Drake wants to draw!

[✡]

One thing I've always really wanted to do but have always been scared to try is learning finally how to draw. I want to be able to increase my art skill...so where should I start?

[Gelidus]

What I found that helped me is I started with drawing things in really life. Just quick sketches to help you get the hang of it. It helps you realize what you need to shade, what lines put off what effect in your drawing, etc. Then just draw whats in your imagination. Its probly gonna look bad, your probly gonna hate it, but you have to start somewhere. The most important thing is practice practice practice. And make sure your drawing what you want. Since youll probly need practice it will help to draw what you want to stay motivated. This is just my advice, others might have better advice as they are better artists. But this is what helped me learn the most.

[Kaprika]

one thing that helped me was repition repittion repitition

because when you draw repeatedly, you create muscle memory, and once you have that memory instilled in you...you can BUILD on top of it with skill and practice

[✡]

I do agree that practice practice practice is vital, but what if I practice and it never gets better?

[Ares the Ram]

then you're stuck with paint by numbers :p

youll never know until you try though. Give it your best shot!

[Kaprika]

I do agree that practice practice practice is vital, but what if I practice and it never gets better?

well ill tell you something that not alot of people know. i got so good at furries cause i learned from one of my favorite artists GoldenWolf.
i printed out her wolf lineart when i was younger  and id copy it (not trace, but by eye copy..) for the sole purpose of studying how her strokes were..get the feel for fur..and the wolves. of course never taking her art for myself..but simply training my hand.
and after a few months of doing this repeatedly the same pictures over and over, i started to pick up a knack for canines. (given im still nowhere close to how amazing she is) but im better for it.

so mabey take a favorite artist and try this..soemtimes walkin in another artists hand motions can help you learn yourself.

[✡]

right now I'm using a drawing program and working on a fox from a youtube video. It's not very good since I don't have a drawing tablet and I'm doing it by mouse, but its a start

[WingedZephyr]

If you sit down and draw every single day, you're guaranteed to get better. Might take a long time, or you might improve quickly, but you will get better one way or the other. Asking for critique on your drawings does speed up the process; just don't ask for critique and be offended if someone says there's something wrong. Take criticism as instruction on where you need to improve, and work on it.

[✡]

I understand criticism, I thrive on it as a writer. I will start practicing with this one picture as much as I can because it's got really good step-by-step instructions...I might even post the finished bit later tonight

Post Merge: June 07, 2011, 04:25:46 AMhere's the completed piece, critique as you may. It looks a bit sloppy because i drew it with a mouse

[✡]

I'm wondering how I could ever get better...my art always turn out the same..

[WingedZephyr]

That's really quite a nice start. You have some perspective on the face, a decent muzzle shape, some fluff for the fur. The collar's a bit wonky, but it's difficult to critique when I can't tell which problems are artistic mistakes or just because drawing with a mouse is difficult.

[✡]

That's really quite a nice start. You have some perspective on the face, a decent muzzle shape, some fluff for the fur. The collar's a bit wonky, but it's difficult to critique when I can't tell which problems are artistic mistakes or just because drawing with a mouse is difficult.

thanks! I actually tried the same drawing today on paper with a pencil and it actually turned out worse

[Self-sain]

Did you base that picture off of something, it seems... familiar....

And as said, draw every day to get better, one thing I like to do is do fan art. You have an idea so you don't have to struggle with ideas, and you gradually get better to, just don't forget to get back to your own work.

[✡]

I did in fact base it off another artist's work to get a feel for some of the techniques
I did a slightly crappier piece of artwork last night:

[✡]

update: I tried an art tablet at the Microsoft store today (one of the only two in the United States dontcha know ) and my drawing improved greatly over drawing on paper and with a mouse