Beginning Art

[Sapphire]

I suck at art. But, I love it, therefore I want to get better. My roommate is into art, so she's letting me use her pastels. This thread is for critiquing recommendations and stuff. What should I start out drawing?

[shinta|hikari]

The fundamentals of what you like.

Doing something you don't like, even if it seems like a necessary basic step, can get the wind out of your sails when you are just starting. Try to cultivate the interest first, then do the required stuff to get better.

[Sapphire]

I like doing abstract swirls and stuff, but I want to actually be able to draw pictures with the likeness of something. D: What do I do then? Should I try to make a picture out of abstractness?

I'm going to try drawing this. Its so beautiful!!!

[shinta|hikari]

Well, try drawing forms that have a semblance of abtractness, be it in shape or colour. You might get bored if you start out with architectural pieces or human portraits. I think that landscape is a good starting point.

[twofacedkitsune]

Linda Bergkvist (a digital painter) had some really great tutorials on her site, but it looks like the site's been flagged by google as "dangerous."

It might also be worth checking out Kazuo Oga's (Ghibli background artist) work. Many of his drawings are really rough, but look incredible, because he knows what to emphasize in order to capture the essence of a scene.

Abstract isn't bad, though :P and learning is always a lot more fun when you draw what you like drawing.

[Lucifus]

I....started off drawing DragonBall Z characters. My first few ones were absolute hell, but by the end of my drawing career, I was turning out some impressive stuff.

Now the most I draw would be logos/templates. That field of flowers is quite a difficult starter. =P

[Sapphire]

Sketch of background (first sketch of background ever). According to the pastel pictures I've been looking at, I'm guess I'm going to have to erase the flowers and do them as a finishing touch...

PS - I am still a scanning/Photoshop noob, so excuse the fugly scans for now. twofacedkitsune just kindly told me about the curve tool.

-

Attempts at painting the sky with pastels, numbered in order. Trying to figure out how to get the same effect from the meadow picture!!! I noticed that the thickness/darkness of the pastel really comes out in scanning, so I'll take care to do it in better lighting: