Starting out advice

[Kaydreamer]

If you're still in school, my advice to you for now would be 90% to just draw what you love and have fun! Cultivating a love of drawing is what will see you keep making art long-term, so enjoyment should be the centre of gravity when learning anything creative.

With that said, if you want to improve quickly, there are certain things you should practice. Chief among them is drawing from life. I'll give you an instruction to follow as you create: Whenever you need to draw something new, try drawing a few realistic versions of it from a few photographs. Then draw it in whatever style you like to use. (Anime, western comic, whatever.)

That's it, that's my whole advice. That's enough to begin with.

There's much, MUCH more to learn, but the last thing you need as a beginner (with any new skill) is to be overwhelmed with too much information. Just start drawing, and have fun!

[gill_01]

thanks alot! Xx

[ble]

Use references.

Like for a panel i wanted to draw "bride running from the wedding". If I do it by imagination, it would look like total crap (not just the pose, I don't know from memory how a wedding dress look), so using references helps a lot.

[tiredpigeon]

Don't compare yourself to others! That can lead to a ton of unhealthy art habits.

Also don't trace for the comic- There's a whole art taboo video by e r g o j o s h that's kinda helpful for anyone looking to learn the unwritten rules of online art.

[MissEljebel]

I'm so glad to hear that you want to create! It truly is fun and rewarding to see your creations come to life in a comic!

I draw digitally with Clip Studio Paint Pro, but I'd suggest drawing on pencil and paper first because you'll be able to get the feel and the motions down (plus digital art is expensive)! Here are two books I can recommend to you:

Not only do these books give you an idea on how to create a comic in terms of storytelling and the like, but it also gives you a start on drawing too, with body structure and all that stuff.

Practice is also a huge part of it, but don't overdo yourself. You said you're in school, I recommend the app Habitica to pace yourself and get a schedule going for you.

I hope this helps!

[NickRowler]

If you have never drawn before, I would suggest starting with still life. Start with items with basic shapes like cups, bowls, boxes, and fruit.

Then move onto more complex objects like flowers, clothes, and mechanical items.

For people, start by practicing faces. Than move onto figure drawing after that.

[TedGravesArt]

I agree that you should draw what you're passionate about. You like comics? Just draw some. Understand that art takes decades to get good at though. Art is a deep and complex set of many different skills that take literal lifetimes to understand, and you're never finished learning it. Being an artist means always being a student.
Something that teaches you many of these skills at once is drawing from life. Perspective, anatomy, drafting, lighting, form, how to reduce complex shapes into simpler easier to understand shapes, reflections, refractions, radiosity, I could go on for hours about all the things drawing from life teaches you. It can be boring sometimes, but constantly studying real life is one of the key tasks to becoming great at art.
Also, if you want to be good at art, you've got to be completely obsessed with it. You've got to be thinking about it all the time. When you're hanging out with someone, you're thinking about the anatomy of their face. When you're about to eat your dinner, you're examining the highlights in your mac and cheese.

I made a video about this exact topic a few years ago, maybe it'll help:

[gill_01]

thank you xxxx

[gill_01]

thanks so much!!!

[gill_01]

yup,ok thank you xxx @ghostoast @MissEljebel @NickRowler

[BlueDragon]

People are giving way better advice than I can add. I would say draw, draw, draw!

And once you're ready to start on a comic, I'd also like to toss in "Under Standing Comics" by Scott McCloud. It's a fun, educational book that reads like a comic. BUT! It's great in that the first read, before I started working on comics, was just great food for thought.

I just re-read it last year, and I'm seeing how I can apply it to my comics since I've been doing them for a while now. I will certainly read it again, too!

And YouTube Channel:

McKay and Gray are awesome and have a lot of good inspirational videos

McKay & Gray

[gill_01]

@BlueDragon thanks alot! Xx

[BlueDragon]

Welcome! Good luck!

[gill_01]

thx everyone for helping! im gonna be drawing all weekend now! Xx @BlueDragon @Kelheor @Kaydreamer @TedGravesArt @Puck @NickRowler @MissEljebel @ghostoast @ble @BarBarKetrab
(hope i havent missed anyone out haha) Xx

[gill_01]

@carloswebcomic @surin

[Lady_T_Musings]

There's lots of good advice here. If you ever decide to go into coloring, I'd recommend checking out James Gurney's book on color and Light. The advice and examples he shares are pretty fantastic and in easy to digest chapters. Though I wouldn't worry about it too much if you are trying to get the fundamentals of drawing down first. Just something to file away for future consideration.

https://jamesgurney.com/site/213/color-and-light-a-guide-for-the-realist-painter

He also has a Blog with a lot of helpful information on color too.

Gurney Journey

[WillowTree]

Not an artist, but I know skillshare has a lot of classes to help with illustration. Jazza on YouTube has a referral link fairly often so you can get a free trial to some of them

[gabriellabalagna]

First off, hi, and I'm so excited for you! It took me several years of drawing before I started making comics, but you can totally start right away if you want to. This YouTube is awesome for comic beginners:

Pencils & Stories

[gill_01]

thank you all! Xx @gabriellabalagna @WillowTree @Lady_T_Musings

[gill_01]

my drawing looks like something from extra credits YT atm, but im gonna practice all weekend!!