&gt;This book has includes an extensive interview with creator Masashi Kishimoto, step-by-step details on the process of creating a Naruto illustration, 20 pages of notes from the author about each image in the book and a beautiful double-sided poster!

That might be worth checking out.

&gt;About how many drafts would you guys predict that it took that whole comic, and what sorts of panels would you all say take more drafts to perfect than others?

That's a really hard thing to guess, because of what goes into the comic. there are 3 steps in my mind that might count as 'drafts.' 1st, the overarching story. The script to that was probably passed through a few editing hands before any art got started. It really depends on the project on how much script you should have. I've been focusing on just the next strip on my current stuff. I have notebooks with outlines for twenty odd chapters for other stories that can't see the light of day until i finish rewriting them.

(I saw a comment here recommending to find scripts and try drawing the first few pages, then compare work. I'm so gonna do that!)

2nd. the page itself. Panel layout, camera angles, action poses, there is SO MUCH that goes into each page, I can't do it justice. A lot of good books have been suggested, so check out those. Duck into a bookstore and see what they have. I have fond memories of draw comics the marvel way! and I love How to make webcomics

I do end up drawing and redrawing the pencils several times, before I ink it.

3rd, you'd be surprised how much rewriting can go into every line of dialogue. For me at least. I write what I want to say, then I remove every word I can get away with, then I have to cram it inside of a bubble. Sometimes, writing a sentence takes longer then drawing a panel!

Closing remarks: I have 2 final pieces of advice: 1st: Invent your own process. Figure out how you want to do it. Each of us is shaped by our environment, by our upbringing, by the books we've read, by the artists we admire. And then, none of us have exactly the same tools. Make a process that works for you. (Start making. And then, when you're comfortable, experiment! I recently bought a calligraphy dip pen and have been using that for my inking. For so long, I had thought it an outdated piece of technology, but now I love it so much! but you don't need one. I did a lot of comics with paper and a ball point pen. They weren't pretty, but they were mine.)

Finally, (because I doubt you're even reading this far down!) practice does not necessarily equal practice. All the anatomy lessons, perspective practice, the realistic images, those are good fundamentals. I wish I had them. But if you want to learn to make comics, come up with a story, not too long of one, and draw it. Play with what you can do. Learn to tell a story. And, ya know, you'l get to a point where you need a cool city scene, and all that perspective practice flows into the panel. Or you'll want to emphasize how beautiful your villainess is, and your anatomy floods down your pen. Everything you learn is a tool in your toolbox and the fundamentals are very useful, although they don't seem to be, they are part of the path.

TLDR: Confucius say: Make some comics. They you will know how to make them. Also, read books.


u/Voodoobones · 2 pointsr/doodles

Nice job!

When I started to teach myself to draw I bought Mark Kistler’s You Can Draw In 30 Days. I love that book. It taught me a lot.

u/n2dasun · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Not any online guide, but I bet you won't be disappointed.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

u/nessfalco · 2 pointsr/AskWomen

It's funny you say that. I just printed out a bunch of sheet music of songs that I figured out parts of but never committed to playing 100% accurately.

I also got You Can Draw in 30 Days in an effort to beef up my skills. I'm up to about lesson 12 and am digging it so far.

u/RonPaulsDad · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

I've looked around online and never found anything satisfying. Just decided to go old school and bought You Can Draw in 30 Days (a physical book!) and it's been awesome so far. Can't recommend it enough.

u/death2escape · 2 pointsr/ArtProgressPics

I'm not OP, but this comes from the book You Can Draw in 30 Days. https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

I recognize the pictures. The book is a great motivation to try and follow along, but if it's not your cup of tea, you can learn a lot from a combination of youtube and just trial and error.

u/toverbai · 2 pointsr/Art

"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid" - Jules Feiffer

I think I am understanding your question wrong. What do you mean by "systematic categorization knowledge-base"?

Not sure if this could help but this is a great book on color and light. From the artist behind Dinotopia. And his blog is filled with some amazing information and art links too.

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Every artist should spend a little time on his blog.

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

u/TheStruggleIsRealYo · 2 pointsr/raisedbynarcissists

Are you inside my head? You described my exact situation, even the widow part.

I talk to my mom about 2-3 times a week and on the phone it's easy to just smh and carry on a conversation about nothing. Even when I can get my point in, it falls on deaf ears. I usually doodle or colour in my therapeutic colouring book to cope with the emotions of being so annoyed.

I haven't spent any quality time with her for longer than an hour recently because it's so frustrating to deal with. I don't think my Nmom is a malicious or abusive narcissist which I think forces many people to go NC. I do think she's incapable of thinking outside herself in any capacity which does make her a narcissist. This is YEARS of her behaviour compounded on top of tons of her insecurities and self-esteem issues that I know about that contribute to this type of behaviour. However, I also know that it's absolutely futile to try and bring it to her attention because I know she'll never change. So when I do have to conjure the energy to see her, I concentrate on the former rather than the latter. I focus on the fact that even though she's damaged my ability to rationally control my emotional output and my ability to have faith in my own actions, she's never put me in a place that I cannot recover from. I was never hit or starved or put out of the house.

I struggle with this same guilt all the time. I feel like the relationship with my Nmom is that it's really, all about her needs. I regain my needs in the relationship by being LC.




u/yukifan01 · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I love my inner child!

I have this one on my wishlist.

u/Rogue_Penguin · 2 pointsr/translator

It seems to be the JPN version of Secret Garden coloring book by Johanna Basford.

It says:

Johanna Basford

Garden of Secrets

A coloring book that is full of flowers

u/vlreed · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I love my inner child!! This one has coloring, and a hunt option afterward! The fun keeps going! http://amzn.com/1780671067

u/aefd4407 · 2 pointsr/AskWomen

Happy to help! What's your budget? I'm on mobile - let me see if I can grab links to what I would recommend based on what you want to spend


Edit: these are the markers I have and I love them. A bit pricy but worth it if it's in your budget: http://www.amazon.com/STD334SB20A6-Staedtler-Triplus-Fineliner-Pens/dp/B0007OEE7E
(There is actually a bigger set you can get from JetPens.com I think)

For a coloring book, I have a couple I like:
This one (and the other ones by this author/artist) is great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1780671067/ref=pd_aw_fbt_229_img_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;refRID=0C8DWW0SZ6WKWXY2EX4N


This one also looks nice. I don't have it but one of my friends does: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1941325122/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;dpID=61DETogR%2BIL&amp;amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;amp;preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&amp;amp;refRID=1NJH3VAEG30BFHGYWTF4

u/southernbelladonna · 2 pointsr/AskWomen

Haha! No, it's stuff like this and this.

u/artman · 2 pointsr/Art

I would start literally with the basics. Get this book Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair. All animators will recommend this book.

u/leandpoi · 2 pointsr/animation

Okay, first thing to know is that you're not alone. Animation is a pretty time-consuming and daunting skill to try and learn at first, but everyone has to start somewhere - and honestly, drawing skills aside, I think that animation is one of those things where with enough practice you can get the hang of fairly quickly.

I'm guessing you probably aren't out to hear the typical "just keep practicing and you'll get better" so I'll try and stray away from that.

Speaking as a current animation student, the best thing you can do for yourself is to view as many animations from skilled and professional animators as you can.
And I'm not talking just "watching" animations; Sit down and try and critically analyze a piece of animation. Find something where the movement is interesting to you and try and reverse engineer how that animator may have constructed that scene.
After sitting through a bunch of those, find animations from more amateur or beginner animators, could be of your own animations or someone else's. Compare and contrast between what makes these professional animations work and look good, and why these other ones just don't seem to match up.

I've also taken a look at some of your animations and I don't think they're totally awful. It's clear that you're making an effort to show movement and life in the characters, despite your minimal technical understanding.

&amp;#x200B;

So, educate yourself on the technical side of things.

Read up on the principles of animation, essentially the core rulebook many industry professionals follow when creating animations. Here is a video which has a pretty thorough look at each concept, and here is a considerably shorter summary of each principle with short examples.

The Animator's Survival Kit is one of the most popular books people recommend to people just starting out in animation - it lays out a lot of the key parts of the 12 principles in deeper detail and focuses a considerable amount of the book to timing and walk cycles.
Here's also a playlist to the book in, more or less, a simplified video form.

Some other books you might want to look into are Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair, and The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas.

&amp;#x200B;

As for the program you're using, I found that Adobe is one of the more simpler and intuitive platforms to use when first learning animation that's still considered an industry standard.
Pushing through and learning the program will help you considerably if/when you decide to move on to a more advanced program.

However, if the difficulty of the software is what's keeping you from animating, I'd recommend using flipbooks and indulging in more traditional forms of animation.
Not only will you be developing a skill in an area of animation not many people today seem to be very skilled in, but it'll keep you from being distracted by all the flashy buttons and options on some digital programs.

&amp;#x200B;

Hang in there man, and keep animating.

u/carlEdwards · 2 pointsr/learnanimation

Do you have a copy of Preston Blair's book? It's always been the most important entry-point bible (IMHO).

u/bumbletowne · 2 pointsr/drawing

This is great!

It seems she's practicing expression and posture. Might I recommend This book.

She seems to like the animation style and this is the holy grail of beginners learning how to draw in that style. I discovered it for my own use after reading this touching letter of instruction from legendary animator John Kricfalusi. You should read that letter.

Something you can contribute to your daughters hobby is helping her know the artists behind the things she loves.

u/DrewNumberTwo · 2 pointsr/animation

Get him [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Animation-The-Collectors-Series/dp/1560100842) which is full of this. Flash works well as a 2d animation program and is used by professionals.

u/howboutme · 2 pointsr/animation

There's basically two types of schools for character design for animation. There is the Preston Blair/Disney method where you simplify shapes. Then there is the DaVinci Machine/Skillful Huntsmen approach where you basically make random inkblots and fill out the rest of the character based off the strong lines that you see. Both give you a very strong silhouette. Both require going through many variations until you land on a strong design. Though without artistic skill you won't be pulling either off. Another side note, you may want to check r/design as well. Good graphic design generally also produces good character design regardless of the method you use.

Books to look for:

Preston Blair

Characters with Personality that is based off Preston Blair.

The Skillful Huntsman

Another book that utilizes the same DaVinci machine method.

Also you can find both approaches at The Gnomon Workshop with DVDs and web resources.

u/RogueVert · 1 pointr/mentors

Know that there is going to be a shit-ton of work. But if the fleeting joy of seeing your creations come to life outweighs the pain of all the hard work then you might survive as an animator.

It won't really matter if you want to do 2d/3d since the principles will (should) still all be there. 3d gets a touch more technical but 2d is where you test your mettle.

First up - Absolutely w/o fail you must master the art of gesture drawings. constantly do 10sec-30sec quick renders/poses. is there life in those quick squiggles? Does it feel like the pose or motion? Good animators are some of the most phenomenal artists there are.

The rest will just be applying the fundamentals of animation (and art in general) to your creations.

Some places to start:

Animators Survival Kit - great great insights. tons of tips to watch out for, funny anecdotes about legends...

or this great intro to all the basics especially if you grew up watching classics (loony toons, wb)

u/moonfever · 1 pointr/Anxiety

A really good chamomile tea and a nice mug, a hot water bottle with a nice cover that she can cuddle, and something brainless but calming to do, like a puzzle or a colouring book and some good quality coloured pencils (I enjoy this book because it's finely detailed and I have to concentrate on it, which means I'm not concentrating on the whirling anxiety!).

u/oulipo · 1 pointr/fashion
u/miicx · 1 pointr/drawing

I also recommend you check out cartoon animation by preston blair. even a google image search has tons of pages from the book as example

u/G0ATLY · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Tiffany Windows are very detailed and great for small point markers, or colored pencils. I have this one and it's just plain awesome for days I just want to be detailed//creative.

Detailed Insects

Secret Garden/Activity/Small Detailed

Detailed Animals I have this one, and recommend it.

I get lost in the "recommendation" section due to all the fancy images.

u/BruteForceMonteCarlo · 1 pointr/animation

I only realised what I wanted to do when I was 24 (Which was 3D Animation). I was rejected from 3 masters programs in 3D Animation, and then took up IAnimate last January. Since then I have worked on several paid projects, and am hoping to land my first full time industry gig soon. I did exactly what the other comments here recommended before joining IAnimate. Did some gesture drawing classes, and bought these books (1 2 3)

If you really want to do it, you will make it work. You absolutely will find a way.

u/DustyJoel · 1 pointr/gamedev

Yep! And really anything from Preston Blair.
http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Animation-Collectors-Series-Preston/dp/1560100842

Also, 'The Illusion of Life' is pretty much gospel for 2d animators.

u/Chrimchrim · 1 pointr/animation

This book is incredibly helpful and a great place to start
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1560100842/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_u3X1DbK85M3GX

u/SambonerHamboner · 1 pointr/animation

Bouncing ball is a fantastic way to start.

these two books are the most common in schools and might be good overview:

https://www.amazon.ca/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/086547897X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+animate&amp;qid=1572314270&amp;sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.ca/Cartoon-Animation-Preston-Blair/dp/1560100842/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=how+to+animate&amp;qid=1572314270&amp;sr=8-7

Beyond that I would practice becoming a good draftsmen, knowing how to draw basics will make it drastically easier to learn animation

u/Poorrusty · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Backed chicken with asparagus and steamed baby carrots. For dessert...make yourself a no bake cheesecake, but make them into cupcakes for the dessert that keeps on giving. Wash it down with a cold glass of organic Vitamin D milk.

Welcome home!!!

YUMMY

u/jojewels92 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Sorry about your cubical coma!


I think you should pick up one of these puzzle books. I keep one of these and do them when I'm bored or have time to kill. Or if you want something more artistic this looks nice.


If I win I'd like these shoes. Need shoes.

u/Ampsnotvolts · 1 pointr/animation

Just get a tablet and jump in with Photoshop &amp; Illustrator. In conjunction with After Effects, you have all you need to make animations.

If you have Photoshop extended, create some blank video layers and just start animating! It is very easy.

Buy this book and do some self taught lessons

PM if you need a tutor or further instructions.

u/szlekjacob · 1 pointr/learnart
u/eatingdinosaurs · 1 pointr/ArtCrit

I love Jeno Barcsay's Anatomy for the Artist as a general anatomy resource. I just got Andrew Loomis' Drawing the Head and Hands and love it so far!

Again, this is something that will improve with practice. You have to train yourself to see and interpret the underlying structure rather than the symbols of body parts, if that makes sense.

u/mariatwiggs · 1 pointr/learnart

If you're going for accurate, her facial features are too big, for example an average head should be 5 eyes wide, with the space of an eye in the middle (unless you're drawing someone like Drake, then put one and a half eyes width, haha). Overall I think you should look into general figure anatomy and proportions. Usually people in /r/learnart suggest Figure Drawing for All it's Worth by Andrew Loomis.

If you're planning on adding more to the drawing, it would have been much easier to sketch the whole thing out until it looks just like you want, and only at that point start adding details. It saves time and effort, and preserves your paper better from eraser and pencil scarring. Erasing shading and fine details is going to make a bigger mess than erasing light lines. It's less frustrating, too.

u/semi-conscientious · 1 pointr/comic_crits

If you're looking for some books to help you with figures or comics in general, I'd highly recommend the following:

u/webnrrd2k · 1 pointr/learnart

Just to let the Loomis fans know, there is going to be a re-issue of
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth
and
Drawing the Head and Hands.

u/GenocidalArachnid · 1 pointr/ArtistLounge

The best way (I've found) is to start big then work your way down to the minutiae.

Proportions and gesture are the two most important fundamentals of figure drawing. Start with those. Even if you don't want to draw realistic people, say if you prefer cartoons or comics, learning proportions will still help you to exaggerate features in an appealing way. When you've gotten a good feel for creating dynamic poses with gesture and figures with proper proportions, then you can move to anatomy to learn how the muscles interact; where they lock and fold into each other. Although anatomy is a very complex science, once you have it - you have it. Everyone have the same muscle structure.

The head and hands are something completely different. I've found that the head and facial features are as hard and as valuable to get right as the figure is. In some cases it's even harder. Don't worry about the head at the beginning, get the figure right first. The face should be it's own study.

I wouldn't suggest mastering each body part individually. If you learn to draw all the body parts one at a time then piece them together, you won't get a feel for how they all play and work with each other.

Things like rendering, color, composition; they are all different fundamentals completely. Should you learn them separately? Maybe. Or maybe not. It depends on you. I'd say to slowly start adding more and more fundamentals to your figure drawings as you improve. Add a bit of shading to the muscles, play with some colors in the skin, see how the pose will affect the composition of an art piece. Just don't lose sight of what it is that you want to improve on and don't fall back to your comfort zone when things are getting difficult.

If you want an in-depth, comprehensive look, I recommend both "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" and "Drawing the Head and Hands" by Andrew Loomis. Those are the books that helped me. They really go in depth on not just proportions, but rendering and clothing as well. Here they are if your interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UIR07P1BNGJT&amp;keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+its+worth&amp;qid=1567575739&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=figure+dra%2Caps%2C133&amp;sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/0857680978/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3UIR07P1BNGJT&amp;keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+its+worth&amp;qid=1567575739&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=figure+dra%2Caps%2C133&amp;sr=8-2

tl;dr

Gesture -&gt; proportions -&gt; bone structure (manikin) -&gt; anatomy -&gt; face &amp; hands

u/datgreenthumb · 1 pointr/drawing

colour and light

Figure drawing

IMO these 2 books should be in any artists collection

u/RedRockRex · 1 pointr/FurryArtSchool

Figure Drawing for alls it's Worth is pretty much my bible. I'm also pretty fond of Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth. I've learned quite a bit from opening either book to a random page a just drawing what I see.

u/wrexsol · 1 pointr/learnart

Yes, as you've mentioned the head is tiny, knowing is half the battle I guess. The contours are pretty nice, but the picture is missing value/shadings so it looks incredibly flat. A lot of folks here will recommend anatomy lessons, which would certainly be a good start. Understanding how the the arms relate to the chest, the chest to the head and neck, all the processes in the skeleton that compose the human figure and how they all interact with one another will greatly improve how you see those things.

If I may, I'd like to elaborate on something that is easy to miss as an upcomer: people in real life almost never stand up perfectly straight or are never seen straight on by the eye in a perfect symmetrical orientation. The body is not perfectly symmetrical in most cases. In this picture, we see your model looking off to the side while holding the bow, but it looks uncanny and stiff. The hand on the hip exacerbates this flaw because usually when the hand is on the hip, the body's weight is usually leaning into it even if it's only slightly. Shifting the body's weight will help make the pose less stiff and more natural.

My recommendation is to draw from a photograph or some other reference (real models are awesome)! If you don't have a friend that likes being drawn, there are some sites out there that can help you refine your chops. Then, you can revisit an imagined piece like this and be able to make the adjustments that will make her come life. One site frequently recommended on here is the Pixel Lovely Trainer (also in the side bar); it cycles through tons of different pictures that you can sketch out at your own pace.

Some books about Anatomy:
Artistic Anatomy
Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist

An awesome tome about Figure Drawing:
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth

Gesture Drawing Tutorial (video) - something that may help you develop your skill

Additionally, and some folks may not like this, but taking some kind of drawing course might help you build your skills efficiently. I know when I did a 101 Drawing class for a college elective, it kept me focused, forced me to explore different elements of drawing that I would never have considered, and really helped me understand the relationships of different shapes and objects in a space. (another thing it helped me do was force me to work within a deadline window, which becomes fairly important when looking for confidence).

All in all I think you are onto a great start and with a little direction you can improve pretty quickly. There's a shit ton of information out there and it's all waiting for you to check it out!

u/Phasko · 1 pointr/learnart

Number one is never using paper that has lines or squares on it.

I'd recommend not drawing over the same lines again and again, make the line in one go. This'll improve overall line quality. You can search for "hairy lines" if you're not sure what I mean.

Then this book is very good, try to study anatomy before drawing a stylized person. This'll give you more control, and you'll have a better understanding of what you can play with.
https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986

Next to that you can try to play with lineweight and adjust untill you've found a comfortable weight. This video explains it pretty well. https://youtu.be/x0zl5NnEAyU
Scott Robertson also had books: https://designstudiopress.com/product/how-to-draw/

You can find more great books on the internet, design studio press has a nice selection.
I'd recommend getting;
How to draw
How to render
Framed ink
Framed perspective
Figure drawing for what it's worth

What really helped me was dropping the pencil, and using a black fineliner. That puts you in the spot that everything you do has a very direct consequence. You'll learn to draw quicker in the beginning, and noodle/work slow in the end when you're doing details.

Good luck!


u/Sykirobme · 1 pointr/learnart

For a cheap start that'll serve as a fine reference, if you're in the US and near a Barnes &amp; Noble, look for this book in the bargain section. It's about $10 or so.

If you have a little more cash, this is the classic book.

Also: practice figure drawing daily. Start with quick gestures (I'm still on this phase myself, and I still kind of suck, but not nearly as much as I sucked when I started it several weeks back) and, as you get a feel for the figure, you'll be able to add more. Practice hands and heads.

Seriously, if you keep at it every day, you'll see improvements in a couple of weeks.

u/PancakesForDinner · 1 pointr/SketchDaily

I mainly switch between Andrew Loomis and George Bridgman.

u/IrvingMorningstar · 1 pointr/Art

Or-
http://www.amazon.com/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241

It's very effective in my experience. Most people can't naturally pick up drawing from scratch. In fact, I'd say 99 percent cant o that. That's why there are so few artists.

u/nyxmori · 1 pointr/pics

I'm not saying it was Arts, but it was Arts.

The secret is that drawing is just like learning any other skill. Amazing progress can be made from practicing or learning a little each day. I'm trying to find it, but there's a thread online where, over a few years, this guy goes from barely drawing cubes to lovely oil paintings.

If you want something more concrete, I highly recommend Betty Edward's fantastic book. She will take you from stick figures to professional-looking portraits.

u/banalrapist · 1 pointr/Design

I almost exclusively sketch cars. But quite a few redditors recommend this book if you wanna learn to sketch.

u/Trivian · 1 pointr/Art

I used to draw everyday, and I love art. I never stopped being interested in art, but I did abandon drawing for a long time - almost a decade. I had a terrible experience in high school - there were 4 (I believe) art teachers, and they were all terrible. I don't know how exactly it happened, but taking art classes in high school (I took various sorts every year) killed it for me.

Halfway through grade 9 I stopped drawing outside of assignments I had to do for class - and even then, I didn't do it with any gusto. I kept taking the classes because I didn't really notice that I had stopped drawing (in fact, I started to hate it); since I didn't practice much (especially over the summers), and the instruction we received was awful, I got worse and worse.

After high school, I tried to pick it back up a number of times with no success because I just lost confidence: I couldn't draw as well as I was able to before, so it made it really easy to just give up.

That said, I started drawing again (and consistently) about a week ago. There was a post here on r/Art that I commented on - it was an example of really good criticism from conceptart.org - and another Redditor recommended this book, which I bought and have been working through.

u/nakiki · 1 pointr/GiveMe40Days

Can you draw well? If you can't, give a shot to this book

u/Scodo · 1 pointr/IDAP

You have potential, if you're interested in drawing you should consider reading through this book
It's what I recommend to anyone just starting out.

Edit:: Also, you've got football eye syndrome, you have to start seeing eyes as forms instead of eye-shaped symbols or the eyes on all your drawings will look identical.

u/irregodless · 1 pointr/zombies

Yeah, I've taken art classes all through school, I've been a chronic doodler since I was a baby. But that's just me. A lot of the people in art classes can't draw for shit when they first get there, though. That's what the classes are for! Some places you might want to check out are drawspace.com and psdtuts.

An excellent book to get you started is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and while googling that I came across this, which looks like it has some stuff you can learn. I would also highly recommend just signing up for a basic art class at the local community college. It's cheap, there's always night classes somewhere, and it'll get you the basics like perspective and lighting from an actual instructor.

u/thedevilsmusic · 1 pointr/AskReddit
u/FriskyTurtle · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Drawing is typically seen as something that people are either innately good at or innately bad at. That's crap. Get a good book like this one (which you can probably find from your local library if you want to give it a try without committing any cash; I borrowed it from my library then decided that I needed to own it and found it used for $10), and practise.

This is the best suggestion here. Cheap, you can do it anywhere, rewarding when you make progress, and everyone loves pictures.

u/AerieC · 1 pointr/drawing

I know I'm 6 days late, but don't listen to that guy.

My advice is this: You seem to be in the stage of drawing development where you still draw everything as a symbol of what you see, rather than what you actually see (hence the (. .) nose comment).

Start really paying attention to what you see in front of you. What you'll begin to notice is that you're not drawing a "nose", or an "eye", or a "face", but rather a collection of shadows and tones that flesh out the object.

Also, I recommend Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It's one of my favorite books on drawing, and it has a lot of good exercises to help get you out of the mode of "symbolic" drawing, and into the mode of drawing what you really see.

Also, keep drawing. Draw every day. I know everyone always says that, but it really is the only thing that will make you better.

u/Plothunter · 1 pointr/funny

Get this book The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Read it, do the exercises, practice. I went from stick figures to really nice portraits. Faces are now my favorite things too draw.

u/Nannerfish · 1 pointr/graphic_design

I would get good (not great) with drawing out your ideas out from scratch before seeking out too many tutorials or references on a real life project. If you don't know how to draw, pick up something simple like Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and do all of the somewhat annoying assignments in there. They actually work.

If you do know how to draw, get a real good idea on how you would like a project to look like before heading out into the wilderness of tutorials for each process, as each one is different, with a different goal in mind for a finished product. If you don't know exactly what you want per project, you'll just be staring a wall of tricks and tips that may or may not be used towards your desired end product. It can be a frustrating process watching a 2 hour tutorial and not get the answer you were looking for in the end.

If you lean towards a particular illustrative designers style, then hunt them down and ask how they did that. You may get a lot of questions answered you wouldn't have otherwise.

As an illustrator that is just starting out, the pay sites I have found useful were:

Skillshare has a lot of great cross application tutorials on the subject
Lynda.comhas some, but you really have to dig for answers sometimes as all of the tuts are long winded. I would check out von glitschka on there.
I am definitely checking out ctrlpaint.com myself after seeing the top post.

If you don't have a tablet of some sort, they really come in handy for this kind of thing.

Good luck!

u/joeturk182 · 1 pointr/learnanimation

If you want to learn how to accurately, I would highly recommend 'drawing from the right side of the brain' by Betty Edwards. I used to teach drawing to architecture students and I used many of these exercises. You don't need to read a word of the book, just do the exercises. They'll teach you to stop seeing 'objects' and start seeing spatial relationships, which is the key to drawing accurately.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1492836156&amp;amp;sr=8-3&amp;amp;keywords=drawing+from+the+right+side+of+the+brain

u/mattdesl · 1 pointr/gamedev

Drawing is a skill just like any other, and as long as you push yourself, you can get very good at it. Pick up some books and maybe sign up for a beginner drawing course.

In a large studio, there are many art departments: design/concept, modeling, rigging, animation, surfacing, lighting, visual effects, etc. Not all of them require drawing skills, although many will demand artistic knowledge (shape, form, color, etc).

If you plan to work in smaller studios, then fewer people will be assigned to more tasks, and so it will be important for you to have a broader understanding of the art process, which may require more "artistic skill."

Either way, if art is what you want to go into, an Art and Design degree is very useful.

If art is not what you want to go into -- and you'd rather learn programming -- then you are in the wrong place. But before you leave your school and start fantasizing about how fun programming is, maybe you should try developing some games with C++ and get into the habit of punching out code for 8+ hours every day.

Of course, programming and art are not the only ways to get into game development. There's sound design, music, voice acting, production manager (i.e. coordinating the team, no technical/artistic skills needed), marketing, script writing, etc. If you haven't yet decided what you want to do, you should think about that before applying for another school...

u/felixjawesome · 1 pointr/trees

Despite my extensive history of art classes and my fancy degree in art, I can say that you are struggling with what all artists struggle with. First, I would drop the whole "gap in your education" mentality. You don't need any real formal education to produce something beautiful. All of my professors were the hands-off types...and I struggled the entire time (I spent one year as a terrible 'uncanny valley' portrait artist and it wasn't intentional), but that's the state of art. No one is going to tell you what to do because there's no right or wrong anymore, there's only what's been done before.

I haven't had a real critique since I graduated from college. And I can totally relate to what you are saying, but there are plenty of venues to showcase your art in this digital age. It may not be the real thing, but art should be shared, and people will react. And if they don't react, then gauge your audience, and maybe bait them with something they might respond to that will open them up to your other work.

Off the top of my head: this book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain has a lot of really good drawing exercises, but I don't know how accurate the "psychology" is.

Also, I found that restricting the use of pencils and only drawing in pen and ink, while frustrating, was the best thing I could have done for myself. Allow yourself to make mistakes, or better yet, find a mode of artistic output where there are no mistakes, define your own set of rules. Loosen up a bit and then return to the more realistic observational drawings. Experiment with new mediums too. Oil pastels are really nice if you don't have time to paint and want to experiment with color.

Just keep drawing, and keep writing. Don't worry about growth because you can only grow by doing.

u/spilot · 1 pointr/askscience

Because your tongue haven't been trained to produce the sounds that you'd like.

Same goes with drawing. When you draw, your brain lets you draw the lines that you've been drawing since you were a child. Try to draw a chair. What it would look like? It'll look like the same chair that you've drawn when you were a child. Same with drawing a car or basically anything. And if you tried to draw a chair 15 years later, it will look the same one you drawn.

Your brain is trained to efficiently and quickly finish those tasks. The brain can't be bothered to learn new ways (like how to draw, how to change your accent) unless you force your brain to learn it by training it.

Why isn't your brain learning new ways? Well, the brain doesn't want too much information about things it perceives; just enough to recognize and to categorize.

All in all, when you either draw or imitate an accent, your brain is trying to quickly finish that task by using the old information that you've been using all your life and trusting it 100%.

The only way to improve in imitating an accent or drawing, is to practice.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241 The first couple of chapters explains how the right and left hemispheres interact with each other.

u/leodoestheopposite · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Get the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain http://www.amazon.com/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241

You'll be amazed at yourself.

u/jknecht · 1 pointr/AskReddit

If you can learn to write, you can learn to draw. Writing is just drawing letters. Like anything else, it boils down to learning a few basics and then practice, practice, practice.

If you are serious about this, Betty Edwards' book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is an excellent introduction to drawing, especially geared for people who want to learn to draw but think they can't.

u/Li0Li · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn
u/JRyvoan · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

There is no internet outside of Reddit. What is this blue text you posted!?

tl;dr I &lt;3 xkcd, just wish I could draw better.

I did want to point out that at one time I asked an art instructor at my college what I could do to get better at drawing and she recommended this book. I bought it, did two lessons and was able to draw what it wanted me to draw but I never finished the book. I really enjoyed it, but life got in the way.

Edit: fixed my lack of spelling.

u/LeonardNemoysHead · 1 pointr/pics
u/rolfr · 1 pointr/drawing

I'm far from naturally talented at drawing, but lately I've picked up a whole bunch of instructional art materials and my skill is noticeably increasing. One of the ones I'm using right now is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. So far the instruction has noticeably increased my skills; I'm only a few exercises into it, and I'm already pretty happy with what I'm producing. Note though that the book itself is full of pseudo-scientific crap about the author's theory about brain hemispheres and their relationship to drawing; that makes it difficult to read, but just try not to take it too seriously and focus on the exercises.

u/meteorfury · 1 pointr/gamedev

thank you. This might be an interesting read: Drawing on the right side of the brain.

u/FlyingGonads · 1 pointr/evedreddit

Glad you liked it!

As for the "artistic ability", I wouldn't ever say I have it, but if you are really serious about it, I would strongly suggest this book (you can find PDFs for it with Google if you can't purchase it for some reason). That book alone got me from shitty stick figures to shitty non-stick figures. Really amazing book.

u/bandit69 · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Start Here - There are also videos available.

u/TheStreisandEffect · 1 pointr/pics

Thank you. Yeah, it was a quick sketch so not as accurate as some other portraits but it was one I had on hand. Some level of drawing is obviously innate; I was about 15 when I drew that and I could draw portraits when I was 10. But a big part of drawing is not your ability to do, and more of your ability to see. How you perceive shapes is a huge factor. A lot of people can learn to draw if they can learn how their brain interprets what they're looking at. When a lot of people try to draw faces they start out ok but when they notice that it doesn't look the same right away, their brain freaks out and starts to make up for it by making lines where there shouldn't be lines and filling in things that shouldn't be filled in. This results in the amateur looking portraits of heavily outlines eyes, noses, and mouths which don't exist in the real world. When you draw upside down, your brain isnt as used to seeing these shapes so you focus more on recreating what the object actually looks like versus what you think it should look like.

This book is a great resource and I highly recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0874774241
I just noticed that its a newer edition but it seems to be getting good reviews. The 1989 version is a classic and is excellent if you can get a used copy. Cheers.

u/theNicky · 1 pointr/learnart

This is a pretty phenomenal book to start learning how to draw: http://amzn.com/0874774241

u/arch_tecture · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson is good. I also like Drawing and Perceiving by Douglas Cooper.

The main thing is just practice. You have to train your hand, and improve your observation skills. It's not uncommon to get halfway into a drawing only to find problems, so try to practice proportioning and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just keep going.

Another fun thing is to see other artists' work and try to copy their technique. You can give that a try once you get used to the basics.

u/eliskandar · 1 pointr/funny

If you seriously have your mind set on wanting to improve, get yourself Bert Dodson's "Keys to Drawing".

u/pigvwu · 1 pointr/Art

Nicolaides's Natural Way to Draw seems to be a good program, but it's EXTREMELY tedious. If the op can't draw a recognizable likeness of something he is looking at, then Nicolaides's program would probably just get super frustrating with its hundreds of hours of gestures and blind contours. Studying gesture anatomy is fantastic, and seems to be the best way to learn how to draw figures from imagination, but if you can't draw well from observation, then your drawings from imagination probably won't look the way you want them to.

I've tried to start learning how to draw several times in my life, but I always got frustrated at the results and quit very shortly after starting. Then 2 months ago I decided to start again using Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Edwards, and I'm still drawing almost every day.

For beginners looking for quick results, I'd recommend Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Another book that I've found to be extremely helpful for general drawing instruction is Keys to Drawing by Burt Dodson.

u/SnakeoilSales · 1 pointr/NonZeroDay

I'm the lazy kind too. Drawing isn't very strenuous, and you can sit and draw your own foot for your drawing of the day, if you want. :)


I actually bought two books--the one I mentioned (http://www.amazon.com/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0007116454), and Keys to Drawing, by Burt Dodson http://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1413937201&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=keys+to+drawing+by+bert+dodson. They are fab books that made me understand that anyone can draw. Some days I got inspiration from the books and did exercises, and other days I'd pick something from around the house or out of a book or even froze the tv and drew people I saw there. No rules except to draw what I saw or imagined once a day, and to finish what I started. For me, finishing was the most important thing, because I get frustrated and want to quit.


Would love to share! That means I'll have to learn how to upload here ...


If you do choose drawing, I'd love to see how it goes!

u/2pie2 · 1 pointr/drawing

Hi, I am learning how to draw using this book:
https://www.amazon.fr/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377

I just started to learn portraits. Here is one from a 3/4 view. Do you have some advices?

Here is the original: http://orig11.deviantart.net/0b46/f/2014/007/3/4/touch_my_face_by_wondermee-d71908j.jpg

I guess my main shortcoming is that I am not patient, I don't like to spend a lot of time on details, so my drawings will never be even close to the very realistic portraits I see in this sub.

So as a side question: do you have to be patient to be a good draughtsman?

Thank you for your replies!

u/trafalux · 1 pointr/GetMotivated

Bert Dodson! It's this one :)

u/klaudeo · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

I'd recommend one book: Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson. The book is worth its weight in gold largely because Bert emphasizes the point Yosafbrige made prior: draw what you see NOT what your brain imagines. Drawing from memory (at least initially) will like lead to numerous inaccuracies since our memories are quite faulty and can't retain all the detail our eyes can perceive. Essentially Keys to Drawing teaches you to ACTIVELY OBSERVE your subject. Frankly this is exhausting at first. It takes more effort to stare and study your subject than merely fixating on the paper in front of you.

PRO TIP: Spend more time looking at your subject than the paper in front you. As soon as you find yourself spending too much time looking away from your subject, you begin (unconsciously) to use memory and fall on tried and tired techniques. This is the easy, and faulty way to draw -- at first. With enough practice (several years) drawing from memory will become a more reliable source.

http://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377#

u/Otatopu · 1 pointr/ArtCrit

This can't be considered "finished" by the realism standards, you should consider filling the contours with pencil, even if lightly, and if you still have your reference, try to look a little more at it, see how light and shadow behave on its surface.
Realism/drawing from life is mainly observation, would be great if you read some books on the subject. keys to drawing and drawing on the right side of the brain are a good place to start. They may help you learn how to hold the pencil correctly, measure effectively, also may show the basics of light and shadow, and perspective.

u/heyyoufatass · 1 pointr/Illustration

Get this book and do all the assignments in it. Practice like crazy. If you want it you can do it. The idea of magical talent that you just have or don't have is silly. You just need passion and a hell of a lot of working time. It will hurt.

u/I_am_godzilla · 1 pointr/DigitalPainting

Definitely classes. If you're not doing classes for whatever reason. I suggest making these three books your bible.

How to draw - Scott Robertson

Color and light

And finally

Bridgman's Drawing from life

No need to get them all at once. But these three books are chock full of lessons that you will revisit over and over as you progress in your art. Strongly recommended.

u/TwoToedTerror · 1 pointr/learnart

Glad I could be of help!

Watts Atelier is really amazing. It is beginner friendly - anatomy knowledge helps, but you wont be drawing the figure immediately. It will still be a good idea to learn anatomy while you continue through the program - I'll link you to some great anatomy resources.

To give you a rough breakdown of how the course works, you start by drawing simple shapes (spheres, cylinders, boxes, cones) focusing on form and value. Then you will start drawing other simple geometric forms applying the same principles. Then drawing fundamentals is finished with still life drawing. Next you move into portrait drawing fundamentals, then figure. If you are interested in painting, you can continue the course to portrait and figure painting, along with other specialized classes (landscape, drapery, composition, etc.)

On the issue of sizing, that is a problem that will solve itself naturally over time. It has to do with proportions and measuring, which is a skill that takes time and practice to get a handle on. Eventually you can visualize where everything goes and place it on the page in the right spot. But yeah, Watts Atelier will definitely help.

The difference between Watts and other free tutorials online is 1.) professionalism and structure: The course is taught by the founder of the atelier Jeff Watts, and it is structured like a true academic art class. Learning online gives you random bits of information which are helpful, but you can't contextualize them. The course is designed to take you from beginner to master. The tutorials online are fun, but don't have that structure.

2.) The teachers are world class artists. To give context, here is some of Jeff Watts work. You may not want to be a painter, but you can be confident that you are learning from a master. You can also google his drawings, they will blow you away. Also, the guy Stan Prokopenko who I recommended - and is often mentioned in this sub - was trained at the Watts Atelier by Jeff Watts.

You probably get the picture, its a great program. My experience with it has been an absolute joy. I wish I could go back in time two years when I started pursuing a career in art and taken these classes immediately. It would have saved me so much time and effort wasted trying to figure out how to grow as an artist on my own. What I do is pay for a month and watch all the videos and print out the handouts for the module (currently on portrait II), and then spend however long I need to get a good handle on it before I spend the 100$ for the next month. Also, if you have the cash to blow, you can spend extra money to get 1 on 1 coaching with teachers at the atelier.

I will note that it can get boring drawing spheres and still life all the time, so make sure you schedule time to draw stuff you love. Once you get into portrait and figure things get way more fun, but just be ready for that in the early stages.

Anyway, glad I could help at all! Feel free to PM me at any time, I have tons of resources I've hoarded over the years that can be helpful. Here are some links that might be helpful:

Here is a video of Jeff Watts drawing and answering questions, it will give you an idea of what his teaching style is like and who he is. Also the drawing is really good.

New Masters Academy is another great tool that has been huge for me. The anatomy and figure drawing courses are amazing. They aren't as structured as Watts, but can be very useful for when you have specific areas you want help for.

This book is superb for figure drawing. Also, this book is the equally amazing book on perspective. Also, a lot of books don't talk about drawing the clothed figure (which is pretty dumb considering most of the time, commercial art has to do with clothed people), which is why I also love this book. You are probably familiar with Bridgman's book, but if you don't have it - get it.

A lot of professional artists in many different industries (concept art, comics, film, animation, 3D, etc.) make gumroad tutorials for a decent price, here is a massive list of tons of these great tutorials.

If you want some inspiration while you work, I love listening to Creative Trek and Chris Oatley's Artcast. They both are mostly interviews with other professional artists and contain all sorts of wisdom and inspiration to help you out.

I have more, but I'll leave it there. I hope the best for you man! Keep up the hard work! Feel free to PM me for whatever reason.

u/SalmonellaSam · 1 pointr/battlestations

Bridgman's Drawing from Life. I highly recommend this for any artist. I keep it within an arms reach at most times.

u/Batmana · 1 pointr/Art

The best thing you can do is get a few books/e-books or like Kissnellie suggests online guides.

I suggest Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life , I also like Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists by Sheppard.

Basically just draw all of the images over and over again, they are like maps to the human body. Sure they won't be exact for every person - but getting an idea of how it looks will help you shape it better. Drawing figures (and anything) is about understanding it and yadda yadda.

Draw from life, gesture often from pixelovely, and Posemaniacs

If you practice for a while, you'll get a good understanding of the human figure pretty well :D

I might have some anatomy e-books if you're interested - drop me a message. I am currently taking a life drawing class, so it's all good fun if I can help others =3

u/dogsarefun · 1 pointr/Art

what you are doing is probably the best thing you can do. the second best thing would be to have a look at Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing From Life and then keep drawing. You are right, hands are hard!

edit: I also just learned (by linking to the bridgeman book on amazon) that andrew loomis's books have FINALLY been reissued. Like bridgeman, his books are essential. I remember a few years ago his books were going for $100+. get them.

u/LoseEgoFindSelf · 1 pointr/learntodraw

I picked up this book Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life https://www.amazon.com/dp/1402766785/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AXcNzb6626FC3 to learn anatomy. Is that good?

u/ez617 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

I think you should get yourself either this adorable little pikachu coin pouch, or this book to help you with your drawing. OR, you could get this adorable Up funko (not on your list, but I thought you might like it). Happy birthday! :)

swaggybananas

u/Kriket308 · 1 pointr/ZBrush

I would suggest picking up a couple anatomy books and simply copying them. Like I said, you'd be surprised at how much this teaches you. First, take a look at Bridgman's guide It's very loose and probably easier to learn from because of it. But there is complete accuracy in the looseness of his drawings, so I know I learned a ton about the figure from him.

Secondly, I'd pick up Richer's Artistic Anatomy This is a ton more informational, and the drawings are much tighter, but spot on figures and great info. This is one of my teacher's favorite reference books, and he's been published in Spectrum 13 times, and worked for George Lucas.

u/kalyn92 · 1 pointr/FantasyMaps

Thank you! If you want to start, the easiest way is just to get some paper and a pen and go for it!
I would absolutly reccomend watching the youtube channel WASD20. I love this guy! He takes you step by step of different styles and gives great tips. He reccomened this book which is where some of my designs come from. (Im not the creative type!) https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Fantasy-Art-Maps/dp/1440340242/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=cartography+book&amp;amp;qid=1565143475&amp;amp;s=gateway&amp;amp;sr=8-4

Please please please give it a whirl and share! I cant wait to see how you do!

u/maule · 1 pointr/mapmaking

I don't know if there is any pdf form, but i bought it here: https://www.amazon.com.br/How-Draw-Fantasy-Art-Maps/dp/1440340242

u/TreesAndDoughnuts · 1 pointr/mapmaking

Check out Fantasy Art &amp; RPG Maps Book, page 68. Author recommends strong horizontal line with several vertical lines going upwards (see andrea55TP's reply). Then lightly draw in angled/curvy horizontal lines to represent the mushy stuff.

u/mr_wifflebat · 1 pointr/dndmaps

Thanks! I drew it all on an iPad using Procreate.

Started with a super-rough sketch with where I was gonna put everything--towns, rivers, and all. Then I started on the "real thing." Coastlines (and lakes) first, making them more complex than in the rough sketch. Then mountains, forests, doing all the bits by hand. (If I'd been using Photoshop, I might have tried to clone or make some kind of "tree brush," but I think the hand-drawing makes it look more natural.)

Next came the coastline outlines and waves. Then rivers and cities. I separated as much as I could into layers so I could mess with it later.

Colored the water on one layer, then did the land on its own layer. In general, I'm very unhappy with the color and will probably do it over at some point.

I assume everybody in the sub knows about this book, but it's got step-by-step instructions that are more or less what I did (the book takes it a lot farther into labeling and stuff that I'm not planning to do on this map). Can't recommend the book enough--it's what I would have dreamed for twenty-thirty years ago when I was actively playing RPGs!

u/karf101 · 1 pointr/imaginarymaps

If they like fantasy maps this is a nice book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Draw-Fantasy-Art-Maps/dp/1440340242

You can probably find it cheaper somewhere else. If they like different styles of maps then there will probably be books for that as well.


You could also get old atlases quite cheap which show different ways of making maps and how territory has changed over time.

If you're from the UK you can buy old OS maps of certain areas, there may be similar maps for different countries.

u/KittehKi · 1 pointr/SantasLittleHelpers

I don't know how he is about clothing, but a shirt he might find amusing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014FRG5TI

D&amp;D Animated Series: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Complete-Willie-Aames/dp/B002DH20Q0

Another Shirt: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-dragons-shirt-tshirts-Medium/dp/B01BFXDZMK

A container for his Dice or cards: https://www.amazon.com/LOOMEN-Treasure-Chest-Gaming-Container/dp/B01K5JPTWE

D&amp;D Movie Collection: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-2-Movie-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B004DN2Y5O

A cool book about creating makes for D&amp;D, we have this and it's interesting and not too difficult with the instructions: https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Fantasy-Art-Maps/dp/1440340242

A dorky mug: https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Hit-D20-Ceramic-Mug/dp/B017V0MMIE

A thing for his dice: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Mimic-Gamer-Pouch/dp/B01DN2B10E

A cool colouring book for adults: https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhus-Coloring-Necronomicon-Sunny-Doings/dp/0692390561

I'm sure he has a set of dice, but if he doesn't they have tons of those for cheap on Amazon, in all sorts of colours.

This is a PS4 game, it's an RPG type, which seems like what he might be into: https://www.amazon.com/ArcaniA-Complete-Tale-PlayStation-4-Standard/dp/B00TKLFOKQ

ANother PS4 game: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Quest-Heroes-World-Trees-Blight/dp/B00TUFUD0S

For Magic, they have random sets on Amazon for cheap, with "rare" cards, I don't know if he needs more cards and what not. https://www.amazon.com/Random-Cards-Foils-Mythics-Planeswalkers/dp/B00HECBR9K

Here is 1000 random cards to boost his collection: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Gathering-Cards-Rares-Mythic/dp/B007G91FZ2

Little figures, from the Magic game: https://www.amazon.com/Funko-Pop-Games-Gathering-Beleren/dp/B00J227MF8

https://www.amazon.com/Funko-Pop-Games-Gathering-Wildspeaker/dp/B00J227LSQ

https://www.amazon.com/Funko-POP-Games-Gathering-Figure/dp/B00MWUYQ10

https://www.amazon.com/Funko-POP-Games-Gathering-Tezzeret/dp/B00MWUYPMA

Let me know if any of these seem like good ideas, or something is close and you need more along those lines, this was just a few minutes of searching.

u/Smokey9000 · 1 pointr/worldbuilding

Not sure on what the link policy is on this sub but this book is what im using to help draw maps and its got a few different ideas that i found helpful for someone with no artistic ability whatsoever like myself

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1440340242/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1

u/noodleIncident · 1 pointr/DnDBehindTheScreen

Dave and Brett, get out of here.

Relatively new DM here - started last year. Here's my progression of hand-drawn maps. I introduce the maps to the players by selling them through an absent-minded but prolific cartographer. Here they are in chronological order, with descriptions below.

  • Farralon, the northern province where the adventure began.
  • From there I dumped the players into the Plane of Fire in the Azer city of Dar Khalid, where they were briefly stuck when their NPC-supplied transplanar transport device unexpectedly broke.
  • Next they tracked the shady NPC who screwed them over to The Northemarch, where the crunchy druid and cleric of Eldath got to RP a little more while saving a forest sickened by a Gulthias tree.
  • The players have yet to see the detailed city map for Frostcrag, the first town they encountered or the Kingdom of Pyr. I got the shape of the kingdom by loading up an old Civ V game and roughly copying the coastline.

    Forgive the weirdly truncated scans; I only have access to an 8.5" x 11" scanner, but these were drawn on 9" x 12" paper. These were all drawn on drawing or bristol paper with graphite, then inked. I borrowed a lot of the drawing style of later maps from Jared Blando's How to Draw Fantasy and RPG Maps, which I highly recommend checking out.
u/KermitDFwog · 1 pointr/painting

One book that was surprisingly helpful for me was Art School: How to Paint and Draw. I actually got it in the bargain bin at a book store.

A couple other helpful books are Problem Solving for Oil Painters and Color and Light.

Also, if you have an art studio around, sometimes they have cheap beginners classes. I've found those to be quite helpful starting out.

u/Overtow · 1 pointr/Art

There are a number of color theory books out there but I'm not sure that will answer all of your questions. I have a copy of The Elements of Color that I reference often. The thing is, there isn't really one solid formula for mixing paint. It mostly comes through practice and understanding the physics of color and how colors shift in tone, saturation, and hue. There is some really good advice in this post already. I have a few other sources you might be interested in.

Wet Canvas has some great forums for people like us who need help with this kind of stuff from time to time.

The Dimensions of Color has a very thorough breakdown of color. It is extensive and a harder read than maybe you are used to. Take it slow. Read it a few times. Refer to it often.

Color and Light by James Gurney is a great resource as well. Be warned, that it isn't necessarily a "how-to" but it will give you insight into how a professional artist goes about his work. He provides insight on techniques and palettes and things like that as well as phenomena seen in nature.

Take a look at those. Best of luck.

u/tylerjhutchison · 1 pointr/pics

This is looking really good! Keep it up!

I highly recommend you check out these books... they are something I wish I had read (or been available) when I was your age.

1)Color and Light: A guide for the realist painter

2)Imaginative Realism

These two books do a really good job of explaining some practical 'rules' for painting. You do not always have to follow them, but you should for sure know them and learn them.

3)Dynamic Light and Shade
This is just a book that is full of really great black and white drawings that that show how much can be expressed without any color. It is a great book to study from and to try copying images from.

u/Soliloquies87 · 1 pointr/MattePainting

I'm late to the party, but I made a cheat sheet for my boss niece last week: here's all the ressources I can think of to kick butts at matte painting.

The sites where we pay per month

Gnomon Online School
Super school of vfx in California. They have on their site a lot of tutorials from 8 to 20 hours to learn to make your own camera projections. You can either pay (expensive but worth it) for a private class with a teacher via Skype. Or you pay (cheaper) for a bank of tutorials.

private lessons
https://www.gnomon.edu/courses/online


the bank of tutorials
https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials?tags[]=matte-painting


I recommend: All the tutorials of Dylan Cole (vol 1, 2,3), Camera Projection Techniques in Maya, Matte Painting Production techniques, etc.




Plural Sight (formerly Digital Tutors)


a site that has courses on a little everything. This site is very good when you want to learn new programs. Excellent serie on the 3D which becomes more and more present in the matte painting, and some tutorials


https://app.pluralsight.com/library/


related to 3D

Quick start to modeling in Maya (volume 1,2,3)
Professional Tips for Modeling Complex Shapes


related to matte painting

Photo manipulation and Clean Plating Fundamentals
Matte Painting Basic and the Static Camera Shot


Sites where we pay per tutorial (Gumroad, etc.)



The tutorials of Anthony Eftekhari

Good DMP tutorials that show you the latest techniques and how to do it step by step.


https://gumroad.com/anthonye

The tutorials of Eytan Zana

More concept art, but the main lines apply just as well to the DMP.

https://gumroad.com/eytanzana


Free sites and tutorials


Garrett Fry's blog

He also has a Facebook group that helps each other in DMP, it is THE technical reference for matte painting. His blog is full of technical stuff for camera projections (aka moving your matte painting). A treasure of information.
https://www.gfryart.com/blog



Other


TEXTURES! (Or can we find good textures to make DMP)


CGtexture

http://www.textures.com

Flickr (Matte Painting References)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tjframe/sets/72157605581901392/

Flickr (Matte Painting Resources)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dman3d2000/sets/72157629164518650/

Photobash.org (paying a card)

https://www.photobash.org/

Pictures of Jacek Pilarski

https://gumroad.com/jacekpilarski

Books (yes yes, it's a thing)

Digital Matte Painter Handbook

it's old, the drawings are ugly, the photoshop stuff in it is pure candy though. Full of stuff in DMP that I have never seen elsewhere but that is the basis of the trade. Still actual today. The matte painting of the castle in is also an excellent starting point if you start from scratch.

https://www.amazon.ca/Digital-Matte-Painting-Handbook/dp/0470922427/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1523975893&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Digital+Matte+Painting+Handbook

How to draw and How to Render

Scott Robertson, a big shot of concept art, shows the basics of traditional drawings, perspective, etc. An essential.

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=GWB27RDDYF5E0JG7TTY0

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=K9W1RK5K9KVWMPY14EAE

Imaginative Realism and Color and Light

James Gurney is an illustrator who specializes in realistic fantasy artwork with traditional mediums, excellent cues on light and color

https://www.amazon.ca/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508?th=1&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;source=googleshopping&amp;amp;locale=en-CA&amp;amp;tag=googcana-20&amp;amp;ref=pd_sl_2y2j9az9y9_e

https://www.amazon.ca/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=YCNYYJCTNJ4405KD1S6B

Nuke 101

We can make the projection of matte painting in Nuke or Maya. An excellent book for Nuke.

https://www.amazon.ca/Nuke-101-Professional-Compositing-Effects/dp/0321984129/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=FNST5YS1F7464SZY3QZV

u/lunarjellies · 1 pointr/pics

Reeves is crap paint. Try using it up as a paint you sketch with rather than finishing a whole piece with it. The reason why economy (or student) quality paints such as Reeves are not so great (even for beginners) is because if you try to do any sort of color mixing with them, you end up with mud. Reason why is because the pigment to medium ratio is poor (less pigment and more fillers/mediums in the tube than a more pricey brand). I teach art classes to beginners and I am now requiring that they purchase artist-grade acrylics, oils or watercolours for class. Here's a bit of a shopping list for you... obtain the following: Golden-brand paint in these colours: Hansa Yellow Opaque, Quinacridone Magenta, Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) or Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna, Zinc White and Titanium White. Also, pick up some Golden Acrylic Glazing Medium (Gloss) or Retarder Medium to mix into your colours instead of adding water. Adding water to acrylic polymer emulsion paints breaks down the paint, therefore resulting in a less saturated, washed-out or "dull" surface. You can mix water with watercolour paints, but try using acrylic mediums such as the glazing medium instead of water. The paints I mentioned and the medium will run you about $60-$70 depending on where you live (the stuff is cheaper in the USA). If you have any questions at all about art materials, please message me and I will answer your questions. I've worked in art supplies for a some years now and have extensive product knowledge about the stuff.

As far as composition goes, I get my students to use their own photographs only. The reason is because if you take photos off the net (even though you are giving your painting away this time around), the composition has already been solved for you, so you aren't learning much when it comes to that. Use your own photos and crop them using a viewfinder window to obtain a composition for your work. Oh, and also another good practice tip would be to sketch out at least 5-10 different compositions in thumbnail format in a sketchbook (using a pen or pencil or whatever you want). That way, you will have a nice little plan before starting on a canvas.

It is always best to draw or paint from life when you can, but when you can't get outdoors to paint, be sure to stick with your own photos (or composites even; you could do this in Photoshop and then print it out).

When mixing, do not use black. I say this because it is good to learn colour theory, and then make up your mind whether or not you'd like to use black to darken areas. Complimentaries create neutral grays, so for example: Red &amp; Green, Blue &amp; Orange, Yellow &amp; Purple. Theoretically, you can mix equal parts of any two complimentaries and obtain black. Add white and you get grey. Zinc white is a good one to start with because Titanium White can be overpowering. Try mixing both whites together in order to create a "Mixing White" and then use that when tinting (tint = adding white to a color). Another little trick to obtain black (and subsequent grays) is to mix Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. You can mix Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna to create a warmer black/grey.

And now, for some books that you simply must purchase and read through! I'm real picky when it comes to good art instruction books... so here are my recommended selections :)

Color &amp; Light by James Gurney

Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala

Composing Pictures by Donald Graham (Disney's art instructor for many years)

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson - written in the 1920s, this is THE DEFINITIVE book on landscape painting. The man's writing is sharp, witty and to the point)

One more thing... failure and criticism from others (and yourself) are your friends. Failure will drive you to create better work, and criticism will help you know where you aren't doing so well. Praise is great, but it can be extremely dangerous because if too many people praise you and not many give suggestions then where are you at exactly? You won't know if you've made a mistake (especially if you are just starting out).

Quantity (and quality) are everything... paint paint paint! Paint one a week or even daily if you can! Create your next post on Reddit when you've completed 30 paintings. Seeing your progress would be nice. Start a blog to keep track of your progress. Also, try and enroll in a night class at your local art university/college. Take the basics like Life Drawing first.

Oh, and... paint for yourself, first and foremost. Do not give a shit about "is this going to sell?". Do not care. Just do it for yourself. And don't be afraid to create something out of your comfort zone (pure abstraction or something with shocking subject matter).

Good luck!

u/scathsiorai · 1 pointr/furry

James Gurney's books are great. There's a couple ugly links for you.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719

http://www.amazon.com/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;refRID=010WGMHA6E5MNR6W03RW

Following artists on facebook has helped me more than anything. Well not more than putting in the time and effort to improve of course. Anyway, professionals are always posting advice and links to valuable resources. Its worth looking for artists that you like and seeing what their process is and how they solve artistic problems.

u/paxsonsa · 1 pointr/vfx

Color and Light - yes it's a painters book but the theory and ideas apply directly into compositing. (http://www.amazon.ca/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719)

Digital Compositing for Film - You are going to hear and read a lot fo stuff by Steve Wright. He basically is the man haha. This book is great because it teaches ideas no programs. EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMPOSITING IS IN THIS BOOK!(http://www.amazon.ca/Digital-Compositing-Video-Steve-Wright/dp/024081309X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1413392563&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=digital+compositing)


For your last question, I did a while ago, i didn't work for them I worked with them. I now am employed by Prime Focus World.

u/B00Mshadow · 1 pointr/IDAP

If this is your first attempt to step away from outline work I think you're doing a great job! I would maybe work your light and shade relationships to define the forms a bit more, but that may be a style choice on your part so disregard if so. Also, the brain looks a little flat compared to the rest of the piece. Get it a little wet?


I would also recommend getting ahold of James Gurney's book Color and Light. It was really helpful when I was trying to get away from outline work and I still reference it all the time. He explains things more with theory than being medium specific.

u/FuriousLynx · 1 pointr/FurryArtSchool

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (James Gurney Art) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_SJB2Bb2KHP47J
This one is great for understanding color and is really good if you're going to use traditional media.

u/dead_painter · 1 pointr/ArtistLounge

James Gurney (of Dinotopia and Color and Light fame) has an excellent blog that provides tons of information on plein air painting and hand-made pochade boxes and easels.

He uses this sketchbook for most of his plein air work (watercolor, gouache and casein paints) It is small and versatile.

u/ozzilee · 1 pointr/photography

I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but Color and Light: A Guide to for the Realist Painter seems to be very well regarded.

This video and the idea of gamut masking a limited color palettes really helped me.

I tend to shoot black and white a lot now though. Color is hard!

u/Rodc123 · 1 pointr/argentina

Que buena onda que hayas empezado. Como consejo, lo primero que puedo decirte es que identifiques que tipo de persona sos a la hora de estudiar. Si te resulta mas facil organizarte "solo" para estudiar, youtube y un par de libros de cabecera son todo lo que necesitas. Hay canales muy muy bueno y completamente gratis, te paso algunos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74HR59yFZ7Y&amp;list=PLtG4P3lq8RHGuMuprDarMz_Y9Fbw_d2ws

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sycra/videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUQTqWAaSzhAKRanOpes1nA

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHNr6171ABuPh6-thLbdvmA

&amp;#x200B;

Los libros que se sugieren ahora para empezar son estos:

https://www.amazon.es/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819

https://www.amazon.es/Colour-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719/ref=pd_sim_14_3/262-2885865-4628303?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0740797719&amp;pd_rd_r=2c830cb3-a49c-11e9-af60-adc40eafed34&amp;pd_rd_w=Xc6BJ&amp;pd_rd_wg=T3BTs&amp;pf_rd_p=7cb3e23e-064d-4c10-b8ca-d3e14b48695e&amp;pf_rd_r=MR8ZBNPA5XTR153PN5QE&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=MR8ZBNPA5XTR153PN5QE

&amp;#x200B;

Sí necesitas una mano, un buen taller de dibujo es lo tuyo, y la practica diaría. tenes que ser proactivo y curioso sin esperar a que el profesor te lo de todo.

Lo importante cuando uno se inicia en el dibujo es aprender a cuidar el trazo y controlarlo; despues estructura para no dibujar unicamente las siluetas que vemos y mientras vaz aprendiendo eso poco a poco vas a ir ganando fluidez en tus trabajos y confianza.

Muchos exitos

u/kempsridley · 1 pointr/Watercolor

Color and Light by James Gurney has a great section on understanding the importance of color theory with some very nice examples and it is easy to read/understand, as well as a lot of information on how to understand light/shadows. Not exclusive to watercolor but I think it is still a great resource. I haven't found a watercolor technique book I love yet, usually my go to for that is YouTube.

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1453174518&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=james+gurney

u/Ophichius · 1 pointr/fo4

If you've got the time and resources to spare, try making maquettes. You can get modeling clay fairly cheap, and it can be incredibly helpful to throw together a quick maquette, chuck it under a lamp, and see what happens with the light.

If you want a great pair of books on light and form by a master painter, check out James Gurney's Color and Light and Imaginative Realism. His blog is worth a read as well, it's always informative and interesting.

If you want a more technical approach to lighting, How to Render is a fantastic technical examination of how light behaves on various surfaces. The associated How to Draw is an excellent technical book on perspective. Both are a bit dry and clinical, but quite excellent.

Anything by Andrew Loomis is also well worth picking up.

u/Vylanius · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Congrats on your job! :)

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter, please.

Thanks for the contest!

pumpkin

u/oohay_email2004 · 1 pointr/dailydraw

That sounds like a ringing endorsement!

Is this it: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719?

I'm feelin' randy enough to buy it. Paperback good enough?

And damn dude, you're one of the best painters I've seen anywhere on reddit; and if you're learning from it...

u/WithLinesOfInk · 1 pointr/Illustration

Hey there. I think the shading could be simplified in its shapes, and also direction. Right now you have the highlights indicating the light is coming from all sorts of places: underneath her (arms) Front right (chest and legs), upper right (face and hair). Make sure you know exactly where your light source is and how it will hit her body.

The shadows also don't seem to make sense- they aren't conforming to the body shape and they don't reach the edge or wrap her form, so they just read as floating shapes.

It's a good start but I think you may want to take it back a step and really plot out/block out where everything is going to be in shadow and light. Also, this book is the best http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1427037249&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=color+and+light

u/Z0MBGiEF · 1 pointr/drawing

Good book here: http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Artist-Sarah-Simblet/dp/078948045X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1397771944&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=Anatomy+for+the+Artist

Another thing is once you feel comfortable with your drawing, take a life drawing class. You can usually take them at any community college where you will draw nude models, it will push you to get outside of your comfort zones because you will be forced to draw complex poses in short amounts of times. Developing muscle memory through speed and repetition will make you better and better.

I still take figure drawing classes even though I've been drawing for over 25 years.

u/Hayleysconcept · 1 pointr/conceptart

So I think the previous commenters were right in telling you to use softer lines. When you keep line art in a piece you have to be rather conscientious about your line weight and where you place lines. Lines are a representation of light value.

If you’re not trying to make a character scowl it’s best not to put lines between the eye brows unless they have a prominent wrinkle there. Perhaps if it’s a slight wrinkle a lighter line would do or it could be softly painted in.

Under the nose suffers from the line weight as well it makes it appear like it may be a scar. This philtrum May have been better demarcated with paint or lighter lines.

Your drawing is extremely symmetrical giving it a stiff appearance. Almost like you drew one half and then folded it down the middle to make a carbon copy. This is especially apparent in the bridge of the nose. Average people have slight asymmetry in their face. Little imperfections make a portrait piece great vs good.

Lastly the bone structure is slightly askew. The character being an elf this may be intentional but I would strongly advise more anatomical practice. The orbital vaults in the skull typically don’t extend that far down into the maxilla. The collar bones are also askew and extremely symmetrical.

I think you’d benefit greatly from studying more anatomy, there are TONS of online resources but if you want something tangible this is a good book for like half the price I got it for 🤣

Anatomy for the Artist https://www.amazon.com/dp/078948045X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_W26hDbCFHD828

All in all it’s a good render. The color is where it shines the most. Just keep drawing and you’ll get better and better 👍 Keep up the good work

Feel free to DM me if you want to talk about it.

u/RellenD · 1 pointr/Naruto
u/Rye22 · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

they make anatomy text books specifically for artists, google turned this up. I guess artistically you would probably mostly care about bone and muscle structures.

u/Mt_Thing · 1 pointr/funhaus

I think I remember that... not sure if this is the book he's talking about but this is literally the illustrators bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Artist-Sarah-Simblet/dp/078948045X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1452621275&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=anatomy+for+the+artist

u/jack639 · 1 pointr/learnart

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Anatomy-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1345442071&amp;amp;sr=1-1-catcorr&amp;amp;keywords=dynamic+anatomy

Worth it if you're serious about studying anatomy. Or just check out some books on drawing anatomy from your library. More detailed information and references will help! I would actually copy some figures from an anatomy book before trying posemaniacs, it's much easier to draw from a solid copy than a computer screen.

It was several years after I started anatomical studies that I had the sense to study the body from the inside out, skeleton, muscles, everything. Worth every minute.

Good luck!

u/ChrisWithWings · 1 pointr/redditgetsdrawn

&gt; my 'gram

That's great, I love it. You're drawing is just about as adorable as that little fence lizard.

I was just looking through your other work and noticed all of your hand studies. You might want to check out this book. It was my bible when I was studying the fundamentals of figure drawing. I still consult my old charcoal dust covered copy. Note: I don't work for the book company or anything, just a friendly tip from one artist to another.

Anyways, great work. Keep it up.

u/Noxieus · 1 pointr/ZBrush

Good start, nice job. This is basically how I learned anatomy: [Dynamic Anatomy] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0823015521/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1518229124&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;amp;keywords=dynamic+anatomy+by+burne+hogarth&amp;amp;dpPl=1&amp;amp;dpID=51IuMvcdUbL&amp;amp;ref=plSrch)


And really I just went through it page by page and drew everything. Everything! By the time you are done, you'll have a solid grasp of human anatomy, or at least a damn good start.

&amp;nbsp;

I learned this approach from one of my heroes, Frank Frazetta:



&gt;When Ralph [Mayo] took over he pulled me aside and said, “Frank, you stuff is great, but you need to learn some anatomy.” When I was in school with Falanga the emphasis was on feeling, not on the nuts and bolts, so I really didn’t understand what he meant by ‘anatomy.’ So Ralph handed me an anatomy book and when I went home that night I had decided to learn anatomy. I started with page one and copied the entire book – everything in one night, from the skeleton up. I came back the next day like a dumb kid and said, “Thank you very much, I just learned my anatomy.” Of course Ralph fell over and roared with laughter. “Frankie, you silly bastard! I’ve been studying for ten years and I still don’t know anatomy, and you went home and learned it last night?!” But the thing was I had learned an awful lot. I had the ability to absorb things and he saw an improvement in my work right away. It amazed him and that meant a lot to me. From that point on I developed pretty rapidly: I started to do things with figures that made sense. I worked for Mayo and Standard for a few years, doing things like “Looie Laziebones” and all the funny animal stuff.

-Frank Frazetta



&amp;nbsp;


Here's an old WIP character I made that shows some of my anatomy work, though not perfect by any means and stylized, being just a big muscle bound brute (no armor/clothing pictured here either):
http://jpe3d.cgsociety.org/art/maya-zbrush-shezmu-musculature-sculpt-816692




u/nottoc00 · 1 pointr/Fallout

Totally. Look at it this way:

Everyone knows when something is dubbed over or when spokem audio and lip flapping are out of sync. But everyone isn't a lipreader. We all know when something doesn't look "right". We rarely know how to MAKE it "right".

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015777

u/bulletcurtain · 1 pointr/DigitalPainting

I used to be exactly like you back in high school. You have the raw talent, now you need to pair that with an education on art fundamentals. These fundamentals exist irregardless of medium, so you can practice with just your doodles. The main fundamentals are anatomy, color and light, perspective, and composition. In your case, I recommend buying a book on proper figure drawing. You have really cool ideas, so you just need to nail the proportions. This was the first book I read on the subject, and I fount it really helpful. If you want more after that, Andrew Loomis and Bridgeman are the some of the other classic figure drawing educators. As for the other fundamentals, ctrlpaint.com is a probably one of the best free resources, and as for books, here's one I would recommend that covers all the essentials. Again, if you want to take your art to the next level, whether it be just doodles or digital art, it's all about dem fundamentals. Best of luck!

u/christopheles · 1 pointr/ArtCrit

As far as visual story telling there's nothing there. It's all just character studies. I'm a huge comics nerd and the medium is so unique and powerful but people think it's simple when it's anything but if you really want to do something with it. Check out this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-The-Invisible-Art/dp/006097625X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1331962588&amp;amp;sr=1-1

It's probably at your local library if it's worth its salt. And read some great comics. Check out stuff by Top Shelf Publishing. I've talked with their publisher before and he really gets comics.


As far as the characters themselves go I think other people made the points I would make but here's another book recommendation.

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015777

u/LittleHelperRobot · 1 pointr/learnart

Non-mobile:

u/rauren019 · 1 pointr/learnart

You are definitely talented, and being the logical analytical type can work in your favor. Drawing technique is a science, which you can break down and learn regardless of ability. The best way to learn is formal instruction, either a class or private lessons. An instructor will be able to teach you the fundamentals, correct mistakes, and give you feedback on your progress. If taking lessons is not a practical option, I recently discovered r/ArtFundamentals They have organized lessons that teach you the fundamentals of drawing from the very beginning and you can get lots of feedback by posting your completed assignments. It's the next best thing paid instruction.

Personally, I am self taught, and did not have any real formal instruction until college. My bread and butter is character design using my own blend of manga, comic book, and realistic styles. I employed 3 main strategies to teach myself. I practiced constantly, I copied the drawings and characters of artists I liked, and I read lots of art instruction books (I particularly enjoyed learning about anatomy, my two favorite books are Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy and Dynamic Figure Drawing I like the approaches to style and technique.)

Regardless of the path you take, the most important thing is lots and lots of practice, every day. I never had issues making myself practice, for me it was fun to challenge myself and figure out how to do new things. I definitely understand the frustration of not being able to translate the image in my head to paper, or getting stuck on a detail that just won't come out right. I cannot speak for every artist, but I find that my finished pieces rarely look like what I saw in my head. The trick is to let go and allow the picture to evolve and take shape the way that looks best. It is kind of hard to explain, but I make decisions constantly on the fly on what will look best regardless of whatever I originally planned. Get comfortable with the fact that you won't recreate the image in your mind, adapt to the drawing you are creating, and you will cut down on the frustration immensely. Last little tidbit, drawing on a Wacom is harder than on paper. I have an old Intuos and while I love it and use it a ton there is a disconnect. You look up at a screen and not your hand and god forbid there is any lag between the strokes you make and what shows on screen. I REALLY recommend using pencil and paper while you bone up on your fundamentals before you convert to the tablet. I regularly will start artwork on paper, scan it, and then finish it on the computer. Good luck with your drawing. Don't forget that you will make a lot of mistakes and that's okay, we all do, no matter how good we may be. The most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun. If you stop enjoying it then you will lose your passion. Sorry this post dragged on, hope I was able to help!

u/Artist_Ji-Li · 1 pointr/learnart
u/Dofu_tao · 1 pointr/learntodraw

I constantly try to everyone I can about these two books, Drawn to Life Vol 1 &amp; 2: The Walt Stanchfield Lectures. They are super heavy in terms of theory, and took me a few years to read through both volumes fully, but no other book has impacted the way I think about and practice drawing then these two.

https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Life-Classes-Stanchfield-Lectures/dp/0240810961/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1519436955&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=drawn+to+life

Framed Ink has been really helpful for me in beginning to understand the art of sequential story telling, and the thinking behind different framing choices.

https://www.amazon.com/Framed-Ink-Drawing-Composition-Storytellers/dp/1933492953/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Add into that David Chelseas book Perspective for Comic Book Artists. It explained (and continues to explain) perspective in a way that makes sense and is incredibly detailed. (I alone would buy the book for how he explains the hanger method of sizing characters of the same size but on different planes in the correct perspective.)

https://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Comic-Book-Artists-Professional/dp/0823005674/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1519437238&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=perspective+for+comics

These are just a couple from the top of my head, but if you'd like more recommendations, or ones on specific topics I can see if I have any that would fit your need.

u/ARandomFur · 1 pointr/furry

Thanks for the links and the advice! Not that I'm anything but an amateur, but I'd like to add:

  • Take figure drawing classes. Drawing from the computer screen just isn't as good as a real model. In real life your brain will receive vital depth information that is missing from a two-dimensional projection of a 3D object. Digesting this information is crucial as you learn how to pose the figure's volumes and understand the contours that run over his or her shapes.

  • Check out Walt Stanchfield's two volumes called "Drawn to Life." Although you may not be interested in animating, animators intimately understand figure drawing, gesture, and capturing the spirit of the pose.

  • Draw every day! Do what Jerry Seinfeld does and mark off a red X on every day you do something. After a while you'll be extremely uncomfortable going a day without seeing an X there. I've committed to drawing every day and I've been doing it for just over 300 days now.

    And allow me to plug a link to my FA in case anyone is kind enough to give me advice, criticism, or comments: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/foxipso/ (some of it is NSFW). I've been trying to focus on figure construction, pose, and appeal, but I'd greatly appreciate any input or criticism. I admittedly feel I know the least about painting, and feel I need to take a course or get some more material on it. I'm not sure if I'm even at a point in drawing where it's holding me back, however. I'm never really happy with the overall construction of my characters and underlying anatomy. Hopefully one can see progress by going back through my submissions, however.
u/bearwithchainsaw · 1 pointr/Art

I would like to suggest a book for her. It explains the concept of using the physical act of drawing to see. Its an excellent book, and the book my college professor teaches directly from. It will literally teach her how to draw like the Greats, and teach her a college level course ;D

http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075

u/mt0711 · 1 pointr/learnart

A person (including you) shouldn't judge your initial efforts and exercises in art any more than they would judge the worth of a mathematician on the practice problems in his old algebra textbook.

That being said, don't let your perceived lack of ability keep you from tackling projects you're interested in because you feel you need more practice first. Keep practicing but don't be afraid to say what you want for fear of technical ability.

Some books:

The Natural Way to Draw

The Art Spirit

Art and Fear

u/whats_going · 1 pointr/self

Thanks.

Most artists rehash their work again and again. It's the baby steps approach. Draw the same thing everyday, it'll get better.

I have posted only finished art, I'll PM you the link.

Once I post more of the evolution of this project, I can share the link here.

Here's a rule to follow from Kimon Nicolaides author of the Natural Way To Draw. Draw half a page everyday.

He give more directions but that will do it. You'll see incredible progress quickly. My contribution to the daily drawing is draw the same things differently everyday.

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075

u/patwaldron · 1 pointr/self

GREAT!

My favorite book is The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides. Extremely intelligent book on drawing. Great for an intellectual introvert. https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075

If you like forums, take your choice, actually there are many forums at wetcanvas... it looks like there are two here, open critique or structured...http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/channels.php?s=&amp;amp;channel_id=12

u/good_ole_uniboob · 1 pointr/pics

I'd like to add this thread on conceptart for inspiration. Watch someone go from this to this.

Also, The Natural Way to Draw goes hand in hand with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, really. Anyone who seriously wants to learn how to draw should get this, because it's basically a coursebook and it will put you through the ringer. It sets you up to draw for hours a day and you don't get your eraser back until later lessons.

u/seanmillsartist · 1 pointr/ArtistLounge

I haven't used it myself, but this sub might be useful:
http://www.reddit.com/r/artbuddy

If you are used to University level critiques, I think they are hard to find outside of the actual University classes.

But, if you need deadlines and structure, THE NATURAL WAY TO DRAW is a great resource. I feel like it changed my life. http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-Way-Draw-Working/dp/0395530075

u/MyaloMark · 1 pointr/pics

Very nice! BTW, the process is actually called, "gesture drawing" and was developed by a guy called Nicoliades who wrote the definitive book, "The Natural Way to Draw". It's the drawing method taught at the Rhode Island School of Design. (0r was when I attended way back in the seventies.)

u/nazgool · 1 pointr/animationcareer

https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Way-Draw-Working-Study/dp/0395530075

Other than that, just draw anywhere, everywhere, anything, and everything. Try to fill up a sketchbook a week. Work on gestures, form, etc.
I'd even suggest trying to do gestures and quick sketches with your other hand. Some of my best sketches came out of my opposite hand.

Look into workshops in your area. Depending on where you are, often the Community Colleges or local art schools will offer weekend workshops.

u/GetsEclectic · 1 pointr/learnart

Check out The Natural Way to Draw, the early exercises are very similar to The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, minus the left brain/right brain mumbo jumbo, and it has enough further exercises to keep you busy for your entire artistic career. I think Nicolaides does a better job of explaining the right way to approach the exercises as well.

He mentions in the introduction that if you practice three hours a day, five days a week, you should get through the book in about a year. I don't know many people that are willing to devote that much time to drawing, but it gives you an idea of how much material there is, and how important it is to just do it over and over, without spending a lot of time worrying if the results look 'good' or not.

'Lose your first 100 games of Go as fast as you can', is a proverb that comes to mind. Your first 100+ drawings will not be good, no one's are.

u/ninjaskeet · 1 pointr/learnart

Don't be sorry - it was very interesting for me. :)

I'm considering looking in to this book instead, as there is a lot I'm unimpressed with in the current book.

I think I'm going to spend another week or so practicing from this book and maybe continuing a little bit on the previous book and if I continue to see almost no progress, I'll message you with what I have. It's sometimes very discouraging because I'm basically the furthest-removed one can be from an artistic background and it means a lot to get off the ground with this. Again - I want to thank you for the in-depth advice. :D

u/el_callado · 1 pointr/Art

The natural way to draw, Kimon Nicolaides

Has schedules and everything, your very own art course in a book!

u/ArkitekKX5 · 1 pointr/Art

Well drawing for me started out as a coping mechanism when I was a kid and still is for me today (especially these days). I had a lot of problems with depression and anxiety as a child coupled with a fairly ignorant father that didn't recognize these things as mental problems. I was forced to try to find a way to deal with hordes of feelings and emotions that as a mere child I was incapable of understanding and drawing helped me do that. Around the time I was about 13 or so some close friends of mine started drawing and where WAAAAY better than I was, so that pushed me to start working on things like technique and different styles. I really liked Dragonball Z at that age so I started drawing pictures I printed out from the internet regularly and started drawing in an anime style and eventually began coming up with my own characters, my friends were really good at drawing in anime styles so they taught me a lot about it.

When high school rolled around (I'll say sophomore year or so) I took basic art 1&amp;2 but I never really did too much because the course material was SO rigid that it didn't interest me. Ms. Huelett (the art teacher) felt like I had a lot of talent and took me under her wing in a big way. She knew A LOT about art and helped me learn and meld multiple styles together in order for me to create my own. She taught me a lot about anatomy and how to draw people/characters in different poses, how to properly shadow characters and apply light sources to my pieces, creating expressions and applying drama through a characters poses, she poured as much knowledge into me as she could and I couldn't be more grateful for all she taught me.

I know it isn't much (you've also been given some great advice already I see, which is fantastic) but I'll give you a few links to some books that really helped me learn more about various styles and techniques (I still have most of these books and refer to them fairly often, even now)

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954561&amp;amp;sr=8-9&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Urban-Sketching-Location/dp/1592537251/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954800&amp;amp;sr=8-19&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Art-Doodle-Book-Outside/dp/1856696820/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954800&amp;amp;sr=8-28&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954902&amp;amp;sr=8-28&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+books

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing-ebook/dp/B006WUD10S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954990&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+manga

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Manga-Bodies-Anatomy/dp/4766112385/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404954990&amp;amp;sr=8-6&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+manga

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Cutting-Edge-Anatomy-Reference-ebook/dp/B00G8ELT2K/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404955084&amp;amp;sr=8-10&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+comics

http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Comic-Book-Action-Garbett/dp/1440308136/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1404955084&amp;amp;sr=8-14&amp;amp;keywords=how+to+draw+comics

I think that's most of the books I've got, at the very least it'll give you some ideas to practice with and all of those books together isn't too bad of a price and it's a good way to get experience in the things you want to learn (I think) if you're not able to afford the classes you were suggested.

Good god this post is long as hell and I apologize for that, I'm just trying to be as helpful as I possibly can with what I know (call it a flaw)

I'll leave you with a few pieces of advice that help me out regularly and that I feel have gotten me to the level I'm at now (though I think I'm just ok at best truthfully)

  1. Sketch whatever idea you have in your mind for something as fast as you can and just let your ideas flow through you. Don't give yourself time to say this part sucks I have to redo it, just go for it and you'll be surprised at what can come out of it.

  2. Try to take inspiration from artists you admire but don't try to copy their style. What worked for me was incorporating my inspiration with various artists and merging them with my own ideas which eventually lead to me developing my own style(s)

  3. Do your best to not look at your art as inferior to another persons artwork. Absolutely, have those people you look up to want to be like artistically and draw inspiration from, but do your best not to doubt yourself. It's YOUR artwork and YOUR ideas, the only person's opinions that matter are your own. If you're truly happy with what you've created and feel you've done the best you can then I promise SOMEONE out there WILL like your work as well, at least in my opinion.

    Sorry again for the book, I just hope I was at least a little bit helpful with the advice I was able to give and didn't come off as arrogant sounding or anything

    Best of luck and I can't wait to see what you do in the future :)

u/mnemosyne-0002 · 1 pointr/KotakuInAction

Archives for the links in comments:

u/toplegs · 1 pointr/learntodraw

Hi :) ... So, the anatomy is quite off. Specifically, his face looks concave, when it should be more convex. The placement of the facial features is off. His shoulder width is too small considering the volume of his neck. The arm sticking out is too thin and too short. His torso narrows too much at the waist. Men have a more | | shape going down. The leg on the left has the knee pointing toward us, but the foot pointing sideways. The thighs could also use more volume. Anatomy/figure drawing is definitely a really tricky subject. Youtube should have some good videos that can help you. Also, this book is extremely thorough and a great start to learning how to draw people. It's probably the best figure drawing book I have (and I have a lot :P)! amazon link

u/heatherlindam · 1 pointr/Art

I learnt to draw fundamentals of anatomical structure in humans and animals from Jack Hamm http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914
But the best advice is to get a pad of paper. Don't make it some fancy, super expensive art-store stuff. Then you'll never want to draw on it for fear of 'ruining it' (or atleast thats my compulsion). Just a pad of paper. Draw everything. Notice everything. Look at light, look at shadows, look at the basics of shapes and curves and how basic structures work. And draw. It'll look like crap. But keep drawing. The more you draw, the more you train your draw for neuroplastic reorganization that will, eventually, allow you to accomplish better and better drawings.

And don't draw with a damned mechanical pencil either. One of my art teacher gave me that advice and it's liberating. You get too caught up in the details.

Drawing is like building a house, build a good solid foundation, then add the fine details.

u/Superkroot · 1 pointr/learnart

Drawing on the right side of the brain is a good start, there's a reason people keep on recommending it for you!



Andrew Loomis's books is also good (all free there in digital form)

Constructive Anatomy by George Bridgeman

Imaginative realism by James Gurney more about painting and finishing, better for more advanced stuff.


Other than that, just draw things! Just anything and everything, it will help!

u/MarcusB93 · 1 pointr/learntodraw

My favorites are "Human anatomy for artists" by Eliot Goldfinger &amp; Constructive anatomy by George Bridgman.

Goldfinger is very accurate but can be quite dry to read, Bridgman isn't as accurate but is great at describing structure and retaining the gesture.

u/Vandalhart · 1 pointr/DigitalPainting

I've been trying to strengthen my anatomy and proportions over the last 6 months or so and the only advice I can give to this is draw draw draw. Don't worry about it looking wonky but if it does, find out why and see what you can do to improve it.

There seems to be a point when a light bulb just goes off and all of a sudden you understand how to get consistent results of how you want things to look and translating it to the paper/screen.

Check out these, I've found them pretty useful:

http://www.amazon.com/Bridgmans-Drawing-Dover-Anatomy-Artists/dp/0486227103

http://www.amazon.com/Constructive-Anatomy-Dover-Artists/dp/0486211045/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1418314804&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Constructive+Anatomy

u/Kirosky · 1 pointr/drawing

oh yeah dude. there's plenty out there. don't be afraid to look into it. Some great books to get, but you just got see which ones would work for you. I don't know the level you're at so... I recommend this one for anatomy. Helped me out a bunch

http://www.amazon.com/Constructive-Anatomy-Dover-Artists/dp/0486211045/ref=pd_sim_b_2

u/bipolarcarebear · 1 pointr/learnart

The best books I ever read and studied on anatomy were the old ones written by George Bridgman. In fact, I just ordered two of them so I could refresh my knowledge of anatomy. He looks at anatomy from a very sculptural point of view and shows you how to draw every bone and muscle from any angle you can imagine. Highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.ca/Constructive-Anatomy-George-B-Bridgman/dp/0486211045/ref=pd_sim_b_1

u/holyvinyl · 1 pointr/ArtCrit

I highly recommend Constructive Anatomy by George Bridgman. It's been the go-to book for learning figure drawing and has been used in college anatomy classes for decades.
Go get a big pad of newsprint and some charcoal sticks or charcoal pencils and redraw Bridgman's drawings. You will pick anatomy up incredibly quickly. And to keep it more interesting, skip around the book.

u/Charlie_went_Brown · 1 pointr/IndustrialDesign

For perspective, a really valuable, but quite an easy book is Perspective Made Easy by Ernest R. Norling.

u/zaprod · 1 pointr/Lettering

This is the book I learned from. Shows you how to draw every single letter—

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Copperplate-Calligraphy-Step-Step/dp/0486409511

u/GoblinTart · 1 pointr/Calligraphy

I'm trying to learn copperplate, so I got this one

u/rejeremiad · 1 pointr/Handwriting

I followed the exercises in this book for 1 month: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0486409511/
Ms. Winters does a great job breaking down lower case letters into 8 strokes. If you are looking for drills, those are the 8 strokes to practice.

Once I decided I liked the hand, I took this online course: https://istilllovecalligraphy.com/#!/

Although, the more I think about what you are trying to do, perhaps Copperplate would just be a distraction. Copperplate is not a "continuous hand". It has a lot of stopping and lifting of the nib.

I only did a few drills. Most of my "aha moments" came practicing the 8 basic strokes and writing the same word a couple times to see how closely I could get them to match. In those repetitions, I began to see how the curves should form.

u/thang1thang2 · 1 pointr/Calligraphy

To expound on the 80-90/10-20 part, look at many scripts.

  1. Gothic Quadrata: In order to be perfectly, formally written, you have so little control over creativity that it's practically a typeface. Which was, of course, the whole point. The creativity then comes in the capitals, which were usually where elaborate displays of calligraphic skill came into play.
  2. Copperplate: Copperplate is even more restrictive. It has so many rules and regulations guarding each and every letter that you could write pages and pages on how to write the letter 'a' alone. (In fact, Eleanor Winters does just that )
  3. Copperplate evolved into Engraver's script, which was even more restrictive. Involving a little bit more creativity, but each letter was composed of at least 2, if not 3 strokes. Not including connection strokes. The page would be rotated, turned about and you would retouch almost every stroke. Expression came after the invention of Spencerian/Ornamental script, where people started to use stylized versions of Ornamental capitals in their copperplate writing, and they started to be a little more creative with it (as long as the work didn't require a formal style. Formal style always went back to The Universal Penmanship roots)
  4. Spencerian is the most free style ever created for calligraphy. Not even italic is so free, italic simply has more variations to play with. But, anyway, spencerian has several variations of several different letters. They have 3 different types of t's, they have ending variations of letters with descenders and variations where the letters loop back up. All these variations were designed to increase speed, and give creativity.
  5. Spencerian developed into ornamental penmanship, which included more shading of the lower characters, and became a much more laborious process with extremely intricate and beautiful capitals.

    It helps to remember where calligraphy came from. Calligraphy was simply the result of marketing. Back in the day, scribes and nobels were the only ones that could write. So what happened? Well for scribes, what's your most effective marketing tool? "I can write faster and prettier than the guy next to me". And for nobels, why calligraphy? "I can write elegantly, so it demonstrates the fact that I'm a man of high culture and class".

    So if you think of Calligraphy as striving towards beauty and efficiency for the sake of marketing, ease of reading, and the ability to not have scripts degrade when other people wrote them, it makes a lot more sense. (monks needed the latter, which is why the gothic styles are among the most restrictive. If you're copying books for hundreds of years, it wouldn't do to have the book of Matthew be totally different looking than the book of genesis)

    As it became more developed, it became more artistic and creative as people pushed the boundaries of technology, innovation and knowledge. Much like Gymnastics started out as much more rough and tumble sport, and now almost every gymnastics routine is identical as everyone strives towards a clearly and concretely defined ideal.

    Now that we have paper in abundance, and pens that are affordable to anyone (e.g. free), we're entering into a new era. Everyone can write, so therefore writing is optional. It's a funny idea, but that's how it usually is. If everyone can do something, it's not novel, and as things progress the trade is refined and elaborated into an artform, or dropped into disuse.

    Farming: Everyone did it. It became not novel, but rather a given. It progressed, then, into an artform. The artform being "how efficiently, and how fast, can I grow things?". Today, this artform is incredibly complex, requiring machinery, vast resources, technology and even PhD's to advance the craft. To practice it, you don't need nearly that amount of resources, but it's still a far cry from saying "hey, I bet if I used a metal hoe instead of a wooden one..."

    Writing: Everyone that needed to became able to do it (scribes/learned-men/nobles). It became not novel, but rather a given that you could find a scribe. It then progressed into an artform, being "how efficiently and beautifully can I write this?". Today, everyone knows how to write basically, so the art of writing has reached an equilibrium. It's advanced enough to get the job done, and it needs to go no further. In the art side of it, however, it's continued to advance as people develop better and more advanced technique, technology and equipment for the art. Fountain pens, flexible ones, dip nibs, better inks, better paper, more efficient ways of learning it, etc.

    Hand-lettering is simply the in between stage of writing as an art and as a utility, as our technology is so diverse on the Earth in needs and utilization that all crafts and trades are in a constant state of flux across many levels of skill. (We have advanced metal working for CPUs, and we have people who still craft cups and knives out of metal by hand). Hand-lettering could also be seen as the creative expression of the art of writing, much like power-tumbling is the creative expression of gymnastics, or gardening/landscaping is the creative expression of farming.

    Edit: motherofgod.gif

    I wrote way more than I intended to... Sorry.
u/PBJLNGSN · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

This contest is awesome, thanks! (Sorry for the link I'm on my phone)

Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography)
http://amzn.com/0486409511

u/stlouisbrowns · 1 pointr/Art

No, it's cool.

Fantasy works and comics - GREAT. That's different.

I thought you were talking about drawing in general.

OK, I hear you now. In this situation there are in fact books out there that show you step by step how to draw the human figure specifically for comics. Here's probably one of the best.

But don't forget the importance of being able to draw anything. A book like this is great, but it can also be misleading, which is why I suggested ignoring books in the first place. A book like this can lead you to think there's one way you draw people, another way you draw cars, another way you draw buildings -- and in reality it's all about composition, observation, discipline, etc, the same set of skills for all. People who can only draw one kind of thing are of almost no value in any such field, really.

Which is why it's important that you keep drawing ordinary things too. Still life - definitely but start thinking about your goals and advance from still life with fruit basket to still life with egg beater to still life with Storm Trooper action figure and lawn mower engine -- catch my drift? Drawing technological objects, so that you will be able to draw the super hero and invent a really cool star ship for him to drive.

And really draw still life things precisely. Challenge yourself and don't be easily satisfied. This kind of drawing is very athletic, you will find yourself straining your hands and arms to do this right. It's not a field for snowflakes. Be very self-critical. Look at your work like you're a comic book editor who just saw it for the first time and is really critical and picky. You'll get it, trust me, just give yourself time and patience and stay at it.

There's likely a community college somewhere in your area and you can probably pick up a basic drawing class there that can fast-track you on some of these skills at a pretty low cost.

And never ever stop looking at the kind of art you want to make. Challenge yourself to work up to its standards. Freely copy the best as practice. Artists have done this since time immemorial. Try to figure out what makes some comic panels better than others. Get it into your head, you know? Think it through. When you see a crappy one, think out loud how you'd have done that panel a lot better, and then go ahead and draw it better.

I'm glad I understand now. That's a fun field but it's packed, the competition is fierce, so if you really want this, make it your mission and your passion and just do this and be a geek about it. Many of the best artists are loners throughout their early careers - think about it. Draw every day, every chance you get. Draw til your hand hurts, shake it out, then keep drawing. When you can't draw, think about drawing. When your hands are busy doing something else, look around and think about how you'd draw things around you.

Best of luck to you.

u/undiscoveredlama · 1 pointr/comicbooks

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way is a good place to start. It's a bit light with its anatomy/perspective stuff, but it gives a good overview of setting up figures and backgrounds, and then adding detail.

Plus, it's a lot of fun to read, especially if you're a fan of Marvel's Silver Age stuff. And John Buscema is no slouch.

u/utensilofthemonth · 1 pointr/comicbooks

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. I had this book as a kid and recently was looking through it again. It is basic but is full of really great advice.

u/popupideas · 1 pointr/ArtistLounge

Some of the newer ones...maybe. But as a means to block out shapes and forms it is very concisely set up. You can find the same info online too but it has a pretty solid core for most aspects of drawing. Perspective, shading, for-shortening, and basic proportions. Once you can break a body into basic shapes at the right proportions you can go deeper into anatomy. Which, if I remember it even touches on this too.

Does it have a comic book slant? Yes. But most really skilled comic artists spend a great deal of time understanding anatomy (rob liefeld not withstanding).

Breaking down the depth of the eyes and slopes of the nose. That comes after you understand to basics.

Now the one I am recommending is Stan Lee’s how to draw comics the marvel way, the original. I saw a newer version and was not as impressed. But the original is still sold online.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0671530771

Edit: saw you hand work and you are on the right track. Hands and feet are super hard to get the hang of.

Look of some of the classic painters, Da Vinci has great hand sketches to review or grays anatomy of useful but you can download for free online.

One thing that helped me with getting a softness of form in hands was old Archie comics. Incredibly simplistic but had a delicate aspect to them. All about shapes and form.

u/frEmn · 1 pointr/howto

I really liked "drawing with your artists brain" https://www.amazon.com/dp/1581808119/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mWJhzb3MWYY09

And "drawing comics the marvel way" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671530771/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kXJhzbAC00TH6


Both different but great for building your skill fast and fun.

u/thegraaayghost · 1 pointr/comicbooks

The best book on how comics work, for my money, is Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. That would be followed up by Making Comics from the same author. It's a little theory-heavy but it's amazing. I'd say it's good for 14 and up, or maybe a little younger. This would get him a fantastic background in how comics work and how to create them in general. The first book is literally used as a textbook in some college "Comics Appreciation" type classes. The coolest thing about it is that it's a comic itself, and it demonstrates the things it's talking about right there on the page.

If he's younger, and/or he really just wants to learn to draw superheroes, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way is really good on the fundamentals. It's old-school (most inkers don't use a brush anymore, they use computers), but the fundamentals haven't changed all that much.

Here's a more modern one from DC that looks pretty good and has good reviews, though I haven't read it.

u/InfamousPT · 1 pointr/ICanDrawThat

Whoo that's a loaded question. Honestly I don't really know myself. What I can say is that I grew up watching anime and reading manga, which probably affected my style somewhat. And that I started drawing more seriously due to superhero comics and wanting to be a comic book artist. This book is what I started off with and I guess my art kinda just took off on its own. I hope some of this helped and that you have a good time picking up drawing, it can be a lot of fun!


EDIT: Not sure I would call him an inspiration, but I have always liked Jim Lee's art.

u/DwarfTheMike · 1 pointr/batman

it's highly recommended at art schools.

this book is also highly recommended for getting action poses. don't let the title fool you. there is gold in this book.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comics-The-Marvel/dp/0671530771

u/freakball · 1 pointr/funny

Have you ever read this?

u/johnnyliteral · 1 pointr/IAmA

Stan, you might not see this among the many masses of text this thread is threatening to throttle you with, but I absolutely cannot thank you enough for your work, particularly How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way. My father was a cartoonist, and I am an inspiring artist myself - everything I couldn't learn from him I picked up from your book and I am ETERNALLY grateful! I may not be it quite yet, but I'm learning from the best and I can't thank you enough.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers, for comics or otherwise? Any words of wisdom would be great. Thanks again!

u/biggreenfan · 1 pointr/comicbooks

Different strokes so to speak. Some people draw with no scaffold at all, others use basic line drawings and shapes to build up a drawing--you know like the "How to draw horses" etc. books you see in the kids' sections? I knew a guy who worked for Darkhorse in college--he drew everything using lines and circles to scaffold. Sorry, don't remember his name except that his first name was Scott. He drove a bus at the college and drew for DH part-time. There's lots of resources on the net for this. Begin by doing anatomy studies and/or with how to draw books. "How to draw comics the Marvel way" is a good starter book. As someone else said, it is mostly practice; but you need to guide your practice with good information. I believe it was one of the renaissance artists who said that he could teach a person to paint if they could sign their name.

u/neodiogenes · 1 pointr/Art

I recall now where I heard that technique first described, have you ever read "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way"? It goes through a lot of examples like head-to-body ratio, camera angle, perspective lines, etc. but also includes how the figures are posed. Straight-on like this is boring, but put the "camera" so the figures are in perspective, and it's a lot more cinematic.

u/Sealtamer · 1 pointr/learntodraw

Read the pinned post:https://www.reddit.com/r/learntodraw/comments/adyijo/welcome_to_rlearntodraw_heres_the_sidebar_and/

The day 1, day 2 and day 3 links are down, you can find them in the first comment in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/learntodraw/comments/c8wqwh/about_how_some_of_the_sidebar_links_are_down/

I'm not good yet, been drawing for only 6 months, but the best advice I can give is to not forget to have fun.

There is no point if you start doing lots of boring exercises if you end up getting bored and stop drawing, just focus on trying to do some drawing everyday, and have fun.

This is the book I started with: https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=learn+to+draw+30+days&amp;qid=1564793025&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-1

It helped me a lot to stop getting nervous about getting nice drawings and to just have fun drawing.

Good luck!

u/VorpalPlayer · 1 pointr/notebooks
u/pokerissimo · 1 pointr/italy

Qualcuno in questo stesso sub mi aveva consigliato questo: https://www.amazon.it/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

Ma sono arrivato nemmeno a un terzo e poi per varie vicissitudini non ho più disegnato quindi non so dirti dove porta.

C'è l'anteprima da consultare sul suo sito se ti incuriosisce.

u/stpauler · 1 pointr/ArtistLounge

I HIGHLY recommend this book, You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler. This helps learn the basics in bite-sized pieces.

https://www.smile.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1536155701&amp;amp;sr=8-1

u/travisjd2012 · 1 pointr/userexperience

Starting to learn some aspects of visual design will definitely assist you. I'd begin with learning to sketch. It's something that takes practice so getting started early will definitely help you. Grab a copy of this book and you'll be surprised how far you can make it in 30 days.

http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

You could also join Lynda.com which is great to learn the basics of design. There's a UX course on there as well. One thing you'll find about this field is there is no shortage of material to learn.

u/Tkat01 · 1 pointr/FreeCompliments

Haha yeah I was pretty bad at first too, but then I worked through this book which really helped:

https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

Highly recommended for anyone else looking to get into drawing...

u/invisible_artist · 1 pointr/Art

I'm in the middle of this book: http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415. It's fun!

u/Hellointhere · 1 pointr/RandomKindness

Did you make the PDF?

This is for sale on Amazon. A file gives no credit to the author. https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415

Removed for discussion.

u/AlienWarhead · 1 pointr/katawashoujo

I ordered this one I should it Tuesday, I only had to pay shipping because Amazon gave me a $15 promo code because my copy of Fire Emblem Fates Special edition came late from them

u/Attemptingrepairs · 1 pointr/learnart

Sorry I probably didn't explain myself well. I do learn 2 musical instruments and I have no problems practicing fundamentals in them. With /r/artfundamentals it feels different. I can't bring myself to do the exercises. For some reason just thinking "alright let's fill 2 pages with lines" makes me discouraged. It would have been a bit better if I could do it with music but without it I'm more focused.

And about learning, for example in the elipses part, a lot fo things are written about elipses but honestly I don't understand what he means and what's the purpose of learning about it (of course it has a purpose but what is it?). Generally it feels like I'm doing it just so my lines and elipses could be a little better. Maybe that's what makes me discourages. Anyways it's hard for me to learn from /r/artfundamentals and I don't know why.

I've seen people recommend "How to draw". Also some people talked about this. And I just found this which is #1 best seller but I didn't see anyone talk about. Which one do you think is best?

u/whodis90 · 1 pointr/Needafriend

you might wanna checkout these two books too while you are at it -

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition ...

You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn ... - Amazon.ca

&amp;#x200B;

good luck!

u/MugenHeadNinja · 1 pointr/learnart

Alright, thank you all for the useful tips and information, I plan on getting these books
(http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415)
(http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing/dp/1440309310)
and I also started the download on all the loomis books.

u/purewhispers · 1 pointr/learnart

If you're at all interested in trying some books, I'd recommend these two:

u/gyrfalcons · 1 pointr/singapore

This one isn't bad. Covers basic technique pretty well.

u/Andrew49378 · 1 pointr/Advice

Maybe she likes or would be interested in knitting? You could buy her some magazinines with knitting tutorials. Also does she know how to use computer and internet? If no maybe there are some courses nearby that could teach her. That would open a new world to her, she could try new things, watch tutorials, learn etc.

Does she have a pet? Maybe you could gift her one for christmas, if she's not allergic.

Also there's this book: http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415
Its not complicated and rather easy to follow, + it actually teaches you how to draw, atleast basics. So this could be a great wait for her to learn a new skill + drawing is like therapy, so that would help her too.

u/Rorcan · 1 pointr/90daysgoal

This is the book i'm reading/drawing from! It starts from an extremely basic, "you've never drawn before" sort of standpoint, which I liked.

I've made a lot of progress so far, in just 6 of the lessons. Although, I've taken a little more than a day a lesson.

u/perlatus · 1 pointr/ArtFundamentals

I spent $14 on an introductory drawing book
($14 for finally convincing myself that I just might be able to draw is a pretty good deal in the long run) that is now collecting dust because I realized midway through the second lesson that I had no idea how to draw circles, and I wanted to be able to draw good circles.

Then I realized I couldn't draw lines either, and that scared me enough to look for other resources.

Drawabox has already taught me how to draw lines and circles (and... boxes), so I think $3 a month is a steal. I think it's certainly worth more than $1, which is why I didn't pledge that amount when I signed up.

u/shalis · 1 pointr/drawing

Might help if you specify whether you want tips for Traditional medium or digital? This is a tut for digital but you can apply the concepts to trad., here is a fun youtube vid as well. As for print material, I suggest buying/renting/borrowing "Color and Light" and the Hogarth classic on the same subject.

u/inkista · 0 pointsr/AskPhotography

Just me, but I've never heard of "graphic novel" style. I'm an oldtime comics fan, to whom graphic novel is like saying "novel": no indications of a specific content or style. Not all graphic novels are Sin City (I would never term Acme Novelty Library or Bone as noir yet both are definitely graphic novels). I'd stick with "noir" if I were you. Otherwise some joker's going to send you to How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. :)

To me, lighting is a stronger indication of "noir" than composition: that hard, contrasty, chiaroscuro thing. Or the cliched blinds shadows. ...

u/MAC777 · 0 pointsr/Art

Be forewarned that snobs will likely poop on you for posting a video game character.

I like your shading, but the structure's still a bit wonky. A bit of uncertainty in lines and angles of the face, less pronounced in the clothes because the shading is better and they flow naturally. I think maybe you should find one of those old "how to draw comics" books and start working on the basic figures and stick drawings. Making all your characters X heads tall and stuff like that. Here's the book I had when I was a kid that has all that stuff.

u/gray_rain · 0 pointsr/learnart

There are three things I would recommend to you. :)

  • This GIGANTIC page of info on color and light
  • Scott Robertson's How to Render
  • James Gurney's Color and Light

    You'll find that a lot of information on color out there is almost strictly theory oriented (not a big surprise considering it's called color theory), and there isn't much practical help on how to apply that information. Each of the things I just suggested are all very practical sources of information for learning how to work with color.

    Some things you should note, though...the Scott Robertson book is designed to build on top of his book How to Draw. That book teaches you perspective and how to create proper 3d forms in 2d space. How to Render builds on that by teaching you how light will interact realistically with those forms you now know how to create. If you don't want to work through How to Draw, that's fine (though I highly suggest that book as well)...but you'll probably be losing out on a fuller understanding of the concepts.

    Make sure that before you move too much into painting and color working that you can make well constructed drawings and can handle value properly. Those two are the most important. Why? Because if you don't have a proper looking drawing then no matter how well you can render and lay color over it...that won't save it...it will still look wrong. And if you can draw well constructed things but you're weak in values, then you're really in trouble. If, when you lay down color, the values of those colors are wrong, then your well constructed forms that you drew will no longer read as the forms that they're supposed to because the "light" that's interacting with the form isn't interacting like it would in real life so your eye reads it as a different form than you intended.

    I understand that they style you're going after isn't at all realistic. On some of them the color that's there isn't even being used to render...it's simply there as a graphic element. Which is fine! Really awesome style. But you will be well served if you put in the time to learn the technical application of light and color. That way, since you know the "rules", you'll have control over the color...when to use it realistically and how and when to use it graphically...rather than the color having control over you. :)

    Hope this helps! :)
u/NautyNautilus · 0 pointsr/leagueoflegends

Just a little critique. Your sculptures are nice, but they're really flawed with your lack of anatomy knowledge, her head is way too large for the rest of her proportions and her legs are different sizes. you can sculpt breasts but her form is off balance. I'd recommend picking up this, this, and this.

If you're interested, I can send you a lot of files of art stuff, I believe we can improve your anatomy ten fold.

u/wbeyda · -7 pointsr/comicbooks

It's great in cartoons! I love our eternal mouse overlord. I love Disney. But when I was a kid I had this awesome book called How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way I just always thought that my idols like Kirby, Buscema, Franzetta, Ditko, Wrightson, Romita Sr. ect, were so talented that they were one in a million and drawing to their level would take a lifetime of dedication and natural talent. And that is why they worked for Marvel Comics because of their unparalleled talent.

Now I realize at the end of the day it is a book that is made to be sold for a profit. I get that. It's a business. But I just always thought keeping a certain level of quality in your art was a cornerstone for Marvel. There have been some stinkers here and there and some Leifeilds. But generally a Marvel book has always had a certain consistency with art. It's always been really good!

I'm not pointing fingers or even pointing out a certain timeline for the demise in the art. Or even matching a certain cheap anime style. Don't mistake me. I don't think an acquisition to the eternal mouse overlord had anything to do with this. I mean paying that extra $0.99 for a Marvel title should be enough on it's own right? You get nice paper, great art, and fantastically original stories right? I wouldn't know cause I dropped all my mouse droppings over a year ago. I mean how do you make X-Men suck? Even Clairmont couldn't do that on his short run. &lt;/sarcasm&gt;