Starter questions

[Camatarul]

Ok first I'd like to say that my post will probably seem very odd to many people as I've realised all the people posting on these forums are adults in college or who are working already and are in their 20-30s.
Well I'm 15 years old and I've become really interested in art.I love drawing and concept art,especially for games, but also architectural designs, started to attract me. I would like to ask though how did you start your career? How did you get better at drawing? Did you use some books(which?), did you go to some extra lessons to help you with body drawing,buildings etc? Was it long before you went to college that you started drawing and practising, as I'm thinking if it's not a bit too late to decide to be an artist.
Sorry if they're kinda too many questions and I know they may confuse you, but know what?I'm also confused so I hope your answers will help me. Basically I'd like to know how did you start your career.

THX a lot:)

[Zazerzs]

Welcome to the forums, check out the search function, it can help in answering some of these questions.

15 is a great time to start serious studying, there are lots of other teens on here.

Be a sponge absorb as much as you can, check out the tuts here and everywhere.

Draw,draw,draw, start a sketchbook and begin posting your stuff, that way you can get more tailored advice.

get involved in the community activities.

[Dusty]

At age 15, my advice is pretty much exactly that of Zazaerzs. You just need to draw as much as possible. While it doesn't hurt to think about how you are going to make a living at it someday, you should first focus on doing it enough so that you know that it IS something you would potentially like to make a career out of.

Draw everything. Draw the thing sitting next to you on the table. Draw animals at the zoo. Draw your parents/siblings. Pick up some comic books and draw some super heroes. Buy some books and draw what you read. Bring a sketchbook with you everywhere so you can draw anything that looks interesting at all.

In a few years, you'll start thinking about colleges and maybe art schools or some other forms of education. But right now just draw whatever interests you and have fun with it! The key to making a living at art is always being excited about art.

In 3-4 years come back with the same question and I'll answer what I can...for now, just draw.
FYI, I have drawn all of my life, but I didn't start drawing seriously until age 15. I have done everything personally that I suggested you do.

[Camatarul]

Thanks for the advice I am trying to draw as much as possible but I'd like some things that might help me get better as I just can't seem to improve too much. So if you could recommend me any books which would help me improve my perspective... And also I seem to be leaning towards being a concept artist so I'd like to know : do I have to learn to know 3d modelling and texturing or things like that(which I also have to research more because I dont rlly have an idea of what exactly they are)

[Pixelwalker]

Just for the perspective questions:
David Chalsea - Perspective for Comic Book Artists

It's called "Comic", but you can use it anyway. Perspective rules are always the same.
And the book is just great. It explains perspective in a simple way of a comic.
You read the book and you think... GREAT!

So, perhaps buy it!
Silwynar

[PurplePlatypus]

Improvements can happen in two ways; their the bulk of it which is generally slow moving but steady as long as you keep up the work and there can be m ore rapid jumps due to a new understanding. The jumps though are probably due to the work you have been doing for some time before it. It can either be because you finally bridged the gap from comprehension to being able to use it, or because you hadn’t realised you had been improving till that point.

Either way, just don’t expect yourself to do too much in too little time. I see that far too often and it leads people to feel to down about themselves and their work. Compare new work with work you did a few months ago. After a couple years you’ll be wondering how you could have ever been that bad when you stared out although, after 5... well I’m not even past the 5 year mark yet myself so I’ll have to take note and get back to you on that one.

In the mean time; life drawing, anatomy, perspective, colour theory, composition and everything else. Seriously, just do everything and do it often, don’t cower away from the things you find difficult and frustrating, their the things you need to focus on the most. Recourses are a little trickier; don’t worry though you tend to come across them as time goes on. You’ve got a pretty good start at it being on this website, so just take a look around.

Good luck :)

[WilliamFerris]

At the age of 15 all you need to know is draw,draw,draw,draw,draw,draw,draw and draw.

Observe. Draw. Observe.

Draw everything you see. Copy artists you love, copy artists you hate. When I was your age I doodled far too much, and that's not to say doodling is always a bad thing. Just that you tend to keep repeating the same gestures and lines without much improvement.

PS: draw.

[QueenGwenevere]

It's never too late to start - I've been drawing as long as I can remember, but some excellent artists on here started surprisingly late in life, you'd be amazed. (When I say late, I mean over 30.) (And some of the people who started way later than me are much better than me, too. Age is totally not a factor, it's all about dedication and practice.)

Anyway, if you're just getting started, the most important thing is to draw a lot, like what everyone else said. Try to draw from life often, that's the best practice (draw everything - people, objects, animals, landscapes, the room you're in, your hand, whatever.) But also draw from imagination, and maybe occasionally try copying other pictures or photos... Try everything, and see what sticks. Keep a sketchbook, and try drawing something every day.

Up until college I was mostly self-taught, using whatever I picked up from books or discovered through practice. I did take a life-drawing class, though, which was useful, and there were some freestyle life-drawing sessions for a little while that I could go to for practice. If you have a life drawing class near you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take it. Or if you don't have any classes but you can find a freestyle life-drawing session, it would be a good thing to try - the actual drawing is usually more important than lessons anyway.

Also look at lots of art - that helped me when I was starting, I devoured every art book in my library and learned a lot just by looking at a huge variety of images.

Something I did early on for practice (and I still find it a good way to stay in practice) was making up comics and drawing them. This helped me learn to draw all sorts of things from my head, and forced me to draw things I might have avoided otherwise - like people interacting with each other and with all kinds of props, environments from different angles, etc. It's a fun way to practice many things at once (figures, environments, perspective, composition, etc.)