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What to avoid when learning to draw tutorial Extravaganza!!!!!

Feel free to add suggestions here if anybody has any other ideas of what to avoid, I'll update the list.


1) When being influenced and/or copying an anime, avoid those with very distinctive styles such as Dragonball Z, Megaman, Sonic the Hedgehog and other similar ones. If you let yourself copy those exclusively, you'll be labeled as that "kid who can only draw dragonball/sonic/megaman characters". And you don't want that now do you?

2) Drawing hands and feeI see that most people find tutorials on how to do this and how to do that. I have yet to see a tutorial on what NOT to do. As a real life Anime Art Teacher, I've seen many kids get into some bad habits early. Hopefully this will help you avoid them.
t small because you can't draw them well. So your character's hands look like they got ran over by a bus full of fat kids. Its okay, throw it out there, just make sure that that mangled hand could at least cover the character's face. Also, try to avoid putting hands in pockets or behind the back constantly. Its okay for a pose or two but not all the time.

3) Making the head too big on adults. Its a chibi you say. WRONG. Its a character with a big head, get over it. A normal adult human is 7-8 heads tall or taller in some styles of anime. If your character is 6 heads taller or less, something is wrong. Chibi is 3-4 heads tall and SD (Super Deformed) is usuallly about 2 heads tall. Kids do have bigger heads so draw head size appropriate with age.

4) Drawing nothing but Chibi/SD characters. This screams, I can't draw the body! We all suck at first, but try your best to do normal characters. Its okay to do an occasional Chibi/SD but don't make it the brunt of your work.

5) Drawing only one type of character, or drawing the exact same thing over and over again. This makes you very good at one thing but as soon as you try to draw something different, you suck again. Mix up your art. Draw guys, girls, animals, robots, backgrounds. Try to be well rounded.

6) Drawing only in pencil. Learn how to use ink, its a fundamental skill of all anime artists. There are many ways to ink besides using a nib and an inkwell. Use felt tips or thick ballpoints (not the cheap ones) as an alternative but do ink your artwork after you're done drawing.

7) Drawing on lined paper. DON'T DO THIS! Its my biggest pet peeve. Seriously, how hard is it to keep some cheap printer paper in a folder in your book bag. If you consider yourself even 1% of an artist, you'll go to the printer, steal some paper out of the printer and put it in one of your folders that you take with you. What are you waiting for, do it right now! Disclaimer: Try to make sure you have permission before you steal someone elses paper. "Smackbringer told me to do it" is not a valid excuse and won't get you out of detention. wink

8 ) Trying to avoid drawing the real human body because its not anime. Anime is based off the human body. The more you draw the real human body from life or pictures, the better your anime will get. I promise you, your art will improve amazingly if you do. There are tons of anatomy references out there. Get crackin'!

9) Drawing from the front or side only. This really is not dynamic. Its probably news to you, but drawing from the front is actually a tough position. Its tough because its so easy to make it look flat and amateurish. Try keeping most of your drawings in a 3/4 view were you see part of the front and part of the side of their face.

10) Expecting to draw a whole comic book in a few days. Manga is hard and it takes time. One of the guys in my studio does pro quality comic books and his last one took him a year from start to finish for a 24 page book. Some people are naturals at this but I will caution that if you don't have art fundamentals down it could become very frustrating. Just a warning. Maybe start with a short comic strip and try to make a very good quality strip with a punch line. That way you get the feeling of accomplishing something without the pressure of finishing a large project.

11) Playing head games with your art. Don't think that you're the best or the worst artist. Don't try to gloat or gain sympathy on forums. The proper attitude is... My art is what it is. I'm an okay artist, but I'm trying to get better. While there are many artists below me, there are always those above me and I will be inspired by them to push me to improve myself. Tell yourself that everyday. Think positive.

12) Not accepting criticism well. Lets face it, one day, you're going to plug a piece of art, it sucks and people are going to let you know. Thank them for their comments and think about if there's any merit to what they're saying or not. Sometimes they will be off base with their recommendations. However, sometimes the uneducated will give you the best reaction. Don't be afraid to ask for opinions from non-artist people. If they find a flaw in your work, chances are, its a big flaw and should be looked at.

13) Being deathly afraid of messing up or failing. Screwing up is part of the learning process. Be gutsy, try new things. Nobody has to see your artwork. Its better for you to screw up, learn from it and start drawing a new picture rather then spending all week on a doomed piece.

14) Never using references. Most young artists are so deathly afraid of people saying that they copied something that they wont use references or look at anything that helps them draw. Listen, the pros all use references. Its not always a direct copy but with certain things, it just makes sense to have a reference. Guns for instance. I had to draw a sniper rifle once so I found a picture on the web of a PSG-1 so I would know how to draw it properly. It turned out great because of the reference.

If you find yourself guilty of these, you can confess here and maybe I'll forgive you. I'm just kidding. I wrote these to help people improve and avoid common mistakes that can make your art bad or waste your time. Feel free to discuss.

Number 6 has got me pegged... damn you ink pens!!! Damn you!!!