Help me get better at drawing!
polycounter lvl 12
This should be the right section. I consider this technique difficulty with plenty of software packages.
Hey guys & gals! I'm dying to get better at artistry. I'm fairly decent at texture work, but my mind is blown whenever I get to 3d stuff! I can't model anything that isn't mechanical to save my life (and even then some stuff). I can't sculpt, paint, or anything.
I'm almost certain now, it's because I never learned to draw.
I know this may seem strange, but it is true. When I was a kid, I never really drew anything, and never enjoyed it.
Since I've been old enough to do game development, I've almost always focused on level design & programming. I really want this to change!
How do you get better at drawing? I know I should just practice day in & out, but it cannot be that simple. I've got no idea how to do shading or draw stuff remotely accurately. My handwriting is only legible because I write in all caps.
Please help, and thank you!
-Tom
Hey guys & gals! I'm dying to get better at artistry. I'm fairly decent at texture work, but my mind is blown whenever I get to 3d stuff! I can't model anything that isn't mechanical to save my life (and even then some stuff). I can't sculpt, paint, or anything.
I'm almost certain now, it's because I never learned to draw.
I know this may seem strange, but it is true. When I was a kid, I never really drew anything, and never enjoyed it.
Since I've been old enough to do game development, I've almost always focused on level design & programming. I really want this to change!
How do you get better at drawing? I know I should just practice day in & out, but it cannot be that simple. I've got no idea how to do shading or draw stuff remotely accurately. My handwriting is only legible because I write in all caps.
Please help, and thank you!
-Tom
Replies
As for the answer to your question. There is no one way at getting started and become good at drawing but practicing the heck out of it. And yes, show your work around to get an legit crit on it.
And keep practicing.
http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/tp/learnhowtodraw.htm
This is one of the free sites I've come across so far that will teach you the basics and get you up and running.
Aside from that, I'd suggest you should take a picture of something of your choice, draw it on a piece of paper and compare.
This is what I do..
EDIT: www.idrawgirls.com
This one have better tutorials on getting started. Depends on how well you adapt. Most of the sketches are done on photoshop, but you can always apply those skills on paper.
Mods: please feel free to move this thread to the appropriate forum. I'm sorry for the inconvenience...
How do you deal with screwing up in a drawing? Do you scrap it and start over, or what?
However when it comes to fairing the sketch than they take time and make sure not to screw up.
If I screw up sketching on a piece of paper. Well...I usually use the eraser to quick fix but it is not prefered.
When I am completely screwed up, that is, after creating the sketch on a paper, the proportions dont make sense to me at all nor does anatomy...I either scan it to edit it in the photoshop, or discard it and start over.
It really depends on where you sketch. If its photoshop and you screw up, the problem is one to few Ctrl+Zz away, and also it is easier to erase and redo the sketch parts or edit sketch parts in Photoshop.
If it is on piece of paper, than you have to be a bit careful when fairing your drawing. But starting with light rough sketch is always a good idea.
Here's a link to some books by Andrew Loomis, they might be a good place to start.
http://alexhays.com/loomis/
The only advice I can give is just draw as much as you can and don't get hung up on trying to make a perfect drawing each time. Learning to draw is really about the journey not the final destination.
I personally like to draw with a pen rather than a pencil that way I don't worry about fixing anything. Once a mark is made there's nothing to do but learn from it and keep on going.
Taking some formal drawing classes might be a good idea as well if you are in school or have the time and money to do so.
Unlike Ben Apuna, I personally like to draw using pencil rather then pen (although artline pen 0.1 - 0.5 I think will give awesome result compare to pencil sketch if you can control it correctly) because, simply cleaner and easily achieve a different stroke size (sometimes when I see a dirty paper in front of me, it really kill the mood. Again, its a personal preference).
I wouldn't recommend starting to learn how to draw using Photoshop though, you just can't get the "feel" of it.
Like Nitewalkr said, post up some picture for the community to give it a comments, and help you learn faster. Good luck!
_Revel
If you can afford it id say go do a figure drawing class. if you can find one oriented to animators they tend to be about fast gestural posing which is great for improving your line confidence and control.
Id personally say do as much observational drawing as you can its extremely good practice. Theres a great book called 'drawing on the right side of the brain' written by a lady called betty edwards. its a fantastic book to get you going in the right direction.
Quoted for agreement - it really is a fantastic book, definitely a sound investment.
Also, try following these tutorials / assignments from over at conceptart.org - they start at a very foundational level, but the structure makes sense and should help you develop. Check out Diarum's posts in particular before diving into the list in the first post.
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=190982
http://www.fivepencilmethod.com/
Another great way to get better at drawing is to post your drawings, and ask for feedback. Often those critiquing you will spot things that you didn't. After posting a lot of work, you'll potentially be able to get even better critiques regarding a few of your overall issues. This is extremely beneficial, because rather than telling you in a single piece "there's a mistake here and here"...you'll be told something like "it seems you're struggling with perspective" or "you tend to elongate your faces a lot" and the like. Spotting bad habits means that you'll be able to work on fixing them, and that means that your entire body of work can improve.
Start simple. Don't worry too much about shading or colors or working in Photoshop with a tablet. Start with a pen or pencil.
The whole "knowing how to draw well translating to good 3D work" is by no means strange. :P Once you learn how to "see" things more accurately, as I mentioned...that will translate directly into your work. If you can't model a human being to save your life, but you learn to draw one from multiple angles...modeling, sculpting, or painting one will become easier, as well.
Or was it something my mother drank when she was pregnant
Haha, no, I can relate to that. First time I was aware of it happening, I was sitting in a Starbucks on the Strand, and after a moment I realized what was going on, then freaked out because I didn't want to 'scare' it away.
I really love that book. Even when you're not doing the exercises, the science and research that's gone into it (especially in the revised edition) makes for some fascinating reading.