Drawing Exercises

I love to draw. What could I practice everyday that would sharpen my skill everyday?

I have many books they all say practice, practice. I want to but am not sure what I can continually draw to increase my skill overtime. I already have some skill, and am not a beginner. I'm just need some solid exercises for drawing that can make me better every week. My favorite things to draw are comics, fantasy, people. Any thoughts would be appreciated thanks.

Public Comments

1. 2draw.com is a good place to practice drawing...it isnt to teach you. but its cool to sharpen your skills and you get feedback from others. .....yes i did mean 2draw.net, im sorry wasnt thinking
2. She means http://2draw.net the 2draw.com is an ads site with nothing. Go to the .net one.
3. I'm currently going to SCAD and all of my drawing teachers have said the same thing. Models and gesture drawings as well as stepping outside of your box. In order to improve skills you have to master the true basics of form. Going outside, to the mall or to parks with a sketchbook, pencils of different hardnesses, charcol, cante crayon or even a few pens and just doing 30-60 seconds gesture drawing just to get the feel of form and movement are great for improvent and just practice. Using different dry media also hones your skills with just the media itself and if you want india ink and a chinese brush are alot of fun with gestures. And if you ever get a chance to go to a nude model session, go. They are amazing when it comes to structure of the human body. Understanding how a figure stands will make all the illustrations you do wether cartoon, fantasy or realistic just that more believeable. You don't even need to go to a modeling session if you have a friend or a family member that will pose for you for about 15-to 30 minutes you can get a lot done. Photos are a big help. I'm constantly looking for reference photos (uncopyrighted ones) to practice facial expressions and closeups maily due to its hard to hold one expression in a live pose. Good luck with your drawing hope I've helped you even a little bit and I hope you have a loads of fun with it! <3
4. Well, you're off to a wonderful head start just by asking that question. Few amateur artists stop and think about what exactly it is they ought to be practicing and learning about, which usually means they don't get the best out of their skills. Key things that you should concentrate on (in my opinion): Human anatomy/life drawing (drawing models and individual parts of the body to understand their shapes) Gesture drawing (quick drawings from life) Perspective (very important foundation to all drawing for convincing three-dimensionality, even figure drawing) The basic most important skill for an artist is the ability to express form in three dimensions. One important thing is to have good art teachers, so if you are not already doing so, take a drawing course in college. Otherwise, if you can attend life drawing classes, do so. If you can't do that, draw from photographs of the human body, and study anatomy as you do so, so you understand WHY the human body forms the shapes that it does (this is a very important part of life drawing that is too often overlooked). When you understand the dimensions and shapes of the human body, you'll have no problems drawing human figures from your imagination. It takes time to acquire these skills but it is absolutely worth it when you have them. I suggest that you borrow or purchase books about drawing and study them, and practice the exercises they suggest. I am also interested in fantasy and comic characters, but I have found that books for artists about drawing the human body and its anatomy are far better than books about "how do draw comics/fantasy characters", because they teach what you need to know BEFORE you can start looking at the stylistics of comics, and it's incredibly important not to miss that vital step. In addition to books, the internet is an incredible resource for learning to draw. If you can afford to buy some of them, I cannot recommend this series of DVDs highly enough: http://www.vilppustore.com/anatdvd.htm That guy is an amazing teacher and copying and understanding as he teaches has been of great help to me. Otherwise, if you don't have the money, look up drawing tutorials on Youtube. There's a lot of rubbish on there, but there are also videos by professional art teachers which will help you. You can also search Google for tutorials on perspective, anatomy, building forms from three-dimensional shapes, line and colour, and so on. Also, every time you draw, think about what you have been learning and try to apply it. Stop frequently while you practice and think about what you are doing, and ask yourself if you are approaching it in the best way. If you like to draw people and characters from your imagination, gather a collection of reference materials for poses, faces, hair and clothing ideas, etc. References are very important as errors usually appear from trying to make something up when you reach something you find difficult. (I used to do that with hands all the time, until I twigged that I have two excellent references on the ends of my arms). I hope that was helpful to you. Good luck!