Non-Zombie Related Skills

[jmfargo]

Does anyone out there know of a good tutorial to help me learn how to draw?

Like so many people these days, I have what I think could be an awesome idea for a webcomic or similar, and just don't think my stick-figure drawings will cut it. They could, as my stick-figure style is similar to Order of the Stick and a few other popular poorly-drawn strips, but for the seriousish tone that I want the strip to have, it just doesn't work well.

So, do you know of anywhere I could look to get a good idea of how to draw a human head/face? How about bodies? Backgrounds? All done, of course, in a comic-like style. What that means, I have no idea.

Also? I've had caffeine this morning because today's going to be very busy learning about how to help stay "Green" and save the Earth. If I use up the extra energy from the caffeine, I'll be fine. If I don't, I'll get cranky. If I forget why I'm cranky, and post something to that effect, someone please remind me that I'm being dumb.

Thanks.

Comments

(stumbled across while looking at friends-friends-pages)

[miripanda.livejournal.com]

Sorry this is so random, but I literally have one of these books on my shelf right now --

There are a ton of "teach yourself to draw" books...the one i bought in a fit of hobbiness was called "drawing on the right side of the brain" and basically is the book form of a class that teaches you to "see." I think there are also draw-for-comics books....

Re: (stumbled across while looking at friends-friends-pages)

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and let me know what you have. Did it actually work for you?

Re: (stumbled across while looking at friends-friends-pages)

[zehaeva.livejournal.com]

I echo the recommendation for "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" it really does show you how to "see" differently to draw, i have but a very mediocre drawing ability but it was improved to that from horrid by that book, i only got through the first chapter or two though.

~Z

[stormkitty.livejournal.com]

Today must be your day for people who stumble upon you (through friends-friends page)...

I was at Michael's the other day (a big box craft store) and they had a whole end cap of "Draw Your Own Comic Book" and "Draw Your Own Manga". They had books on how to draw and had papers formatted into a comic book style and strip boards. I'd check there. :)

[periannth.livejournal.com]

Yup, we've got those, and I believe they are on clearance now, so if you liked them, you'd be getting a deal.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Not a bad idea. I'll have to stop by the next time I'm out near Michael's. I tried the local library, and they didn't have anything, so if I can find one relatively cheap I'll have to pick it up and learn from there.

[hyrkanian.livejournal.com]

For basic train-your-brain I highly recommend "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." Once you work through that there are lots of learn-to-draw-comics books. Any comic artist doing real work will tell you you have to have drawing skills before you can do comics. I sat by Brian Stelfreeze and watched him critique lots of portfolios at several conventions and every person was told "basic drawing first, comic drawing later."

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Well, that's two for "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," so I'll definitely have to check it out.

I have been told that you have to learn the basics of drawing before trying to do it in a different style. It's difficult to wait, though, seeing as I have all these ideas that want to burst out of me right now. Heh.

[venakali.livejournal.com]

Make that 3 for "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." It was used as a reference through several of my art classes through HS and college.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check it out. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/eryn_/]

Try the library. Then you can read a dozen books and decide which ones are deserving of space on your shelves.

Most art classes try to teach you to look and really see. There are different techniques to divorce students from drawing things how they know they look without looking. The one I got was "draw without lifting your pencil", sometimes that looks like a contour map, and it never looks right because nothing is shaded, but documentaries on tattoo artists show them doing something very similar for their stencils.

The best way to learn to draw is to do it. You need to learn to get what you see onto the paper. So first you need to learn to see. Muscle control to guide the pencil or pen is not likely to be hard, though it might take practice and be frustrating.

There are days when I sit and draw junk off my desk. Nail polish bottle, vitamin jug, coffee cup on a stained coaster. Cup with pens and scissors in. Some days I draw something out of my head. Acorn. Alien with no feet. I like drawing eyes off photos of celebrities. (Just the eye part, so they look unrecognizeable and like everyone else.)

So, some advice on how to get started won't hurt you, but you'd be better off making a full-fledged drawing on a sticky note every day. (I really like sticky notes for daily drawing exercises because they don't have lines, they're everywhere, and it's easy to hang a collection.) You will need practice to get better. Books will not make you practice.