Teach me to draw!! Or...

[rottenlittleboys]

can you recommend any websites or books for a complete beginner?

I have watched others draw for all of my life and have been utterly fascinated by the process. Maybe now, I feel I am ready to try my own hand at drawing. So any of your favorite books or sites would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[EcoQueen]

Deviantart was my best resource. I learned just about everything from there. One thing everyone needs to learn when the draw though is to draw what you SEE not what you know.
What color is snow? White. What do you see when you look at snow? Pale or deep blues, shades of purple, and with a light on it a bright orange that contrasts nicely with the blue.
Learn to look at things, the darks and the lights, the shadows, the highlights, the colors.
Now for some tuts that have personally helped me:
http://browse.deviantart.com/#catpath=resources/tutorials/tradart&order=9  this is basically all the tuturials, so you can search for some specific ones
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Shading-and-Blending-63643800 great tut on shading
http://cedarseed.deviantart.com/art/Big-Guide-to-Drawing-the-Body-15014442 human anatomy is SO important! I cannot stress that enough
http://cedarseed.deviantart.com/art/Emotions-and-Facial-Expression-47118559 very eye opening guide on drawing emotions
http://coelasquid.deviantart.com/art/How-to-draw-all-sorts-of-crap-104342407 genius stuff puts anatomy in some simple terms
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Detailed-Hair-part-1-72642274 got me to make realistic hair...at least eyebrows
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Detailed-Hair-part-2-74655935 part 2
http://snigom.deviantart.com/art/Adanced-Shading-Techniques-43158629 might be a bit confusing but helpful
http://snigom.deviantart.com/art/Female-Anatomy-Patterns-43675502 oy i'm a girl and i still mess up my body. I practice by putting on a swimsuit or just wear a bra and shorts, look in the mirror, and draw poses of sitting and standing (sounds embarrassing/weird but very helpful
http://snigom.deviantart.com/art/Male-Anatomy-Patterns-44663581 male bodies are not so easy for me, lol
http://valendra.deviantart.com/art/Vavy-Curly-Hair-Tutorial-Part1-45500718 curly hair, important!
http://valendra.deviantart.com/art/Wavy-Curly-Hair-Tutorial-Part2-45510978 second part
http://snigom.deviantart.com/art/Face-Patterns-Tutorial-44290362 great guide to facial features
http://imagec0rrupt3d.deviantart.com/art/Human-Anatomy-69280033 funny but true
http://gabbyd70.deviantart.com/art/Eye-Drawing-Tutorial-101408417 detailed eye tut
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-female-lips-105593236
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorials-How-to-draw-lips-103303840
http://rynnay.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Basic-figure-drawing-106873904 funny and true
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Proportions-112009276


Holy crap I just previewed it and realized I put a toooooon of tuts. Lol. For books I recommend NOT getting those "Learn How to Draw!" books because they basically manufacture the same thing and they don't teach you human anatomy. I suggest going to the library and getting a human anatomy book and look at how the body is made, focusing on bones and muscles. Once you know those positions, you'll be able to draw a human body well.
Oh try to search for a folds tutorial on the first link, that's important! i don't think I put it up there.

Once you learn how to shade (light to darks and so on) and learn the human body, all it really takes is practice practice practice. Just like everything else. Trust me you may HATE what you draw now, but later on you'll see improvement, I guarantee it.

Don't rush off to Micheal's and buy fancy pencils and erasers and such. You honestly DON'T need it. You can go to walmart and get a decent sketchbook there and the good old number two pencil, or a mechanical pencil is just good enough. Get an eraser though, one of those white ones, cause a pencil eraser will run down fast.

Draw everyone and everything. Deviantart is a great asset that shows you amazing techniques. Plus the art...eh ma gad. Its amazing.

Another thing, don't trace. Some people say it helps them, for me I say its a crutch. If you know the proportions of a body you won't need to trace. A head is egg shape. The eyes are in the middle of the head. Nose halfway from the eyes to the chin. Lips halfway from the nose to the chin. A typical female is usually 5-7 heads tall.

Lol I have more websites and guides but I have to get off. PM me if you want any more advice, and I'll post more here later!

[rottenlittleboys]

Oh my gosh you are so awesome! I never thought to look on DA. That is one of my favorite sites too. 

[MunLtStmpr]

THANK YOU both for asking and answering!!  I'm starting an academic drawing class on Thursday night and am ridiculously nervous.

[bonesaw]

EcoQueen gave ya some good info, I'd say start drawing and shading shapes and learning how to use your pencils and your good to go.

[EcoQueen]

Lol this is late but your welcome

[Hika-chan]

Just thought I would add to this-

Get yourself a GOOD anatomy book.  Not a how to draw, but one with actual photographs, realistic illustrations and a pull apart of the human body. I find the ones with tissue paper of organs/muscles that lay on top of an illustrated body to be the most helpful.

You can look for a book on vanishing points/ perspective but really I think most people are better off just paying really close attention to what they are drawing.
LOOK and draw.
I would youtube a tut. on vanishing points as that can be helpful info, but it will take practive to be able to do it without looking at something.

Draw from PHOTOS. Some people think its cheating, but I think its smart. Especially if you are just learning. If you have a photo, the lighting NEVER changes. So you can work and take breaks. This is important if you are just starting out or you are like me and have a short attention span.

I use:

Deviantart.com
Youtube.com
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
Tegakie.com -can be helpful too but then so can a good paint program like adobe

I agree with ecoqueen on supplies. I get sketch books from freddies in the kid craft section. They're like 2 bucks. And I use mechanical #2 pencils and nothing else. You dont need anything else for sketching. And a #2 will give you a wide range of shading. I recommend reading what your paper is intended for though. Watercolors don't usually mix well with thin paper. Your book should tell you the papers uses on the front.

And DONT be AFRAID of your paper. Have fun! ^-~

[rottenlittleboys]

Thank you Hika-chan for the anatomy book ideas. We actually have a few of those in the house and they are one of the things that made me want to learn to sketch.

I love the idea of drawing from a photograph. Sometimes when I am crocheting or knitting, I just want someone elses pattern to work from instead of having to work from scratch.

And thanks for the DA idea. I have found such a rich source of tutorials and inspirations from there.  I had not thought of youtube for some reason. But it only makes sense that to watch and then (hopefully) imitate someone elses movements, I can learn to recreate something similar.

Oh, and for the  http://www.posemaniacs.com/ site? That place is beautiful! You are awesome, thank you so much!