Desperately need art advice!!!

[Dirk-Heroman]

I'm in need of some help...I've been trying to draw since middle school (in my mid-20's now) and I've been working on it SO hard as to be a competent artist, I know, I'm admitting it. redface

I have a couple videos and a Deviantart page I can show everyone my works (if you could call them works, I tend to call them cave carvings or fingerpaints comparing my work to a 5-year-old's)

Part One of my heedless series (I stopped it on account that no one really said anything or made a video.)

Part Two is right here, it's quite bad as well, I know it's blurry but I just used a webcam and poor lighting, I work retail I don't have the money for a fancy-schmancy camera, so bear with me folks.

I have many problems I'd go on and on about but I'm a visual learner, yes I'll take ANY advice I can get (please don't be a jerk, but I will accept constructive criticism) and if you CAN make a video, would be MUCH appreciated though not necessary.

Here's my DevArt BTW!


DevArt Fail!


Please, ANYTHING will help, I beg you all crying

[Jugo-kun]

maybe this series of tutorials might help you.

[Dirk-Heroman]

It's not Anime to Realistic that's a problem, but it's just drawing in general...

[Foxgirl_Kira]

One:
Forget drawing books. They are terrible I think. Perhaps they help some people but not me. The most use I got out of one is a comparison of a beginner to intermediate to pro of the same drawing just to see in general what I was missing.

Two:
I for one have never started with a circle for the head, I have always started with more of an oval with a basic chin that I later develop for the particular character. Also with positioning the eyes make them much closer to the middle of the head. The mouth can generally be placed by where the jaw comes in to forum a chin.

Three:
For you I would watch speed drawings on youtube for manga styled comics. Really look at the difference between what they start with (head wise) and compare it to your own and try to mimic them. If you must, start with tracing some of your favorite characters from a manga or anime just to get the feel of them. But do NOT make this a habit. Just build from there to copying them without tracing paper then start on your own characters.

This is all I have for you. I do not know for sure if it will help but you can try it.

Best of luck.

O^_^O



Also here is a video with a nice male head. He starts with a circle but again it is my personal preference not to start with one, so do whatever you feel most comfortable with.

[Dirk-Heroman]

Woah, that is a lot to take in, kind of hard to study so much what with me already going to culinary arts school and working all the time. I just saw how natural a bunch of friends do it, how they tried to teach me was all the same...

"Hey, now do this..."
*draws like that*
"No, like this!"
*tries to copy*
"You're doing it wrong >_<"
*facepalm*

I feel like I've...plateaued...ya know? That feeling where I just try so hard to improve that I don't, I've always had an issue with my drawings and my need to improve...I think it all started in high school.

See, I was in the Anime Club for a couple years, we would talk and just do stuff all Anime and Manga, we even watched some decent Anime in the club! Then it came time to design a poster for the class, I was hyped, I hoped that my make of a cool dude and a small amalgam of Anime characters I liked would suffice, as it is "ANIME CLUB".

So we all line up our drawings and we post them up on the blackboard...I see the other drawings just blow mine out of the water, the majority were done by underclassmen! (I was a senior at the time, they were Freshmen and Sophomores who signed up for the poster).

Came time to vote and well, everyone got at least 5 or 6 votes and yours truly only had one...his own vote...

I was crushed and I never recovered from that, I felt like a total failure, and I even got criticized for what I did wrong and such, but no one gave improvements. So now you see why I try so hard to improve but I just feel like throwing in the towel because I get the nagging suspicion that I'm not going to improve and that I'll never get off this plateau.

[Kupocake]

Dirk-Heroman

Woah, that is a lot to take in, kind of hard to study so much what with me already going to culinary arts school and working all the time. I just saw how natural a bunch of friends do it, how they tried to teach me was all the same...

"Hey, now do this..."
*draws like that*
"No, like this!"
*tries to copy*
"You're doing it wrong >_<"
*facepalm*

I feel like I've...plateaued...ya know? That feeling where I just try so hard to improve that I don't, I've always had an issue with my drawings and my need to improve...I think it all started in high school.

See, I was in the Anime Club for a couple years, we would talk and just do stuff all Anime and Manga, we even watched some decent Anime in the club! Then it came time to design a poster for the class, I was hyped, I hoped that my make of a cool dude and a small amalgam of Anime characters I liked would suffice, as it is "ANIME CLUB".

So we all line up our drawings and we post them up on the blackboard...I see the other drawings just blow mine out of the water, the majority were done by underclassmen! (I was a senior at the time, they were Freshmen and Sophomores who signed up for the poster).

Came time to vote and well, everyone got at least 5 or 6 votes and yours truly only had one...his own vote...

I was crushed and I never recovered from that, I felt like a total failure, and I even got criticized for what I did wrong and such, but no one gave improvements. So now you see why I try so hard to improve but I just feel like throwing in the towel because I get the nagging suspicion that I'm not going to improve and that I'll never get off this plateau.

Everyone has their share of failure stories. The difference between a "success story" and a "failure" is that the former continues to work hard and strive for improvement, despite the failures. The "failure" gives up.

If you keep groveling about your losses, you're never going to improve.

[Foxgirl_Kira]

Dirk-Heroman

Woah, that is a lot to take in, kind of hard to study so much what with me already going to culinary arts school and working all the time. I just saw how natural a bunch of friends do it, how they tried to teach me was all the same...

"Hey, now do this..."
*draws like that*
"No, like this!"
*tries to copy*
"You're doing it wrong >_<"
*facepalm*

I feel like I've...plateaued...ya know? That feeling where I just try so hard to improve that I don't, I've always had an issue with my drawings and my need to improve...I think it all started in high school.

See, I was in the Anime Club for a couple years, we would talk and just do stuff all Anime and Manga, we even watched some decent Anime in the club! Then it came time to design a poster for the class, I was hyped, I hoped that my make of a cool dude and a small amalgam of Anime characters I liked would suffice, as it is "ANIME CLUB".

So we all line up our drawings and we post them up on the blackboard...I see the other drawings just blow mine out of the water, the majority were done by underclassmen! (I was a senior at the time, they were Freshmen and Sophomores who signed up for the poster).

Came time to vote and well, everyone got at least 5 or 6 votes and yours truly only had one...his own vote...

I was crushed and I never recovered from that, I felt like a total failure, and I even got criticized for what I did wrong and such, but no one gave improvements. So now you see why I try so hard to improve but I just feel like throwing in the towel because I get the nagging suspicion that I'm not going to improve and that I'll never get off this plateau.

You are the one who asked for advice. Just do a little at a time if you are having trouble.

Just because someone is better than you at it dose not mean you shouldn't try. I mean there is no one who is the "best" at drawing. That person that is admired by many admires someone else themselves so they do not believe that they are the best and they keep trying.

Also you need a TON of determination to make a real series. Yeah short comics are a little easier to get from beginning to end, but still a lot of people cannot do that because they just get bored with it.

Now get some determination and be happy that people are willing to help. Just take it in slowly if you have to. Use that hard blow in high school as motivation to get better. So no one else can make you feel that way about your art.

So just sit down and do it.

o_o

[Dirk-Heroman]

Thanks for the help, I'll keep my head high, I'll do my best, mind if I keep you all updated on my drawing if I put some more up?

[ElfinNissa]

You'd do better in one of the drawing forums than Comic Creators if you're not going to be making comics specifically.

[Liik]

Dirk-Heroman

Woah, that is a lot to take in, kind of hard to study so much what with me already going to culinary arts school and working all the time. I just saw how natural a bunch of friends do it, how they tried to teach me was all the same...

Problem 1 and problem 2.

Your friends don't want to waste time teaching you. So they glance over s**t they know because when you know something, you assume everyone knows. (Very few people actually have the patience to teach another from the beginning, which is why not every artist is an art teacher.) Stop bothering them. (Asking for critique and "show me how to draw" are two totally different things.

Also, chances are your friends draw like s**t too, but you think it's great cause you don't know what you're looking at. We've all been there, so don't worry about that.

As for problem 1... I see two excuses, stated twice each, all in one sentence.

It's too much.

I don't have time.

It's a lot easier to say, "I don't want to learn." And more honest with yourself too.

It's usually a reaction to the fear of failure. Just take it a step at a time, but find out what the first step actually is. It won't be fun unless you want it to be. It only really takes less than an hour a day.

[CrystallineFae]

If you want to draw well you have to put some time into it and practice. I taught myself how to draw for the most part and I felt like you when I first started. If you're having trouble, go to Deviant Art and look at tutorials and practice when you do have time. You can't expect to get it the first time but eventually you'll get your art to where you want it.

[x_Silver_Starlight_x]

As for the plateau, that's because you drew anime and cartoons. That will literally always happen. You draw a lot of anime, and you see a lot of improvement, and you keep getting better, and it happens really fast, and then, all of the sudden, you can't get better. You try something else, you do this or that, and you just cannot improve. "Why?" you might ask, "I was improving so quickly, and now I see nothing! I've...plateaued!"

That's because there's only so much you can learn drawing anime. Since anime is in essence wrong, you won't learn anatomy, or colour theory, or anything else. These are the basics, learned from real life. It's time for you to start from scratch; back to circles, spheres, shading, and simple things. Because, chances are, you skipped that in the first place.

Source: Myself. I went through the same thing. I drew a lot of anime, then all of the sudden, I wasn't improving anymore. I started learning realism, and bam, improvement. Don't get me wrong, it's a slow going process. It's not like I was drawing well shaded circles within a week. Hell, I still suck at shading. But the point is, I was improving, and getting to where I wanted to go. I can now draw realistically (not necessarily well, but that's okay), and my anime inspired work has improved massively too. It's also become less about anime, more about my own style.

[Dirk-Heroman]

I really was assuming y'all were telling me to take classes and such, which is why I said that about school and such, sorry for the miscommunication of what I typed. biggrin

Color theory? Never heard of that before, would you be able to give a brief explanation (if at all possible?) question

And thanks, sorry if I sounded whiny or something, just that I've been having very many difficulties, I was trying to get out of making cutesy cartoons that I learned from some guy named Mark Kistler back in the day, he taught spheres, cubes, shading, even foreshadowing. What I'm trying to get at is that without a ruler I can't even draw a straight line, hell I even have a hard time writing straight (you can see it on my links previous.), so any ideas on how I can practice that so my cubes and spheres don't look like I just scribbled willy-nilly onto the page?