Need to restart. Help please?

[jacobl0l]

When i started drawing i got lazy and skipped like all the studies type of things and went straight into photoshop and worked from that because of this my drawings usually seem odd and out of place and dont really work well. And i always see peoples drawings of skeletons and all that but where do you get these things from to draw ?

do you guys have anything i could use to restart?

I am a visual person and find it hard to read pages of info on drawing so please try and keep things simple!

Thank you,
Jacob!

[Andrew Sonea]

Good for you for recognizing the need to start back at the basics. The anatomy studies you are talking about are mostly done from books. I would start with Bridgman's books.

[Slothboy3000]

With things like skeleton studies, a lot of artists have a model skeleton on hand. It's important to know the skeleton otherwise the muscles will look unconvincingly placed and lack structure.

[Nistarn]

When i started drawing i got lazy and skipped like all the studies type of things and went straight into photoshop and worked from that because of this my drawings usually seem odd and out of place and dont really work well. And i always see peoples drawings of skeletons and all that but where do you get these things from to draw ?

do you guys have anything i could use to restart?

I am a visual person and find it hard to read pages of info on drawing so please try and keep things simple!

Thank you,
Jacob!

I am visual too and before I could go to all those books I look into Structure of man, it gives you a push.
Check it out

http://www.alienthink.com/

[arenhaus]

You can always go back to basics, there is no "leveling" in art. Life's not an RPG. So just get a pencil and go sketch stuff.

[RyerOrdStar]

You can always go back to basics, there is no "leveling" in art. Life's not an RPG. So just get a pencil and go sketch stuff.

You mean I've been studying really hard to get my +3 Paint Brush of Annihilation for nothing?!?!

[velderia]

You mean I've been studying really hard to get my +3 Paint Brush of Annihilation for nothing?!?!

Indeed.

(/cue dramatic music)

[Dinamo]

Good for you for recognizing the need to start back at the basics. The anatomy studies you are talking about are mostly done from books. I would start with Bridgman's books.

Hey Andrew,
I started with Bridgman for anatomy and I understand little of it. The thing is, I don't know how to train on drawing those figures he does. Do I just copy them with my eyes to my sketchbook? Do you recommend any other books?

[Arshes Nei]

This might help too. http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26636

[Andrew Sonea]

Hey Andrew,
I started with Bridgman for anatomy and I understand little of it. The thing is, I don't know how to train on drawing those figures he does. Do I just copy them with my eyes to my sketchbook? Do you recommend any other books?

Yes, you should copy his drawings out. Don't just blindly copy them line for line though. Try to UNDERSTAND what you are drawing. Question why he is putting a line there, what does it represent? What is the form of this muscle? And read the text too, it will help with understanding.

Bridgman isn't the most medically accurate though. His real strength comes in depicting the general masses of the figure and constructing a figure that has very three dimensional qualities, that sits in space. Many people combine his books with more traditional textbook type ones. I use Peck's Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist, it is very good and cheaper than some others.

The real key is understanding though. I used to flip back and forth the two books (Bridgman and Peck) and read through once or twice until I understood it. Then I would copy out the plates to the best of my abilities. Afterwards I would cover it all up and try to do one from my memory. I then would check where I went wrong and take notes.

Oh, and it is a slow process. Start with bones. Then learn the what the muscles are, and where muscles are. Then learn the insertions and origins of the muscles to better understand their placement and actions.

[Stricken]

I did the exact same thing and, until I joined CA, I didnt realise there was a problem with it. When I studied Fine Art at A Level in college there was no real emphasis on the need to learn anatomy, although we did do some life drawing which has definitely helped in my understanding of the human form. So I've recently started from scratch again, though admittedly I have been slacking lately. As soon as I joined CA and saw the emphasis placed on studying human anatomy I started doing a few here and there, and even the small amount I have done has really helped. It's awesome that you have decided to start from scratch. So many people hold themselves back because they don't want to take what they view as a step backwards, when in fact it will take them leaps and bounds ahead of where they're already at artistically. Good luck!

Thanks to Andrew and Arshes for the advice and links

[heSlimedme]

i agree with stricken. i too went through programs at the college level. they all say "study the masters" without instructing what to actually look at. for me, now, i have torn down and started from scratch asking myself "what is important? what do i want to convey? whats the focal point?" these are things i struggle with with my new paintings. when i break between painting i just doodle bridgeman just from glancing at the books trying to see what i can remember. after a few initial sketches then i will study one in depth, then repeat. but yes stricken is right, backwards is forwards. i still need to understand the fundamentals.