Warning: Undefined array key "HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE" in /var/www/minitokyo/www/includes/common.inc.php on line 360 What to do about sucky art skills? D: - Minitokyo

What to do about sucky art skills? D:

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Not sure if this is the right place to post, but hey, it's "Art" so I'm at the right place. ...right? XD;;

I've not drawn for a really really long time and what used to come naturally isn't coming so naturally anymore. I find that practising doesn't really help much. Should I copy? As in tracing others artwork etc.

When I say come "naturally" I mean being able to say, draw a face and correct posture/proportion quite accurately without using a pencil. But now when I draw with ink I use blanko/white out like mad. ;_;

Does anyone here from Singapore know of a place where I can take quick manga drawing lessons?

kokuyu

kokuyu

.:~Mugunghwa Traveler ~:.

i'm from your neighbour country..sorry i know nothing of that ^_^'

but, if you're now lost, you can re-start your skills by copying others first. practising doesn't really mean doing again and again. you must observe which flaws you have, and try tackle it (short cuts may help too, but don't over rely on it)

normally, your 'rusty' skills may turn out into another thing. so, i myself won't consider that as worst. maybe, you'll have another skills soon. it's more like starting from scratch: begin from babysteps.

lastly, be patient. (really! a must) things don't turn overnight. even certain improvements don't even look like improvements. only at the end of it will you realize it. but all attempts are worth trying.

-"Life is more than just one, & nothing's more important than One"-
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Sorry, I'm not from Singapore either. But I know what you mean when you say that what comes naturally doesn't come as naturally as they used to be. Actually, I'm having that kind of problem right now.

Actually the reason for why you can't draw as you used to be was just mentioned by yourself. ^^ You haven't drawn for quite a while, right? It's best if you start off by drawing something you've drawn over and over again. Copying, well, it's a good idea. It's a good starting point if you feel like you can't draw like you usually do. ^^

Anyway, best of luck. I guess that's what they meant by art block, but it'll be over soon.

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All blackheads in Mashima Hiro's mangas are my boyfriends. Owh yes they are.

Urgh. Nah, it's most definitely not art block. Art block is whn you really have nothing to draw? No muse biting your @$$ and clinging on for dear life until you put the idea down somewhere or start somthing. I still have tons of things I want to draw, but the most fustrating thing is that I can't do it anymore! Everything I do just comes out looking butteffing wrong! *growls in fustration*

Problem further compounded by my stupidity of having hurt my wrist and not doing anything about it until 2 months down the road when it's gotten so bad I sometimes can't even use my mouse or even let it rest (not doign a thing, say lying in bed about to sleep) because there's this burning pain. @$%&^

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, though. Think I'll start copying as often as I can once I stop drowning in schoolwork. XD

kuroimisa

Retired Moderator

kuroimisa

Wizard of Darkness -under a rock

Well, just my opinion, just tracing other people's work is not art. It's how you trace it which becomes artistic.

There are many things to consider when it comes to art. Even with tracing, think about what type of medium- are you tracing with a brush (flat, round and thickness?), a pen (oil or water based- perhaps a technical pen with pigment ink?), colour of tracing (old black, grey, red, blue or even white on black card?), pencil (graphite or colour?).
Even how you trace can be a factor- exact trace, fluid sketch getting the basic shapes and forms, selected lines, pressing hard or softly, how fast you do it/ how smooth it is.

Perhaps you keep drawing in a way that's not comfortable to you. You just need to find your own style. Sure you can draw inspiration from your favourite artists, but chances of it looking exactly like that isn't going to be high unless you're extremely familiar with it. And there's nothing wrong with that :P

My drawing style changes from time to time. Just keep a sketchbook or something like that which I'm sure you. Besides, if it's "wrong" it doesn't matter. You have to start off somewhere. Just draw it wrong. Come back to it later... you will improve, for sure. And if the same medium isn't working for you, change from a pencil to charcoal or something like that. You'll eventually find something right for you :)

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That's true. But in general tracing = practise, no? And practise = at least some kind of improvement over time, hopefully.

I did have my own style. I could draw whole body pics proportionately in under 10 mintues but after I stopped for a while...everything went rusty and now it's like trying to turn on a tap that's not been used for more than half a decade. =____=;;;

I have artwork dating back to 1995 or so, so yeah. I do keep a portfolio of sorts (if you can even call that one, rofl!). XD Not interested in making my artwork look <u>exactly</u> like my favourite artists' work because I already know that I have my own style(s).

Maybe I'm not putting enough effort into it or something, I really don't know anymore. I do keep trying but everytime I get it wrong it just makes me more and more depressed. Add the fact that I used to be able to do it pretty well and fast in the past and can't do it anymore (zomg, this sounds so wrong if you're not taking it in context XD) and it just makes me feel like giving up altogether.

I have also been experimenting with different mediums - pens (ballpoint/gel/etcetc), pencils, crayons, Chinese/Japanese brushes, paints, etcetc...doesn't seem to make a d***ed difference. Though I am more comfortable with pens and brushes now. ^^;

Hence I thought the idea of just doing plain tracing for a while would be good, hopefully to bring some sense of proportion back into my thick skull and leave the more complicated things till after I've improved on the basics.

Thank you for the encouragement though. I really hope to be able to draw well again. It's extremely depressing not being able to even express myself through art anymore. =/

Quote by Mifuyuu
Does anyone here from Singapore know of a place where I can take quick manga drawing lessons?

you could try asking the people at the MT-singapore group page... maybe they would know..

merged: 12-23-2006 ~ 12:42am
and here's the group's url http://mt-singapore.minitokyo.net/

Oh, I didn't know about the Singapore group page. Thanks for bringing it up to my attention! =D

you are welcome... btw check out www.magemage.com it seems that M.A.G.E is offering manga art class.. but i'm not sure of the details..

I'm not an artist myself, but I do have many artist friends, so I know a thing or two about how to improve.

Try to figure out what your weak points are, then work on those first.

If you suck at shadows, practise them. If proportions are an issue, practise them. Then slowly work your way to more complete drawings.

Hope that helps. :3

i draw a lot and it does help wen u practise. i rmb how pathetic i was wen i started. but just keep on going. but the thing to keep in mind is, try new methods of drawing each time, tracing doesnt really help imo, but its impt to note other artists' style and stuff like that. try drawing out their style, but not via copying. for example if u wan to learn the eyes,den see wads so special abt the eyes etc,den try it out on ur own, without taking reference to the picture anymore. im frm singapore but i duno if there's a place to learn drawing, learnt it myself.

bigeejit

bigeejit

Sup?

dammit, i can see where ya coming frm! im experienceing the problem now, though i nvr really drew 'naturally'.

i think its ok to use pictures as references only, and I really dont think all artists can draw figures or compositions right from their heads, so copying or borrowing would eventually lead to ur originality.

Well, there are people who say that and artist is born not made, parcially they are right, is true, some people is born with the easiness of drawing, percption, taste, and other many things that makes am artist, BUT that doesnt mean you can become one with your own effort, it will be just more difficult for you. Now if things are not working "naturally" and just "practicing" you need help of other, named it: art class, books, tutorials... theory makes a huge difference on drawing... look for the book: "drawing on the right side of the brain" by Betty Edwards, it may help you improve ;) then look for other book more related to your line of drawing (anime i suppose)

i encourage you ... begin with copying others art work in PENCIL !

no one's that genius to straightly use pens for drawing ... not to mention that you haven't even have a sketch ..... always start off from a pencil .... and practice is essential ... trust me .. this is the truth

eXDream2K5

eXDream2K5

the crazy band geek

I wouldn't trace, but you might want to practice using references and pencils. By using a reference, just get a photograph and look at it and try drawing what you see, but don't trace it. Tracing really doesn't teach you anything and it doesn't really help much.

Pencil is much easier to work with than ink and you can erase if you make a mistake, which requires a lot less effort. Only when you feel you're doing okay with pencil should you switch back to ink, or you can do what a lot of people (including me) do, and ink over your pencil lines, then erase the leftover pencil marks. The end result should look much cleaner and seamless.

I'm just repeating the stuff that's helped me, because I too only recently began drawing again after just over two years of not drawing/unable to draw well. The no-tracing thing is something my art teacher in high school told me, especially because tracing can lead to problems in developing or redeveloping one's own individual style.

Labels are for cans. I'm not a f*cking can.

...and once again, I've forgotten about my posts at Minitokyo! *smacks self repeatedly with PS2 controller*

Thank you to all who replied. I've come to the conclusion that it's really up to one's own personal preferance how one decides to practise. ^^

However...

Quote by mowaikeni encourage you ... begin with copying others art work in PENCIL !

no one's that genius to straightly use pens for drawing ... not to mention that you haven't even have a sketch ..... always start off from a pencil .... and practice is essential ... trust me .. this is the truth

There are people who do this. There are situations where you can't use a pencil (e.g. no pencil/in class), so you have no choice but to use a pen. Even if you do, you can just use blanko or white-out, anyway. If you doubt it, just look at my fanart of Shinku (also here on Minitokyo) - I just slapped a Japanese brush onto the paper and drew. XD; No sketch, nothing! Whee~

Um, note that the above wasn't some shameless promotion of my artwork, it's just the only thing that I can think of as an example right now. >___>;;

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