I wish to learn how to draw... what is the best course of action?

I suck at drawing. I fully admit it. The best drawing I have ever done is a stick person... sadly.

The thing with drawing in real life though, is that I have MASSIVE paper sensitivity... It is a weird as fuck condition where if I touch paper my hands want to freak the fuck out. Same with ripping paper and cardboard sounds. They hurt my damn ears and actually make me cringe worse than nails on a chalkboard.

So yeah... drawing with paper I can do... just expect me to extremely dislike it. So I am wondering if there is any good FREE drawing programs to teach me to draw online.

Also... I do admit that I get jealous that people can draw so well... so yeah, I admit, I get pretty jealous...

I mainly plan to use them to make a comic book or something of that nature... I promise that I will not retcon my story constantly like DC and Marvel does. I have way to much respect shit like that.

Just quit now. Drawing is a fickle mistress.

Teach yourself how to program instead.

@BaneFireLord said:

Teach yourself how to program instead.

Bad idea.

Start tracing pictures you like and then sign them with your own name.

@AlexanderSheen said:

@BaneFireLord said:

Teach yourself how to program instead.

Bad idea.

I'm so tempted to make a .Zip file joke right now. Damn it, you guys.

@Cloudenvy said:

@AlexanderSheen said:

@BaneFireLord said:

Teach yourself how to program instead.

Bad idea.

I'm so tempted to make a .Zip file joke right now. Damn it, you guys.

Hey! I learned how to do it!

@Cloudenvy said:

@AlexanderSheen said:

@BaneFireLord said:

Teach yourself how to program instead.

Bad idea.

I'm so tempted to make a .Zip file joke right now. Damn it, you guys.

No, it's okay, go ahead, we're not gonna judge you or anything.

Tracing, and then slowly get less and less transparent paper until you get the hang of lines and flow. Shading is all up to style though.

@BestUsernameEver: You sick bastard.

@AlexanderSheen said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@AlexanderSheen said:

@BaneFireLord said:

Teach yourself how to program instead.

Bad idea.

I'm so tempted to make a .Zip file joke right now. Damn it, you guys.

No, it's okay, go ahead, we're not gonna judge you or anything.

You totally will, don't lie to me or I will punish you!

@BestUsernameEver: What.

@Cloudenvy said:

@BestUsernameEver: What.

Still not as strange as Bakemonogatari.

You don't like to touch paper and cannot stand the sound of ripping paper.... and you think the next step in your life is "I'll learn to draw. Why not find a psychiatrist first.

@Video_Game_King said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@BestUsernameEver: What.

Still not as strange as Bakemonogatari.

Pffft, Bake is not THAT strange. Or maybe I've just gotten too used to Nisio Isin works.

@Cloudenvy:

Probably.

@Cloudenvy: You saw trough me. I didn't expected less from you, senpai.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Here is a picture of Takane... I don't know...

Persistence. Drawing is an art form that requires you to practice everyday. If you're not willing to keep at it, it's better not to start. Try photography or something like that. But if you are committed to the idea, I suggest picking up a large pad with some texture to the pages, some carbon sketch pencils and taking a crack at some landscapes. Go somewhere picturesque, sit down and draw what you see. The first step is training your hands to work with your eyes. This step is why you need to practice everyday. It also helps you build a knowledge base of how light and shadow are cast. When you become comfortable with drawing (even bad drawings) then go to your library and gather some books on the subject. If you want to draw people, then knowing anatomy is important. It wouldn't hurt to start sketching from science and medical books, too. If you're serious, good luck with this endeavor. As someone said above, the visual arts can be a wily mistress which has turned better men towards madness.

It's all about practice, practice, practice. You have to consistently draw everyday if you want to be good at it. It's sort of like a passion. I used to be very good at drawing smaller pictures and making them into bigger ones in high school, but after years of not practicing and trying to do it again. It's quite difficult. So my advice is if you want to learn how to draw, first trace pictures. It's always a good start to give yourself practice of having a steady hand. Then pick out what style you want to draw in. If you want to draw comic book or manga style, there is a guy on youtube named Mark Crilley who does a shit ton of videos on how to draw pretty much everything.

I say realistic eyes are the most annoying to create on paper. Mark shows you how its done step by step. He has to date 196 videos. So get to watching and practicing if you want to be a good illustrator.

@Video_Game_King said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@BestUsernameEver: What.

Still not as strange as Bakemonogatari.

Or any of the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei openings.

@AlexanderSheen: Argh, I can't be mad at you when you link me Idolm@ster stuff.

Idolm@ster is awesome enough that you don't need a reason to link anything related to it. Except for that mech anime, that abomination doesn't exist.

@Cloudenvy said:

@AlexanderSheen: Argh, I can't be mad at you when you link me Idolm@ster stuff.

Idolm@ster is awesome enough that you don't need a reason to link anything related to it. Except for that mech anime, that abomination doesn't exist.

Good thing for me it was aired before my anime watching days.

There's only one way to learn a skill like that. Do it every day.

sadly drawing is one of those things where youre either born with it or not. sure you can get better but if youre not naturally gifted youll never be very good

Read books and study life objects, practice a lot, and don´t give up. Those are the three things you´ll need. It takes years but it is worth it.

Source: I illustrate for a living.

Classic jay thread

@Jay444111: Life Drawing! Start with eveyday items, like those on your desk and work up to people and animals. Practice is key and never give up. I studied 3D Animation and Games Design and have to draw on a daily basis, when I first started I was awful but after filling 2-3 sketch books I actually got better then I ever imagined.

Also using the internet, tracing and having reference is key. If you want to draw a dog, look at 50 images minimum of dogs and take the parts you like.

Good Luck. Drawing is a skill that anyone can do.

@MonkeyKing1969 said:

You don't like to touch paper and cannot stand the sound of ripping paper.... and you think the next step in your life is "I'll learn to draw. Why not find a psychiatrist first.

This is the same person that made a thread a few weeks ago complaining about how complex computers are because he couldn't figure out things like .zip files, yet he wanted to learn how to program.

Speaking of, Jay, did you ever figure it out?

And, finally, the best way to learn to draw is to... start drawing. Sure, you can find help in places, but just grab a pencil and piece of paper and start drawing. That, by the way, is much better than learning to draw on the bloody computer.

@believer258: I did figure it out! As it turns out I was doing all that zip file stuff correctly... yet I was being a complete dumbass about it because I was overcompliacting it... That tends to happen with me.

I can't draw to save my life either, but if the sound of paper is a problem then you should probably listen to music at the same time. Nothing too fast-paced or exciting though, since that might be distracting. I'd suggest minimal music, such as Extrawelt. They're German but have no lyrics that I've noticed, so should do fine for something like this.

Im studying game art right now. In my experience, st way to get better at drawing is to just DO IT A LOT.

Thats all theres to it, gradually youll get better. If you wanna draw on PC, either get photoshop or try out something like Opencanvas, which I think is free. (You need a wacom tablet though. Sometimes I forget that isnt a thing everyone just has).

Getting a wacom would help with your paper sensetivity, though. Just buy a small Bamboo tablet, theyre not too expensive.

A great tool to help you learn is Posemaniacs

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0007116454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338189856&sr=8-1

My girlfriend has been using it and it's great. If you are literally at the stick figure level of quality at the minute, this book helps break down what you know about drawing already and re-teaches you the skills in a new way.

Are you saying you want to focus on comic book style art first? Figures, especially dynamic ones, can be really challenging for even people who do that sort of thing for a living. That's probably not an ideal place to start. Honestly, a giant pad and some charcoal would do nicely for an absolute novice, assuming you can get around your paper phobia. Doodling and messing around will teach you more than any book if you've never done it before, just keep in mind that there's no wrong way to do it. If you're curious about different techniques, just look it up, but otherwise, just have fun. Good luck!

You're just going to give up on it. You seem to want to learn something new every week, but don't want to put the time, effort, or money into it. I don't really see the point in wasting advice on you until you prove you're willing to learn.

If you dislike paper try wearing gloves. You can also instead try drawing on the computer by using a tablet.

That aside the best course of action is to just draw, you will probably get better very quickly this way.

Well man You just got to keep drawing all the time and there are guide lines and stuff to help but it still takes practice and lots of it .

Practice and study anatomy.

As others have said. First unzip a file, then start practicing. It's all about practice in the end, and not to be discouraged because someone is better than you, because we all started from nothing at one point in our lives

If you are scared of touching paper it's probably a bad idea to draw. 
Just keep practising drawing stuff though.

I'd second Mark Crilley on youtube, also, practise drawing by copying other peoples drawing line by line (not by tracing!) is one of the most effective methods i found when i began to draw.

As for your paper problem thing i wouldn't really know.

Draw like a mad men and then draw some more.

No one is making the "learn to write first" joke?

Ok... I'll be your asshole for the evening.