# How to art?



## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

This might be vague, or hard to understand, but I'll give it a try, even tho I don't really expect any answer to it.

I'm not asking advice on how to get better technically at drawing. More like, how to even start up a picture in your own way.
For some time now, I realised that more often than not, I'm staring at a white paper, or screen for half an hour not really knowing what to do with it. The idea is there in my head. I can't only imagine the picture it self, but the way I want to draw it, step by step. Missing only one. The start. The sketch.

I can't really get through the first step of making a picture. And I'm unsure why. I mean, if you know what you want to draw, why is it so hard to start it up? More often that not, I just doodle around and the idea pops up later, and I can work from the doodle I made, but I can't do it in reverse. Which really wears me down, since I want to draw, but most of the time, nothing comes out that springs and idea and I end up with a white, empty paper.

Often I think I just don't know how to "sketch properly", and I need to learn to. Or that somewhere inside, I'm afraid to start. But either thoughts leave me clueless of how to change it. If I don't know how to sketch my ideas up, where or how to learn it? And if I'm afraid, how can I get rid of it? I read some books on art, looked at tutorials, tried to just "wing it" and draw things up how ever they come out, but nothing really seems to work. Maybe I'm just too impatient?

Any advice, from "You shouldn't draw at all" to " You should try XYZ" is welcome.


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 20, 2012)

Read the book. Art & Fear


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## Lhune (Nov 20, 2012)

Thumbnails are your solution. The problem you're having is you have an idea and you want to sketch it exactly as it is in your head, which is probably not going to work out, especially since the image in your head may not be the ideal one to illustrate the scene. So, you just start doing compositional thumbnails until you come up with one of which you think it conveys what you are trying to communicate best. In case you aren't familiar with the term; thumbnails are small, quick sketches that capture the ENTIRE image in rough forms. 

Examples of thumbnails;
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3G3j60I0l...A/15D3aw0l_Ds/s1600/02_thumbnails_01_1_72.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rivuyKF-jFQ/TcLhhozOIoI/AAAAAAAAAh4/ikZTY3eQtm0/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/229/a/b/Quick_Environment_thumbails_by_Lyno3ghe.jpg

The cool thing about thumbnails is they don't have to be good, they don't have to be pretty and you don't have to bother with details so they can be done very fast. You just create a frame and start doodling, you can't go wrong. If you always remember that there's no reason to get stuck really.


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## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

Arshes Nei said:


> Read the book. Art & Fear



I've been trying to get my hand on that book for some time now. Not much luck so far. Guess I'll have to try harder, or save up for it.



Lhune said:


> *snip*



That could work. I'll definitely have to try.


Maybe I want it to be too perfect, and I'm afraid I'll mess it up, I guess. I don't know, but it's not like it's not worth a try. Thank you for quick replies.

EDIT: I also feel stupid I thought it's either one or the other, and didn't even think it might be both problems. :S


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 20, 2012)

You have to make mistakes, not drawing is the worst thing you can do. So what if it comes out wrong, just keep going. 

http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/216


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## Tiamat (Nov 20, 2012)

There are several cheap copies of Art and Fear on ebay now.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Books-/267/i.html?clk_rvr_id=413421646866&_nkw=art+and+fear

DIRT cheap copies on Alibris

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=425593&matches=84&cm_sp=works*listing*title

also a ton on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fear-Obse...8&qid=1353455554&sr=8-1&keywords=art+and+fear

As has been said. Don't worry about mistakes, thats how you learn. A bad picture does not make you a bad artist, especially when you are studying.
The most important thing is just do dive straight in. Start your own thread with your sketches in so we can give you some pointers.


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## Grunnolf (Nov 20, 2012)

You had the same problem i had. (not saying i'm an expert Drawer). I wanted to try and actually draw good but i wanted it to be so perfect i would "studder" at the start. now i'm learning to draw anthro characters so i looked for some help. 


http://leoromo.net/temp/Windows%20ce%20crap/Respaldo%20Compact%20FlaSH/My%20Documents/How%20to%20draw%20anthro%20heads.htm ... i looked at this (specifically the 4th one down) followed step by step and now i can semi draw

http://www.furaffinity.net/gallery/greymouse335/ ... these are three that I have done so far. As  you can see these are by no means traced and differ a lot from each other but i feel really accomplished with myself for doing those and not i pic up a pencil and start drawing. so try maybe a single body part (leg, chest, head, whatever) and go from there. however like the "guide" i linked up top look at those get ideas look at different pictures of something similar that you want to draw.


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## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

Tiamat said:


> The most important thing is just do dive straight in. Start your own thread with your sketches in so we can give you some pointers.



I'm quite afraid of that, which makes you right. I guess I really care to much about making the perfect picture up to the point I make no picture at all. I'll have to write a reminder, one I can see each day, to just draw. Maybe even stop uploading stuff for a while, so I won't feel pressure to "please" others.

About the sketch thread, not now tho. First I'll have to get my self to actually be able to draw sketches at all without worrying about end results. Don't know how long it will take, if I even manage at all. Or I don't know, I'll have to stop thinking about it and just try to draw.


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## KDKCdoku (Nov 20, 2012)

Vincent Van Gogh has a saying about that:



> "Just slap anything on when you see a blank canvas staring you in the  face like some imbecile. You don't know how paralyzing that is, that  stare of a blank canvas is, which says to the painter, â€˜You can't do a  thingâ€™. The canvas has an idiotic stare and mesmerizes some painters so  much that they turn into idiots themselves. Many painters are afraid in  front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real,  passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of `you can't'  once and for all.â€



So, just draw something, lay down a line, or something. There is also a book called "Write like a lion", which says that you shouldn't hesitate and just do it.


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## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

Well... it's kind of a free feeling to just draw how ever I want. Goes a lot faster too, even with the regular steps back into "this looks sooo wrong! Need to start over!". I'll have to try my best to stick with this mindset. I'll still get the book tho. And do that memo.

And I might do that sketch thread after all Tiamat. Couldn't hurt... could it?


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## Judge Spear (Nov 20, 2012)

Oh, I know how you feel. Sometimes when that happens I just attacking the paper with lines for a good five minutes. It helps sometimes with getting my concept down. However, that may not be a very...sound answer. You may want to actually take a minute to look at:
Composition
Rule of Thirds
Gesture drawing
Especially composition. 
They can help you plan and understand what you want to do before/as you do it. Also thumbnails are an invaluable method to create quick simple concepts before you actually the take bigger more intimidating steps. They can help finalize your compositions and be used as a reference. These aren't exactly technical in the sense of you know, recalling every muscle in the human body or every hue and color scheme. They're simple tricks that become second nature to most artists (at least ones I know). 

This to me is a great start to learn how to conceptualize. I'm sure someone's gonna tell me I'm wrong, but I hope that helps.



Recel said:


> Any advice, from "You shouldn't draw at all" to " You should try *XYZ*" is welcome.


This had me stumped for a good 2 seconds. Too much fucking Yugimonz...


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## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

I know those are important XoPachi, and I know I need to learn those too. But it doesn't matter if I do, if I can't get to the point of using them. And yes, thumbnails REALLY help me a lot. Big hugz to Tiamat for that! At least until I can stop my self from thinking "No, this is too bad, I'll just erase this".

I'll just motivate my self... with a STICK!







I still can't stop my self from doing stupid, unfunny jokes. :V


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 20, 2012)

When you were a kid, you spilled milk often because you weren't very coordinated and clumsy. As you continued to pour milk you got better at judging how much to pour and how fast. Of course that doesn't mean you don't have the goof up here and there.

When you learned how to walk as a baby you fell down a lot, you often stamped your way about because you were still learning. Now we don't think about walking.

Art takes time, it takes practice. You gotta put mileage on the paper. Otherwise you're like taking a driving test but only drove a car once. Doesn't work.


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## Recel (Nov 20, 2012)

Arshes Nei said:


> When you were a kid, you spilled milk often because you weren't very coordinated and clumsy. As you continued to pour milk you got better at judging how much to pour and how fast. Of course that doesn't mean you don't have the goof up here and there.
> 
> When you learned how to walk as a baby you fell down a lot, you often stamped your way about because you were still learning. Now we don't think about walking.
> 
> Art takes time, it takes practice. You gotta put mileage on the paper. Otherwise you're like taking a driving test but only drove a car once. Doesn't work.



Yeah, I know. It's just really hard to snap out of the "it's bad, I should just not do it" kind of attitude and thinking. It's really easy to lose sight of why you're drawing, especially if you start submitting it to an audience. Even if you only draw for your self, you can easily feel like you will never reach the level you want.

"Your imagination is always five years ahead of your skill"

I read this somewhere, but up until this point, I didn't really understand the meaning behind it. You always set goals way ahead of you, and the distance to it can be easily intimidating. I also read tons about being afraid to draw, and actually seen it. But not once I thought that all my troubles come from that source. I always thought I lack something in skill, and that's why I can't draw. Which actually just made it worse, because no matter what style or approach I took, it didn't work out. And it made me avoid the obvious answer, by looking at the wrong places.

Pictures I was pleased with seemed to come at random, and I completely missed the part, that they turned out so good, because I was just so caught up with ideas about how to do it, that I went blind to those small mistakes I make, that otherwise made me just start over or quit completely. That by being hyped about it, I cared so much about doing the picture, that I actually focused and corrected the errors, or improvised, instead of wildly erasing everything that just didn't seem a bit right.

Looking back, it was so obvious that I'm afraid to draw the lines, that I still feel embarrassed that I actually had to make a thread just so it would finally pop into my mind after the first reply. I don't regret it tho. Even if it came out as a really stupid thing to ask, at least I know what I need to avoid doing. The rest is up to me.


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## dinosaurdammit (Nov 20, 2012)

how to- to art:


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## Tiamat (Nov 21, 2012)

Is that blood in his 'idea'?


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## dinosaurdammit (Nov 21, 2012)

Tiamat said:


> Is that blood in his 'idea'?




blood sweat and tears go into art


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