So I've recently aqquired some "how to draw Manga" booklets and I have to say it's hella hard. And I'm not helped by the fact that I'm not all that good at drawing in the first place.
I'll manage though, perhaps in a year... or 10, I'm creating art that's good enough for this board.......

But that made me wonder were the more talented artist on this board got their
talents.

Where did you start out? Did someone teach you, did you have books or did you found out on your own with practise?
Why did you start drawing? Do you have any tips?
Etc.

Please tell and perhaps a novice like me can learn something from it.

Practice.

Lots and lots of practice.

And after that, practice some more.

I'm 2nd yr college now and I started trying to draw anime when I was still in 2nd yr high school. (Wow. So that's like... five years... Where did the all the time go? Oh yeah. Practice.)

Sure, I still have some of my sketches back then, but hell no way I'm gonna post them here >=) (Devil)

Just practice, sketch some stuff, let your imagination run wild.

Hey, wait a sec... I just lost my Drawing Skills... Crap. I need to practice, too. X_X (Buck)

Yep yep!

Practice, practice, practice!

That's the best way to hone your artistic skills.

Don't have a mind set of learning to draw just to impress other people, you won't be able to please everyone. Draw for your own enjoyment.

Take a medium that you are at ease with (like anime, or western comic books), and practice on it.

Good luck on your endeavor! [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/omniexistence/Macross-PH%20Images/beerchug.gif[/img]

well i started by looking at pictures other artists made. Then from there i went on to drawing my own or using them as a reference picture.

A hell lot of practice. It's practice that will hone your art skill.

I start to draw when...i were just 5 years old (It's a bit impossible, huh?). According to my mom, when i finished watching a cartoon in tv, i asked a paper and a pencil from my mom. My house's wall is also become one of my victim back then.

Tips:
-Do not affraid to try copying someone's styleat first, then try to make your own. That's a step to bfind your own style.
-Ask other artist or for better opinion, suggestion, and ctics.
-Do not encouraged with harsh criticism.
-As Omni sez, draw for your enjoyment. This also apply when you're working as an illustrator, too.

That's all i can say. the rest is up to you.

If you want, you can post the drawings that you made, so some of the folks here can give you some constructive pointers on what your strengths and weakneses are.

This is the best way to get input on what you're doing right, and what you need to improve on. :smile:

Where did you start out? Did someone teach you, did you have books or did you found out on your own with practise?
Why did you start drawing? Do you have any tips?
Etc.

My dad is very artistic, and was a founding member (I should say puppet) of an animation studio. He always brought home computer paper (one side used) and lots and lots of used pencils (both blue and gray). He knew how to draw too, but he never really taught me how (I was too young). I first imitated crap my elder brother and sister were drawing. When I developed a mind of my own, I started drawing gigantic muscular men (and I still do. :sweatface:), stopping my hobby whenever I felt sick of looking at my creations and researching how to draw more realistic muscles (at first from Wrestling - poor choice seeing as how Shawn Michaels was still half The Rockers then!) and again, researching and researching with long periods of inactivity in between until I've refined my style enough to not ever get sick of it anymore. :laugh: I really should draw something up to post here now, but I'm so lazy, and so scared. :redface:

EDIT: Let's make a pact. You post yours, I post mine. This'll make things easier for both of us: you get very helpful highly personalized tips, and I finally get to post my long overdue drawings. :shocked:

In a nutshell:
Where did you start out? childhood. stickfigures!

Did someone teach you, did you have books or did you found out on your own with practise? I mimicked stickfigures I saw my brother and sister were drawing at first, nobody taught me formally or informally (not tips). No books either. I recently borrowed a friends drawing book for details on anatomy. (it was LITTLE help. the crap was either too technical or too basic. The only thing I got from it was a good understanding of the back muscles.)

Why did you start drawing? I was encouraged by my dad, I guess. lots of materials to work with!

Do you have any tips? uhh. it's not technically a tip, but I do have something to say: Drawing is a skill, not a talent. By all means it can be learned (and taught). Anatomy is deathly important aaaaand you should always have fun!

ooh wait, I do have a tip.

If you want people to like your drawings without you having to be too technically advanced, draw someone or something aesthetically pleasing.
example: Do something beautiful but very simple to make - like copying some mangaka's style of making cute cute faces with sparkly big eyes and lovely lashes.

let me rephrase what i said before. I started frawing really simple stuff (stick figures, no detail) then I went on to detailed stuff. If you are looking to draw anime, i recomend looking at some artists work.

Ill post some pictures that really can help you out (these are of DOA, of course), they seem hard, but keep at it, ive really improved, plus this artists style is a tad easier than others:

careful, these might be 18+, some atleast might be

christmas with kasumi and hitomi

Kasumi camel toe

leifang extreme

helena bondage

and here is another one of my fav artists, but please, do not hotlink (hyperlink) this artists work, keep it in link form:

Hitomi V-Thong

helena's butt

as for a tip, practice on faces, they are the hardest to get down. once you have them down pat, the characer will look better and you will like you work alot more. PS, the how to draw manga books are complex, but they give good tips. but sorry if the pics are not the type of pictures you draw.

It runs in the family...

Which is actually kind of depressing because it's nothing new to any of the older people that their kids can draw. :( My dad remains unimpressed and my older cousins are all just so complacent about it... :buck:

My first drawing was my brother's toy cement truck when I was 5. Mom said it looked pretty good because there were actually some dimensions to it, but I remember it looked like a marshmallow. :sweatface:

I've practiced on my own ever since and though art workshops suck in my opinion because I get bored easily, it's always best to take tips from them because they know what they're talking about. :ok:

What worked for me:

1) Tracing - Or copying actually.

I call it tracing, but it's really known as copying. Copying is a great way to start, coz you can get a decent result out rather quick and not be frustrated that you can't draw. Sit with a particular picture you wanna copy, and then have a blank piece of paper and start trying to follow the picture.

2) Draw lightly.

If you're not sure of a line, just draw it lightly. But try and draw longer smoother lines, rather than keeping short sketchy ones. Pencil control (if you're drawing with pencil) is key in drawing good. I would also recommend you do get a good mechanical pencil and a vinyl eraser (faber castell brand is good in both but I prefer Rotring mech pencils though.)

3) find an artist style you like, and follow them.

It is impossible to start of with your own style, so copy someone's until drawing comes naturally to you. and it's much nicer to copy someone whose style you like.

4) Don't invest in expensive equipment.

Don't make the mistake of buying everything the books tell you to buy. If you're starting out, and you've got expensive equipment, you'll be subconsciously afraid to make mistakes, coz it's so expensive! if you don't make a mistake, you will not learn.

5) Post your work online and get some feedback. Not all of it will be good feedback, but that should only spur you to draw better the next time. Criticism should not stop you, but spur you on.

that being said... I've not drawn anything for a really long time. the last thing I drew was that Cowboy bebop thing... sigh.


p/s: I've only been drawing manga style the last 2 years... and that's on again, off again. I'm not an expert.

If you're very particular with proportions, use a grid scale. Make two of these on acetates (plastic) and when you copy, place on grid on your reference and the other on the blank paper. :smile:

Practice is indeed, the key to becoming an accomplished artist. I don't buy into the whole "I'm no good at drawing, or I wasn't born with enough talent" bull pucky, because in my opinion, everyone has the ability to create works of art. All it takes is finding what you're interested in, developing your own style, and practicing until your hands bleed. Huzzah!

Or until your eyes pop out of your skull, you suffer from palpitations, and your hands shake when you let go of a pencil. :biggrin: :sweatface:

Hahahahahahaha! You think that's bad? Try adding a lead weight and thick wires to the back of your pencil and drawing on skin with it! That's what I had to get used to when I went through tattoo training. After awhile, you begin to develop this mutant muscle in between your thumb and forefinger from the vibrations.

:sweatface:

Well, I did not actually start with books.

I'm not sure when the artsy wave started hitting me, but if I am not mistaken, I had developed my interest in arts at the age of either 2 or 3 years. Since I did not have any proper drawing materials, I utilised anything I had [including the walls]. I did not copy any drawings, though - they're mostly from my imagination. I do not know why, but I just hated copying. :sweatface:

Japanese anime are also shown in TV, so everytime I watched them, I observed the way they drew the characters. And of course, I practised drawing everyday. I am not sure if this is the case of 'it-runs-through-the-blood' kind of thing - for me, at least - my mother used to be very good at painting and drawing during high school. But she stopped drawing and painting in her 20's. By the time I was 3, she was already in her early 30's. But if skills are genetically passed on, then I can make a conclusion I must be infected by her. = P

My drawings used to be kinda anime-ish, but now I've developed my own drawing style and I'm trying to lessen the Japanese influence on my drawing. Of course, Japanese chibi expressions are addictive - so I guess that's the only thing Japanese about my drawings. :sweatface: However, I'm still maintaining the Asian look of my drawings. ^__~