How can i get better at drawing?

Question

I doodle a lot. i spend at least 3 hours a day doodleing. im determined to be a great drawer when i get older. Right now im really interested in anime and i just cant nail their features and stuff. I'll copy and trace pictures of characters like goku, naruto, even sly cooper, and make up my own characters, which seem to always come out nowhere close to how i imagined them. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for how i could get better at drawing like this?

Answer 1

If you are interested in anime, one thing you should do is find some drawings you really like and cut them in half--try to draw the other half. This will make you think instead of copy. Also, look up perspective--you can google one point and two point perspective. Set up a small still life and try to draw it. Make sure you warm up with contour and gesture drawings (google those if you don't know what they are--they are really easy to learn!!) Another thing you need to google is value--this has to do with shading. Make a scale from one to ten--one being the lightest mark you can make and ten being the darkest. Once you have done that apply it to your still life. Also, you need to think about what kind of lines you are making. Are they faint, dark lines or are they heavy, think lines. It really makes a difference. There are tons of drawing books out there but honestly it really just takes practice. There are always siminars out there for people who want to hone (sp??) their skills. Good Luck to you.

Answer 2

Practice. Practice. Practice. You might not be that satisfied with your pictures now but the more you draw, the better you'll get. It doesn't even matter what you draw, whether its a portrait, still life, or an anime character. Just draw whenever you get the chance and sometimes you should even try redrawing the same pictures (not in the same day though). You can compare the two drawings and see the difference. Over time without realizing it, you improve both your talent and perception since you're able to see the flaws of your picture and what you can do next time to make the drawing better. Even though copying will help you, you should still keep drawing your own orignal characters. That helps as well.

Answer 3

Practice, and my best advice would be to create your own characters not copy or create fanart. Copying is copying, and it won't get you anywhere. Perhaps it might be a good start, but to improve, you need creativity and you need to create your own characters/ pieces.

Also if you want to be a 'great drawer' I suggest you broaden your interests over time, and not simply focus on anime. Try realsim, abstract, etc. Anime might be popular, but it's quite overdone and lacks in originality nowadays. It's an okay place to start--- I started drawing with anime --- but later when I grew older, my interests shifted to realism and conceptual art.

I also STRONGLY suggest a real art teacher, Although good ones are very hard to come across. (I dont recommend 'how to draw books' they usually give cheap cookie-cutter ways to draw and they could potentially limit your originality)

(by the way, reading other reader's suggestions. I don't suggest turing a picture upside down and copying it. It will indeed help you draw the reference more accurately, but It won't help you're drawing skills in the long run, because essentially, all you are doing is copying lines and space)

have fun drawing! art is a great hobby to love

Answer 4

A good cartoonist still bases his characters on real life. A character's heroic stance can only be believable if it looks probable, even if a little exaggerated. The body has to look like it can really do that, clothes have to hang or drape realistically, GRAVITY has to allow the pose to happen.

The way to get this skill is to practice from real life. A good artist practices and hones his skill constantly.

I am one of those than can create and draw amost anything from memory. Someone wants a horse, I can ask them to specify: thoroughbred? workhorse? cow pony? Ask me to draw a fast car, I can do hotrods, dragsters, formula, sports cars. But I LEARNED this skill by years of practice drawing these and other objects from life.

I even have a morgue of thousands of images gleaned from magazines and other sources. I use these for reference when needed. If a client needs an image of an otter, for instance, climbing a rock, I can borrow the head from one picture, body and tail from another, and feet from one or two other pictures. I certainly can't always afford to go out and find real otters to sketch, so I use my morgue to find the exact images I need. I'd rather find my own otters, and will take advantage of any opportunity to sketch real live animals when I can.

When I find my drawings from memory are stiff and "artificial," I take my sketch pad out, somewhere, and "recharge" my creative batteries.

Answer 5

Besides what Alexa said, when you try copying an anime or other object or picture, turn the item upside down and draw the upside down version. This causes the right side of the brain, which is the more creative side in terms of spatial concepts, to work without interference of the more analytical left side of the brain. Then try copying rightside up followed by looking at and copying your own vision from your brain.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Practice, practice, and practice! Keep on drawing every day. You seem very determined (drawing 3 hours a day and all) and you will see results if you keep it up. You should try to widen your range. Think outside of anime. Try and draw something from life. Try drawing more realistic characters focusing on anatomy. If you set your sights higher than anime, you will improve in all ways (including your anime). You might want to try and draw with different materials. Draw with charcoal, it'll loosen up your style. Try to paint, etc...
Keep it up!

Answer 7

I draw everyday, & wear a fanny-pack that holds a pad of paper & all my art pencils, etc. so I can draw wherever I'm at. Buy as many "how to draw" books as possible, start a collection of them, along with comic books/picture books/etc. for ideas, anyways draw everyday, make it a heavy habbit, & you will get better. (I'm 36 & am still practicing-lately I've been hooked on my comics-I've acomplished most of the basic stuff & am still practicing) -Good luck.

Answer 8

Take a life drawing class to get some direction. Also with Anime you need a cad class so you know scale. Then take your skills and continue to practice and advance in your skill.

Answer 9

Practice practice practice, and be observant. The more you watch and study art, the better you get at it.