Frusterated Graphical Artist[in training?]

[Darkanic]

I'm wanting to get into the digital arts.. Problem is I always get frustrated and rage, deleting everything I just worked on, normally because I can't draw heads.. at all.. It's my achilles heel it seems, drawing anything circle, mostly on the down strokes goin from the top right and down[ ) <--Like that]

I've tried chibis, landscapes, even what I am really aiming for [disclosed].. Tips on getting past this block?

On a side note to graphical designers.. What program[s] do you use? Trying to use GIMP right now.

[denpa H-puff]

I don't know how you go about doing it, but I would practice drawing lots of circles on paper, with pencil, attempt to make them all 'perfect circles' and then move on to varying shapes and sizes to build up structures (such as bodies of various kinds).

Also, when drawing a circle, never try to draw the whole circle without taking your pencil off the page. You shouldn't try and make perfect solid likes, but instead make lots of short, light, sketched lines.
Normally solid lines will be done over the top of sketched lines.
(Sorry if you already know this, but I don't know what level of knowledge you're at).

I'd stay to start practising with a tablet after you've got it on paper, too.

I use Photoshop, Illustrator and SAI depending on what I'm trying to achieve.
For graphic design I lean towards Illustrator, but for making art I use SAI.
I do all my final rendering in Photoshop.

[Guardian Cross]

I normally don't draw circles by hand. There's the eclipse tool for that. Just hold shift and drag for a perfect circle.

But if you insist on doing it by hand, then when you are drawing, try to move your entire forearm and not just your wrist. Keep practicing. Another tip is to hold your pencil, elbows off the table, and just let one point of your hand come into contact with the paper to hold it down and use it like a compass. Or just use a compass.

Books have tips on those. Go get em, and not one of those 'how to draw blah' ones. Those are really s**t.

I use Photoshop, and Illustrator, and occasionally InDesign. Not sure how well Gimp works in comparison to photoshop but you could probably play around with it a little.

[DemiG711]

I'm sorta the same way, so I know how you feel. One thing, DON'T DELETE IT. I don't care how bad you think it is, don't delete it. If anything, add another layer and fix the mistakes you see. You'll eventually train yourself to do better.

Also, your arc doesn't have to be one stroke. Feel free to go over it 5 or so times till it comes out how you want it.

Think of this as a sketch, make it as a basic idea, it can be really bad but give you enough detail to do the next step. Once that first piece is down, then you can sorta retrace your work to get that smooth lined look you're trying to achieve in your picture.

I like to think of the sketch kinda like clay. Want her cheek bone to be higher, then move it, don't trash what you have cause of one (or more) issue(s).

Also learn to draw with your eraser. Use it to carve out details instead of just removing what you don't want.


I like to use Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. It's a very simple interface and, I feel, it let's me sketch easily without being distracted by things like masking or whatnot. Brings me back to the days of me and my sketchbook.

It really depends what you want to do with your art from them. If it's just a sketch, you're done. If you plan to really color it or something, GIMP should do fine. Honestly, I've seen beautiful works done in programs other than Photoshop (like GIMP for instance), so don't worry about what program you are using. It's more how well you know the program, not which one you use.