I’m 38 years old and have always wanted to be able to draw. This weekend I picked up a couple of beginners books and an inexpensive pencil set. 
I found a few websites that seem like they might be helpful as well: here, here, and here. Any advice for the budding artist? Any books or other websites you recommend?
I feel like a little kid, my wife asks “What are you doing tonight?” I reply, “I have to practice my shapes.”
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the best book on drawing I’ve ever encountered. Even though I am a visual artist, I never thought I could anything approaching realism until I read this book. Literally–and perhaps this is just the way my brain works, although I have heard many others having great success–I went from drawing no better than stick figures to a recognizable portrait within maybe two or three weeks. It was astounding. The book is not so much about the technique of drawing as it is in teaching you how to see and how to draw what you actually see, not what you think you see. Seriously, it was quite a revelation to me. I could not recommend this book enough.
It seems like the About.com link ends up saying nearly everything I have to say, at some point or another.
So I’ll ask you a question or two instead: What do you want to be good at drawing? People and animals? Plants? Buildings? Inanimate objects? There’s plenty of techniques that work across subject matter, but then again there’s also a lot that’s specific to the subject. If you want to get into portraiture or life drawing, you need to study human anatomy, especially the skull. Architectural drawings make you decide on what kind of perspective you’re going to use.
And draw on a tilted up surface, not anything flat. Unless you’re working on something that’s entirely measured, it will have a strange distortion to it when drawn flat and viewed vertical.
Let me just say, drawing “realistically” is bullshit if you don’t come to any conclusions about the underlying form. You know, whether or not a head is more like a sphere or a cube, that kind of thing. Almost everyone, beginners and art school kids alike, try so hard to “draw what they see” when it comes to values and shadows, which never, ever looks good. How can you tell what value something is if you don’t even know what side faces the light source?
Basically, if you want to draw - really, really want to draw - get some books on Cambiaso, Durer, Euglow, da Vinci, Ruebens, etc. Hell, even look for Giacometi, although that’s a little advanced I think for just starting out.
Most fine artists will also tell you that comics are pop trash for the masses, which means they shouldn’t be taken seriously about anything. Go check out Return of the Dark Knight from the library and study all the different ways things are put in space.
That’s about it I guess. Just know that this is a brilliant drawing and this is not.
Yes. If you read only one book, this is it. In fact I’d advise you to read ***only ***this book, at first, and then just work at practicing what you’ve learned. The first step in learning to draw is learning to see.
Before I even was old enough to walk, my mother (an artist) used to take me to the art museum. I remember her holding me up to a painting and pointing out things like “See how the artist gave shape to this person’s nose, by making the light hit it from this angle” and “See how the artist curved this person’s body this way, and how he balanced it with this other curve” and “See how the artist created the illusion that the water is moving, with these few strokes of color.” She was basically teaching me how to draw . . . by teaching me how to see.
And another plug for Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Great book.
And another recommendation for Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. And another vote for reading only that until you have taken what you learn there as far as it will take you, which will likely be much further and much quicker than you hope for presently. Then, once you’ve gotten all you can out of that book, you’ll not only be ready to progress further but you’ll have a better idea in which direction you want that progress to lead you.
Start out trying to do too much, too soon, and in too many ways, will soon overwhelm and frustrate you. Also, keep in mind that many famous artists struggled with learning to draw. Vincent Van Gogh in particular struggled for quite a long time, sometimes failing even in the basics and winding up with a fairly realistic figure in which everything was okay except the top of his subject’s head appeared squashed. But in time and with lots of practice he was eventually able to produce absolutely exquisite pencil drawings.
The main thing is practice, practice, and practice. Drawing well really isn’t as hard as most people imagine. Like the book says (IIRC), if you have sufficient dexterity to sign your name, you have all you need to be able to draw well. All you need is learn how to put that dexterity to work duplicating what you actually see (the book will explain what that means).
The best of luck to you. It’s really fun and cool to learn how to draw.
Get a nice sketchbook. I’m a traditionalist, so I buy Moleskine, but whatever works for you, as long as it’s portable.
Then sketch whenever you can, and everything you can.
I want to be “good” at drawing anything I draw, don’t know yet if I’ll favor one subject over another.
Pick some artist whose pen-and-ink work you really like, buy their books and (initially) copy them a bit. I recommend Roy Krenkel and Heinreich Kley to start off with, but see what’s available at your local library in the 740s.
Draw everything and anything you see. Spend some time every day sketching your surroundings. Maybe set up a still life in your house somewhere and sketch that collection of objects every day.
Don’t try to jump straight from spheres to portraits, and don’t rely on comics or manga to teach you to draw. Start with the basics, learn how to portray light and shadow on various shapes and from various perspectives.
Also, try different techniques. Get some charcoal, some ink, and some color pencils and see how those affect your drawings.
Check out your community college and try enrolling in a basic drawing class. Learning to take and give a good critique is essential.
