A No-bullshit “how To Improve At Drawing” Post.

A no-bullshit “how to improve at drawing” post.

I did a class on this recently through Laneway Learning and I promised I’d post the hand-out I gave at the end of it, so here it is. Thank you to Karithina for being my editor! This is for new artists and experienced artists alike, because drawing a lot does not mean you’re necessarily good at it. You are never above going back to the basics, ever. Complacency is your enemy.

I want to point out, first and foremost, that the “artists are born artists” or “only right brained people can be artists” beliefs are absolute bullshit. The brain is intricately linked to both sides, and the idea that all people are more dominant on one side than the other has been scientifically proven to be incorrect.

This is good news for you! Because it means literally anyone can be a master artist, all it takes is a lot of practice and research, like literally every other skill in life. I hope you find this helpful!

—-

The methodological order of learning the basics:

Forms and shapes

They make up literally everything. You can be good at anatomy and perspective but still draw things very flat looking because you lack understanding of how forms and shapes work.

Perspective

Drawing forms and shapes in different perspectives helps you understand perspective in a more simple way. Start with them, then move onto more complicated shapes.

Composition

Draw the forms and shapes in different arrangements, orders, etc. Research different compositional arrangements and their effects.

Colour theory

Learn it and learn it well; then apply on all the above basics. Colour theory also includes lighting.

Anatomy

Anatomy of all forms are comprised of a series of forms and shapes, so it’s imperative you understand them first before moving on to anatomy.

Anatomy doesn’t need to be done last; it can be done between forms and shapes and perspective, but it can be daunting for new artists so I usually leave it until last since it is a rather complex subject.

Life drawing

Life drawing is imperative to the improvement of every artist. It is best to start by using lines and no shading for objects that are simple shapes such as mugs, jars, candles, etc. Once you’re comfortable with this, start drawing the same objects but shade them. Despite being simple shapes, these objects contain complex reflections and they will help you understand how light and reflections work with different surfaces.

Play with composition. Draw the same objects in a different arrangement, or in different perspectives - otherwise you’ll rely too heavily on muscle memory, which will restrict the diversity of your technique. You need to understand how objects work in 3D space, not just how it looks from specific angles. Once you’re comfortable with this, add colour. Rinse and repeat with this method for more complex scenes and objects.

Remember: when drawing from life, try to visualize the negative space around the objects and draw the “lines” using that; drawing from silhouettes, once you learn how to do it, is a very effective way to ensure proportions and shapes stay correct.

Reference, reference, reference

Draw from your imagination but always use references. It is not cheating. Every professional artist uses references. You cannot rely on remembering exactly how things look; your mind erroneously fills in the blanks for you.

Make sure you research the copyright restrictions on the images you use for reference if submitted anywhere. Give credit where credit is required, and when in doubt always ask the artist first. Master studies should always have credit given, even if the artist died hundreds of years ago. For quick reference checks like seeing what way a belt buckle goes, google image does the trick and no need to give credit there for something so small.

Influences and originality

Be influenced by a large number of things and artists. Being original isn’t the most important thing, as long as you’re happy with what you create. But to ensure you’re not merely copying what other people do, mix it up. Experiment. Try a large variety of styles. You’ll find that all of them will eventually find a place in yours. Style is one of the things that comes naturally. If you wish to do commercial art - for games, movies, etc. - it’s important to be able to be stylistically diverse, too.

One of my favourite stylistic exercises is drawing something a few times from life, then condensing what makes up that object’s primary feature’s and exaggerating them, like a caricature. E.g:

Your style is very unique to you, and I would suggest that if you are unhappy with it, perhaps instead look where your art is lacking on a technical level. That is usually where the problem lies.

Tutorials

Be wary of the “how to draw [insert object here]” tutorials, only use them for inspiration once you understand how lighting and perspective works. They only teach you how to draw like somebody else. Instead, I suggest you find photos of said object, or the object itself, and draw it from different angles, and in different lighting. It takes a thousand attempts at drawing something to master it, and that’s the same with any skill in life.

Warm up before diving in

Before diving into drawing, do warm-up exercises: draw 30 circles on a page really quickly, sketch some quick figures (such as http://www.posemaniacs.com/thirtysecond), or draw some squiggles, shapes, flashes from your imagination, so on so forth. You use muscles when you draw and they need warming up like any other muscle in your body, otherwise lines will come out more stiff than what they could be. Also, always remember to take breaks!

Lastly, remember: everyone learns differently. I learn very well from following things in exactly one order, but that doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s okay. Don’t feel guilty about switching the order up a bit. Experiment and find what works for you, whether that is video, live models, books, livestreams or physical mentors.

Personal improvements after following this advice

I’ve been drawing my whole life; I’m 26. But I stubbornly insisted I was good just because I drew a lot. in 2014, I decided to actually learn the basics- some 22 years into my drawing experience- because I was unhappy with where my art was at. Here are the results.

10 months apart

1 year apart

(higher res image here)

Best thing? The new versions took less time by at least 2x, because I knew what I was doing. Not only that, but I planned my artworks- did texture studies and compositional thumbnails. This is very important to do for large artworks. It will save you HOURS.

Personal preference is not technically technical improvement. Learn to differentiate between the two. I deliberately chose to differ some aspects from their originals because the originals did not get across the feeling that I, personally, was aiming for.

Some resources

http://krita.org A free digital painting tool for Linux and Windows. It’s my go-to for all my digital art.

http://mypaint.intilinux.com/ A free digital sketching tool for Linux and Windows. I use it for all my line-art. It has no transform tools and some beautiful pencil brushes, imitating real media.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sycra For really in-depth tutorials on all the art basics.

https://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL/playlists Incredibly useful videos by Feng Zhu, a hugely successful concept artist who’s been working in the field for decades, and who also runs his own concept art school.

Resources for finding free images you can use for references: http://search.creativecommons.org/ http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/ http://www.1millionfreepictures.com/ http://pickupimage.com/ http://animalphotos.info Book: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. Despite the title being scientifically inaccurate, the exercises are helpful.

http://conceptcookie.deviantart.com/gallery/ Some useful exercises, step-by-step breakdowns, and resources lie here.

Good luck!

How to Give Your Story “Heart”

Here’s where things get fluffy. This is the moment you unleash your feelings, tap into your inner light, and weep onto the page, using your sparkling tears as ink. Ready?

Edna would never allow us to do that. And that’s good, because contrary to conventional wisdom, that’s not how you give your story heart. We’re going to do it the real way.

So if it isn’t raw emotion, what is “heart”?

1) It’s what your character NEEDS (not wants).

2) It’s the HIDDEN STORYLINE.

3) It’s what you want to TEACH.

Those sound intimidating, I know. But if you don’t treat it like a mystical magic, it’s very doable.

So, what do those mean?

1) NEED =

Your character has flaws that are ruining their life and future, right? Flaws in their heads that only hurt themselves, flaws in their characters that hurt other people. Something is missing within them, something they don’t understand, something they need to learn. Once they realize their flaws, and learn the thing that will overcome those flaws, their lives will be saved.

Take Mr Fredrickson from Up. He’s so grumpy and stubbornly stuck in the past, he’s willing to leave a small child clinging to the porch of his flying house, rather than let him into his life.

He needs to learn that in order to live a fulfilling life again, he must let go of the past, and go have another adventure. Which Ellie helps him learn.

Great. Now I’m crying.

2) HIDDEN STORYLINE =

It’s what the story is really about. The journey going on below the action-y surface. It’s your character’s inner change from one kind of person to a (hopefully) better kind. The reader believes the story is about the tangible goal, and the actions taken to reach it — the surface. Yet inwardly, they’re processing the hero’s inner journey too. It’s sneakily hidden from them.

On the surface, Hamilton is about a revolution and the founding of a nation.

Underneath all that, it’s about a guy learning what a worthwhile legacy really is, and how to build one.

3) TEACHING =

Storytelling is the most powerful teaching method ever devised. Scientifically speaking, teaching is the purpose of stories, whether we like it or not. This fact usually makes people react like Gollum when approached by nasty hobbitses.

“Moralizing, precious? We hates it!”

Which is a reflex aversion that I understand, and have shared in the past. Books and movies that teach something positive are scorned and mocked in the world of “high literature” too. But when I thought about what stories have done for me, and why they were capable of it, my opinion changed.

Tangled saved my life. If I had never seen that movie, I would still be in a horrible cult-like situation which I’d been trapped in for twelve years.

Narnia helped me escape depression.

The Harry Potter books were my home and my friends when I didn’t have either.

And those are all stories with strong hearts.

Why wouldn’t I want to create stories that could possibly help someone, like I was helped? Why would I let “avoid teaching at all costs” become my ultimate goal? (When really, that’s another way of saying “be pretentious and egotistical”?)

Nope. I’m choosing to write things that people will call schmaltzy and childish – but maybe life saving for another kid.

(I said I wasn’t going to get emotional. Sorry Edna.)

So, how do you figure out the heart of your story?

Answer these questions: — What does your character need to learn, to stop ruining their own life? — What do YOU want to say?

Keep reading

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kiminitodokestuff

9 years ago

Love So life

Tags

manga romance shoujo love so life slice if life

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kiminitodokestuff

9 years ago

The face of Shizuku’s brother in love is way tooooo cunning :$

Tags

manga oneshot romance comedy shoujo tonari no kaibutsu kun

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kiminitodokestuff

8 years ago

Besides knowing your anatomy from head to toe, what’s often overlooked is the energetic flow, or movement it conforms to.

Throughout the structure of our body we find rhythm, and it’s what determines whether or not you’re able to bring your characters to life on the page.

Here’s an example that describes what I’m talking about in a visual sense. This especially applies to the dynamic poses you’ll draw for your Comic Book characters, and will help them to maintain their fluidity.

http://anatoref.tumblr.com/post/119355955476/legs-design-reference

Have a productive day Comic Artisans – and keep on creating ;)

-Clayton

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kiminitodokestuff

8 years ago

The flood.

Saturday, August 13th 2016 Denham Springs, Louisiana Me and my friends were frantically texting each other, trying to get a hold of one another. We had no idea if they had gone under or if they were okay. One of my friends texted me saying “There is no water here, I am safe.” The same friend twenty minutes later texted me saying “My house is under water.” I have never been so scared in my entire life, I had no idea if my house was going to go under or not, or if some of my friends were even still alive. Many of my friends houses were full of water, them stranded on their roofs. I watched on the news as I saw the only town I have ever lived in be destroyed by water. My high school started filling up with water. Everyone was terrified. The most sickening feeling was getting text messages saying “Kayla, I am scared. I don’t know if I am going to be okay.”

Sunday, August 14th 2016 Denham Springs, Louisiana I woke up and looked out my window. I screamed when I saw the water had risen three feet. I ran outside to see the water was four inches from coming into my house. I checked on my friends, everyone I knew had lost everything or was stranded in their houses. There was no way to get out of my house, the water was chest deep and the currents were strong. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t. We were stranded. The water started to rise, and then the rain came. The water started leaking into my house. I was scared. I was so scared. Soon after the water started coming up through the floors, the water stood at a stand-still. It stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. I had no idea if it would rise suddenly, taking all of my belongings and memories with it, just like it did to my friend’s. The water then fell a foot. The water was no longer in my house, but stayed very high throughout the day. The threat was still there. We then began to realize that we had little food and water. We scavenged whatever we could from my house to make a small dinner for my family. I looked on the news, only to see that my school had been flooded over the roof. The school that only a few days prior I was laughing and learning at. I saw everything. I saw the neighborhoods and shops flooded up to the rooftops. I saw the children and babies being rescued by helicopters from a deadly situation. I saw the amazing Coast Guard and National Guard rescuing people by boat and helicopter. I saw residents going out, risking their own lives to save the lives of others. I saw thousands of people homeless with nothing to their name except the clothes on their backs and the children in their arms. I saw heartbreak, all across my city. All across my state.

Monday, August 15th 2016 Denham Springs, Louisiana Today I wake up and the water has dropped two feet. I am one of the lucky ones, and I am eternally grateful. Many of my friends remain in shelters, unable to leave. There is no way to get out of the city. The roads are flooded and broken. I am so thankful that my friends are now safe, and out of harms way. I am stranded in my home, still unable to leave. Still unable to get food. I am so saddened by this destruction and this terrible situation we are all in. The places we made these memories at may be gone, but the memories will never be washed away. My heart is broken, but my spirits are not. I know we will come out of this strong. It will take a long time to rebuild my city, but the community is stronger than ever. We must rejoice that our family and friends have come out of this alive, not be mournful of the items we have lost. Items and buildings are replaceable but our lives are not.

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kiminitodokestuff

9 years ago

Monokuro Shounen Shoujo

Tags

manga romance shoujo monokuro shounen shoujo

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kiminitodokestuff

7 years ago

as requested by quite a few people - a masterpost of educational podcasts. links go to either the site or the itunes podcast store. an excerpt of the description is included with each.

* indicates a podcast that i listen to regularly

entertainment

*welcome to night vale - twice-monthly updates for the small desert town of night vale

*muggle cast - everything harry potter

general information

radiolab - investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea

*stuff you should know - about everything from genes to the galapagos

*stuff mom never told you - the business of being women

tedtalks

good job, brain - part pub quiz show, part offbeat news

news

no one knows anything - the politics podcast from buzzfeed news

wait wait…don’t tell me - weekly current events quiz

college

*college info geek - the strategies and tactics the best students use

*getting in - your college admissions companion

math

math for primates - a couple of monkeys who decided that arguing about mathematics was a better use of their time than throwing poo at one another

math mutation - fun, interesting, or just plain weird corners of mathematics

science

60 second health - latest health and medical news

the naked scientists - interviews with top scientists, hands-on science experiments

60 second science - the most interesting developments in the world of science

startalk - astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe

nasa science cast - science behind discoveries on earth, the solar system, and beyond

history

*myths and legends - myths, legends, and folklore that have shaped cultures

stuff you missed in history class - the greatest and strangest stuff you missed

the podcast history of our world - from the big bang to the modern age! …eventually

witness - the story of our times told by the people who were there

the history chicks - two women. half the population. several thousands years of history.

entrepreneurship & finances

practical money matters - better managing their finances

the internet business mastery - learn how to create an internet based business

social triggers insider - the fields of psychology and human behavior

listen money matters - honest and uncensored, this is not your father’s boring finance show

writing & literature

professional book nerds - it’s our job to discuss books all day long

a way with words - words, language, and how we use them

grammar girl - short, friendly tips to improve your writing

classic poetry aloud - recordings of the greats poems of the past

language

esl (english) - improve english speaking and listening skills

language pod

coffee break

search in your podcast app for specific languages!

art

99% invisible - exploration of the process and power of design

tips and tricks photography

the arts roundtable

hobbies & other

stash & burn (knitting)

practical defense - staying safe in our increasingly dangerous urban environments

zen and the art of triathlon - a triathlete’s view on living the multisport life

the art of charm - make you a better networker, connecter, and thinker

the indoor kids - isn’t just about video games, isn’t not about video games

rationally speaking - explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense

the dice tower - board games, card games, and the people who design and play them

motivational & inspirational

back to work - productivity, communication, work, barriers, constraints, tools, and more

personal growth podcast - classic and contemporary self development audio

what it takes - conversations with towering figures in almost every field

here be monsters - exploring the dark corners of the human mind

on being - the big questions of meaning with scientists, theologians, artists, teachers

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kiminitodokestuff

6 years ago

Some gift drawings which I drew a bit ago. Top one was done for my friend @clouds-and-stardust and bottom one for @clawed50. Done with black pen and Tria marker.

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kiminitodokestuff

9 years ago