How do I become better at drawing?

[Rory]

Obviously quality flash animations equire drawing skill and well, I suck, Enclosed is a quick drawing of a Mudkip (i liek them) how do I improve my drawing skill? any help is greatly appreciated.

[Felis]

Is that from reference or memory? It'd help to know.

Also, although there are plenty of tutorials out there, the best way to learn is to practice, and to receive constructive criticism from it. The latter is especially important, since although tutorials can tell you what to do, it can't tell you what you're doing wrong.

In drawing, it's best to know what you're drawing; what it's made up of. Which is why it's best to look at some tutorials or guides before beginning your practice.

Here's a good selection of tutorials in one place.

[Rory]

Very helpful, thanks, unfortunately the picture is from reference, I have the picture on my phone and keeps refering to it. A charizard is being drawn right now.

[CloudEater]

Drawing contains a lot more thinking then it first seems. When you draw using a reference make sure you think about where things are located on the character or creature and that you don't just look at the lines but the picture as a whole. That way you should be able to take away the reference and draw that pokemon or whatever it is relatively well/accurately and you'll hopefully remember how to draw it. Also practice lots, look at how other people draw and try and replicate it but using your own ideas ;)

[bbdaman]

im an absolute shit artist,but a helpful tip i could give would be mouth size..possibly? That mudkip kinda looks like its about to devour someones head in one bite XD

[Rory]

At 4/9/10 10:00 AM, bbdaman wrote: im an absolute shit artist,but a helpful tip i could give would be mouth size..possibly? That mudkip kinda looks like its about to devour someones head in one bite XD

Yeah Mudkips have big heads but I really ballsed up the proportions. Something to wok on I guess.

[bigjonny13]

At 4/9/10 08:54 AM, Felis wrote: Here's a good selection of tutorials in one place.

More specifically would be here.
Anyways, if you wanna get good at drawing, you gotta practice, practice, practice. Sit down and just draw what you see around you. You can't just acquire a skill instantaneously, you have to slowly develop, nurture it and grow it. Drawing from a reference is fine for the beginning, but the best things to use as a reference are things you see in real life. That way you aren't copying a certain artistic style when you try to draw whatever object you're focusing on.

[Rory]

Wow thanks. I'm gonna try an draw an easter egg (an interesting easter egg though) will post the results.

[BiggCaZv2]

Practice and reference material.

So you know what you're drawing and keeping at it until you can draw it well.

[Rory]

At 4/10/10 02:19 AM, BiggCaZv2 wrote: Practice and reference material.

So you know what you're drawing and keeping at it until you can draw it well.

practice, practice and more practice I guess.

[gmanthesandwhichking]

Well, from your starting pic I would say darken your lines and add shading along with depth.
Practice helps too.

[jimenez3rd]

there is a secret to learning how to draw incredibly fast.

Learn perspective.
buy this dvd

best 40 bucks you will ever spend.

[Ashman]

At 4/10/10 03:46 PM, jimenez3rd wrote: there is a secret to learning how to draw incredibly fast.

Learn perspective.
buy this dvd

best 40 bucks you will ever spend.

you could find something just as good or better on youtube, its how i learned it

[Luxembourg]

At 4/10/10 04:01 PM, Ashman wrote:

At 4/10/10 03:46 PM, jimenez3rd wrote: there is a secret to learning how to draw incredibly fast.

Learn perspective.
buy this dvd

best 40 bucks you will ever spend.

you could find something just as good or better on youtube, its how i learned it

Tutorials never did anything for me, personally. While they can help lots of people in lots of ways, I still stand by actually drawing and pinpointing what you need to improve on as the best way to improve.
I learned by drawing a lot. Never stop just because you don't think you're good enough. By an artists' perspective, you will NEVER be good enough, as there is no such thing.

[jimenez3rd]

At 4/10/10 04:04 PM, Luxembourg wrote:

At 4/10/10 04:01 PM, Ashman wrote:

At 4/10/10 03:46 PM, jimenez3rd wrote: there is a secret to learning how to draw incredibly fast.

Learn perspective.
buy this dvd

best 40 bucks you will ever spend.

you could find something just as good or better on youtube, its how i learned it

Tutorials never did anything for me, personally. While they can help lots of people in lots of ways, I still stand by actually drawing and pinpointing what you need to improve on as the best way to improve.
I learned by drawing a lot. Never stop just because you don't think you're good enough. By an artists' perspective, you will NEVER be good enough, as there is no such thing.

while there is nothing as comprehensive as having a knowledgeable teacher help you grow, tutorials can be the next best thing. Assuming your reading/watching stuff from people who actually know what they are talking about.

Obviously drawing with some sort of Socratic approach is a necessary step towards improvement but I can guarantee growth will be minimal unless you take time to learn the rules by which you can represent reality on paper. First and foremost perspective and its application towards drawing both from life and imagination.

[WeenerMcGee]

well, even tho i havent been posting my good stuff ( i dunno why O.o i guess i dont feel like having it trashed or passed around)

i usually start with the circle methodes on almost all my drawings, but pencil strokes are key to defining a drawing, i suggest looking up "how to draw" videos on youtube. some people post these really nicely defined drawings, but the pencil type you use is also extremely important in some cases.

i dont use them often because i draw at school more than at home.
but i use 4B * GRAPHIX * woodless pencils, im sure theyre graphite/charcoal pencils but i dont remember, usually those are the best to get. 2B and 4B make excellent combinations.

hb pencils are shit unless you have nothing else. lol even tho i use them almost all the time.

[Rory]

Everybody has been so godamm helpful, I't truly is inspring. I finished my quick drawing of a lamp, helped with my skewed sense of proprotion but can't upload it 'til monday 'cos I left my skecthbook at home.

[Luxembourg]

At 4/10/10 04:49 PM, jimenez3rd wrote:

At 4/10/10 04:04 PM, Luxembourg wrote:

Tutorials never did anything for me, personally. While they can help lots of people in lots of ways, I still stand by actually drawing and pinpointing what you need to improve on as the best way to improve.
I learned by drawing a lot. Never stop just because you don't think you're good enough. By an artists' perspective, you will NEVER be good enough, as there is no such thing.

while there is nothing as comprehensive as having a knowledgeable teacher help you grow, tutorials can be the next best thing. Assuming your reading/watching stuff from people who actually know what they are talking about.

Obviously drawing with some sort of Socratic approach is a necessary step towards improvement but I can guarantee growth will be minimal unless you take time to learn the rules by which you can represent reality on paper. First and foremost perspective and its application towards drawing both from life and imagination.

Strange, I have never taken classes and I've never used tutorials, and I'm pretty sure the rate at which I'm improving is more than "minimal". Not to sound cocky though; I know I'm not the greatest artist out there (especially since you're talking about perspective, which is something I'm terrible with), but I've grown to think that it's possible to become great (in time) of your own accord. Forget I said anything, though, as this is a thread for advice and I'm speaking on my own behalf. For that, I apologize.

Another piece of advice I'll offer that I regret not having said before, which I think applies to most artists: Exposure to art is very helpful and stimulative. Find art. Look it up. This is very easily done with the internet. The best way that I've used to just take in lots and lots of art is by using Stumbleupon, which is a toolbar that has a button that will take you to a random website that adheres to a theme set by you. Use the art, design, and drawing themes, and you can use the toolbar to just see everything out there that fits the theme. Some of it doesn't even deserve the time of day, but a lot of it is golden, and you see all sorts of different art forms. I highly suggest use of this. Either way, you should try and expose yourself to all sorts of art. It can help you find inspiration, notice techniques, and find what kinds of art you like and would like to make. Obviously, you've also got the art portal for art exposure and the art portal is a great place, but you've also got to keep in mind that the art portal is the kind of place where the boob reigns supreme.

[WeenerMcGee]

hey i just want to give you a tip for the lines that help me out :] since anime is a basic form of art this might help you alot with this kind of drawing.

pass through your lines in smooth strokes but darken them everytime, that way the lines will stay smooth and look better, and smudge the lines so shading fills in automaticly. if the shading is too jagged, lightly erase some of the extra shadowing and smudge it again.

dont forget the twinkle in the eyes! :P thats an essential in ALL drawings.

if you wanna learn a certain thing just tell me what it is and send me a link with an image of it. ill be glad to make a thread that teaches you how to draw it step by step :P choose it wisely! i cant do this all the time!
so PM me if u need a favor or a question, id be more than thrilled to help out.

[Daverom]

At 4/10/10 09:42 PM, WeenerMcGee wrote: the

I believe you were specifically told to NOT make anymore threads other than for your own personal use.
I'd advise against that.

Something I'd definitely work on is line quality, your lines are really squiggly in some places and really rigid in others.
It doesn't look like you sketched this out before you drew, start doing that. As for the shading, going over the lines a lot and smudging them into shading will just fuck up the lines, take a lot longer and make the pic blurry and look like shit, just pencil in some shading and rub it with a papertowel or your thumb.

[WeenerMcGee]

At 4/10/10 10:19 PM, M-Vero wrote:

At 4/10/10 09:42 PM, WeenerMcGee wrote: the

I believe you were specifically told to NOT make anymore threads other than for your own personal use.
I'd advise against that.

i wasnt going to just post blindly, im gonna request it. dont need to do somebody else's job btw.

[Kinsei]

At 4/10/10 10:28 PM, WeenerMcGee wrote: i wasnt going to just post blindly, im gonna request it. dont need to do somebody else's job btw.

Hey McGee, can I request tutorials from you?