Quote:
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?
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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!