Beginner Artists: Books & Advice

[Marty M]

I see requests all the time for good books to help and or advice for beginning artists - so i figured why not get this stuff all in one spot.

Beginning Artists here are some resources and some basic tips for you to begin your quest:

Books To Get You Started:
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - Betty Edwards
Drawing With Children - Mona Brookes (Also helpful for adults)
Anatomy for the Artist - Sarah Simblet (photo book)
Perspective for the Comic Book Artists - David Chelsea
The DC Comic Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics - Mark Chiarello &Todd Klein
The DC Comic Guide to Pencilling Comics - Klaus Janson
The DC Comic Guide to Coloring Inking Comics - Klaus Janson
How to Draw the Marvel Way - Stan Lee & John Buscema
Comic and Sequential Art - Will Eisner
Graphic Storytelling - Will Eisner

Books some people like and others hate:
Dynamic Anatomy -Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Figure Drawing - Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery - Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Light and Shade - Burne Hogarth

Books That Will Give Further Insights to Comics
Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud
Reinventing Comics - Scott McCloud
Making Comics - Scott McCloud

Other Artist Names to Look Up On Google:
Andrew Loomis
Ben Caldwell

*Please note: Every artist may not agree with the above books (particularly the Burne Hogarth books.) Take them all with a grain of salt. I have included this list of books since they are all in my personal library, and I have learned something from them. (Even the Hogarth ones)

Basic Tips To Get You Started:

Get a pencil, and eraser and a piece of paper
Draw what you see - anything and everything. (Vase, Person, Car, Toilet Paper, Trees, Bolts, Fruit, Cats, Dogs, Shoe, House, The Universe...)
The longer you look at something before drawing, the better the drawing will be.
Don't rush.
LOOK.
Then Look some more.
Draw from life.
Draw from life or the source first, then from imagination.
Use reference material.
Take life drawing classes.
Take art classes.
Study shape and form
Break it.
Study it all over again.
Try, try and try again until you get it right.
LOOK. REALLY LOOK. Then draw.
THINK. Think about what you're drawing. WHY are you drawing it.
Keep working at it until it looks like what you want it to. (Use Eraser)
Be your harshest critic. Walk away from your drawing for a while, and come back to it with "new eyes" to see where things may be off or wrong.
Ask your family for honest feedback (they usually give it. It usually hurts.)
Ask advice from other artists - pro's or people you admire.
Hold image up into a mirror to see where things might be off.
Draw a horizon line into every picture (even if you erase it later)
Learn perspective.
Look.
Draw. Draw. Draw.
HAVE FUN!

*anyone else with suggestions, tips or exercises for the starting artist add your 2 cents.

Websites - Tutorials Etc.
(I have some somewhere - if anyone else is willing to submit a list of good website tutorials or links by all means.)

Request for this thread:
Please, let's not make this into a "discussion thread". Just add your recommended books, websites or tips and advice. Lets make this into a resource thread so Beginning Artists don't have to keep asking all the time and so we don't have to keep answering the same questions all the time.

If someone ends up having a specific question about a technique, tip or book, Private Message whomever placed it so we can keep this thread strictly as a resource.

And lets make this one of the kickingest Art Resources on the web.

Rich, if you're watching this - would this be worthy of being a sticky post?

[Attezarf]

Okay Marty, I'll bite...
It's an idea (I confess) that I've thought of, myself.. But personal choices can be so objective, that I've resisted posting ONE all-important List of books?
I see suggestions made on here all the time. Many, that I personally disagree with..
But yeah, having a "Sticky" might slow down the pace or Repeat Questions, to a degree.

-- Rich

[ocngrl]

Good Anatomy Reference Books:

Virtual Pose 1, 2,& 3
Anatomy for the Artist: Sarah Simblet
Anatomy for the Artist: Jeno Barcsay
The Figure in Motion: Thomas Easley

Good Books for Learning about Drawing Comics:

How To Draw: WIZARD Entertainment

[captainsBrother]

Kimon Nicolaides - The Natural Way to Draw

great for learning to draw.. if one follows the instructions throughout and does the excercises.. the book could take years to complete.
Just get to it !

[a_derm]

I think a great anatomy book is
Atlas of Human Anatomy by Stephen Rogers Peck.

It's detailed and could be used as a great reference , but how it differs from others is that the author gives memory tricks to remember the anatomy shapes .He sketches the simpler version besides the well rendered 3d look.

[wonkydonk]

are there any books on shading techniques?

[GreatSage=Heaven]

dynamic light and shade (mentioned above) is excellent.

[munkymu]

There's a ton of useful information on Temple of the Seven Golden Camels, if you dig for it a bit. Mostly about storyboarding for animation, but also useful to illustrators, comic artists and anyone who wants to make more dynamic drawings.

[Gidi-Prime]

anyone ever checked out www.female-anatomy-for-artist.com and www.human-anatomy-for-artist.com
I have found it invaluable

and i have all the hogarth books too

[J_Turner]

Here are three books that I believe will help with drawing comics:

1) Drawing Dynamic Comics by Andy Smith. It is almost a revamped version of How to draw comics the marvel way.

2) Drawing Power by Bart Sears. Though, it deals with the splash page, everything in his book can be applied to doing panels of a page.

3) Notes to Draw From vol 1& 2 by Mitch Byrd. Byrd's book deals with the fine details of comic art.

One thing I like about Sears book is it 64 pages, but it has wealth of knowledge in it. The same can be said of Byrd's book. Andy Smith book tends to be more of an intro to drawing comics, which is needed for trying to be a comic artist.

Though, I have not read the Wizard magazine books, I hear they are pretty good. Though, some of the artists showcased in the books are more style than substance (my opinion.)

[danijones]

My favorite figure drawing book is Bridgman's LIfe Drawing by George B. Bridgman. And if you are interested in animals, I especially like Ken Hultgren's Art of Animal Drawing. As a bonus, they are both Dover publications, so they are cheaper than most other books out there.

On the web, I've found a good collection of tutorials on GFXartist.com here:

http://www.gfxartist.com/features/tutorials

I also currently write digital illustration tutorials for one of my blogs. It is updated regularly. Find it here:

http://danidraws.com

Check these out and let me know if they are useful.

[Mouta]

i think you forgot to mwnsion two of the most important rules about drawing:

1st) Draw Lightly!

2nd) DRAW LIGHTLY!

thats because when you dont draw lightly it is very hard to erase the base lines you made... and it will ruin your drawing

btw, thnx alot for the books info... i think they will help me alot!

[Nadya]

Isn't it a bit weird to give the tip that people should take drawing lessons? I mean, if they do; than why would they need this topic --> they'd learn everything in class

[artman100]

I have drawn several tutorials on my website along with a list if books that i feel are best for the begining comic book artist at www.oramaz.blogspot.com .It is not my intention to spam my site but is nice to have a little traffic once in a while.Most of the things on my site are a little dated ,but im working on many new tutorials for people hungry to learn. ROBERT

[jasonkobs]

This is the one thing that might blow everyone away who has already posted. They have not mentioned this and probably will think its a complete waste of time, but it is another common sense/ art school tricks.

----Metal Fabricators/ Welders are told to sew with a needle and thread to help them make better welds.

----Football players are told that dancing/ ballet will help them with foot work/ be faster

----Drawers should sculpt. Many times when drawing we get confused with what we are seeing. The books that everyone mentioned are great I actually own one or two. I had to learn everything about muscles, they actually tested us regularly in figured drawing. But it was still hard visually making sense what muscles are doing what.

So grab your silly puddy, sculpty, clay, Oil-based clay (great, but smelly) and start working on building hands and feet, legs, heads, eyes. It will help.[/u]