question about drawing?

Question

see I have this shirt idea and I really want to do it myself. I'm great with coming up with ideas but I can never draw them to even start. does anyone know any books that can help me draw people and make things look more reall and have more shape rather than broken lines

or any advice etc.

Answer 1

For drawing people there is a really great book called "Anatomy for the Artist"

It shows the skeleton and the muscles, so you can have a better idea while the body looks the way it does.

As far as trying to make clothes, buy a cheapie version of those "American Girls" dolls they are about 18" high. Buy remnants at the fabric store and sew clothes for them to get used to the basic shapes without the big investment.

I bought a great sewing book, I think it is called "everything you need to know about sewing" I got it at barne's n nobles about 5 years ago. It discusses the different fabrics, from denim to chiffon. And all the different notions, like what is the pressing "ham" used for anyway? and how to alter a pattern for a fuller arm etc.

If they don't have that exact book they should have something like that. Plus plenty of drawing books.

The big thing about drawing:

The first thing you learn is NOT how to draw photo realistic. (Sadly) First you learn Perspective. How to look at the world and take an imaginary snap shot, then draw it as you see it FROM THAT VIEW. (Harder than it sounds)

When you see a person, your eyes see it, and your mind sees it. When you learn to draw you have to let your eyes tell your brain what to see.

The old way (before you were an artist) you glimpse an object. Your brain recognizes it, and pulls up to your conscious though all that you know about it. Your eyes pick up the big picture, but your brain relies upon memory for detail UNTIL your eyes tell you otherwise.

I.e. you see your someone coming (eyes).

It's Mom! (Brain),

Conscious thoughts BRAIN brings up: 1. We are meeting here today, 2. She will buy me lunch, 3. She has a crooked smile when she isn't really happy.

Big picture (Eyes): Her hair is pulled back. She has a dress on. She has a shoulder bag.

Details your Brain knows: 1. Mom braids her hair when she wears it back. 2. She always wears pantyhose when she has a dress on. 3. The shoulder bag is so heavy it leaves a mark on her arm

This all happens within seconds of seeing something.

So you are about to tell Mom, you aren't still lugging around that huge thing are you (the bag). Then you realize she has a New, huge shoulder bag.

Your EYEs took several more moments to overwrite what your BRAIN already "knew".

Drawing has the same problem. Your brain "knows" the shape of the human arm is long and slender. If you draw a person facing you with their shoulders facing you’re squarely and their arms hanging down this is the correct look.

If instead the person you draw has their hand facing you in the "stop" position with their hand almost completely covering their arm, what then is the shape of the arm behind it?"

Take a picture, or find a picture in a magazine and trace it. It is an oval, most decidedly not long and slender. But you mind does not recognize that shape as an arm, so how can you make your brain DRAW that shape to represent an arm.

You have to retrain it, like learning to walk all over again. You see?
If you can grasp perspective no other concept will be beyond you. Everything else will fall into place.

Being an artist isn't about what you do with your hand, for technique can be learned. The spirit of an artist is in how you see the world.

Good luck. You've got the glow- now you gotta use it!

Answer 2

"Drawing on the Right Side of your Brain" is a good start. It forces one to draw what they see, and not what they think they see. There are many more current illustration books out there that you can tap into, but the ultimate thing to do is draw more. Look at some of the greatest works (Leonardo's sketches, for example) and try to imitate what he drew. Learn about perspective, and foreshortening.
You will learn by doing.
You will learn more by doing more.

Answer 3

Crystal - brilliant answer!

*cheers 3 times*