Learning to Draw

[Estrix]

OK, so I figure this topic/question is as good here as anywhere. And I can't believe I'm actually asking about this...but continual challenge and self improvement...plus impressing a girl lmao

 

Basically, as the title says, I'm interested in learning to draw but I'm struggling to find any good resources for a beginner.

 

Now, to clarify what I mean by beginner: I cannot draw. Like at all. I can barely draw a basic shape and have it come out like I want. I had issues with fine motor development growing up. The only subjects I ever failed were technical drawing (school MADE us do it for 6 months!) and art...don't ask how you fail art, I just did. So when I say I cannot draw, that's exactly what I mean.

 

So I need something that basically starts with "this, is a pencil...and his name is Perceval" or some such  Or good ideas to at least get some basic development down to move on from anyway.

 

 

[kaelvan]

I can show this posts . Shinning splendid wonder. Tell me princess...I'll just stop now. Anyway I posted quit few things on there. Maybe few of them might help.

 

Have no clue if this is on the list, but here.

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/(pretty helpful, even for me who has been doing drawing for so many years now)

[fengor]

I heard good things about the book "Drawing with the right side of the Brain"

[Evicious]

First off, if you are having trouble with fine motor skills, get a coloring book and some crayons. Sounds stupid, sure, but the control it takes to color inside the lines is a good starting point to begin practicing at. Then set your goal to color one page a day.

 

Second, go to an art store and find some tracing paper. It's the super-thin and see-through paper. You could use regular plain white printing paper to trace (simple lines, anyway - finely detailed and shaded pictures won't show through well at all), but part of the point to tracing paper is - again - fine motor control. You'll tear the shit outta tracing paper if you don't take your time and monitor your pencil pressure (how hard you press down when you write).

 

Unlike most people you may talk to, I do NOT recommend starting off trying to draw "something you like". Maybe it's just me, but one of the most discouraging things about drawing when I was learning was trying to draw a subject I was passionate about (horses, at the time) and then looking at it when it was finished - it always looked like shit to me, and I would get mad, frustrated, ball it up and throw it away. Fortunately, I have enough of an artist's heart that I kept at it in spite of my many, MANY failures. But it wasn't until I stopped focusing so much on how badly I was messing up on something I loved, and started working on pieces that I didn't care about and could look at objectively (portraits), that my technique really began to improve.

 

So my advice to you is to start off tracing things that you feel pretty neutral about - maybe bowls of fruit, or random shapes; cartoons, perhaps, or design logos. Anything with strong, bold lines to get started, and then gradually start tracing more complicated pictures.

 

Once you feel like you have a decent feel for tracing, start doing in-line work: trace the outlines of pictures, then pull your paper off to the side and try to fill in the finer details as you see them in the picture. This will help your brain learn how to draw what it sees spacially: you'll draw a little, then look back at the picture and realize, "Oh, whoops! This line needs to be a LOT closer to that one..." Then you erase, and try again.

 

You'll probably transition from tracing and filling in what you see, to tracing and filling in what you think might look cool pretty naturally. Small things like making a cartoon character frown instead of smile, or adding more flowers to the vase, changing one shape into a different one (say, a triangle into a diamond). Once you hit this point, you're also going to start looking at things and wanting to draw them outright, without wasting time tracing them - and when I say "wanting to", I mean you're going to feel confident that you could do it and it would look at least a little like how you want it to look. When that happens, go for it! You'll officially be on the road to "lernin' to draw gud", and all you'll need from then forward is passion and patience.

 

Everything you see is inspiration; practice is instruction. If something doesn't look right, and you can't figure out why, take a step back or away; if it still doesn't look right and you still don't know why, ask someone else to look at it, or take a picture and post it somewhere for critiques. There are books at the library; art sites online; classes at your local community college or recreation center - if you seek, you will find. And as always, if something isn't working for you after a fair amount of time - look for a different way to approach it!

 

Having trouble with shadows? Check out black and white photography. Can't get the physiology on your wolf-pegasus-centaur hybrid right? Get some cheap clay (aka, play-do), and try scuplting it instead. Your abilities will only ever be limited by your levels of enthusiasm and participation. For some people, "Can't draw a straight line" just means you know what you suck at, and have decided you're Ok with that. But for you, it seems, it means you have a whole wide world of art to explore and it's going to be an amazing journey.

 

So, this is a coloring book, and its name is B. Ginning. Have fun!

[kaelvan]

Give it up, right now

 

There's no money in it, trust me

Can't tell if being sarcastic or just seriously having a bad day. Not everything is about money dear.

[kaelvan]

Might help

http://willkempartschool.com/the-3-reasons-why-you-cant-draw-and-what-to-do-about-it/

 

http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/i-want-to-draw-simple-exercises-for-complete-beginners--vector-20583

Seriously, doing the very basics (no matter how boring) will help in the long run.

 

Perspective...learn it will make things bit easier.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Draw---Basic-Linear-Perspective/

 

Shading

http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/drawing_workshops/Shading_1.html

 

Seriously, if you want to learn, basically don't listen to people, who will bring you down. Everyone starts as a beginner, just few manage to get through it with lot of failure and became "masters".

[jfreaksho]

I was introduced to this book by a neighbor of mine who did graphic design: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Kistlers-Draw-Squad-Kistler/dp/0671656945/

 

It's a good progressive introduction to the basics.  There are 30 lessons that break things down into very simple clear concepts, with exercises and suggestions for practicing, and increasing in complexity over time.  You just have to sit down and do it.

[Vian]

Evicious had some really great ideas. I agree with what she said. I'll just add though that while tracing paper can be used over another drawing anywhere, you can use plain white printer paper to trace if you tape it to a sunny window. The light shining through the back makes the lines stand out really well and makes it easy to trace. I used to do that all the time. 

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I loved drawing when I was little, but found it intimidating a while ago and decided it was time to get over myself. I got a blank notebook and set it next to my bed with a pencil. I doodled or sketched every night before bed... whatever came to mind.  As long as there was something on the page, it was okay. A few weeks later I pulled out my old "how to draw" books and actually did exercises, but that first step of not being afraid of the paper is where I had to start! 

[Vian]

I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil, but after I got married, i stopped, I just wasn't inspired to do it anymore. i stopped writing too, which was where a lot of my inspiration for drawing came from. I probably haven't drawn more than a few things in the last 10 years. I just bought a new sketchbook, and I started drawing a character from the story I started trying to write again, and got frustrated and had to erase it. I'm going to need lots of practice to get back to where I was!

[Estrix]

First let me apologise for a delay in responding to my own topic. Went away for awhile, and came back to like 100 odd notifications so things got buried lol!

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. There's a vast amount of information here! And in the post linked by Kaelvan up near the top. I think it's going to take me some time to work through it all, but if I can't get myself at least started from the recommendations then I'm doing something wrong I'm sure.

 

The tracing and colouring idea is pretty interesting from a fine muscle control perspective. Makes sense to. My pressure control with a pen is awful lol. So I might have to look into that, I read somewhere recently that you can buy colouring books for adults...the universe is obviously dropping hints

 

I think I'll write a more detailed response and how I get on when I've had a chance to look through all the links and info and get myself sorted out. Thanks again everyone, it's why I love this place

[Dusk]

Few days late to this particular party, but something else you might try is drawing without looking at the paper.

Wait, what?

Yeah, I know.

It's kind of difficult at first, but I think it'd be great for the motor control aspect, because it forces you to draw reeeeeeaalllly slooooooowly and to really connect the path of your hand to the path of your eye. Plus, you get a really hilarious blob to look at afterwards that, in all likelihood, doesn't look anything like what you were trying to draw. Which is WAY LESS discouraging than drawing something carefully while looking and it not turning out like what you were trying for. Drawing without looking is supposed to be more meditative, I think, more focused on the act of drawing, not on the drawing itself.

 

This book has a lot of similar ideas, and I highly recommend it.