Advice on my figure drawing (And my struggle for being a concept artist)

[Favila]

Greetings everyone,
First of all, my apologies for my english

I'm a 21 years old spanish boy trying to learn how to draw. I was set to another path for 5 or more years, this was because my parents couldn't accept I just wanted to draw for a living and I wasn't brave enough to defend my own convictions, so I just tried to 'kill' that inner artist I have inside me. So I lost 5 years studying science (I wasn't bad at it, actually, but I HATED it), the last 2 years I fell into depression but finally I changed my mind and started a 2 and half a year 'course' (i dont know the english word) of illustration, it's not a full degree so you know what to expect. I'm learning lots of things but not enough things, I want to draw reallistic looking people and knights and futuristic people and creatures and all that stuff. I can draw nice cartoons but what I want is to draw WELL, not just the cartoons I can do right now. this last year I'm starting to feel happier (a lot!!) although I'm yet very passive, lazy, i think the english word is "procastination", I'd like to overcome it soooon.

So at home I draw many 'doodles' as you call them, random sketches of random things and people (or parts of people) that in the end are nothing and serve no purpose, without much thought put on them, I just waste my time A LOT but being lazy and by doing things that drive me nowhere.

I want to learn how to draw the human figure, I have looked many books on the subject, and downloaded some of them. This includes Vilppu's Drawing Manual, Loomis books, Bridgmans, some from burne hogarth, etc, books I have read some people recommend. Different people recomend different books, but out of all recommendations these seem the best ones and the ones people recommend the most.

Now, I have YET ANOTHER problem. I can read them (as a first read) and get a few things, but as I decide to work from one book I just get stuck in the first chapters and keep doing them because I don't seem to get to the level in the books. I have lots of problems in my figures and I can spot some, but can't really correct them. I acknowledge part of "what is wrong" -certainly not everything- but I can't correct it. So I don't go on, just keep doing the starting things to later get bored and stop studying that book. Then I'll jump to another one and so on.

First I want to learn how to draw the figure, then I'll study perspective, then I don't know. I'd like to work on painting, because this is my biggest flaw, I can't paint, I don't understand color nor any technique (the only technique I understand and manage nicely is photoshop, because I have a pixel art background during those years of science studying when I drew next to nothing hehe). Because of this I never paint aside from school assignments, which aren't as good as I'd like, to be honest they are terrible.

Some people say im hyper self-critic, but I want to paint at a proffesional level, I don't ask to be Michelangelo or Leonardo over night, I want to catch up with some people from this forums. I know I can be really good, but I need to develop myself and currently I'm losing time. I know I will get good in the end, but i'd like to make it shorter, I mean, by not wasting my time. Sometimes I look at works of people of my age and think 'omg im so terrible compared to this guy, maybe I dont have the talent or I'm too old to catch up' but actually I know I have it, I can do it, but not by wasting time not learning a lot everyday.

SO???!! (you'll be asking)
I'd like to know what's your book of preference, and what's your way (or what was) of working on figure drawing from any of these books, assignments I can set up to myself, or whatever. Also I'd like to get advice on what I have to work the most so I'll post some of my best pictures and maybe later I'll post some of the bad/awful ones. I mean, current pieces, because i'm not very consistent, or just not consistent at all. I know you'll say "draw from life" but what I need is to understand human figure and being able to draw it from imagination, so (and I know drawing from life is necessary and I'm doing it) I need to study the structure, anatomy, you know.

I think I'll make this post become like a progress log where I'll surely learn a lot with your help.


edit: this was my first post in conceptart.org, i never posted afterwards. I should send a pm to white rose saying thank you, I've improved a lot since that, and didn't even thank him hehe. That was late July 2006.

[Seedling]

Your English is excellent, Edu! Don’t worry that you have somehow come to the art scene late in your life. You are 21 - that's young! You are old enough to study art seriously, and that matters a lot. And also, the time that you spent studying science wasn’t wasted. That knowledge will be useful to you eventually.

Don’t worry about switching from one art book to another. That’s fine. You can learn a lot just from reading the assignments. You don’t need to first learn one subject completely, and then another. Use whatever learning strategy that keeps you progressing and keeps you motivated. That is, do what it takes to love the exercises. Small steps forward are better than standing still. Boredom sometimes means it is time to change tactics.

For a free resource, try the “Concept Art 101” link in my sig.

Cheers!

[Favila]

"You are 21, and you have already been studying art for five years – that’s great! And also, the time that you spent studying science wasn’t wasted. That knowledge will be useful to you eventually."

I think you missunderstood me ^^. I didnt draw ALMOST ANYTHING for those years, besides ugly graffiti (lol).

Also, my main problem isnt changing books, my problem is that I never get past the first 30-40 pages, so I know the basics of all books but I never continue studying further, lol
Thanks for your comments, I'll defineatly (spelling??) do some of your concept art 101 assignments, if not all.

[Seedling]

Sorry, I did misread what you had written, and I edited my post. You should finish reading those books. :-)

[k4pka]

Also, my main problem isnt changing books, my problem is that I never get past the first 30-40 pages, so I know the basics of all books but I never continue studying further, lol


You do realise that not a single person here can help you with that?

On a different note, self criticism is very good for you, it will keep you improving. The trick is not to hate every single thing you do.

[Favila]

well, k4pka, i certainly realise that, but I'd like to know how do people work with these books, maybe they copy all the book or something, I don't know, but my problem is I always get stuck at the start of the books because I don't know how to use them and quit.

thanks for your advice

[Seedling]

I just read them, while doing my own thing.

[k4pka]

I read them in my spare time, like before bed and such. If I have a problem, I refer to them to help solve that, dipping into them when needed if you will, as opposed to religiously copying out of them.

They are a reference, a source you will use for the rest of your career, its not like a case of copying them from scratching and saying you are done, you know it all. (Frazetta style :P)

[PXLPropheT]

HERE's TheMagic secret^^^ Paint ,Paint,paint:) sounds to good to be true? i swear its the truth!!! EG. If you want to get good at figures, you should have a mirror on you desk at all times and draw you self portrait every day.... draw every friend you have...draw sitting on the bus....basically never stop :) make it your job^^ your should be drawing or painting at lest 5 hours a day:) If you do this 1 simple thing :) youll get to where your looking to GO!!! do this with what every subject matter you want. you will see huge improvment with in a month^^ Art is a life time journey. and it will take your life:)

[duoxan]

use the book like a dictionary, if you want to know a specific thing, look for it in the book, read about it, practice it in your own way. you can copy the illustrations if you want. everyone has their own way, it takes time to find it
dont worry, lots of people dont draw in their earlier days
your off to a great start, keep it up. i want to see moar

[Teh Gosu]

i see you first want to learn drawing the figure, and later on perspective..

well, i think perspective is what its all about.. getting something 3 dimensional (also the figure), on a 2 dimensional sheet of paper, thats the goal. so study perspective, because the human budy is symetrycal and seeing shapes in space is very important, wich u develop better this way

antoher thing about the art books. i also have them and i look at them sometimes when i really need good reference for the human body, but most i look at other artists stuff i really admire (some on this forums). not to copy them or anything, but to learn how they approach certain things.. i learned from that just as much. i think its more fun then boring studybooks too, but thats just me i guess :)

and at final, i would suggest starting a sketchbook on this thread! you'll learn a ton from feedback these guys will give. dont use this thread, its not meant for uploading your sketches.. go to the sketchbook threads.

goodluck dude.

[Lee W]

Don't worry about where to begin and how to go about it, just put the pencil to the paper or brush to the canvas and grind them out. It comes down mainly to a lot of practice and determination. Examples in books are hard to follow, and I basically use the books as resources. Though there are two books that I would recommend: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and The Natural Way to Draw. Getting one or the other is fine since both are somewhat similar.

Also, just because you didn't do any art for 5 years doesn't mean anything, take it form a 42 year old person that started back up in Aug of last year after not doing anything art related in approximately 24 years besides an occasional mindless doodle.