How to get started?

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This topic contains 4 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Jesse 4 years ago.

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  • #3823

    Hi everyone, I just joined this community. I'm aspiring to be a comic book artist. I got the writing part pretty much covered, but it is the figure drawing that I need to work on. I recently read the post where it was advised that Focused drawing practice is most effective. Problem is I'm not sure where to focus, as I'm generally thinking I should learn to draw figures well. Is this bad? Should I begin by setting a goal for doing an x number of gesture drawings, and then focus towards specific body parts, or just start with a body part of choice and develop from there into complete gesture drawings in the end? I would be thankful for anyone who could give me their templates on practice goals and runs so I can use them as a guide.

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    #3824

    I totally get that. Looking at all the pictures can be overwhelming. I often don't know where to start. But honestly I've found that you just have to go. Just get a session started up on here and draw. Don't skip them, just do it. And draw as many as you can. And just keep going until you feel comfortable. Then you can start drawing your own poses and using pictures as just references rather than copying them completely like when you're doing studies. The amount of drawings doesn't matter, as long as you get the concept. You don't wanna stop after you get it down though. There's always something to improve.

    #3828

    If you’ve never drawn before, pick something you like and draw it. Don’t research how just try. Coffee mugs. Your dog. Your favorite tv show. Your favorite movie. Your dinner. Stuff you really like. It’s ok if it’s not realistic or looks odd, what matters is that you tried.

    Now try again. It doesn’t have to be the same thing. And again. Right now you’re trying to find the stuff that is fun for you. Bonus if you find you’ve drawn things you like, or if you feel like you’ve learned something about the thing you drew.

    The fun is what keeps you going, because any kind of art is hard.

    When you have found some fun in art, you can work on getting better, whatever the heck that means for you. Gesture drawing will probably be a part of getting better, because it’s a key skill for all kinds of representational art, not just comics. (Tho it’s definitely key in comics) But gesture won’t be the only part, and if you aren’t drawing now it’s very difficult to figure out what comes next.

    (you are allowed to draw with whatever you like. Pencil. Pen. An iPad. There’s almost no hard and fast rules in art)

    #3847

    Thank you so much for the replies. I think I really just needed to take a step back and try to see the bigger picture of things.

    I intend to keep gesture drawing, and just figure anatomy as my focus for now. Having read some of the forum posts, it is nice to know that

    I'm not alone in my confusions. I think I will start with the 30 min course exercise, and alternate with other drawing projects I like to do :)

    Gonna keep that pencil active as much as I can on a daily basis. It's going to be an adventure.

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