I want to learn to draw

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:40 pm

I consider myself artistic, but I haven't actually drawn anything for the best part of 20 years! Everything I've done in that period has been "design" rather than "art" and all computer based with very little creativity behind it.

Enough's enough. I feel I have talents going to waste. Something must be done.

So, what is the best way to effectively start over and learn to draw and paint again? In your answer please consider that I have (a) no money (b) no free time (c) am deeply stressed with work (d) am deeply stressed with personla life.

Er...right. A weird post. But... help?!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:52 pm

Well if you do it right, art can help with c) and d) and c) and d) produce good art, so no worried there. b) is a problem, you need to free time up - when you would be useles because of stress would seem to be good times to destress. a) is also a problem, depending on how little you have. Painting might be a good one, as you can have it set up at home close to where you work, basic suppies are cheap and doing something physical like standing and painting let's you free your mind and do something else.

Are there any community colleges around, or anything, that offer cheap art classes? A chance to meet people at least. Get a feel for what turns you off (I assume whatever you would do in a night class would probably not be what you want to get into) but either something the teacher says or something one of the attendees says will point you in a better direction.

Since you are trying to get away from the computer, I guess get an hour out of the house and go to the nearest library and just leaf through art books to see styles etc you might enjoy. My old housemate was into abstract paintings (I have a few up in my house now), and there are rules to why you do certain things, but it also seems to be a case of going with instinct and emotion to just paint you feelings or thoughts out within the rules.

Post by **Ameena** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:51 pm

Depends what kind of stuff you want to draw or whatever I suppose. I reckon anyone can draw, it's just that they can't necessarily draw exactly what it is you're trying to draw (I can picture something easily, but getting that information from my brain down to my hand in order to actually draw it tends to be very much a problem

). You could always just doodle stuff, either from observation or imagination - just keep a little sketch pad/notepad thingy with you wherever you go, and a pencil/pen, and draw whatever you fancy when you happen to be sat there for a moment not doing anything - you could draw something you happen to be staring at, or maybe get an image in your head and try to draw that. There's also plenty of doodle books around if you're stuck for ideas.
As for any of the other usual arty media (painting, etc), well, they're obviously gonna be a bit more time and effort to set up (eg getting hold of paints and stuff and then having time to set it up and sit down and do it, as opposed to drawing where all you need is a bit of paper, something to draw with, and a few free seconds), but I've never done much around anything other then drawing so you never know, you might find something that you can really stick to.
Oh as for the stress thing, going back to doodles etc, you could always just sit there when bored and draw stuff destroying your stressful things...eg draw one of your annoying web-design clients getting blown up by a DM demon or eaten by a giant dinosaur or something

. Even if it's only stick figures, who cares? You can start at basic stuff like that and go from there if you can't/can't be arsed to do anything more elaborate.
Whatever's fun and good for you, really

.

Post by **linflas** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 7:55 pm

Google images -> Copy image -> Paste -> New layer
assuming of course that you own a wacom : Brush -> Control Z -> Brush again -> Control Z ...

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:23 pm

LOL!

Actually, the kind of stuff you did in that gamebook is the kind of stuff I'd like to get good at -- you know, line art in the style of Gary Chalk. But off the computer if possible.

I know to do this properly I'd have to go back to art college and start over. I never did follow an art education and only have a mid grade Art A level to my name. But it's really not going to be possible for me to go back to college with my current financial situation, so I'm looking for the next best things.

I guess to start I just need to find some time and start sketching again... I'm encouraged by the fact that my my Grandma didn't start painting until she was in her 50s.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:44 pm

Ameena's pad idea sounds cool - get a book with very fine pages, print out some GC art from Project Aon, and spend some de-stressing time listenign to music and tracing away as linflas suggested

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:52 pm

Tracing doesn't teach you anything! You have to learn to draw what you see. Quite surprised Lilnflas suggested it actually.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:58 pm

Gives you experience, confidence and muscle memory with lines and curves I think and gets you to break down what you see into manageable drawing blocks?

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:05 pm

Yes, I suppose it's good from a technique point of view, but it won't help anyone actually learn to put their imagination onto paper. I remember very well my art teacher's reaction (read "apoplexy") to a pupil's admission they had traced something!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:09 pm

If you can't draw what's infront of you, how can you draw the nebulous stuff in your head

Post by **Sophia** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:58 pm

I think there's a big difference between drawing what you see in front of you, but actually drawing it-- that is, working from a model, which all artists do-- and outright tracing, which doesn't help you do anything in the realm of translating what you see to lines on the paper, because it's already lines on paper.

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:59 pm

You know what I mean.

Tracing lacks any education on the aspect of translating what you see to paper, because it's right there already under your pen! It's simply an exercise in duplication, and it doesn't teach any od the relevant lessons you need to be able to go from observation -> documentation -> imagination.

EDIT: Sophia beat me to it.

Post by **linflas** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:05 am

Gambit37 wrote:Tracing doesn't teach you anything! You have to learn to draw what you see. Quite surprised Lilnflas suggested it actually.

yeah, that was half a joke, i suggested it because of b). if you want to draw, you MUST find free time to do it : i pencil for real in trains, planes, lying on the beach, at work when i''m on the phone waiting, or bored in a meeting. my work notebook is only 10% full of actual working notes...
if you remember the manticore i posted a couple of years ago : it was drawn entirely during a 2 hours boring meeting.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:08 am

Post by **Gambit37** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 1:11 am

Excellent

More boring meetings = more maticores!

Yes, it all comes down to making time! Of which I currently don't have any! Things must change! I will try!

Hey, look at all the pretty red hats! Just Fippy and Sophia to go.....

Post by **Sophia** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 1:29 am

There.

Post by **Gambit37** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 2:49 am

Lovely! I love the fact you have short sleeves, in cold winter. Brrrrrrrrr!

Post by **Sophia** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:05 am

Hey, you don't have any sleeves... or clothes... or skin...

MitchB1990 · Post by **MitchB1990** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:05 am

Try looking into free drawing workshops you can attend, thats what I do at the AI.

Jan · Post by **Jan** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:48 pm

When I was a kid, I also wanted to learn to draw - I started going to an "art school" for children, and so on. But after a few years I found that I'm not good at it, that drawing and art things are not for me. I found that I'm too... how to put it... I'm too "exact and precise and I'm a perfectionist", simply that I'm more a technical type, and not an artist. I missed the talent and the... heart or soul... something that makes a good artist.

So I abandoned drawing and I found a new hobby, or activity, where I can relax - I have a workshop and I work with wood. I make various cupboards and shelves and toys for children and bird-feeders (lol) and these things. I work manually, and it's very relaxing, and you make something useful and you can use these things as perfect gifts - people are always excited if you give them something you really made by yourself. And it helps me to calm down, and to think about something else than my work, and to feel "useful". I can only recommend it.

Post by **Gambit37** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:33 pm

Funny you should mention wood work. I used to always enjoy that at school and I've always been a "builder" mentality. Lego is awesome

Maybe I don't want to learn to draw at all I just know that I need to be doing something that's creative away from the computer. New year will be the time to start exploring options....

Jan · Post by **Jan** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:41 pm

Yes, LEGO is awesome. But "Merkur" is more awesome. I loved it when I was a kid. Old good iron.

Look at: http://www.merkurtoys.cz/en/index.htm

(e.g. the "Your models" section)

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:35 pm

a bit late, but my advice is: Find 5 images that you like, take any one of the 5 each day and try to draw it. Keep track of spacial relations. This is one of the first key elements of drawing. People draw lines to long or too short, or they place those lines too far apart or too close together. getting past those is a big step. It may seem lame but we had to learn about spacial relationships for letters too. How far to space them for a word vs moving to the next word. Drawing letters is also similar to drawing faces.. a sentence is composed of various shapes.. we're just working in a different way, and remember back to how long it took to learn to make those letters nice and neat. A key to improving faster is seeing the error for what it is. As an example, a friend of mine constantly drew his humans too short. He would always draw vertical lines too short while horizontal were fine. I told him, next time he draws, double the length of his vertical lines. He made an immediate jump forward.. until they started getting too tall and he toned back.. he learned to judge the line length better.

So, once you get spacial relations down, it's time to move on to volumes. There are a variety of texts that deal with this. Andrew loomis has relased a variety of learning to draw humans books that are now easy to find online as they are supposedly out of print. Hunt down those. They give you the ingredient shapes (volumes) to draw any human in any pose.

once you have an idea about those elements it's time to move into life drawing. Conversion of 2D to 2D (ie photo to drawing) is a different skill set from drawing from full 3 dimensions. Life drawing doesn't always mean drawing naked people either. Going to a mall can allow you to do some drawing of people. People in coffee shops and such sit and stare off for long moments. This gives ample time for a quick portrait. People on escalators tend to strike a pose and wait until they reach the bottom, getting down their proportions in a quick gesture drawing can be done. Finding friends willing to sit a moment or family.. can be easy to do. A lot of people like to be drawn, just as there are those who don't want to be drawn.

Need to find the time to draw? easy, how do you commute? you get on the tram and go? how long of a lunch break do you have, do you use it all eating? Do you watch the news.. can't you just hear it and look up once in a while to get what's going on? There is always a little bit of time. just keep your sketch book with you at all times. The only way to get better is to simply do.. draw, draw, draw, and draw some more. You have an advantage of spending time seeing what is good and what is not, you have developed your eye.

Then it goes on to things like perspective and fore shortening, and then lighting and shadows, drapery, foliage, colour choice, etc etc. So much to learn, but take it one step at a time.

I first learned to draw from finding drawings I liked and then tried to draw them. Once I could draw them from looking at them, I then tried to draw them from memory, and once I had that (which didn't take as long as I thought) I tried to re-pose them. Then moved on to a new drawing. Often drawing on the comics and disney characters I liked. Then moving on to other people's styles.. then trying to draw those drawings in someone else's style etc. I still do that new when I have free time. Eventually, I got life drawing and a bit of formal training to get me moving forward artistically again, but now that I haven't been drawing as much I've noticed how hard it is to do certain things, my proportion is off, and posing, perspective.. need to keep practicing if you want to move forward and if you want to keep your skill level. Takes a devotion, and desire to be a good artist. You have to want to draw all the time.

I hope to get the desire back.. I feel it nagging me to draw in the back of my mind.. but I keep saying "later".. holidays are coming soon.. we'll see

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:21 am

http://fineart.sk/index.php?cat=1

andrew loomis books, plus other artistic references

Post by **Gambit37** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:13 am

Fantastic advice, thanks Cows!

I do already know some of this stuff -- I studied Art to age 17, but I left school before completion. Aged 21 I undertook evening classes and got my A level (only grade C though -- I didn't work hard enough).

As I noted above, I'm not actually sure that it's drawing that I want to do -- I just know that I want to do something creative away from the computer. Carpentry is also very appealing. In the New Year I'm going to start trying out some of these things, so watch this space....!

A friend of mine, who was an artists before I met him, hasn't done any art work for years. We had a chat recently about how a lot of people have talents that they don't follow. It obviously struck a nerve as he finally put up an online portfolio. It inspired me too -- I know I have *some* artistic ability, I'm just not entirely sure what it is!

As you'll have seen from the custom dungeon work I've done over the years, I'm always "borrowing" other people's work for the stuff I'm no good at (monsters, people, items) and only really concentrated on interface and environment. That's why I consider myself a designer rather than an artist.

Time to explore!

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:11 pm

you might be surpised the number of "Designers" we get in our 3D program that have done rather well creating 3D environments and sometimes characters. some even getting good at animation itself. One artistic road can actually follow along with others... that once you step off one onto another you discover you're further along in ability than when you left it.

Sculpture is a nice and relaxing activity. The finals that you make can be repoduced which is a challenge itself, and depends on how you've made them and what you use to make the mold. Or you can just make a one off and not worry about that. What's also nice is that you don't have to stick to one material, you can add cloth, cotton, real hair, paper, metal bits , real rocks and sand, etc. There are a variety of techniques depending on the type of material you use as well. People also use texture sheets which are essentially a rubber sheet imprinted off something else.. like snake skin, or real skin, or dirt, or rocky surfaces etc. It gives an imprint that they can stamp across their sculpture in order to apply that texture type to their model. You usually need to do some more scratching and blending to make them all fit, but a lot of the tedious work is taken care of. The materials come in a range of costs, some more expensive (ie soap stone), and some quite cheap. Just a matter of what you want to do and what you like working with

Wood working is expensive. all the tools cost, and the wood can get expensive.. and it's easy to split the wood accidentally or slice too deep. I've made a few things myself, but only when it didn't exist any other way like the DVD holder I made which is disguised as an end table, holds 500+ DVDs but just looks like an end table between the couches. Usually ends up being cheaper to buy, we found that from the book cases we just got. We could have made them easily, but it was easier to just get them from Ikea. I did enjoy working with wood and did make a few things I was really proud of. Like a rocking plane for a friends little baby brother, the step ladder that converts to lawn chair for a teacher of mine, etc..but again, it was when I had access to all the tools for free. Table saws, sanders, drills, lathes, etc it's all so expensive.

I think drawing is usually the cheapest... you don't even need paper anymore.. just a tablet and use the computer.. but if you do use paper you can get cheap printer paper and some pencils and it's not going to cost all that much.

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