The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Zenguru]

Here's what I do:

I bought myself a sketch journal. And a bunch of Pigma Micron pens (cuz I love drawing with them). I go to a diner or cafe I like and find a nice place to observe people and stuff happening. I draw a few things that stand out to me. I don't worry about getting it perfect, just done. It really does get better the more you do it. If you persistently fill your journal, you have a great record of your progress. Eventually, you won't believe you used to draw the way you did.

[dairydead]

or murder 60 babies

[eltopo]

it's the quickest method

[Doc Jon]

Like someone mentioned, practice.

Just keep drawing. As you decide what things you like to draw, then focus on those things. If it's people, then look at subjects. Photos, real life, girlfriend, whatever is easily available to you. If it's basic still lifes or landscapes, focus on those for the moment.

But continued drawingis really the only way to get better. There really aren't any shortcuts.

WHat is it you'd like to draw?

[eltopo]

banging Salwen also makes you a better artist

at least that's what he told me

[Doc Jon]

That works more than you might think...

[eltopo]

That works more than you might think...

clearly,I'm awesome

[Zenguru]

clearly,I'm awesome

Dude, you fell for Salwen's line about the etchings? I'm losing faith in you.

[eltopo]

Dude, you fell for Salwen's line about the etchings? I'm losing faith in you.

I'll believe anything Salwen tells me
cuz I want to believe

[Zenguru]

I'll believe anything Salwen tells me
cuz I want to believe

Do you believe in life after love?

[DMM]

Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain is a classic.

Hell yes.

[J.M. Hunter]

I hate that book!!!!

[blah]

Ultimately, everything can be broken down into basic geometric shapes. When you break difficult-to-draw things down that way, they become easier to draw.

Breaking them down on paper? So a face would be broken into many circles and other basic geometric shapes?
Regardless of whether this is what Emma meant and of whether everything can be broken down into basic geometric shapes, I'm not so sure how breaking something down into geometric shapes would actually help someone see an object to be able to draw it. If there is a complicated object in front of me and I want to draw it, and then I decide to divide it into basic geometric shapes, wouldn't I need to be able to CLEARLY see the object to be able to ACCURATELY divide it into shapes? Don't you think that no matter how much I divide an object, I need to know things like its limits first (which apparently isn't learned by dividing the object)?
It'd be a pretty unneccesary process, I think, if the person doing it can already see the object clearly. Why wouldn't that person just draw the object directly? Unless the person can't see the object clearly in the first place, in which case, I doubt he or she will be able to accurately divide that object into geometric shapes--and what's the use of dividing an object into many geometric shapes if I don't know what that object actually looks like and where to divide that object? Like, let's say we have a big rectangle; this rectangle is drawn on a bigger white board. Now, I want to copy this rectangle on paper. I can divide that rectangle into basic geometric shapes, but it wouldn't be enough, because I would need to know what that rectangle looks like to be able to do so, right? I mean, I would need to know where one line starts and where it ends and things like this. What do you think?
This is why I think that only practicing geometric shapes isn't enough to be able to draw things, at least, assuming it can be a useful tool.
I think I'll try it myself just to be sure.

Maybe this would be useful some other way? Maybe you meant it would help someone draw from memory? I think it might do that.
Oh, but I think learning geometric shapes might be useful for posing figures! I mean, it'd help people make quick sketches of poses they're thinking about without going into details.
Another thing is that it might be the case that geometric shapes are not enough and the artist would need to know other shapes in mind. But I dunno.

[eltopo]

Do you believe in life after love?

no but she does

[blah]

I hate that book!!!!

Why do hate that book?