What can't you do?

[MariaAndMichelle]

Backgrounds.

And drawing people at anything other than eye-level. Angles are not our forte.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

The trouble is I have a problem getting any standing body to look correct It's nothing some practice wouldn't cure, but I'm lazy and don't care enough (although I should).

I had problem with this until I studied anatomy and learned how bones and muscles operate. With more dynamic scenes, you can get away with not knowing a lot of stuff, a lot of things are obscured and all that, but when you have to draw a man just standing there, if you don't know inner structure, it's a trial and miss affair.

I think this is my biggest problem. I don't have a comfortable understanding of how the human body works. I mean, I'm a lot better than where I was a few years back, but I have lightyears to go. For instance, I can tell when something looks really wrong, but I can't always tell you how I can make it better.

I know that I underwent MASSIVE artistic changes just after taking a course on human evolution. I mean, man, you keep looking at all those skeletons and learning about their different benefits and disadvantages, and it starts to almost pick up on its own.

[McDuffies]

Yeah, though medical anatomy doesn't help all that much.
I also always found those "how to draw comics" books useless for that, like "how to draw comics marvel way" with their tubes and whatnot... always felt as if they intentionally skipped a step or two because they didn't know how to explain it. Like, one step is a little bit more than a stick figure, and the very next one is a complete drawing. Yeah, sure. Academic anatomy books were, on the other hand, very helpful.

[RobboAKAscooby]

I also always found those "how to draw comics" books useless for that, like "how to draw comics marvel way" with their tubes and whatnot... always felt as if they intentionally skipped a step or two because they didn't know how to explain it. Like, one step is a little bit more than a stick figure, and the very next one is a complete drawing. Yeah, sure. Academic anatomy books were, on the other hand, very helpful.

How to draw manga books are the worst - although they do have some good pose tips for everyday activities like walking up stairs and getting dressed.

I find myself now learning little things by watching videos - I'd watch random people on the street but that could lead to misunderstandings.
Of course now I have to put what I'm learning into practice.

But I am getting better at boobs I think.

[Cope]

I also always found those "how to draw comics" books useless for that, like "how to draw comics marvel way" with their tubes and whatnot... always felt as if they intentionally skipped a step or two because they didn't know how to explain it. Like, one step is a little bit more than a stick figure, and the very next one is a complete drawing..

"Step 1: Draw a ball. Step 2: Draw the Tick holding the ball!"

[IVstudios]

Yeah, though medical anatomy doesn't help all that much.
I also always found those "how to draw comics" books useless for that, like "how to draw comics marvel way" with their tubes and whatnot... always felt as if they intentionally skipped a step or two because they didn't know how to explain it. Like, one step is a little bit more than a stick figure, and the very next one is a complete drawing. Yeah, sure. Academic anatomy books were, on the other hand, very helpful.

I've always found most Christopher Hart's books to be pretty useful. Specifically Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy.

For instance, I can tell when something looks really wrong, but I can't always tell you how I can make it better.

I used to have this problem. Well, I still have it to some extent, but I've started forcing myself to address it. Use to be that when I was drawing a character in a position that didn't look quite right, I'd just scrap it and change the position to something I was comfortable drawing. But I started forcing myself to keep redrawing the pose until I got it how I wanted it. It might take two days to draw one hand, but by keeping at it I eventually started to get better and faster.

[McDuffies]

You won't see me around anatomy books that have "made easy" or some variation of it in the title. Just about any art school book will do, there's no "method" or "trick" to it, you just need a lot of pictures or skeleton and muscles.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

You won't see me around anatomy books that have "made easy" or some variation of it in the title. Just about any art school book will do, there's no "method" or "trick" to it, you just need a lot of pictures or skeleton and muscles.

you just need a lot of pictures of mcduffies

[IVstudios]

You won't see me around anatomy books that have "made easy" or some variation of it in the title. Just about any art school book will do, there's no "method" or "trick" to it, you just need a lot of pictures or skeleton and muscles.

Yeah, it's only one of the most useful books I own and I use it for reference almost every time I draw. But it has the words "made easy" in the title so it must be crap.

[Attendance]

That is very interesting, IVstudios.

Perhaps his books worked for you, which is fine and good, but I think they were not good for me at all. I had two 'how to draw manga' books (I remember this one specifically: http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Mania-Draw- ... 0823030350 ) by Christopher Hart and, looking back, I wish I had had bothered to read better resources. My problem with it, back then, was that I was not a fan of how he colored the illustrations in, and how the characters did not look very original. I guess it's good to give beginners something familiar by using archetypal manga personalities, but it's also good to teach them the value of originality.
But this was long ago, so my memory could be hazy and my criticisms invalid.
Also, there are several styles within manga as a genre, just as there are several styles in American comics (one wouldn't say that Jhonen Vasquez's characters look anything like Rob Liefeld's abundantly-- and frightfully-- muscular 90's superheroes, and would probably not put them in the same 'how to draw' book). It would therefor be a tinge spurious to say that there is one way or style of manga, necessitating one catch-all book (although he did make others, which one would have to buy separately). I wish that Mr. Hart would have clarified this, but that is something that several 'how to draw X' books do not cover (unless it's explicitly like 'how to draw superheroes the Jack Kirby way' or something), so he's not alone in this.

I suppose it's just personal preference.

Anyway. I am rather rubbish with keeping anatomy consistent unless it's super-exaggerated (i.e., like in supernatural beings or monsters). I have to work extra-hard to keep 'normal-looking people' from fluctuating. I'm also bad at intimating different textures on clothing (i.e., wool versus cotton and how they sit differently on a body), which is a shame because I love drawing super-fancy elaborate Victorian clothings. However, I am going to try to improve these, and get better.

I also wish I'd started with basic important things. Perspective, anatomy, all that good stuff. However, ten year olds can't be bothered (or, at least, I couldn't) to sit down and do that kind of stuff. So, of course, I grew up drawing OMG KAWAII-DESU UGU~````~ people. Still trying to kick that out of myself.

Oh, and digital coloring, as well as painting with oil paint, fluster me to no end.

[VinnieD]

The best practice for poses I think is drawing actual people, in person. No photographs or mirrors. It forces your brain to go into 3D mode and consider how everything works together. As a cartoonist I found that doing some life drawing helped me out tremendously.

[IVstudios]

That is very interesting, IVstudios.

Perhaps his books worked for you, which is fine and good, but I think they were not good for me at all. I had two 'how to draw manga' books (I remember this one specifically: http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Mania-Draw- ... 0823030350 ) by Christopher Hart and, looking back, I wish I had had bothered to read better resources. My problem with it, back then, was that I was not a fan of how he colored the illustrations in, and how the characters did not look very original. I guess it's good to give beginners something familiar by using archetypal manga personalities, but it's also good to teach them the value of originality.

That's a fair point. I remember having that book as a kid and finding it very useful.
(On a side note: if I recall correctly, Hart doesn't do all the illustrations for most of his books, so the styles/quality of the drawings vary wildly. Though I've always found the underlying principles taught very useful regardless)

Gonna disagree with you about the originality thing though. You can't really teach originality, because even if you start by showing students something original they'll just be copying you're example, so it won't be original for them. Generally when teaching you start by showing the most common way something is done. It's up to the students to find their own originality. To bastardize a quote from some photographer "When you're teaching someone to speak, you use the same words everyone else is using. You don't use made up words."

[RobboAKAscooby]

The best practice for poses I think is drawing actual people, in person. No photographs or mirrors. It forces your brain to go into 3D mode and consider how everything works together. As a cartoonist I found that doing some life drawing helped me out tremendously.

I'm too slow handed to draw in person (I know practice and I'll get quicker) but I try to apply the same principles to watching videos as I am coming to realise the importance of natural movement.

To bastardize a quote from some photographer "When you're teaching someone to speak, you use the same words everyone else is using. You don't use made up words."

To quote Billy Connolly "The next time someone asks you to tell them in your own words do it, go schmgleee kerplinkum flobbadee dee."

[McDuffies]

You won't see me around anatomy books that have "made easy" or some variation of it in the title. Just about any art school book will do, there's no "method" or "trick" to it, you just need a lot of pictures or skeleton and muscles.

Yeah, it's only one of the most useful books I own and I use it for reference almost every time I draw. But it has the words "made easy" in the title so it must be crap.

I've seen enough books of "made easy" variety in my life, they ranged from mildly useful to total crap. It's application of my own experience to future cases versus believing a guy who, quite frankly, has a completely oposite view of what is good art than I do. What's the problem?

[Bustertheclown]

The snark in here is palpable.

[Rain_Davenport]

Anything ;_;

...Crap... I meant that as a joke, but now that I actually think of it, I actually -don't- think there's anything I can do particularly well... Well, that sucks...

[IVstudios]

You won't see me around anatomy books that have "made easy" or some variation of it in the title. Just about any art school book will do, there's no "method" or "trick" to it, you just need a lot of pictures or skeleton and muscles.

Yeah, it's only one of the most useful books I own and I use it for reference almost every time I draw. But it has the words "made easy" in the title so it must be crap.

I've seen enough books of "made easy" variety in my life, they ranged from mildly useful to total crap. It's application of my own experience to future cases versus believing a guy who, quite frankly, has a completely oposite view of what is good art than I do. What's the problem?

Well for one thing, there are "methods" and "tricks" that make drawing easier. For example, breaking things down into simple shapes or using a pencil held at arms length to measure the relative size of objects. No, there isn't a magic strategy that can make anyone a good artist, but there are teachable ways to make it easier.

Pictures of muscles and skeletons are valuable, but just showing someone a picture of a skeleton won't necessarily mean they'll know how to draw it. It'll give them a better understanding of how the human body works and looks, but not how to actually make a bunch of lines on a piece of paper look like the human body.

[McDuffies]

Pictures of muscles and skeletons are valuable, but just showing someone a picture of a skeleton won't necessarily mean they'll know how to draw it. It'll give them a better understanding of how the human body works and looks, but not how to actually make a bunch of lines on a piece of paper look like the human body.

Academic anatomy books are actually much richer than that. They have extensive descriptions, with pictures, of how the body works in movement, how joints bend and how muscles stretch and all. Usually they'll also have a lot of examples of dynamic poses like jumping, running, etc, and how to get around to drawing such poses, a chapter or two on balance, and also examples of different body shapes. A chapter on counterpost is also indispensable, one doesn't realise how often he actually gets to draw one - like, every time a character is standing or walking.
I'm specific about academic books (you know, those giant 1000-pagers that get to be, well, pricey, so people often opt for cheaper alternatives) because they tend to cover all those bases, and pretty thoroughly. As for ordinary anatomy books, there are good ones and bad ones, some of them try to cover all the important stuff, though naturally, less thoroughly. It's books that are specifically aimed at comic book and manga artists that I have a beef with, because they often promised a lot, but like I said above, tend to to skip a few steps and go straight from cylinders to finished limbs.

Mind you, I'm talking specifically about anatomy, while there's, of course, other stuff that a comic artist oughta know, and for those things, books aimed specifically for comics might be more useful. Tips and tricks are great, but in one period, I found myself in a situation that I was reading throught lots of books, and getting those same advices over and over, which were just not helping me to improve specific areas that were my weakness, say, anatomy, backgrounds, inking. I found more improvement when I stepped out of comic artist literature and all-in-one books.

[IVstudios]

I won't disagree with that. I never meant to imply that "How to draw Comics/Manga/Marvel/Girlzwithbigbewbz" books are superior to anatomy books, just that they do have (to varying degrees) some useful techniques in them. And I would agree that they are largely repetitive in what they teach. (If you've read 1 of Christopher Heart's books you've read 90% of all of them.) My problem was with the idea that you would write them off completely as useless.

Also, I should point out that I wasn't defending all "made easy" books. Just Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy because, in my opinion, it does an excellent job of presenting human anatomy in an easy to understand way.

It's books that are specifically aimed at comic book and manga artists that I have a beef with, because they often promised a lot, but like I said above, tend to to skip a few steps and go straight from cylinders to finished limbs.

This is one of the reason's I like Heart's books, because they DO take the time to go into details about the details. Eye shapes and finger joints and how legs connect to hips. Even in the books that focus on less realistic anatomy (e.g. Cartoon Cool).

[Jim North]

Is there anything you would like to do in area of comic making, but regretfully aren't able?
To me making comics is a constant battle with my own limitations. In which area do you have most of such battle?

Keeping on a schedule, at least while I'm drawing the comics myself. I can keep up with writing scripts, jokes, what have you, but actually drawing each strip on a set timetable wears me down to exhaustion and/or frustration. Pretty soon I fall behind and things go slower and slower and slower until they finally grind to a horrid stop. I've pretty much decided that should I ever get another comic started again, I'm not gonna be the one that draws it.

Of course, that runs into another problem I have . . . I don't work well with others. I've had a couple of successful collaborations before, but they've been the exception rather than the rule. All too often things get to a point where I start baring my teeth at the other person and yelling "WHY ARE YOU RUINING MY WORK?!" over and over again.