Thinking of Taking Up Drawing

[landbeforetimelover]

Well, I didn't place this in the art section because I'm not showing any art here and I didn't place it in the fridge because it seemed to general a location for this, so I thought this would be the best location for this topic.

Anyway, I've wanted to be able to draw for a long time.  The truth of the matter is, I'm not very good at it.  I haven't had the time to practice.  I've always spent 99% of my off time working with computers.  But I've always wanted to be able to draw cool stuff.  What do I want to draw?  Well right now I just want to focus on drawing animals and athro furry characters (and no, nothing nasty).  I find athro furry's intriguing and I've always wondered how people draw them.  I'd like to try it out.  I occasionally find enjoyment in drawing LBT characters (the few times I've drawn them) and I'd like to try something else for a change.

I'm not really interested in drawing landscapes or forests or anything like that.  Or people.  To be perfectly honest, I've never really liked people.  I've always been more of an animal lover, but I like the idea of humanity and human sentience, so that's why I like athro furry's.  

But beyond just wanting to draw cool characters, I want to be able to draw practical objects as well.  For example, when the physics teacher asks me to draw a car in an example, I don't want to have to feel embarrassed about how horrible it looks.  I'm not saying I would want to spend 20 minutes drawing an amazing car with shading and awesome effects or anything, but I'd like to be able to draw something that actually RESEMBLES a car and not just a box with circles underneath it.

But unfortunately, I won't have anything to show for quite some time.  Since I'm just starting, I'd be waaaaaaaaay to embarrassed to post up a drawing I did.  It'd look like a 3-year-old did it. I've only actually sat down and seriously tried to draw something like 6 times in my life.  All the other times have been quick sketches that I didn't really care about (like physics drawings at school).  But now I'd like to try my hand at something good and cool.  I also want to become a better writer, but that's going to take a back seat for awhile while I work on this.

[DarkHououmon]

I'm wanting to learn how to draw landscapes, other inanimate objects, as well as people to broaden my skills. Although I'm able to draw animals just fine, it is rather limiting and it frustrates me when I have a picture idea and I can't do it either because it involves something humanoid or it involves inanimate objects.

If you want to learn to draw, I do recommend you learn not only what you want to learn, but also things you don't. Learn to draw people as well as landscapes. When it comes to art, I think it's best to generalize and be able to draw a wide variety of things. Doesn't mean you have to be an expert at it. I sometimes draw backgrounds and I still suck at it.

My advice on drawing the characters: use shapes. Using shapes to build up a "skeleton" of the character does make it easier to draw over. Oh and another piece of advice: get How To Draw books. They can come in handy. For instance, if you want to learn how to draw LBT, I recommend picking up this book: http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Thunder-Li...58211034&sr=8-6
http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Thunder-Li...58211034&sr=8-6

This book shows, step by step, how to draw several different types of dinosaurs as well as a couple pterosaurs. It's a good book to practice with and it does come in handy when trying to draw LBT-style dinosaurs. After I got this book and started to learn from it, it became a lot easier for me to draw LBT dinosaurs.

[Mumbling]

Good luck! Drawing means a lot of practice!

[JitteryDragon]

The awesome thing about drawing is that you need to follow your own style. Obviously, taking notes of other peoples work is a good way to learn, but the best thing you can do is to develop your own techniques and style of drawing. That way, you can whip up something very quickly without needing any references.

Don't be embarrassed by your drawings, everything counts. I still hold onto my dinosaur and dragon pictures from when I was seven, and those aren't pretty  

As for drawing cars... well, I can't draw cars   so good luck with that.

[thebigdeal]

you should get an account on Fanart Central your art will be very popular like mine (i am waluigiguy22)

[Allicloud]

What do I want to draw?  Well right now I just want to focus on drawing animals and athro furry characters (and no, nothing nasty).  I find athro furry's intriguing and I've always wondered how people draw them.  I'd like to try it out.  I occasionally find enjoyment in drawing LBT characters (the few times I've drawn them) and I'd like to try something else for a change.
 

Well, I can recommend Deviantart. They've got plenty of good tutorials and basic guides on drawing anthros. And incidentally, if you want a good place for anthro style animals, but in a western style, look up the old Redwall TV series, if you haven't already. Trying to draw those guys (as well as the characters of Ed Edd n Eddy) is essentially what got me into character drawing. They've got a good assortment of furry, and sometimes scaly, characters, some anthropomorphised, and some not so much, oddly enough.

But if you really want to make it a hobby as well as a talent, draw ALOT. Like, carry paper and pencils with you all the time, and whenever you get a creative whim, get them out and scrawl it down. It doesn't matter if its unrealistic or not to scale or out of perspective (no matter what art teachers tell you!), just as long as you get it down quickly, so you can touch it up and improve it when you have time!

[StrutEggStealer]

Seriously, how I learned to draw was watching my older brother draw Monkey see, monkey do sort of thing. Imitation is thr best form of flattery -

I also remember taking tracing paper and practicing that way. I would first suggest that you try imitating other's work - not for plagiarism, of course^^ but to explore new styles and see which one fits you.

dA also has good tutorials, but practicing, practicing, practicing is really gonna help Good luck!

[Ducky123]

I'm really bad in drawing in general
I only can draw smth. when I have a template( yes, my fantasy is very bad ) e.g. a screenshot
I will try to draw something and put it into the fanart section, if it's not too bad

[Animeboye]

Y'know, I have friends who have talked about how they can't draw. The truth is you can draw. You just need to put a lot of time and practice into it.

Let me show you an example of one of my earliest drawings http://animeboye.deviantart.com/art/Titus-50320534


In comparison to one of my more recent ones http://animeboye.deviantart.com/art/Anatom...-Kids-293041117



And that's just a five year contrast. I've been drawing for eleven years(started getting serious about it in eighth grade which was eight years ago).

Anyone can draw despite what they may say. It just takes practice and dedication to get good enough.

[StrutEggStealer]

The truth is you can draw. You just need to put a lot of time and practice into it.
Anyone can draw despite what they may say. It just takes practice and dedication to get good enough.

Rigtho you are! Thank you for saying that! I felt like I was the only one blurting it out, and no one would listen!

"I can't draw..." it usually comes before "I can only manage a stick figure" <-- AHA! So you CAN draw!!

And I totally agree. It's not a an easy discipline (hint on where the word discipline came from) I mean, I started out with pretty crude representations of humans and now here I can draw humans, animals, and dinosaurs all pretty realistically because i stuck with it...

just... takes... extreme... patience *twitch, twitch*
Also, Animeboye, you've got a pretty cool style, it's very cartoony like mine

[Animeboye]

Thanks    Always makes me happy knowing someone enjoys my stuff. You've got a cool style too.

[Blitz]

Drawing is a fun thing to do. You'll love it just like I did as a child and still do.