[-=Regulator=-]

Hi everyone!

I've read this forum for quite a long time and now decided to write myself.
Can anyone give me an advice how to start drawing? Yeah, I've read all those tutorials over the internet... Draw a circle here, a circle there, few lines and, hey, i've got a *** Dragon Ball character! I want to create characters myself! How do you do all this stuf?? Thanks in advance...

[B]

well, you start with a circle here and a circle there combine them with lines,...

heh,. just look at a picture, seperate it into shapes, draw those shapes, then refine them till they appear like an image./

[armature]

-=Regulator=- :

It's all about practice. You MUST practice to get better. Most of us didn't have the internet to get such wonderful tutorials from...we had coloring books that we traced pics out of, and we used paper and pens way back in the day. lol

Like anything, you have to practice...I locked myself in my room and only came out for food, school, a movie or two...work, and a bathroom break... =0)

the rest of the time I was at my drawing table reading, drawing, looking at what others had done and trying to incorporate what I liked about each artist into my work.

time, patients and a ton of paper.

thats enough of my yoda-ism today.

[Tinusch]

Armature's right... It takes LOTS of practice. I know it's terribly frustrating. You might end up angrily crumpling your paper into a little ball many, many times before you create a picture you like, but that's all part of it. I feel that way when I'm really out of practice. It pisses me off not being able to copy the image in my head onto paper and have it look the way I imagined it. It is frustrating. But the more you do it, the more you'll notice the little things; the little details and features that make things look the way they do. You'll start noticing a lot more detail in whatever you look at, and knowing those details is what makes your picture look good. So just keep practicing, keep paying attention to the details, and don't give up just because you're frustrated. That's all part of the process.

[Muzman]

yeah, I hate sounding paternalistic and all that "work hard my lad and you too will be good" shit (not that I'm good particularly, but anyway).
I also hate breaking things up into geometric shapes like that too. Essentially what the others say is true; just draw more and don't try and be perfect all the time. And draw stuff that you really don't wanna draw.
Also, if you're like me and you cant get your hand to do what you want it to, I've found pages and pages of teardrops helps a bit (drawing them that is, not weeping on the paper. although that might help too)

[DuKEZ]

heres a tip..

pic up paper and pencil and a something u wanna draw.. and TRACE it

trace everything else.. trace trace trace.. then when u think u traced stuff enough.. try free hand

[armature]

oh yeah! Trace trace trace!

you should see how many of my older comics have indentions in the covers and pages from where I was tracing the characters. =0)

I nearly forgot to add something to my yoda-ism!

Advancing as an artist....to levels like many of our fellow artists on this board, is sorta a step process.

You'll peak for a while, and feel like you cant get any better...like you've reached your limit. Thats when you force yourself to practice even more for a little while. If you get frustrated, step away for a few days and come back. Its amazing how much your mindset will affect your art.

may the force be with you or something.

[Lemur-X]

Really good advice Armature! This is perhaps the truest thing about art. It's *all* about mindset. You can tell when a piece is forced and was done just to be done. As you can tell when a piece was done with a clear/productive mind-set.

--Lemur-X



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Enter the Lemur......

[-=Regulator=-]

Thank you guys!
I'm going to practice... But if it is just the mattar of practicing, what they do in art schools for so many years? ;-)
Thank you everyone...

[Lemur-X]

Practicing is a way of getting the basics down, and improving one's self and style. It never eeee-eee-ver hurt anyone. Schools offer an environment to practice, learn to present one's self, to pick up on ways to inspire one's self, and learn little tricks of the trade from those that have done them for their entire life.

--Lemur-X

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Enter the Lemur......

[Jessica Tobine]

...yeah...

[-=Regulator=-]

Yeah? :-)

[Sc00p]

Well, I know I started off drawing those little anime versions of Super Mario in the old nintendo game manuals. I couldn't stop drawing that little plumber. Maybe drawing him contstantly is the key? Oh sure he's a little dis-proportionate what with his 3 inch long legs and immense nose, but its a STYLE people, come on

Oh yeah, and whatever they tell you, Joe Mad is your god, so practice his stuff

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Rene Antunes
www.nytro.org
[email protected]