[Jumping Jupiter]

Hi! Lots of great artists on the forum here!

I've always drawn on and off but now being settled I want to devote myself to becoming a good artist. I'm a graphic Designer by trade and I do know a little bit of the basics of drawing but need to start at the beginning.

What are your favorite books on anatomy and other drawing basics? I want to dive right in!
Thanks!

[atomic99]

The BEST book to buy is a sketchbook and then...practice...practice...practice!!

Really, just learning from doing is the best medicine. Figure drawing classes help too and the good ones cover anatomy.


But for actual books on figure drawing and anatomy, I like...

Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck (older book)

Any of the Bridgeman books like The Book of a Hundred Hands

Any of the Andrew Loomis books (which can get pricey but there are free PDFs online somewhere).

An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists by Fritz Schider

How to Draw the Human Figure: An Anatomical Approach by Louise Gordon

The Burne Hogarth series of books

The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition by Anthony Ryder. Really, not so complete as muscle structure is not really covered but gesture drawing and lighting are covered. Good advanced book after you've learned the anatomy and want to know about rendering.

Drawing the Head & Figure by Jack Hamm. A little dated in the style of art but good practical info presented easily for a cheap price.

Also, drawing from a book of Old Masters drawings is useful.

Did I mention live figure drawing?? Google for drop in classes in your area if you are not in college.



If you want to apply that knowledge to making comics, good books for that that don't cover anatomy are...

Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner

The Scott McCloud books

The classic How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema

And Wizard's "How to Draw" series is surprisingly good. Something they actually did right!

And more Figure Drawing!!!

[Jumping Jupiter]

And Wizard's "How to Draw" series is surprisingly good. Something they actually did right!

thanks! I was thinkin of getting these. They seem accessible to noobs.

[torchsong]

Did I mention live figure drawing?? Google for drop in classes in your area if you are not in college.

I did this, and I can't recommend it highly enough, particularly if you have an instructor to help guide you. It's one thing to draw from a book, but working with a live model is something everyone should try. You'll find your strengths and weaknesses pretty quickly.

My partner-in-crime, Flint Lockjaw, said if I really wanted to learn comic art, I have the tools right in front of me...COMICS! Find artists whose style you're drawn to, and spend time "aping" their style. Keep at it and your own style will emerge from that as you learn what works for you and what doesn't.

[atomic99]

My partner-in-crime, Flint Lockjaw, said if I really wanted to learn comic art, I have the tools right in front of me...COMICS! Find artists whose style you're drawn to, and spend time "aping" their style. Keep at it and your own style will emerge from that as you learn what works for you and what doesn't.

Absolutely! In fact, this is something I want to do (really want to study Dave Stevens drawing and inking). The only drawback is if an artist doesn't balance it out with life drawing. Otherwise, an artist might end up being one of those artists that puts muscles on muscles without knowing about real anatomy because all they have studied is comics. But reapproaching your comic collection and deconstructing it is very valuable.

[Jumping Jupiter]

Yeah, that's what I wanna know. How to draw a figure that makes sense. I wanna know how to build a stick figure in correct proportions and then build the body on top. I've done some copying of comics and it's fun, but I wanna eventually be able to create characters from scratch.

[Dr. Gregski]

I wouldn't prioritize the Wizard books.

IMO over the years Wizard had some solid light instructional bits; but as a series of books I find their art instruction books to be very light on content. If anything, I'd suggest checking them out of the library and photocopying the sections which are relevant to your interests.

One I haven't seen mention that I found useful is The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression (Paperback). Very helpful charts and you can use this to make your own guide sheets for illustrating various expressions.

[J. Evan]

Don't know what style of art you're looking to do, but you might check out the Famous Artists' Cartoon Course. Might have something you'll find helpful, and if not, hey, it's online and free.

[Jumping Jupiter]

Thanks for this great input!

I'm gonna try learning to draw well the same way i learned guitar 16 years ago. I just learned a few chords and a few songs I liked. Then I started gathering more and more knowledge and experimenting. Just having fun.

Same way, I wanna learn some basics, draw superheros and other characters I think are cool and then keep at it.

[jacobi]

I'm no artists, but an artist's blog that I follow swears by Andrew Loomis. You can peruse his books online, and see if they speak to what you need.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/255814/Andrew-Lo...-Figure-Drawing
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4460391/Andrew-L...ul-Drawing-copy
http://www.scribd.com/doc/377389/Andrew-Lo...ve-Illustration
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8943613/Andrew-L...y-Learn-to-Draw

Goodluck.

[Dr. Gregski]

Loomis stuff is crazy popular and sadly out of print.

And that's the reason I'm looking forward to someone releasing a sensibly priced and useful eBook reader.

To hell with print, and the whole going out of print and becoming lost to the ages.

[atomic99]

One I haven't seen mention that I found useful is The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression (Paperback). Very helpful charts and you can use this to make your own guide sheets for illustrating various expressions.

Nice! I could use a book like this. In a pinch, having a mirror by the drawing table will work too.

Also, if you have a bunch of old magazines you can rip up, you can start your own "morgue", which is artist slang for your own reference files. Figures. Faces. Vehicles. Locations. Color palettes. Anything that will be useful.

A couple of the more popular Loomis books are somewhat affordable but, in general, these need to always be in print at an affordable price. I'd love to know who has the copyright, maybe the family estate of Loomis, and suggested to Flesk Publishing that it might be something to consider reprinting. There is a newer version of one of the Loomis books in print but it is in German.

I still stand by the Wizard books. They managed to get some top pros to work on them.

[Jumping Jupiter]

I made my decision, i'm gonna start with the wizard books and go from there. I'll try to get them from the library.

Can we post drawings here for feedback?

This post has been edited by Jumping Jupiter: 25 September 2009 - 07:04 PM

[Truxillogical]

Just another vote for Loomis. Can't stress enough how good his books are. Like atomic said, there are pdfs you can find if you don't want to have to track down an old, falling apart, out of print book.

Figure drawing sessions are a must. Nothing forces you to learn to "see" so much as an hour of gesture drawings. I miss that like mad.

Perspective books are your friends. I'll check when I get home and see what mine are (can't remember off the top of my head). And Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a good one for getting a handle on the sorts of choices you have to make if you're going to tell a story visually.

Start building yourself a morgue file. I've got a folder in my documents, with sub-folders for vehicles, cityscapes, poses, scenery, animals, costumes, etc. See something interesting, pop it in for future reference.

BTW, jacobi, thanks for those links. I lost most of my loomis print-outs/files awhile back.

This post has been edited by Truxillogical: 25 September 2009 - 07:11 PM

[Dr. Gregski]

Nice! I could use a book like this. In a pinch, having a mirror by the drawing table will work too.

I have a thing against mirrors.

Not to mention I'm never quite certain what an expression should technically look like, so it helps to just have an image with "pleasure" beneath it as a basis.

I still stand by the Wizard books. They managed to get some top pros to work on them.

Yeah, and those four pages by Art Adams, as an example, are a great four pages. Unfortunately they're only four pages. It's an appetizer where the meal never comes IMO.

The Wizard blurbs are brief enough that I can retain the information from them in my mind, and never have to refer back to the book for it. Which for me is a huge aspect of actually owning a book, how many times I'll be able to refer to it or have it at my feet when I'm at the drawing table.

I'm looking forward to the Freddie Williams book on digital cartooning.

[Jumping Jupiter]

I'll see if the library has loomis as well. If it clicks, I'll get 'em.

Good tips.

[Johnathan Constantine]

I would like to start to drawing but I don't know where to start. I've got a Wizard book but I want to know if anyone knows about how to draw or any sources on the net that are available. Does anyone know about any podcasts or resources that are available?

[Katapult]

Ninja Mountain Scrolls is probably the best podcast that I've come across for tips and techniques from professional illustraitors. http://ninjamountain.blogspot.com/

-kat

[atomic99]

I would start with a blank sketchbook and some pencils and pens and just bring it with you and draw everyday. More than anything, art is learned and improved the most by just doing it.

We have a related thread going here....

http://www.thecomicforums.com/forum2//inde...howtopic=160200

[jaynote25]

I would like to start to drawing but I don't know where to start. I've got a Wizard book but I want to know if anyone knows about how to draw or any sources on the net that are available. Does anyone know about any podcasts or resources that are available?

Easy. get these books:
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott Mccloud
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema

Trust me man, if you buy and read all these start to finish you'll have a lot of what you need ... well that is a billion hours of practice.

Best of luck,
JP