I've always enjoyed drawing stuff, but never really took it seriously, and lately haven't been doing much of it all. I never really paid much attention in art class because for the longest time I figured "My way was good enough, why learn someone else's way of doing things?" (this was my attitude towards a lot of things, actually) Well, now it's not good enough anymore. I'm progressing at a snail's pace, if at all. Now I think I'm definitely ready to put in some real effort in learning how to draw, but I don't know where to start, so please, if you have any advice, I'd really appreciate it.

I'm just looking for general advice. I have nothing for you to critique. To put it simply, my art is at a Middle grade level still, perhaps even lower, so any basic advice will do. I mostly deal with Pencil & Paper illustrations and comics. As well as doodles. I'm looking to also do some digital art as well.

For some more specifics, if anyone knows anything about:

• Where I could find good tutorials
• recommended How To Draw and other art-related books
• Recommendations for tools and equipment might also be helpful
• Tips on drawing characters, comics, vehicles, landscapes, or still life
• Tips on how to use Gimp 2.0 and Photoshop CS5. Especially Gimp (it's not user friendly at all)
• Tips on how to keep movited would also be appreciated
• Any other tips you think might be helpful

I'm sure I'll think of more specifics as I go along.

And before anyone asks, I have thought about trying DeviantArt and other art-related forums. However, I know I'll be bombarded with more tips than I could take in. So I'd like to ask on a more general forum where I know there are quite a few artists of varying skill levels, before I go ask at a place where that same question has probably been asked a million times before.

Thank you for the Advice. This is now a general Art Advice thread. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about art, and feel free to share your knowledge of art with others.

I don't know if you'd be interested in this, but there's this form of art called Zentangle. It's inexpensive, rather easy, doesn't take too long, and somewhat fun. I do it, and enjoy it. It's not digital art, and may not be for you if you're looking for more of a real-to-life thing.

Also, I'll reccommend Colors! 3D. You can look through other people's artworks and see their strategies and improve upon your own. I've learned a bit about art since I've gotten it, and also enjoy doing that.

The last suggestion, and I only reccommend this if you are completely serious about art, get that New Art Academy, which actually gives you lessons. I don't have it, but that's my last suggestion.

Lol, I used to do Zentangle before I even heard of it. It's a good warm up exercise at least.

And thanks for the Art Acadamy suggestion, I'll have to look into that.

get an anatomy book.read it, study it, copy the drawings in it. if you understand the way the human body works, the way the muscles interact with the bones in reality, this will help you be able to draw cartoon and comic book characters better. Cyclopedia Anatomicae is probably the best.

True. It is a good warm-up art form. But yes, for Art Academy, I've heard good things about it, and it gives you lessons, which sounds like what you want.

Practice, practice, practice, you can never practice drawing enough, the more you draw, the better you'll^(probably) get.
How to keep motivated? Don't get discouraged when something doesn't turn out like you expected, and don't rush you're self.
Other than that? Ummm..... Yeah, I only have stuff that you should already know, but hey, I tried, there is nothing wrong with trying and failing, as long as you tried.

Art academy

Always be creating.

I challenge myself to create something unique every day. Whether it's a painting, a new stencil design, or simply some drawings in my sketchbook, I try to create something unique every single day.

It's a great way to stay in practice, it keeps your creativity at a constant pace, and it's good for breaking up the monotony of the day. As long as you keep pushing forward and don't slow down, I think that's the best you can do for yourself.

Also, no one is a wanna-be artist. As long as you can create, you're an artist. Everyone is artistic in their own right.

Mark Crilley has awesome tutorials which I'm sure will be great help: Check out his Youtube channel
He is a professional manga artist who has also made a book of how to draw manga. You didn't tell if you are interested in manga style or not but there are a lot of videos which will help either way.
And the best tip I have for you is to draw a lot. I've drawn a lot since I was a child and I got better and better over time without any art classes or tutorials or books. It's mostly thanks to Pokémon that my drawing skills are what they are. I loved drawing Pokémon and now it's pretty amazing to see how much I've progressed.
Here's comparison:
Old Charizard (I was probably 7 years old when I drew it)
New Charizard (I was 14 years old when I drew this one)

in all seriousness? You waffle around on the internet when you should be drawing. I've seen you complaining about being here at NL all day, I've seen you talk about being on other forums too. This is all time that you should be using to just draw.

Stop asking for suggestions regarding things to draw. We aren't your brain, we can't think for you. You, as an artist, need to learn to find inspiration where it lies. Try going outside! Nature is wonderful inspiration. Read a book, watch a movie — sometimes a good joke gets me going, and then i have to draw something, or sometimes a bit from a TV show will help an idea that'd been spinning in the back of my head finally click together. Get off your butt and get to a library, check out any 'how to draw' books they've got. Even if it's 'not good', it's still going to teach you something. Look up tutorials regarding things you'd like to draw online. Google is a wonderful thing.

Just draw, man. If you're not feeling it, that's fine, we all get stuck in artist's block and all, but It doesn't have to be good or anything. it just has to be you doing your best to draw something, anything. And look back at what you drew before, don't just toss a 'finished' design away. six months later, you'll be finding things that you could easily improve now after all the practice you've had between then and now, so why not give version 2 a shot? If blank sketchbooks scare you for whatever reason (don't feel bad, i'm not a fan of sketchbooks either), just have a folder sitting by your desk that you can pop things you'd been working on into. I much prefer loose paper for drawing.

Don't sit there and trawl art websites all day, you'll just get yourself hung up on 'oh man, i wish i could draw like that' — that person was you at one point, and with enough practice, you can be them eventually. And even when you do get to be them, there'll still be someone better out there. There's always someone better, so don't bother focusing on it. Practice makes perfect; even if it's not something you want to do, you'll still learn something by having done it. And what's 'middle grade'? I've never heard of it, and I doubt many other people have either. Why force labels like that onto your artwork?

If you are absolutely, positively serious about learning to draw, find some classes to take. Nothing beats a teacher to bounce questions off of when you're curious about something, and they can help to point you in the right direction if they can't answer you outright. They can also help identify your weak points and work on them with you, give you the feedback you're clearly craving. All we're doing here is feeding your desire to hang out on the internet, not any desire to draw something. That has to come from you, not us.

Don't quit your day job.

If you're looking to draw comics, read all of the comics you can. Even if it's not stuff you're interested in, just read it anyway to get a feel for what's out there and where you fit in.

You should also read Making Comics by Scott McCloud

And Drawing Words & Writing Pictures by Matt Madden and Jessica Abel

Dragon is right.

Also, don't look at computer programs yet. Gimp and/or Photoshop will not help you with your art if your drawings aren't good in the first place.

Don't be afraid to get criticised. When I was doing my major work my art teacher was on the verge of being able to make me burst into a sobbing mess at the drop of the pencil. You have to listen to people who criticise your work, see what you can do to fix it, and work on it.

this, this, this. our first reaction when someone says that something is off with a drawing or a painting or a sculpture we've spent maybe days refining to the point where we can call it 'done' is to get defensive, to make excuses, to ignore the outside opinion as misguided or wrong. in order to grow, we have to take a deep breath, relax, and either determine whether we can live with the problems inherent in this work and move on with the next, chalk it up as a learning experience, or whether we want to go back in and fix them. Even if you don't see what the outsider sees right now, you may wind up seeing it in the future when you look back at it with a more practiced eye.

Thank you for the advice, everyone. I've know made this a general Art Advice thread for everyone to use as they please.