How do you draw people?

Post Reply New Topic

Well, remember art doesn't have to always mean what art schools, art critics, academia or art history considers art. It can also include video game / computer game art (box covers, the art in the games, the concept art), comic books, tabletop RPG art (D&D, etc), tattoo art, CD cover art, science-fiction/fantasy book covers, all kinds of things. It doesn't always have to be the "great masters" of art history. I personally think some of the greatest artists these days are the ones working in the commercial art fields I listed above - these are the new "great masters".

RedMage I gather that you like Final Fantasy from other posts on the forum - do you admire any of the art in those games? You are into manga and anime - aren't there any manga or anime artists you are inspired by?

Well, I liked the style in the Pokemon anime, but I don't know who drew it. I love Tetsuya Nomura's designs for FF characters. Some look awesome, some don't.

Hey, Red--

I have a list of books that MAY help, or you may already have them:

"How To Draw Anime and Game Characters" (series of books), by Tadashi Ozawa

"The Complete Idiot's Guide To Drawing Manga, Illustrated" by John Layman and David Hutchison

"Let's Draw Manga:Tokyo Urban Hip Hop Culture" by Makoto Nakajima, Big Mouth Factory, and Digital Manga

I made sure they had the illos to show proportion and to do different characters, from children to women and men, and costumes.

Don't let the hip hop one put you off--it's got some good stuff on drawing.

As for materials, do you have an allowance of any kind? Regular pencils are all right, and I use them (they are usually a 2B, a soft pencil), but for a couple of dollars, you should be able to get a gum eraser, a 2H (hard pencil), possibly a softer pencil, and for a bit more a cheapie drawing pad, preferably with a smooth paper. Touch the papers in the artsy craftsy section of the store, and pick the one you like best. The nice thing about a smooth paper is it will handle a bit more erasing.

One of the ways I got paper was to snag recycle paper from copy places as they were copied usually on one side. Another place to check for paper that is for sketching out things before you lay them out on a nicer paper is the local newspaper. They'll have paper roll ends for sale pretty cheap, and there's a good amount of paper on them.

I've been researching scanners, and with my usual hesitancy, I just decided on one after three months of waffling. I'll start scanning stuff, and I'll let people know about my art work on my website. With everyone showing you stuff, and maybe a helpful book, you'll get inspired.

Just draw, draw, draw. And the suggestion Truenoblues offered was brilliant. Sit in front of a mirror, and sketch what you see. If you don't want anyone to see those sketches, burn them if you want, but the goal is to practice and learn proportion and shading and developing your own style. Get your fingers wonderfully grubby, and smell the paper, and the eraser, and get all of your dna into your materials. Leonardo DaVinci used himself as a subject.

I'll be looking forward to your artwork.

Metta, Rjaye.

I don't get money, so I have to get mum to get my drawing tools for me. But she can't always do that, and it sucks. As for those books, I don't have any of them. I have five manga books, one robot book, and two fantasy books. One of the manga ones is more about drawing an actual manga comic, not the characters for one.

Mage,

Is there a school or college in your area that offers such subjects as Graphic Design, Illustration, or Animation? If so, you might want to inquire about the Life Drawing component. Life Drawing is the mastery of drawing the human form in all of its correct proportions.

If a full-time pursuit in any of these is not in your interest, the Life Drawing component is often available as a night-school course and/or for those who just want to study part-time. There, you could get excellent coaching from a capable instructor in mastering this often challenging facet of your talents.

Once you get that part down to perfection, all other aspects of your talents can only be enhanced. Hope this helps

I draw in a South Park style.
I love how it is!!

That's an excellent suggestion, Papillon.

Maybe your library can get the books, RedMage. I don't know if the library there does it, but our library will buy books library users request. Anime should be popular, and yet with your unique talent, you should develop a sharp and recognizable style.

No. And if there was, mum wouldn't let me go to it.

Go onto Deviant art and type in Anime and you'll find a few Anime drawing guides.

You can find sites on the internet. But there really isn't that much that can teach you how to be wonderful. That takes practice.

Learn what you can about the human form, what size each part is compared to another. If you have a pen or pencil and paper, you can draw. You don't always need to erase, loose lines look interesting. Practice a lot, be patient. One of the most discouraging thoughts that many artists have, especially young ones, is that you must be born with talent, that if you can't draw now then you can't draw ever. I'm 34 and just lately found I was able to draw the way I used to think I couldn't. It's as if I just suddenly got old enough to understand what I'd been learning for years. I'm not great with the human form, but I can draw one if I need to. I learned how to do it properly by studying the human body.

Even if you don't get to study it much, you can check books out of the library about human anatomy. Or you can learned to block it in. A good way to draw anything is: first, quickly sketch in the whole shape, just a simple drawing of the figure, because if you work on the small details too soon your picture usually ends up shaped funny. Once you have a quick blob shape you can work out where the arms and legs and body and head are, that's another pretty quick sketch. You make sure the head is about the right shape, then place the face on it by drawing a line to show the center of the face, then a line for the hair line. Then you draw one line 1/3 of the way from the hair line to the chin and another line 1/3 of the way below that for the bottom of the nose. Mark where the eyes go to make sure they wil match, then draw in the details. The body can be finished part way by drawing shapes... tubes for arms, balls for elbows, bigger balls for knees, then drawing in the body parts over top of those.

Well, I know how to draw faces now.

Let's see it.

I left it at home, sorry.

Go visit some art classes, they will teach you how to draw human body. You will learn it best on naked human bodies, old or young, fat or slim. The more deformed or atypical the person is, the better for you! You will be able to hold onto their specific feature.

When I was younger I used to trace pictures until I got the feel of the shapes. Then i'd start trying out my own designs. I still think I need a lot of work but having said that I get a lot of compliments on the things I do create. Practice makes perfect.

There are so many videos you can watch on youtube that show you how to draw, and so many artists who post tutorials online. I really think that anyone who is willing to put in the effort will improve!

(Might not be good, but you'll be better than you were....)