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Thread: Drawing books

  1. #1
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    Drawing books

    Does anyone know some books i could study to develop my drawing skills??
    I have some e-books:Andrew loomis -about 5 books
    preston blair -Cartoon Animation
    How to draw comics the marvel way by Stan Lee
    and a few others
    1.Wich one should i begin to study?
    2.What should i try to study first?:Human figure ,perspective,cartoon figures i dont know and im lost in the terms.

  2. #2
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    I'd recommend starting with The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook by Betty Edwards. It's a very methodical, step-by-step method which reinforces observational skills (which are more important than most people think). It's like a drawing-class-in-a-box, in that it builds up core skills and then shows you how to put them all together.

    What it does NOT do is have you jump right to formula drawing like this, which is a step too far for most people. Most books take this approach, which is just frustrating for beginners. I'd also recommend the Betty Edwards book to anyone else who just wants to improve their core drawing skills, at any level.
    -Meredith
    Visit my portfolio and blog! Twitter: @MDRandazzo

  3. #3
    Moderator arif's Avatar
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    yes..Meredith is right....

    in my sense...learning perspective and see the things like 3d is very very important to draw properly and solid......if anyone does not know this principal ..he will be falling down in every step of drawing....Box,cube, cylinder,sphere....all are needed for any kind of drawing...if anyone can achieve this simple method and can combined with multiple forms.....then all the tough things can be achievable...these are only `tools`...and we can use theses tool to draw properly.....

    Regards,
    Arif.

  4. #4
    Learnerererer
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    I'm a big fan of books and it would be hard to part with my collection but... nowadays I find recommending books for drawing to be a secondary consideration.

    Find a few good videos online or via CD/DVD and you'll be well on your way. Youtube has a crazy collection that goes on for days. Don Bluth has a few dozen freebies here in the forum. Links to resources are everywhere.

    After you've followed a few of those video then head to the books.
    Every book you read will make a lot more sense as you'll know better what to look for from your video-watching-experience.

    Many books will not make much sense until you've at least explored the basic principles. So I'm suggesting you use those videos to quickly expose yourself to that information. Then fill in the gaps from there.

    One thing you'll gain over everyone else who puts their head into the books... rapidity. You want to learn all the basics but you'll also need speed!

    Quickly now... there are a whole lot of books to read!

    If I had to recommend only one book you've apparently already got access to it; 'Preston Blair's Cartoon Animation'. If you draw yourself through that book you'll be well on our way. Buy yourself a ream of paper (1000 pcs of paper) and draw and draw and draw until you run out of paper. When you run out of that paper... find more paper... or experiment with other kinds of paper.

    ... oh.... and perhaps even more importantly, post your experiences and questions here!

  5. #5
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    many thanks to everyone for the advices and i will try to contribue as much as i cant to the comunity...and Rodney can you point to me some videos or some links to videos that helped you cuz as you said youtube has alot of stuff but i dont want to watch bad tutorials like expertvillage or i don know..

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Funkymunky View Post
    many thanks to everyone for the advices and i will try to contribue as much as i cant to the comunity...and Rodney can you point to me some videos or some links to videos that helped you cuz as you said youtube has alot of stuff but i dont want to watch bad tutorials like expertvillage or i don know..
    as much as i can ...SORRYYYYlol

  7. #7
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    I hope I'm not steering you away from books... everyone feel free to continue to suggest good books!

    As far as good videos online I'll suggest you start right here in this forum and work your way out from there. I see that you are not a Don's Club member but there is a lot you can get from just by hanging with us here.

    Don has quite a few videos that focus on drawing particular characters and you should view all of those for the little tips that you'll find there. I confess those have been of less interest to me from the broader perspective but watch those too. You can't help but learn from watching a master of animation at work.

    http://donbluthanimation.com/tips.php?c=2

    Let's see... one of them is: Minimum Lines

    Perhaps you've already seen these?

    The idea I'd like to impress upon you is that *with animation in mind* your drawings will get much better.
    So think in terms of not just drawing one image but a series of them (at a minimum two... but optimally at least three).
    Within that sequence you'll find the essence of your storytelling drawing(s).

    When watching the videos note how quickly and confidently Don puts pencil to paper.
    Last edited by Rodney; 02-08-2011 at 06:06 AM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rodney View Post

    http://donbluthanimation.com/tips.php?c=2

    Let's see... one of them is: Minimum Lines

    Perhaps you've already seen these?
    Yes i have seem them .I drawn some characters from the rag bag and read the tips but since i am new to the forum i havent studyied thourughly the stuff.

    I will post the characters i have drawn on my gallery.
    P.S. Sorry for my english

  9. #9
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    By the way :from the little i have seen i can say this site is pure knoledge and i love the way Don explains the line science behind the forms.Also who wants my ebooks send me a private message and i will gie you the links (from what books i can).

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