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Creative Arts and Media => Artistic Stuff => Topic started by: c4539 on March 19, 2016, 02:57:30 PM

Title: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: c4539 on March 19, 2016, 02:57:30 PM
Hi all,
I'm asking for some help with improving my drawing skills, specifically so I can get a head-start on drawing furries. I'm not the best at drawing; I never use guidelines, my drawings are out of shape and scale, and I don't have perfect or even exceptional coloring/shading skills.


Right now I'm using the book "Draw More Furries" by Hodges and Cibos. I am trying to learn from it but the book treats me as if I already knew basic drawing principles, which I don't have.


Please post if you have any guides, tips, or books in mind that might help me.
Title: Re: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: GamerFool on March 24, 2016, 08:10:24 PM
A wild nerd has appeared!


Ok, so I'm not exactly the best art drawing either, but I've been drawing for a long time, so I certainly know a bit when it comes to trying to improve.


First things first. The thing about improving art is it's pretty much about forming new habits, and that's hard to do. You have to draw a LOT in order to get these habits down. And I mean a LOT of a lot. If you're feeling stressed, make sure to take a break. I think the worst thing to do when you're drawing is let it stress you out. It's supposed to be fun, after all. It kinda sucks, but learning to accept that you're never going to feel perfect is very important when it comes to improving art. There's always going to be something you wish you knew how to do better, so you've got to learn to stomach it and try to find ways of teaching yourself those things.


Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about some methods of improving!


I think the best ways to improve your art is through being observant. It's hard sometimes, but if you see a piece that's doing something you want to know how to do, like maybe draw holding hands, try to figure out what you do differently from them and try their methods. You probably wont get it the first time, but it helps you correct mistakes.


Also, tracing and doing art studies are really important. Like, trace bodies and stuff all the time. it's not bad to need to trace or get references (just be careful about claiming things as your own). Tracing can really help you figure out how bodies and things like that work. Also, do some art studies (pretty much just directly recreating someone else's work). It can help you figure out what they did and teach you their techniques. (Just make sure you don't claim the work as your own.)


Another tip, there's an idea that's kinda odd but also helpful with this whole observe and draw thing; draw the shapes, not the thing. Like, it's kinda weird, but say you're drawing from a picture of an extended arm, so the hand is reaching out to you. (I really suck at this) but instead of trying to draw the arm the way you think you should, just pay attention to the lines. Like, even if a certain line looks like it's long because you know how long it would be with out the foreshortening, force yourself to know that the line itself is really short, and draw it that way. (That might not have made sense...)


I could probably pull up some more ideas to help or maybe some references or tutorials that I like to use, but I feel like this is good for now. Feel free to tell me if you need any help or advice!!
Title: Re: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: Nori on March 28, 2016, 02:05:27 PM
References are your friend! And its okay for people to draw an outline and compare it with your ref and trace a few lines here and there (as long as it's stock photos or something, of course!) That helps with learning how exactly lines even work, and over time you won't have to 'copy' as much.
And just keeping at it, I was doubting that whole 'just keep drawing, you'll get better' because you draw the same thing; but it's true. Some of my realistic pencil drawings over time lost the derpy-eyes and awkward nose.
There's many tutorials online and youtube for learning the basics you'd need to understand the art book you got as well!
Title: Re: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: c4539 on April 03, 2016, 07:32:20 PM
Quote from: GamerFool on March 24, 2016, 08:10:24 PM
I could probably pull up some more ideas to help or maybe some references or tutorials that I like to use...
I would like to know the tutorials and references that you use, they may probably be useful. Also, thanks for the tips! I'll use them when I'm drawing.
Title: Re: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: GamerFool on April 03, 2016, 11:05:04 PM
Quote from: c4539 on April 03, 2016, 07:32:20 PM
Quote from: GamerFool on March 24, 2016, 08:10:24 PM
I could probably pull up some more ideas to help or maybe some references or tutorials that I like to use...
I would like to know the tutorials and references that you use, they may probably be useful. Also, thanks for the tips! I'll use them when I'm drawing.


Alrighty then! This isn't a complete list seeing as I forget most of the guides I use, but here we go! Also, if you need me to, I'm sure I could help you find specific tutorials for certain things. Now, a note, you're gonna run into that whole "they think I know what I'm doing" thing a LOT. Frankly, it's really hard to find a tutorial that doesn't do that. Some are better than others, but most of the time, you really need to just jump in and try it, even if it looks hard. Trace it, then eyeball it, keep practicing. Don't try to make it look exactly the same, just try to make it look nice. You'll figure it out only with practice, exposure, and effort.


Right, so I don't have many tutorials for things specifically anthro as I'm just now getting into it and haven't had the time to comb through many tutorials, but here's some things that might be helpful.
Not much, but feel free to ask for specific help for certain species or something! I can look around for something that can help.


As for other things that might just help in general, I have a few things that could help. Most of them cater specifically to digital art (seeing as that's my medium), but I'm sure some of the techniques could be applied to other mediums!
Well, that's about it. If you need any specific help, I might be able to spare the time to search around for some tutorials that could help, or maybe even give some advice myself if I know how!
Title: Re: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin
Post by: Balareth on April 15, 2016, 02:21:01 PM
i personally recomend you to take a look at the references and the limbs, try to calculate the proportions of the torso with the limb, based on your style try to determine how long is the size of the leg and how thick is according to body