I want to learn how to draw..but suck (need advice)(long read)

[FallenLegend]

Hi guys

I just happen to be a random guy with a dream I want to be good at drawing , since the first moment I saw anime my dream has always been to be an awesome anime artist and an awesome story teller I am planing to make a manga/book hybrid ,thats why I came here I have seen your art , and man I feel like you are art gods compared to this newbie .

I live in a country (Mexico) were finding a drawing school or a comunity college is virtualy imposible so I lack the privilege you guys had: a teacher


Basicaly my only choice is self taugh and as you can see here this is how i began http://mythicsonofgod.deviantart.com/#/d1ndefi yeah I know its awful

after this I tried loomis ,but honestly maybe I am talentless I dont know but for me he is waay to hard as learning chinese , even more for me as a teacherless newbie

then I decided to look at the tutrials at deviant art(I dont even know/knew were to begin) ,and with all I read this is the best drawing I have ever made:

http://mythicsonofgod.deviantart.com/#/d29oacq

as you can see I tried all proporptions and shading (tough those are fake shades I realy dont know much about shades).

So basicaly I am frustated I am completely lost, curently I am drawing portraits with proportions but I feel like I am trying to drink an ocean with a cup without a teacher I dont even know If I should practice more basic stuff or if I should start with something else, well basicaly I am very confused.

DO you guys have any advice for me becuase curretnly I am feeling that I will never draw good being self taugh and I realy want to acomplish my dream help?

[Diarum]

CLICK HERE this will give you almost every tutorial you will need for the time being. Alright Not everyone here has had a teacher, a lot of people here are teaching them self. Another thing, don't do anime or manga, at least for now, if you really want to learn to draw, you need to give up that bad habit. You drawings on DA look like generic Anime crap, sorry to say it so bluntly but you need to hear it. Your need to start with the basics and work your way up!

And the comments on your drawings on DA, are worthless, it like a baby telling a cat how to talk, its just not gonna work! So start a Sketch book here and post some stuff and people will point you in the right direction!

[Ryan K]

Start out with simpler objects, the body is a pretty complex place to start. It's supposed to be difficult, and if it isn't, that probably means you're not growing. Draw everything you see in your room. Life drawing is probably the best teacher you'll ever have. There are tons of successful, self-taught, non-schooled professionals - so don't let being self-taught discourage you.

Post up a sketchbook in the Sketchbook forum. There's loads of awesome people here ready to help you and point you in the right direction.

[Kamber Parrk]

That's not a bad drawing. You just need to keep practicing and refining your work.

Loomis is really an intermediate to advanced level text. Make sure you get everything you can from texts like Betty Edwards' Drawing On the Right Side Of the Brain, Bert Dodson's Keys To Drawing, and Rudy De Renya's How To Draw What You See.

And, read as many different books on figure drawing, portraiture and cartooning as you can-- don't make a religion out of any one book!

Keep at it!

[Nezumi Works]

Let me toss in a recommendation for The Vilppu Drawing Manual, it's a good start for someone at your skill level. Vilppu goes step by step through basic shapes and shows you how they're useful in figure drawing, with the intention of building your confidence as well as you skill as you go. I'm doing it myself right now, and I find I really like his approach.

Betty Edwards is pretty decent for getting non-artists interested in art, and breaking beginners of the habits of using symbols for things instead of drawing what's really there, but I suspect an approach like Vilppu or Dodson might be better for you.

[FallenLegend]

CLICK HERE this will give you almost every tutorial you will need for the time being. Alright Not everyone here has had a teacher, a lot of people here are teaching them self. Another thing, don't do anime or manga, at least for now, if you really want to learn to draw, you need to give up that bad habit. You drawings on DA look like generic Anime crap, sorry to say it so bluntly but you need to hear it. Your need to start with the basics and work your way up!

And the comments on your drawings on DA, are worthless, it like a baby telling a cat how to talk, its just not gonna work! So start a Sketch book here and post some stuff and people will point you in the right direction!

thanks I needed that!!

[SusanMart]

Well, I think your drawing looks quite promosong.

I am not a professional painter with the authority to give you advice. But surely you have some sense of proportion, aestetics, emotion, and I do think you will make a nice painter.

Just don't give up!

and welcome here)

[Cozmo]

Hi, Legendary.

I'm new too, but I've been drawing for a long, long time. I have to agree with Diarum...DA is so choked with manga as it is. I would strongly encourage you to learn how to draw things in a more realistic way. If you focus on manga, that's like focusing on breaking the rules without knowing the rules themselves (in my opinion, of course). You'll be a far more versatile (and marketable) artist if you broaden your skill set.

I've got a great book called "Comic Artist's Photo Reference: People and Poses." It uses actual people and runs through how to draw the basic human form and then modify it. It was very helpful to me, because I didn't realize that most comic artists use photo reference models in drawing people...I thought it was all in their heads, and that made me feel really inadequate. But I would encourage you to look for it as well...you can find it at any Barnes & Noble.

As far as advice, draw at any opportunity. I'm a web designer for a large corporation, but I'm always drawing. On phone calls, in meetings, when I have downtime, at home...all the time. Also, try not to focus on things that you do well. I mean, yeah, you need to focus on them to get good at them, but remember to try new things.

For example, I tend to be better at drawing things than people...I can do vehicles, weapons, stuff like that. But drawing the human form is fun and challenging, so when I get it right, I feel really good about it. I typically draw things from the side, so one way I'm trying to challenge myself is to draw the subject at an angle.

Anyway, the most important thing is to have fun with it!

Good to meet you!