(Part 2) Best products from r/learnart

> Why are most portrait paintings made using oil rather than acrylic? Should I be using one or the other?

Oil is probably the most flexible of paints in terms of the number and variety of techniques you can use with it.

> Should I be using one or the other?

There's more to choose from in paints than just oils and acrylics! Gouache (a matte, fast drying paint that reactivates when you get it wet again) and casein (the oldest paint known to man, it uses milk protein as it's medium, dries a bit slower than gouache) are both good options for beginners, with gouache being the cheaper of the two. You can use either of them on good watercolor paper; 140 lb paper is a good compromise, as it's not as a expensive as heavier papers but is heavy enough to hold up without buckling badly, even more so if you stretch it first.

Watercolor is also inexpensive, but is probably the most difficult to do well and is very unforgiving; you don't really get to fix your mistakes with watercolor.

Ultimately you will want to experiment with different paints and find the one or ones you like most. (I, personally, am not a fan of acrylics. I don't like the way it handles; it feels like painting with melted plastic to me.)

> What is the cheapest way to practice painting? I bought a few canvases yesterday and was surprised to see how expensive they can be! Also I was surprised by how much paint I was going through.

Gouache on watercolor paper, like I said before, is a good, inexpensive way to start out.

If you want to use other paints, though, don't buy canvases while you're practicing. You can use pretty much any paint on gessoed paper that's relatively heavy, or even stiff cardboard.

When I took oil painting back up again not that long ago I did several pieces on gessoed bristol board which I had lying around. When I'd had enough of those I switched to these 8x10 canvas panels and a big pack of mixed size panels; in bulk they're much cheaper than stretched canvas and are easier to store.

When you're starting with a new paint you're unsure of, just get a tube of ivory black and titanium white and do some grayscale studies with it. You can get comfortable with the handling of the paint without spending a ton of money, and it's always good practice for developing your sense of values.

If you then want to do portraits, you can then move easily into a Zorn palette using the black and white you already have, plus yellow ochre and a good, opaque red like cadmium red medium. (Zorn used vermilion for his red, which is wildly toxic and which no one makes any more.) The color pieces I did on bristol board earlier are Zorn head studies done with that palette, and I also used it for this portrait and this one.

Add to the Zorn palette a good blue like an ultramarine or cobalt and you've got a pretty good starter palette. Add in a burnt umber and you can mix your own black if you want, using the blue and the umber, and swap out the yellow ochre for something less earthy like a cadmium yellow medium if you need something more primary colored. You end up with a small, focused palette that didn't cost you an arm and a leg and that you can mix anything but really intense secondary colors with. And since you don't need those often, you can just pick up small tubes of them as needed.

With paints that aren't too fast drying, like oils, you can collect up all the left over paint on your palette at the end of the day, mix it all together, and make a rich grey-brown that you can use to desaturate any other color on your palette or just lighten and darken anywhere you need a neutral color. Sealed in a airtight container you can use it for days, weeks, or longer depending on the paint. If you end up with more than you can use, just do some grayscale studies with it!

> What can I do to develop a better eye for color?

Start with just black and white. Then do some paintings with just black, white, and one other color; this one, my first one on a canvas panel, was just black, white, and red, as was this one I did next. And just slowly build up your number of colors from there. Do a lot of painting with just a primary palette, too; black or burnt umber / white / red / blue / yellow, where you have to mix everything else from those. You won't be able to get super intense colors that way but, again, you really want to keep most of your colors more desaturated anyway.

Painting simple still lifes of primary colored objects is very good practice. Wooden blocks like these are really good for color studies; set up a few of them, put a piece of black cloth or paper behind them, shine a desk light on them, and paint the colors as accurately as you can.

It’s actually not that complicated, but it does require that you do some serious studying. Just reading about these concepts or watching videos isn’t going to get you there. You need to apply what you learn as well. Maybe you can start by analyzing lighting situations in your daily life. What is the light source? What is its temperature/colour? Where is it coming from? Etc. Then go one step further and try to apply light/shadow to observational drawings done from life. The best way to do this (at least in the beginning) is with a setup you can control, i.e. a still life. Yes, this kind of exercise is boring as heck, but it will help you understand 3D form much better than with using photos. Photography is not great for learning this stuff cause it tends to leave out certain shifts in value that you can only really observe from real life. Which means you now have a flat reference image, which inevitably leads to a flat drawing. Learn how to draw from life first, and then you can use what you know (i.e. what you learn through drawing from life) when you draw from (photo) reference. That’s how artists like Mr. Blaise (btw, amazing source of inspiration seeing as you are into animals) here can take a relatively flat reference image and give it a truly 3D feel. They only know how to do this because they have observed how light and shadow work in real life, and have put this information down on paper time and time again.

In the image of the leopard for example, the subject is backlit, so the light source (probably the sun) is somewhere behind the animal. That means what you are actually seeing is (kinda) the “shadow” side. You might not think of it as shadow, cause we have a tendency to think of shadows as dark or light. But in reality, there is light within shadow as well (and no, thats not just my KHIII-addled mind talking), coming from all sorts of secondary or environmental light sources. All this does affect the perceived value of the shadow. For a more dramatic effect, you might choose to make the shadow side appear darker in value, or the lights brighter depending on what kind of feel or style you are going for. But until you have a working understanding of the physical nature of light and shadows, you won’t really know how to make these choices. There can be a whole array of factors to deal with in a given lighting situation, which is why I recommend doing simple still life studies to start. I also highly recommend this book as a resource on the topic of light and shadow. They teach this stuff in just about every beginning drawing class, but I found that this book in particular really presents the material in a more straightforward manner that is very easy to digest. Once you move onto colour, it also has extensive info on that as well. Anyway, hope that helps a little!

Oils can be a tricky business for a beginner. There's a shit ton of technical stuff to learn, but don't let that scare you

What you'll need is oil paint, a fat (lindseed oil is generally what's used but there are others), and a solvent like turpentine or mineral spirits. The other poster is right, you don't need solvents to clean your brushes (I use safflower oil), but solvents help cut the fat of oil which is pretty fatty on its own (aka fat over lean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_over_lean). You also can use solvents to make mediums, but don't sweat that right now. First thing you got to learn is oil painting basics.

You don't need a color painting bible. I have never used one. I did have years of color theory in college but that only teaches how colors can play on each other, not how to mix paint. What confuses new painters is often the colors they mix don't always give the expected results, especially with artist grade paint. Here's why. There are three types of pigment that make up oil, acrylic, and watercolor artist grade paint, and they are organic, inorganic, and synthetic. Organic comes from plants and animals, inorganic (the most common) are mined minerals, and synthetics were produced chemically. How pigments mix depends upon their nature at the microscopic level. Cobalt blue and cadmium red are both vibrant inorganic pigments. Most folk new to painting would assume mixed together they would produce a vibrant purple, but they don't. Instead they produce a muted purple, this is because they are both inorganic and are opaque at the granular level. The color they make together works well in landscape and figurative painting, but you will have a hard time getting an electric purple out of that combo. If you mix two synthetic pigments like naphthol red and phthalocyanine (phthalo, or thalo, it's spelled different ways by different brands) blue you'll get a more chromatic purple. At the granular level they look more like stained glass than opaque rocks. This is a mostly true but not always true rule. I would suggest you start with a traditional palate and go from there. Experiment, add colors as you go. The more experience you have the better you will become.

Brushes, typically oil and acrylic brushes have a longer handle. It's very common to use hog hair brushes (the hair comes from their ears). Synthetic is ok, look for a brush with some spring to it. As a painter you can never have too many brushes, but don't worry about getting a ton. You'll add as you learn what you need. Just don't try to paint a huge canvas with a tiny brush, you'll go crazy. Also… with art supplies you get what you pay for, and this is especially true of brushes. Don't get the cheapest, you'll be going nuts when the bristles brake and the hair falls out. Always clean when you are done, don't be lazy about taking care of them and they will last a long time. Like I said I use safflower oil, I push the paint out and then tap it in the safflower oil until the paint is worked out. Wipe and tap in the oil until it wipes clean, then finish with a brush soap. Using oil helps keep the bristles soft. You can also use olive oil or baby oil in a pinch.

For instruction, YouTube is a good place to start. There are lots of different techniques in oil painting. Some alla prima/plein aire, some are more traditional and work in layers like I do. Do your research and try painting in different ways and see what fits you.

There's a book I would like to suggest, but it can seen overwhelming. http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Handbook-Materials-Techniques/dp/0670837016 will teach you everything you would ever want to know about painting. It's real thick, but you can use the index and just find specifically what you want to lean. It covers everything. Why house paint is shitty, how to stretch canvas, how to make paint and mediums, what paints are made up of, everything.

But all that said, you can read all the things you want, but experience is the key to all art learning. So don't forget to practice while you're learning about all this technical stuff. Painting is the point after all.

Good luck

You are definitely talented, and being the logical analytical type can work in your favor. Drawing technique is a science, which you can break down and learn regardless of ability. The best way to learn is formal instruction, either a class or private lessons. An instructor will be able to teach you the fundamentals, correct mistakes, and give you feedback on your progress. If taking lessons is not a practical option, I recently discovered r/ArtFundamentals They have organized lessons that teach you the fundamentals of drawing from the very beginning and you can get lots of feedback by posting your completed assignments. It's the next best thing paid instruction.

Personally, I am self taught, and did not have any real formal instruction until college. My bread and butter is character design using my own blend of manga, comic book, and realistic styles. I employed 3 main strategies to teach myself. I practiced constantly, I copied the drawings and characters of artists I liked, and I read lots of art instruction books (I particularly enjoyed learning about anatomy, my two favorite books are Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy and Dynamic Figure Drawing I like the approaches to style and technique.)

Regardless of the path you take, the most important thing is lots and lots of practice, every day. I never had issues making myself practice, for me it was fun to challenge myself and figure out how to do new things. I definitely understand the frustration of not being able to translate the image in my head to paper, or getting stuck on a detail that just won't come out right. I cannot speak for every artist, but I find that my finished pieces rarely look like what I saw in my head. The trick is to let go and allow the picture to evolve and take shape the way that looks best. It is kind of hard to explain, but I make decisions constantly on the fly on what will look best regardless of whatever I originally planned. Get comfortable with the fact that you won't recreate the image in your mind, adapt to the drawing you are creating, and you will cut down on the frustration immensely. Last little tidbit, drawing on a Wacom is harder than on paper. I have an old Intuos and while I love it and use it a ton there is a disconnect. You look up at a screen and not your hand and god forbid there is any lag between the strokes you make and what shows on screen. I REALLY recommend using pencil and paper while you bone up on your fundamentals before you convert to the tablet. I regularly will start artwork on paper, scan it, and then finish it on the computer. Good luck with your drawing. Don't forget that you will make a lot of mistakes and that's okay, we all do, no matter how good we may be. The most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun. If you stop enjoying it then you will lose your passion. Sorry this post dragged on, hope I was able to help!

Here are some notes by my friend Kris Anka from when he was going through Cal-Arts.

Not quite on the analytical-level you'd be looking for with zbrush stuff but a good (and free) start.

My favorite book on the subject is not actually the often-cited Loomis or Bridgman but This Book. What I like about it is that it's essentially a quick-reference guide. It is intended for artists but it reads much more like an illustrated anatomy text book with both detailed illustrations and diagrams to show both the internal and external structure of the muscles.

Non-artist anatomy textbooks can be great but the issue is that they (logically) spend a great deal of time on the internal structure of the body. While fascinating I can honestly say that an in-depth knowledge of the liver or endocrine system has ever become useful in a piece of art. For ease of browsing quickly to answer my questions I prefer a reference book without that stuff; hence why I like that book.

Personally I think the mirror is the best teacher though. This may be a motivation to work out more or stay in shape for some but I hardly think that's a bad thing. The quickest and easiest way for me to solve anatomy issues is to look in a mirror or in some cases take photos of myself using a tripod/timer. My computer has embarrassing photos of me to go along with pretty much every large figure-based art project I've done. And that's ok.

it's hard to say without knowing your skill level so i'll point you towards a few resources i think are good for beginners. basically fundamentals means the ability to represent the physical world. even if you're drawing cartoons you need to be able to draw traditionally. there are some people who can draw in certain styles while skipping this step and people like to raise them up. most likely you are not one of these people.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain anyone interested in learning to draw should read this. it has a lot of psycho-babble but the lessons are great. a lot of drawing has to do with your perception. this book will get you started on developing the 'artists eye.' this will also give you the stripped down basics of line, value, form and stuff that i'm not going to get into.

Rad How To. blog of a Dreamworks storyboard artist. this guy knows figure construction like the back of his hand. start at the beginning. there is so much great info here it's crazy.

Andrew Loomis these out of print books are legendary. personally i like other books but the lessons in here apply to everyone.

ConceptArt.org is an amazing resource but you have to work to find anything useful. there are shitty links everywhere and the site as a whole ain't what it used to be. i suggest sorting different sub-forums by page view. the ultimate success story is easily John Hardesty, AKA MindCandyMan. this guy showed up one day, never having drawn in his life and said he would post everyday. well, just click through his story. all it takes is determination.

Dynamic Anatomy. no matter what kind of drawing you want to do, if you are going to draw people knowledge of anatomy will make it easier. if you don't learn the underlying form you'll get hung up on symbols. check the sidebar 'learning your style' for more information.

Art and Fear. everyone should read this book, not just those interested in the arts. it gets down to why people get hung up on things they love.

if you want to post a pic to get a better idea of where you stand i can give more detailed info. also post something to r/artcrit. those guys will point you where you need to go usually.

most importantly don't get frustrated. most people stop drawing because the disconnect between what you want to draw and how well you can draw is leagues apart. drawing is exceptionally difficult. we are all so in tune with our visual perception it can be heartbreaking that you hand can't keep up. as long as you focus on the process of drawing and not the finished product you'll be a lot better off.

have fun.

Gotcha! Some resources that might be helpful:

Loomis has some good (free) books on constructive figure drawing, which is what you want to learn if you're interested in drawing characters out of your head. I'd recommend Figure Drawing for What It's Worth in particular.

Ctrl+paint is another great resource for learning the art fundamentals that are specifically relevant to illustration. He also has a lot of great information on how to get into Photoshop.

If you want to be drawing characters, it would probably be good to thoroughly learn anatomy. I've seen scattered tutorials for this, but I've had better luck with books- Burne Hogarth and Bridgeman are good, and I've also found Netter's anatomy useful for learning the names of bones and muscles.

For color theory, I would recommend Gurney's Color and Light.

Also check out the sidebar, there's a ton of educational material under "useful links."

I would recommend starting with ctrl+paint or Loomis, and working from there. Both sources will give you an overview of a lot of topics that you can go on to explore in more depth. And of course, keep up the practice.

Best of luck!

Then you should be fine. I don't know if I'd use Gimp to draw though. Krita is free and is a pretty good program.

Another thing to consider is if you want a tablet with a screen or without. The ones without screens are cheaper, but have a steeper learning curve than the ones with.

Wacom is the biggest company that makes tablets. Their stuff is typically more expensive regardless of what you're looking for. Probably the only really good thing about Wacom products is that their pens don't need batteries (therefore making them lighter, although I prefer the weightier feel of the kind with batteries) and their pens have a button on the end that acts as an eraser. Most of their screenless tablets have also gone wireless. I used to have one of their cheaper models and it worked decently well. I had some software issues with it but you'll get that no matter what kind or what brand of tablet you buy. If I had to make any kind of recommendation it would be to go with a medium or large size over a small.

A lot of people like to get the Intuos Pro model to draw on, although the cheaper Intuos works just as well, it only has less buttons/hotkeys.

They recently introduced their new "smartpads" where you draw on a notebook and it gets automatically saved as a digital file and you can edit it on a computer, but they look pretty small so I don't know if that'd be good for getting into digital.

Their screen tablets are known as Cintiqs and the cheapest one is $800. Cintiqs are pretty well renowned and coveted in the world of digital art and their screens are textured to feel like drawing on real paper. I've never used one but I've heard they can have weird lag and gapping issues. What makes the Cintiqs more expensive than other screen tablet brands is that Cintiqs have IPS screens. If you've ever looked at a computer or laptop screen from a sharp angle, you've probably noticed that the colors change and look weird. IPS stands for "In-Plane Shifting" and fixes this problem.

Most other screen tablets don't have IPS screens, and that makes them less expensive. I don't see it as much of an issue though because regardless of the tilt of my tablet, I'm always looking at it straight-on. I have a screen tablet by a company called Yiynova and I have to say I really like it. The screen gamma and colors are a bit weird out of the box, but that can be corrected easily. I thought I'd really miss the eraser button being on the back of the pen, but you can set one of the rocker buttons on the pen body to "eraser toggle" which toggles back and forth between pen and eraser mode. I've found this is actually much faster and smoother than flipping the pen over to erase. It doesn't have a textured screen like the Cintiq, so you're just drawing on smooth glass. Some people may not like it but I really like the buttery-smooth feel it gives. Probably the biggest weakness of this tablet is it's cables, though. It's got a 3-prong power cord with a brick, and then a combo VGA/USB cable that plugs into your computer (the one I linked comes with adapters though). I wish the USB part was longer because it's a bit awkward to plug in. Also the power cord comes unplugged from the monitor easily. Slightly annoying, but you won't lose any data or anything.

Other companies that make tablets that I've heard good things about include Ugee, Huion, Bosto, and Monoprice.

Some of this might just be common sense, but it might be helpful. Ask yourself quantitative questions about sizes, lengths and angles. Is x wider than y. Is the angle I drew bigger or smaller than the reference. Is this shape fatter or skinnier. The whole time you're drawing, make comparisons. Compare your drawing to the reference and compare the aspect you are drawing to other parts of the drawing.

Pick one length and treat it as your base unit. This is the one unit you will treat as a benchmark. You can compare some lengths to any other length in the drawing, but be sure to choose the me back to this basic unit to check your work.

You can use your pencil as a guide for comparing lengths. When drawing from life hold it up at arms length and perpendicular to your eye (keep the distance constant so it isn't skewed by perspective) and grip it so that the distance between the point and your fingers matches what you see. Then you can use this to compare other lengths that you are observing. You can do the same with a reference by laying it down on the photo.

A good tool for this is a proportional divider. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QSBA2S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EtZWCbWTPDG6F

You can adjust where the pivot point is to scale up or down your drawing from what you are seeing. As long as you keep the pin in the same place, you will get consistent measurements of proportions. And you can use the v shape to measure angles. You can us it for photo reference by touching the points to the page like a compass. Or you can use it for life drawing (just make sure you keep it the same distance away, using it with your arm fully stretched out

Practicing with one will help build your intuition for angle and proportions if you use it smartly. Make your best guess, and then use the proportional divider to check your work. Over time, you'll improve if you do it this way.

I can definitely help you with this.


How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination

This is the best book on perspective you can buy. Perspective is the number one thing you need to have a grasp on if you want to draw, especially from imagination. Practice this until it clicks for you.

For setting up scenes I recommend Andrew Loomis books, Creative Illustration in particular. Loomis has several books out and they're all amazing. Many artists have learned to draw from Loomis.

Burne Hogarth is another master of the craft and you can learn a lot about musculature and anatomy from his books. These are generally a step up from Loomis so you could move on to these once you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals to take your work to the next level. Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Drawing the Human Head.

For people and anatomy, Proko (http://www.proko.com/library/) has good free youtube videos. He uses a lot of Loomis and Hogarth methods (which are pretty much the standard) and presents them in a way that is easy to digest. He's constantly updating his channel and adding new videos.

If you can only get a few books, I would get the How to Draw perspective book first, then go through the Proko material, then move onto the Loomis and Hogarth stuff. These learning materials will take you pretty much as far as you want to go.

Also I highly recommend sticking to traditional materials (pencil and paper) while you're learning. Once you have the fundamentals down then you can move on to digital. You're going to make things much easier on yourself if you stick with traditional while you nail these fundamentals down.

I recommend the Wacom Intuo Art - Medium.

Typically $200, comes with no frills, and has an active area of 8.5x5.3 inches. Anything smaller for active area is really hard to translate arm movements to on screen. It's got a lot of pressure levels and the stylus is easy enough to hold for long hours of use-but can also be switched for something else. The nibs on the stylus last too. Active area is wide, so it matches the monitors more people have. I use a square monitor right now, but that just means I lose some of the active area to keep vertical and laterial strokes 1:1. Next monitor is planned to be a 16:9 wide format and will give me the full active area with this tablet. Best of all it doesn't have one of those glossy, sliding drawing surfaces that to me feels unpleasent to draw on top of. It's thin and under a pound, easy to put in a laptop bag and smaller overall in width and length than a 14 inch laptop. Extremely portable.

> I want something that feels closest to using traditional medium and natural felling watercolor touch

There isn't anything like that. It's very similar to learning a new medium with the difference in feedback to the hand, friction from the pen, and pressure required to mark the work area. Same goes with the brushes in photoshop. It's something that you just got to jump in and see if it's for you.

I really harp on this model because of the decent active area for the stylus, professional quality of the tablet, and low price. I bought a smaller tablet back in 2006 and I feel like I'm throwing away money buying that small. It's much harder to retrain my hand to draw/paint on it, and sometimes the surfaces are that terrible glossy surface that feels more like writing on a white board. The marginally more expensive tablets in that area tend to pick useless features(basically mappable hotkeys) over active area size unless you're willing to jump to $350+. It's a good, not expensive tablet, that you can figure out if digital art is something you want to add to your work flow without going overboard to invest $400+ on something you might decide after 2-3 months to drop-which is common for people new to digital art.

The only negative for me is the usb cord goes off the top left of the device, and I feel like it should have been top right. It's fine on my laptop, but my desktop means I have to strategicly place the cord to avoid my work area since I keep the desktop to my right and the usb ports are elevated.

*****
I can't speak for the tablets that you draw on the screen. They typically are heavy, have some type of monitor connector(HDMI, VGA, etc etc), a usb cord, and an extra wall plug at a minimum to function with the laptop/desktop. I know people who do treat them as portable for the job, but their laptop back is like 30 pounds with all the equipment in it. Wouldn't describe it as a portable. I tried a cheap one($600) and it had that terrible smooth screen when you write on(very little friction when using a stylus), so do try to test it before investing that much.

The art spirit is a good book that touches on this

Yeah you laid out perfectly the three things you need to attack.

Using references - give yourself fake assignments that an employer might request that would require use of references - when you say "using reference" - to what end?

creating sci characters? historical? or just general stuff to widen your portfolio?

what kind of references? live or photograph? both have benefits and drawbacks

a way to branch beyond drawing people is to take a character sketch and expand the surrounding region

"ground" the character by giving them a world to live in

or have them holding or doing something

but do you feel like you have to draw more than just people or do you want to?

some people make a whole career just on drawing people, or spaceships, or landscapes

and some make a career combing all of the above

this leads into your third, and hardest issue

you will struggle with this your whole life

"finding" yourself, developing, growing, all can bleed into expression

and that right there might be your starting point - art is a means of expression but you said statement - that is a very active word to apply to the arts - what kind of statement?

CONSUME!! - you got the creation skill - now consume what others have created - this can make one feel shitty about their own level (it sure does for me) but try to look past that and ask

"how did they do that?" - Look for the brush strokes, the camera angle, the shortcuts vs the fine detailed renderings


More importantly this is the best way to become inspired to express yourself


ramblings at work sorry

post some work!

post your "best" work if you dare >:P

I mean light as in value

With oil you want to go fat over lean, and oil paint straight from the tube is -supah fat- (its carrier is oil after all)

You don’t need damar, if you use just a wash and don’t apply your under painting thickly you won’t need a curing agent (oil paint doesn’t dry it cures)The odorless mineral spirits is fine (gamsol). Less is better in an under painting. So… yes don’t work straight from the tube. Let the ground be your white. You’re just going to paint over this anyway so don’t overwork it. Footnote: saw the discussion about whether to use white or not. That’s a personal preference totally. It’s not mine because of how I work but it’s ok if you want to. Part of learning to paint is to figure out how you want to do it. There are limitations and rules of the medium, which you will figure out as you go, but there’s no right or wrong way to do it beyond that. Oil painters love to discuss/argue about the technical shit :)

3 hints.

If you’re buying prestretched canvas, after you take the plastic off wipe it down with a wet washcloth. They can get covered in surfactant at the factory (basically soap). Wiping that off helps it take paint.

With oil, before painting the first time coat the whole surface with linseed oil, then wipe it all off. You shouldn’t be able to feel the oil when you touch the canvas the benefit of this is while you can paint on acrylic (which is what most gessoes are today) oils sticks to itself better. You can also add a little pigment to tint your ground if you want. If you drew your under painting down spray fix it before doing this because it’ll wash your drawing off otherwise. I suggest a casein based fixative like spectrafix for this. It’s friendlier to the process and is nontoxic.

Get this book and read the shit out of it. It’s technical but it’ll tell you all about different paint materials.

Just a side note, THE BEST book on anatomy I have ever read and better than all the video tutorials I've ever watched is 'Classic Human Anatomy in Motion' by Valerie L. Winslow.

It covers everything you need to know about anatomy with a focus on movement (something most anatomy books don't cover), has tons of drawings and diagrams, even tells you how to pronounce each body part. This book is truly amazing and in my opinion a much better learning tool than the usual Loomis and Bridgeman books everyone loves to recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Human-Anatomy-Motion-Dynamics/dp/0770434142

I've been working through them lately, that's why, but yeah, it's not my only source. His heads were more useful than his hands, but I'm going along with them for the practice anyway. Hands seem to be one thing that's difficult to even construct well, since the shapes change so much depending on angle. Comic isn't my style, but he's got a good grasp on lines and curves that I like a lot. Definitely agree though, his videos are very helpful but not a good structure on their own.

I like Bridgman's work. Going to work through his hands and feet next. For heads, I've gotten more out of loomis and this.

I'd refer to those as "practice" rather than a study though.

Sorry I probably didn't explain myself well. I do learn 2 musical instruments and I have no problems practicing fundamentals in them. With /r/artfundamentals it feels different. I can't bring myself to do the exercises. For some reason just thinking "alright let's fill 2 pages with lines" makes me discouraged. It would have been a bit better if I could do it with music but without it I'm more focused.

And about learning, for example in the elipses part, a lot fo things are written about elipses but honestly I don't understand what he means and what's the purpose of learning about it (of course it has a purpose but what is it?). Generally it feels like I'm doing it just so my lines and elipses could be a little better. Maybe that's what makes me discourages. Anyways it's hard for me to learn from /r/artfundamentals and I don't know why.

I've seen people recommend "How to draw". Also some people talked about this. And I just found this which is #1 best seller but I didn't see anyone talk about. Which one do you think is best?

ok. I don't what style you want to go for, and I'm going to assume that you want to get into the comic book style. That doesn't matter though, where you need to begin is with Andrew Loomis' Creative illustration, Figure Drawing for all its worth(the free pdf, but I would recommend getting the book, because why not), Drawing on the right side of the brain, and Drawing the hands and face. All of these resources are what you need to start out. It doesn't look like you are out of the gate "I draw stick figures" level. But you have to keep in mind, that the ultimate tutor, is time. If you really want to get better quickly, then you have to devote a lot of time to studies and just drawing in general. Good luck, I hope I helped you at least a little bit.

I'm using Loomis' Figure Drawing book and this one -- > http://www.amazon.com/Human-Anatomy-Artists-Andr%C3%81s-Szunyoghy/dp/3833162562/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419309717&sr=1-4&keywords=andras+szunyoghy

I'm also using Gurney's color theory book and Light for Visual artists by Richard Yot. So far all these are really good resources for me and have actually helped me improve. I plan on going through all of these books multiple times. I'm also l
ooking at Scott Mccloud's books (Making Comics and Understanding comics). I'm also planning on buying some of David Chelsea's stuff. I'm also using this reddit as well, and it is likely more resources will be added to the list. As I work my way through the book list, I will go through those books and then eventually re-read them until I get a good understanding. For the anatomy books that just means cppying whatever diagrams.

Now, as far as my art education class goes, I'm taking a bit of a breather. I'm only taking one art class, a figure drawing class. According to ratemyprofessor, I won't need to go to one of my classes except for tests. So this time around, my class load is pretty relaxed, which is why I'm even thinking about attempting this. But I've started pretty much already I'm going for a BA as opposed to a BFA, which works for me considering that I can and will take other classes from other fields (in my case it's writing) but enough of that.

I'm pretty dissatisfied with my current art education not to mention the many hipsters that infest the art building irritate me. But I'm still making it work the best way I can, which is why I'm doing a BA because I would rather not waste time being obligated to take several different art mediums when I want to focus mainly on 2 to 3. They also don't offer any digital painting class which is a huge minus, so this I HAVE to learn on my own, which is where Youtube and Ctrl+paint come in.

I may not always get the four hours, but with the figure drawing class meeting 3 days a week, it will certainly help. I'm also a homebody so no time will be taken away for social events. Only thing is I cannot attempt to use too many resources at once or I'll get overwhelmed.

I have a Yiynova MSP19U+ V5 (I know what a name) that I bought from Amazon. I've done like a year's worth of research on different Cintiq Alternatives before buying this and I can safely say that so far it's definitely worth the money (it even lowered in price by like 30 bucks since I bought mine)

I've never had a Cintiq but from what I've read from people like Frenden who have used Cintiqs, Yiynova's tablets are pretty great alternatives in general and they have great customers service through The Panda City distributor (in the US at least, IDK about other countries).

I would say one big difference between the Yiynovas and the Cintiqs are the screens. Cintiqs come with a matte screen to simulate the feel of paper whereas Yiynovas have smooth glass screens to draw on. If you don't like that you can buy a screen protector. Another difference, at least between my Yiynova and Cintiq, is resolution. Cintiq are in 1920 x 1080, and the tablet I have is 1400 x 900. It works for me, but if lower res doesn't work for you, you can go for the other Yiynova tablets that do run in that res.

However since all these kinds of tablets have 2048 pressure levels, I can side with /u/Radddddd on getting an Intuos as well if you don't feel serious enough to commit to buy such a large investment.

(sorry this is so long)

I'm not a computer artist. I like traditional mediums but am slowly being swayed to join in tablet drawing. I say this because you should take my opinions with a grain of salt. However, I've been hearing good things about Wacom's Bamboo Capture Pen and Touch Tablet. It carries the Wacom name that people love (and a year warranty), customizable shortcut buttons, its stylus has an eraser on the top, and multitouch gestures that will let you flip, turn, or whatever while working. It's supposed to be a little to sensitive with the pen sometimes, but that's really the only drawback I hear.

It's $69 from Amazon.

Maybe someone else can pop in and give their views on this, but as a know-nothing about CG art, this is the one I have my eye on. Good luck!

Active area is indeed the size you can draw on. That section on the Wacom site has an error. It looks like you selected medium, but it's still giving you dimensions for the small. 6 x 3.7 inches is the dimension of the active area for the intuos art/comic/photo small.

Your Wacom Graphire Bluetooth
Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.5,
Active area: 6 x 8 inches

Small Wacom Intuos Art/Comic/Photo (All the same tablet, different bundled stuff)
Dimensions: 8.25 x 6.7,
Active area: 6 x 3.7

Medium Wacom Intuos Art/Comic/Photo
Dimensions: 10.75 x 8.75,
Active area: 8.5 x 5.3

The old tablets were the Bamboo and Intuos. The former being the hobbyist tablets, and the Intuos 2, 3, 4, 5 aimed at the professional market. But they changed the name a few years back. The Bamboo became the Intuos series, and the Intuos series became the Intuos Pro series.

Now they've released a new set of tablets, but they didn't add numbers to them, so look out for anything labelled (OLD MODEL) on Amazon, unless you specifically want the previous release.

Confusing huh? :)

tl;dr The Intuos Art Medium has an active area of 8.5 x 5.3. Wacom's site is wrong.

Edit - good formatting is hard here, sorry about the mess.

There really isn't much of a difference with a tablet with more pen pressure, larger screen or more buttons, it's purely what you are comfortable with, and assuming that this would be your first tablet, I suggest getting a small tablet without a screen.

yes, it takes some time to adjust to, but it's much cheaper and better to practice with and get to know what you're comfortable with before buying something expensive. if you REALLY want a screen, then I suggest HUION tablets as they are a cheaper counterpart of WACOM, and with little difference in quality, just make sure it is compatible with your drawing software.

Some small screenless tablets:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TB0TTAC/ref=psdc_16034531_t3_B002OOWC3S [very small but very cheap]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079J7DCXN/ref=psdc_16034531_t2_B002OOWC3S [pricey for size]

https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Capture-Tablet-CTH470/dp/B005HGBEZ2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wacom+tablet+CTH470&qid=1574198997&s=electronics&sr=1-3 [what i used as a kid but currently out of stock]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DPC98DT/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07DPC98DT&pd_rd_w=6UIy5&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=GWJgM&pf_rd_r=TS1RD6K2JSVF4CBCNA33&pd_rd_r=22c6007a-6a19-4dac-90a9-d43c03a473a1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFOMksxMlgwV1JWMzgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2MDg5NjYxQk42SUxMNE82TDNaJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NDMxODQxSDBUNlhOQ0FPUVBQJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== [what I use and suggest]

Average screen tablets:

https://www.xp-pen.com/product/56.html

https://www.amazon.com/Simbans-PicassoTab-Drawing-Beginner-Bluetooth/dp/B071GY6994/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battery-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.com/GT-191-KAMVAS-Drawing-Pressure-Sensitivity/dp/B072N2C2PB/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=drawing+tablet&qid=1574199156&sr=8-9

honestly just chose tablets that popped up first + fits ur budget, the difference is really minimalistic and it shouldn't matter as a beginner since you're not adjusted to a certain way of drawing digitally yet.

Ive been painting for about ten years and have tried just about every type of paint i could get my hands on. First thing is you should stretch your own canvas, the painting is an art object and store bought pre-stretched canvas are the devil. You get so much more control when you do it yourself and save a ton of money. Good stretcher bars make all the difference as well. In terms of cloth heavy cotton duck canvas is pretty much standard. But theres also linen, panel, tyvek, canvas drop cloth, a towel a bed sheet or whatever else you want. Again the standards are there to make things archival and last forever, practice on whatever you want. Canvas generally hads a heavier tooth, so using hog hair bristle brushes on gently primed canvas will give you more resistance opposed to heavily gessoed canvas or linen with a horse hair sable brush or a synthetic squirrel hair which will give you much more fluidity. Priming with rabbit skin glue or pva glue will seal and tighten canvas like no other. Rabbit skin glue on linen can snap stretcher bars in half. When using oil my favorite was cotton duck primed with rabbit skin glue and then an oil primer titanium white. It gives a really slick surface to work on without much give. But its also a finicky process. The main thing you want is the cloth to be completely sealed so the oil wont eat away at it. Then you get people like Helen Frankenthaler who used oil on raw canvas and that was what she was about and now museums are dealing with how to preserve them. In the long run it comes down to what you want to achieve and the look you're after for a piece. You should look in to picking up a copy of this http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Handbook-Materials-Techniques/dp/0670837016 if you really want to dig deep in to materials. Every painter I know knows about that book and its a hundred times more useful than any learn to paint book.

I'm going to play devil's advocate and not recommend Drawing on the right side of the brain.
The exercises are standard introduction to drawing exercises, which are fine, but the text is ... really debatable.
She took "Quit drawing symbols" and applied all kinds of psychology to it, when it's important to just stop drawing symbols.
The book's exercises itself are great however, if you can get your hands on the workbook instead, I would recommend that because it's just all the exercises with 5% of the text.
The most important part of drawing is actually doing it, especially when you're just starting out.

Also, I've heard good things about Keys To Drawing

Last time I tried to give advice on drawings the person got upset and quit reddit, soooo, please don't do that. My suggestion if you're absolutely serious about drawing is to absolutely learn the fundamentals.

Fun With A Pencil: How Everybody Can Easily Learn to Draw https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857687603/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ijZZDbCWDFEAQ

Drawing the Head and Hands https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857680978/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AjZZDb0B3RBPF

Figure Drawing for All It's Worth https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857680986/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OjZZDbW37G79H

Successful Drawing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857687611/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4jZZDb95Z0W96

Creative Illustration https://www.amazon.com/dp/1845769287/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ikZZDbFRJYAJD

And after the basics


Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (Volume 1) (James Gurney Art) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0740785508/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_alZZDbZW0Y1P4


Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2) (James Gurney Art) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DlZZDb676AWT6



It doesn't matter what medium you use, learning how to draw and understanding what you're doing will help out the most.

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Anatomy-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1345442071&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=dynamic+anatomy

Worth it if you're serious about studying anatomy. Or just check out some books on drawing anatomy from your library. More detailed information and references will help! I would actually copy some figures from an anatomy book before trying posemaniacs, it's much easier to draw from a solid copy than a computer screen.

It was several years after I started anatomical studies that I had the sense to study the body from the inside out, skeleton, muscles, everything. Worth every minute.

Good luck!

Here are some good how-to-draw books which help me a lot
this one is [by Mark Linley] (https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Anything-Linley/dp/1567315372)
A very popular book by [Mark Kistler] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738212415/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498851864&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AMark+Kistler&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&dpPl=1&dpID=51Dz4esfWnL&ref=plSrch)
[Drawing in 3-D by Mark Kistler] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0684833727/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498851864&sr=1-4&refinements=p_27%3AMark+Kistler&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&dpPl=1&dpID=61d9g1OF2mL&ref=plSrch)

And to keep you going and practicing every day I highly recommend r/SketchDaily :)

I used to be an art zero, had the worst stick figures on the planet and I've had several shows in galleries. I knew someone who's hands permanently shook but was a kick ass painter and you'd wonder if other people were safe when she used an x-acto knife..

You need three things:

1. A mentor who can give you tips. That or youtube.
   
   
2. Practice. My god, the practice. I went through an art degree... oil painting? 1 painting a week... for 16 weeks. For two semesters (32 weeks total). Shoot a roll of film and develop it a week for 3 semesters (48 weeks). Drawing, 2 semesters, 3 drawings a week. Lots of practice.
   
   
3. Critique. I cannot emphasize enough how important a good critique is for helping you grow as an artist. Start posting to /r/ArtCrit
   
   Additionally, your inner artist like a child. A child, to reach it's maximum potential, must always be challenged, must always play (that's a child's job), must be protected from the assholes of the world, and must not be given false, positive encouragement (they need to be told when they're not doing well enough... no trophies for the losers). You must practice. Don't ask your friends and family for art advice or critique. Ever. People who don't support you should not see your art. (Read The Artist's Way, Art & Fear, and The Art Spirit)
   
   Ninja edit: Do not be afraid to use projectors and lightboxes until you get a firmer grasp on proportions and compositions.

I don't know that much. On this subreddit every "beginner" is told to get "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. I personally don't have this book, but I have this one "Keys to Drawing" by Bert Dodson, which basicly teaches the same stuff as Betty Edwards. Both these books will help you get started and teach you to draw what you see. I prefer "Keys to Drawing and is in my opinion better because I prefer the language he uses.

Also check out ctrl+paint. The "traditional drawing" section and the "Drawing 2" is quite helpful.

I don't know how much you practice, but you should draw everyday, even if it's just a five minute scribble. I personally try to draw one hour a day (which is really little). Maybe start with 30 min a day and then go upwards from there. It's quite hard to do this, but if you manage to do it everyday for about 2 weeks it will become automatic in a way...

complementary to what /u/cajolerisms as said about resources, someone else recommended the book Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson. It is a book from the 90s, however, people gave it good reviews on Amazon and no one else has recommended other book instead. I bought my copy few weeks ago and I'm waiting to wrap my hand around it :)

This one!
It is Pen and Touch, but I have honestly never bothered with the touch feature and I don´t really feel like it´s needed :P

You might want to read this book. It's for learning how to SEE and draw from there. I've heard people say it's one of the best books to learn how to draw, though, it definitely differs depending on your medium.

I actually have the book, if you want to see a photograph of a page or two, I'll go out of my way a little bit for ya'.

For tablets any of the cheaper wacom are a decent choice like Wacom Intous Draw.(You might want to aim for a medium size tablet, I've heard a lot people find the small restrictive on arm movement)

A lot of people recommend the Huion H610 Pro as well.

For software I would personally recommend Clip Studio Paint.
It's a solid digital painting software, and right now is(and frequently is) on sale for 60% off($25USD), and even at it's full price is still more than worth it.

Otherwise there is Krita which is 100% free, and open source.

and of course Adobe Photoshop, which will cost you a monthly fee of $9.99USD.

There are plenty of other software, but I find these 3 fill the niche decently. They each behave a little differently, but essential all lead to the same result, which is dependent how you personally use them.

I'm trying to decide on a first drawing tablet and i was wondering if someone could tell me the reason for the price difference between these 2 products? Also any other suggestions. Thanks in advance :)

https://www.amazon.ca/Wacom-Intuos-Draw-Graphics-Tablet/dp/B010LHRFM2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518795248&sr=8-3&keywords=drawing+tablet

and

https://www.amazon.ca/Wacom-Intuos-Art-Graphics-Tablet/dp/B010LHRFYU/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1518795248&sr=8-11&keywords=drawing+tablet

Alright, thank you all for the useful tips and information, I plan on getting these books
(http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Draw-30-Days/dp/0738212415)
(http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing/dp/1440309310)
and I also started the download on all the loomis books.

Different strokes for different folks. Depending on their learning style, some love Loomis but hate Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain or say Keys to Drawing didn’t help them a bit. Truth is, most artists eventually read them all and use portions from each of them.


My personal reading focused more on the philosophy of art. I wanted to learn the traits and mentality of a successful artist and why they do what they do.


Books by Steven Pressfield:
The War of Art,
Do the Work,
Turning Pro.


I also re-read The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.

Wacom tablets are usually recommended as the gold standard of drawing tablets. They're a bit more expensive but usually worth the price. This is their starter model:

http://www.amazon.ca/Wacom-Intuos-Draw-Graphics-Tablet/dp/B010LHRFM2/

Although to be fair, I've never used anything outside of the Wacom brand for a very long time. It's not hard to imagine other brands catching up to Wacom in terms of technical prowess...

I personally love Draw A Box. As for digital art I suggest getting the wacom intous. Software wise I use clip pain studio pro.

If you're at all interested in trying some books, I'd recommend these two:

• You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler (good for drawing fundamentals which are applicable to all styles, including manga)
  
• Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley by Mark Crilley (good for manga basics specifically)

I would also add Valerie Winslows' Classic Human Anatomy and/or Classic Human Anatomy in Motion. Eliot Goldfinger Human Anatomy for Artists is also an amazing book.

This book helped me immensely when I was in art school. Most other anatomy books I looked at were filled with walls-o-text. This book is all illustrations with labels on the muscles you need to know when drawing. Excellent resource.

Drawing Human Anatomy - Giovanni Civardi

The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques "Since 1940, when it was originally published, The Artist's Handbook has become indispensable for thousands of practicing artists and art students. The book has remained continually in print through many editions and has sold more than a quarter of a million copies. A detailed index makes a wealth of information readily available. Charts and line drawings throughout."

This is a pretty phenomenal book to start learning how to draw: http://amzn.com/0874774241

Is it like this one? https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-CTL490DW-Digital-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B010LHRFM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482941102&sr=8-1&keywords=wacom+tablet

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Figure-Drawing-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015777/ref=la_B000APHOOK_1_1/192-2409416-3387854?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397941222&sr=1-1

copy each page of this book and you'll notice an unbelievable change in your drawing!

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|




This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).

Draw torsos, lots of them. The movements of the limbs originate in the torso.

Many say this book helps a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1345619296&sr=8-4&keywords=drawing+from+the+right+side+of+the+brain

Look for a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in your local library. https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Brain-Betty-Edwards/dp/0874775132/

You don't have to read through, just try some of the exercises and see if they suit your learning style. You don't need the drawing kit or workbook, just the book. They have a website here: https://www.drawright.com

Alternately. look for a copy of Bert Dodson's Keys to Drawing: https://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377

In both cases, see if you can find an older edition. They are just as effective to use and often cheaper, and the newest editions of both books are printed terribly.

The anatomy is funky. Comic books aren't a good place to go for anatomical research. Go to a library/book store (or amazon) and pick up this book. Read and draw EVERYTHING in this book. Seriously, cover to cover this book, and while you're doing that, go to coffee shops and draw everyone you see. Draw from real life while studying anatomy.

Non-mobile:

• Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy
  
• Dynamic Figure Drawing
  
  ^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?