I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

At 2/6/13 03:45 PM, DelRio1991 wrote: I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

You need to draw. A lot. Go outside, sit on a bench with a sketch pad and draw people as fast as you can. Capture form, learn composition (arrangement of shapes and elements). You could clean up your line work too, I suggest studying muscle diagrams and finding a life drawing site/images so you can work off of the human form. You might do well to copy some pictures out right just to learn what it feels like to draw something "right".

At 2/6/13 04:10 PM, HCTA wrote: You need to draw. A lot.

Yup, I like this.

Go outside, sit on a bench with a sketch pad and draw people as fast as you can. Capture form, learn composition (arrangement of shapes and elements). You could clean up your line work too, I suggest studying muscle diagrams and finding a life drawing site/images so you can work off of the human form. You might do well to copy some pictures out right just to learn what it feels like to draw something "right".

I hear this said a lot, so I'm going to put you on the spot: when you were starting out as an artist, did you ever decide to go outside and draw people?

When people start drawing, they usually just draw what they want and make sure they enjoy doing it rather than torturing themselves with studies. I only started doing studies when I needed to draw better, less-awkward looking characters.

well i'm certainly no expert, but the advice given by @HCTA seems pretty sound. I'd recommend learning the human figure as the first step. Here's something to get you going - Stick to this site for a couple of weeks and LEARN THE HUMAN BODY... Someone told me once to "Draw what you see, not what you think you see". This is actually easier said than done, but keep it in mind when using references... But yeah, the most important thing is to practice a lot. Get at least a daily hour of practice drawing, which means drawing specific elements and objects for the sake of getting better. Don't draw a hand, draw ten. Don't draw a pose, draw several. Don't draw a square, draw cubes, pyramids, etc. you get the idea. You will eventually hone your fine motor skills enough so that you place a line exactly where you intend to. Lastly, keep posting! there are many talented and experienced people on this site, and some will take the time to help you along.

At 2/6/13 04:19 PM, TurkeyOnAStick wrote:
When people start drawing, they usually just draw what they want and make sure they enjoy doing it rather than torturing themselves with studies. I only started doing studies when I needed to draw better, less-awkward looking characters.

Well, DelRio said he needed to learn to draw because he was going into graphic design, so my guess is he won't be drawing just for fun. I assumed the matter was rather pressing - actively trying to improve his skills seemed to be his primary concern, though i have no doubt he'll have fun even doing that

At 2/6/13 04:41 PM, RogueSoul wrote: Well, DelRio said he needed to learn to draw because he was going into graphic design, so my guess is he won't be drawing just for fun. I assumed the matter was rather pressing - actively trying to improve his skills seemed to be his primary concern, though i have no doubt he'll have fun even doing that

I want to be muscly, yet I am really podgy.

I won't get fit by going on a 100% protein diet, going to the gym for 2 hours every day from Day One, because my body can't cope with it and I will get sick of doing it really fast. I'm not even sure if I even want to be really muscly.

I should take it easy, doing things at my competence level yet regularly. I'll do some running first, cos I like running.

At 2/6/13 03:45 PM, DelRio1991 wrote: I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

Learning shading, perspective and anatomy will help enormously. For anatomy, take a figure drawing class if you can find one. If not, there are figure drawing for artists books available from bookstores, libraries, and online. This is a useful site for practicing with photos of nude models. Check out this and this too for more general information.

Keep posting drawings in this thread and we can give you individual advice on improving each one.

At 2/6/13 04:53 PM, TurkeyOnAStick wrote: I want to be muscly, yet I am really podgy.

I won't get fit by going on a 100% protein diet, going to the gym for 2 hours every day from Day One, because my body can't cope with it and I will get sick of doing it really fast. I'm not even sure if I even want to be really muscly.

I should take it easy, doing things at my competence level yet regularly. I'll do some running first, cos I like running.

point taken.. It really might kill his drive... I still think he must get SOME exercise drawings into his daily routine. But yeah, he has to like what he's doing.

I dont want to ruin this little party going on here, but isnt talent a factor here too? I mean you can probably become a reasonable artist with practice alone. I consider myself to have no talent yet am able to produce something because of reasonable photoshop skills. I assume I can even get better, but I will never be able to become a talented artist, nor will I ever belong to the sub-top not even remotely close.

So to be harsh OP's art is terrible, like 12yo terrible like he states. I would strongly advice against his dreams of becoming a graphic artist. he should atleast be better now (he's 21). Its nice to be nice, but I am inclined to burst his bubble. its not ever gonna work out.

At 2/6/13 08:43 PM, Tomsan wrote: Talent Factor

meh, I don't Believe in talent. Its all skill based. Put in the time and effort, and you can become pretty damn good. No one starts good, you have to work for it. and work hard.
I admit I have seen some people who seem to be a natural at thing, but usually after discussing things with them, that always seem to have been at "IT" what ever "IT" may be for a long time, some times even from an very early age.

And my Job proves this for me at least. I don't particularly see my self as a great artist, or talented at all, but I am making a living from doing graphic arts at a decal and sign shop, and I am certainly better at my job now than I was 3 months ago. My boss, an 89 year old artist, has been taking the time to show me tricks and teaching me skills to improve my designs and layouts.
So being a good or even great graphic artist, or artist in general can be learned, trained and honed as a skill, not given to you at birth....
....
Yeah, I know not the time or the place for this kind of wall text... but.. eh what evers

At 2/6/13 08:43 PM, Tomsan wrote: I dont want to ruin this little party going on here, but isnt talent a factor here too? I mean you can probably become a reasonable artist with practice alone. I consider myself to have no talent yet am able to produce something because of reasonable photoshop skills. I assume I can even get better, but I will never be able to become a talented artist, nor will I ever belong to the sub-top not even remotely close.

So to be harsh OP's art is terrible, like 12yo terrible like he states. I would strongly advice against his dreams of becoming a graphic artist. he should at least be better now (he's 21). Its nice to be nice, but I am inclined to burst his bubble. its not ever gonna work out.

He intends to become a graphic designer. Not an artist. There is a difference. But even if he WAS inclined to follow art as a career path, it is not too late to learn, not by a long shot.. Moreover, i'd be extremely cautious when judging actual talent, but i'd be outright reluctant to go as far as saying his life ain't gonna work out - yes, talent is a factor that carries a lot of weight, but it's not at all absolute. In the end, i think it all comes down to how far he's willing to go to make himself better. If there is any all-important factor, i'd say that's it.
Besides, it's actually quite common that ok artists become famous and rich, and great, talented artists die poor. C'est la vie.

And my Job proves this for me at least. I don't particularly see my self as a great artist, or talented at all, but I am making a living from doing graphic arts at a decal and sign shop, and I am certainly better at my job now than I was 3 months ago. My boss, an 89 year old artist, has been taking the time to show me tricks and teaching me skills to improve my designs and layouts.
So being a good or even great graphic artist, or artist in general can be learned, trained and honed as a skill, not given to you at birth....
....
Yeah, I know not the time or the place for this kind of wall text... but.. eh what evers

Wait, so you actually have a graphic design job?

How did you get it? How did you find a job like that?

How does anyone even find a job like that?

point taken.. It really might kill his drive... I still think he must get SOME exercise drawings into his daily routine. But yeah, he has to like what he's doing.

Well, to be honest, I like the idea of sketching people outside, but I absolutely hate being around strangers too long and I have a hard time getting out of the house all together.

I do have several books on drawing the human figure and I could just look at figures on the internet, would that count?

:Check out this and this too for more general information.

Thanks for the links, I'll get right on to practicing!
This really helps a lot

Keep posting drawings in this thread and we can give you individual advice on improving each one.

Um, okay, I'll look for some stuff I have.

Just a fair warning, it's not going to be ... well it's not going to be very good.

So to be harsh OP's art is terrible, like 12yo terrible like he states. I would strongly advice against his dreams of becoming a graphic artist. he should atleast be better now (he's 21). Its nice to be nice, but I am inclined to burst his bubble. its not ever gonna work out.

I'm not going to argue, it is terrible, but if you have any constructive criticism, other than giving up, I would be glad to hear it.

I've already been told I'm better at this than other things I considered for a career, so I'm going to have to be stubborn on this one.

But, again, I'm not going to disagree that it is, indeed, terrible.

A lot. Go outside, sit on a bench with a sketch pad and draw people as fast as you can.

Um....
I don't like to go where there are strangers.

I'll do it, but I won't like it.

At 2/7/13 02:05 AM, DelRio1991 wrote:

I've already been told I'm better at this than other things I considered for a career, so I'm going to have to be stubborn on this one.

omg sorry but that made me laugh and then immediatly made me feel sad. dont you go to school then?

So to be harsh OP's art is terrible, like 12yo terrible like he states. I would strongly advice against his dreams of becoming a graphic artist. he should atleast be better now (he's 21). Its nice to be nice, but I am inclined to burst his bubble. its not ever gonna work out.

The guy was in his 30s when he started this thread
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?870-Journey-of-a n-Absolute-Rookie-Paintings-and-Sketches
64 pages later
68...
Just saying

At 2/7/13 01:57 AM, DelRio1991 wrote: Wait, so you actually have a graphic design job?

How did you get it? How did you find a job like that?

How does anyone even find a job like that?

to be fair, your probably not going to believe how I came about my job, but then again, we've all heard similar strange stories of how someone just kind of lucked in to something.
Anyway I found the posting on Craigs list.

I didn't know this place existed,

I then emailed the company, got a quick interview for that friday, I took them my portfolio, they had me do an art test on the spot, Showed them I knew computers and a ton of art programs. They hired me on the spot and I started the following saturday.

but before you can get to that point, you have a good bit of practice.

First off, What training have you ever had, and what do you plan to do about your future?

At 2/7/13 05:04 AM, Lucky wrote:

So to be harsh OP's art is terrible, like 12yo terrible like he states. I would strongly advice against his dreams of becoming a graphic artist. he should atleast be better now (he's 21). Its nice to be nice, but I am inclined to burst his bubble. its not ever gonna work out.

The guy was in his 30s when he started this thread
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?870-Journey-of-a n-Absolute-Rookie-Paintings-and-Sketches
64 pages later
68...
Just saying

This one post just about sums it all up
sure it may have taken the guy around 10 years, but he kept at it. It feels nice to see someone work so hard and be rewarded for their effort.

I think I know whats wrong ... Drawing humans is not easy ... try warmashines or Anything thats not human ...
Thats how I started getting good.. . and if you are drawing on a PC it WILL be a little harder Hope this helps

Hey there!

At 2/6/13 03:45 PM, DelRio1991 wrote: I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

Oh, boy. Right then. first up, mirroring what other people have said: if you want to get better at drawing, then draw as much as you possibly can. From life, yes, that helps. Draw from photos too (not as useful as life studies but they're useful in a fix). From your gallery it looks like you're more into cartooning than academic life drawing studies. If that's the case then doodling from your imagination is also important. Think of the number of cartoons out there that have unrealistic or outlandish character designs. Loads of them. Whilst I'm pretty certain that artists like, I don't know, Pendleton Ward and the guys at Nickelodeon have functional formal drawing skills, the place they really shine is in their ability to take their knowledge about how the world actually is and shove it onto a bunch of characters that have very little resemblance to actual human beings in their anatomy.

Er, I think my point there is sure drawing "well" is useful, but don't get too super hung up. I come at this from working in a motion graphics company straight out of university, where two of our biggest directors couldn't draw at all. They knew about overall composition, knowing about colour and shape, typography and how to get the most out of software they were using. They hired me to do the character designs. There are many aspects of graphic design where you won't touch a pencil. If you really want to be a graphic designer rather than a graphic artist I would keep that in mind. They're pretty different, although being able to do some of one will always help with the other.

Getting good at any of this stuff is less about talent and more about a) will to get better and b) tons of practice, research and advice where you need it. The fact that you know you need to get better and want to is brilliant. Never fall into the trap of saying "but that's just my style" about what you create. You can always change and improve. Also don't feel like what you create has to look like anything that's already out there. The world already has a bazillion comic artists that make everything look like a Marvel comic, for example, find a way to make stuff that's uniquely yours.

Get to art galleries and bookshops and look at as many different kind of art as possible. check out the modern stuff in contemporary galleries as well as the graphic novels. It's good to take inspiration from all sorts of places and not just internet forums. Post as much stuff as you can in places where people can see it and invite criticism from all over. It helps. Get to life drawing classes. Doodle all the freaking time.

I've rambled on for long enough I think. I hope that's at least a little bit useful.

- Lemon

At 2/6/13 03:45 PM, DelRio1991 wrote: I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

Hey dude,
I think for the type of drawing you're going for, you need to really understand SHAPES.
Understand that you draw are not just lines, but constructed by 3D objects.
A good way to improve on this is look at comic book (marvel/dc) superhero tutorials,
they break down how human figure is composed of 3d shapes.
Hope this helps.
Also, learn your Shadowing - that alone can take you to another level almost instantly
B

At 2/6/13 03:45 PM, DelRio1991 wrote: I don't get it, everything I draw, I feel like it looks like crap.

Like, this thing that I drew. It looks so flat and lifeless.

What am I doing wrong here?

I'm not fishing for compliments, I really need some constructive criticism, I want to go into graphic design, but I'm not going to get anywhere with my stuff looking like a retarded 12 years old kid did it.

Oh yeah, I actually have a quick tutorial that might help you on this,
check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv19KWwtsZw

It'll show you how to put 3D objects together

The guy was in his 30s when he started this thread
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?870-Journey-of-a n-Absolute-Rookie-Paintings-and-Sketches
64 pages later
68...
Just saying

Holy Crap

I guess there is some hope for me after all.

Anyway I found the posting on Craigs list.

I then emailed the company, got a quick interview for that friday, I took them my portfolio, they had me do an art test on the spot, Showed them I knew computers and a ton of art programs. They hired me on the spot and I started the following saturday.

All this time, I thought that Craigslist could only be used for buying old furniture or prostitutes.

But, seriously, I did get a couple of graphic design gigs through facebook, so it's not that unbelievable.
(keep in mind that one of these gigs are mostly just favors to friends, I'm working on a design that someone is paying for, which is the reason why I started this thread, if I don't start improving, I'm never going to get another job.)

but before you can get to that point, you have a good bit of practice.

First off, What training have you ever had, and what do you plan to do about your future?

By training, I assume you mean education and so far I've only gotten high school level art. I'm also self taught. I'm trying to get into graphic design, but I may not be able to afford even a community level degree at this point, but that all depends on how a meeting I have goes on monday which is the second reason I started this thread, if I can get schooling, I'm going to need to start learning how to improve on my own.

At 2/7/13 03:46 AM, Tomsan wrote:

At 2/7/13 02:05 AM, DelRio1991 wrote:

I've already been told I'm better at this than other things I considered for a career, so I'm going to have to be stubborn on this one.

omg sorry but that made me laugh and then immediatly made me feel sad. dont you go to school then?

I do, but right now I'm getting all my liberal arts out of the way.

I've already dropped out of one college (long story short, my grades were so bad I was asked to leave) and I was majoring in computer science.
My computer science teacher once brought me into his office and told me

You're really not good at code, you should stick to what you're good at, like cartooning.

Now, keep in mind I was drawing shit like this for the campus newspaper at the time.

Now, take into account how bad that comic looks.

Now imagine how bad my coding had to have been in comparison.

I've rambled on for long enough I think. I hope that's at least a little bit useful.

- Lemon

I actually do enjoy cartooning and I'm constantly trying to improve myself. The only thing I want to keep relatively simple are the characters I use for my comic, the thing is, I was under the impression that I couldn't make money from cartooning like this.

I guess I want to have the most stable creative career possible, so I can support my girlfriend in the future. I'm just glad to hear that I'm not beyond practice, as long as there is hope from me to get good from that, then there might be hope for me yet.

Thank you for your insight.

Don't suppose you could reply to people in a single post? This thread is getting filled up by your responses.
Just cut and paste the quoted text to a single message box.

Even better, it'd be worth seeing if you're getting on with your drawings, rather than sitting on your hands and waiting for replies.

Everyone on this thread,
I wanted to thank everyone who posted here, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to respond to all of them, but keep in mind that I have read and digested every single word of every single post here, down to the punctuation marks.

Already I feel like my spirits are higher that there might actually be some fleeting chance that I can improve.

Taking what I've read from HCTA, TurkeyOnaStick, RougeSoul, LovingTheDark, TomSan, KinSei01, Lucky, Zanner, ratherlemony and brian604, if I'm going to improve, I need feedback, so, I drew a quick sketch using my wacom tablet of this old pose figure thing that I've found (I completely forgotten that I had this).

So, how can I improve from this?

At 2/7/13 02:52 PM, TurkeyOnAStick wrote: Don't suppose you could reply to people in a single post? This thread is getting filled up by your responses.
Just cut and paste the quoted text to a single message box.

Even better, it'd be worth seeing if you're getting on with your drawings, rather than sitting on your hands and waiting for replies.

Damnit, why didn't I think of that?

Yeah, sorry, I'm very new at how forums work and I kinda suck.

If it's any constipation, I just did posted a drawing for judgement on this thread, if you have any advice on how it can be improved, I would appreciate it a lot.