Can one learn to draw well?

[furie]

I was wondering if drawing is one of those things that really can't be taught? You either have it or you don't and no amount of art classes will really help. And I'm NOT talking about drawing like a pro, just pretty good.
Better than average. Obviously, drawing well is subjective, but you get my question. (Talking about Comic-art too)

Can you recommend some good comic art books that have helped you draw better?

[Sam Wilson]

I'll ask my wife furie, she can draw. I used to do a lot of art in High School, but that was a long time ago. I remember I was good at specific things, like "still life" and stuff like that, but when it came to doing comics, I sucked. I ever got that book, "how to draw comics the marvel way", and I still sucked. I think a certain degree to it has to be talent.

But then again, places like the Joe Kubert school of Cartoon Art seem to churn out a lot of decent artists, I can't remember any off the top of my head besided the Kubert sons, but I know there are other great artists to come out of that place.

[NovaKane]

Originally Posted by furie

I was wondering if drawing is one of those things that really can't be taught? You either have it or you don't and no amount of art classes will really help. And I'm NOT talking about drawing like a pro, just pretty good.
Better than average. Obviously, drawing well is subjective, but you get my question. (Talking about Comic-art too)

Can you recommend some good comic art books that have helped you draw better?

I think that art skills like drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. can all be taught
so that the student has some basic proficiency and understanding of why and
how they are applying the their skills. However it does take that
"something special" to be an Adam Hughes or an Alex Ross. For beginners,
it also helps to have a patient teacher, who can point out strengths
and weaknesses in one's techinque, rather than trying to plow through
a bunch of book examples by oneself.

For beginning students, my art teachers always seemed to be hot on
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I seemed to get frustrated with the lessons,
but I think that was more due to my (then) teenage impatience.

I know it's kinda hokey, but I still really get a lot out of "How to Draw the Marvel Way".
I think it does a great job of compressing a lot of information, making the info easy
to understand, and showing good examples.

For the sheer amount of examples, I also really like Jack Hamm's books,
but I think the descriptions of his technique are a bit too focused and dense.

I just bought Pencil Drawing Techniques last month, but I haven't had time to really
get into it. However, I liked what I saw when I flipped through it in the store,
and another woman in the store who apparently taught art classes commented
that it was a good book.

Once you get into it, live figure drawing classes are always worthwhile too.

Hope that helps & happy scribbling!

[Tetragrammaton]

I can't draw but I speak English very well. I learned it from a book.

I think you can become good at the technical aspects of drawing with training, but you will never be as good as those people who just have a natural talent for it.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Tetragrammaton

I think you can become good at the technical aspects of drawing with training, but you will never be as good as those people who just have a natural talent for it.

I agree.
If you ask most of those artists how to be as good, they'll always answer: DRAW DRAW DRAW! 24 hours a day! That's how to do it!
But if you're not talented enough, you'll only be OK, never as good imo.

[Babytoxie]

Originally Posted by furie

Can you recommend some good comic art books that have helped you draw better?

I feel that it can definitely be taught, but some might have more aptitude than others. I've never used an art instruction book, but I can recommend a few artists whose work really helped me. And yes, I swiped from them heavily, don't tell.

Anatomy - Richard Corben. While most of his characters (even females) are very exagerrated, his understanding of human musculature and the vascular system (veins) is second to none. See his works from the '70s & '80s, especially in Heavy Metal.

Reflected light - Michael Golden. I don't know how he developed his technique, but it's really stunning. Check out his earlier work if you ever need to draw someone with a defined light source.

Shadows - Gene Colan, Alex Toth, and Mike Mignola. Very different styles, but they all know how to use shadowing to their advantage. Why fill the page with lines when you can use shadows to suggest what's there?

Composition - Jim Steranko. This guy knows how to arrange figures and objects for maximum effect.

[Perna]

Yes, you can learn to draw well, but you must have fun with it.

[Ghost]

I know some ppl that loved it so much yet really never had a knack for it, but really there is no definition to what drawing well pertains too. I mean you look at artists like Tim Sale compared to Jim Lee. If you drew like Tim in some schools they'd say it's all wrong, but essentially we all learn the same and stem from there to our own styles to what we feel most comfortable with. I'm pretty sure we could identify even Tony's work here, cause he has his own style. But anyone can learn the basics. Like T said, it's just loving it and having fun.

I recommend books by Burne Hogarth who worked on Tarzan king of the Apes, all his books especially Dynamic Figure Drawing are great to learn, I recommend that over just one artists style. Check them out.

[mwf6171]

My stick figures kick some serious a$$!!!

[Jerseydevil]

I remember reading somewhere on Neal Adams' website a long time ago that he recommends training yourself by using a light table to draw over the work of a good professional artist. Sounds simpistic but also makes sense.