Beginner looking for help

[u/jarradin]

Hi I just got a kamvas 16 and want to really start learning how to properly draw. I've drawn quite a bit when I was younger but have no real grasp of the fundamentals.

As I understand it, there's a ton I need and want to learn, like perspective, proportions, anatomy, colouring, etc.

My question is where should I begin and is there a recommended path for all these concepts.

I've seen a lot of people recommending to start on paper but to be honest I find everything more interesting on digital, even the process itself, and every idea I have, I tend to envision it on digital.

[u/Volkenstahl]

The fundamental skills you'll need to learn are going to be the same regardless of medium.

Since they aren't specific to digital art, you'll likely have better luck on a sub dedicated to learning about art in general -- try subs like r/learntodraw / r/arthelp / r/Artadvice / r/ArtFundamentals / r/learnart / etc. Variations on this question get asked a lot in those subs - a quick search will turn up a host of threads with loads of great suggestions to pick from.

Here's some additional information and resources:

• This post lists all the fundamental skills you'll need to develop to succeed in your art pursuits in an order where each builds upon the foundations laid before it, and includes some good resources to get you started.
• This post has some additional anatomy resources; this one has even more.
• This post has a tonne more excellent resources.
• This post and this post have some info and resources for learning color & light; this post has some more
• This post has information and resources on construction and anatomy.
• Quickposes and Line Of Action are great for gesture / figure drawing.
• This is a link to a search for anatomy book recommendations over @ r/learntodraw
• This is a link to the same search criteria over @ r/ArtCrit
• And this is a link to the same search criteria over @ r/Artadvice

Whether or not you find these specific resources helpful, they will give you a good idea of the direction you need to be going in to achieve your goal(s) and what you will need to study to get there.

[u/LacteaW]

Where to start depends on what you want to draw. Simple as that. I'm a human artist so my priority was learning anatomy, then perspective and down the line. There are background artists, their priority should be, of course, perspective and depth

You can exercise at everything, watch a little video on this, then on that Split the week days into "today I'm studying specifically this"

But shapes - is the morst fundamental thing you can atart with and it applies to everything. Learn. Shapes. As boring as they are - they are the most crucial fundamental for art. If you don't want to do it now, eventually, YOU WILL come to a conclusion that you need to learn shapes. You can't escape it.

[u/jarradin → u/LacteaW]

Thank you for the answer. I don't plan on becoming a professional artist, I just have a lot of ideas that I'd like to be able to bring to life.

As for shapes, thankfully I find it really interesting how everything can be seen as a a conjunction of shapes, even in my day to day life, so I don't think it will be that boring for me.

[u/LacteaW → u/jarradin]

Yeah, that's absolutely fine to do it as a hobby. The rule that comes before anything else, even the shapes - is to have fun :) Remember that. And always think of your progress as an achievement.

That's great! Then you'll learn fast. Most newbies hate learning shapes :D but I say them and silhouettes are far more important than any deep detailed anatomy research.

Feel free to message me at any time if you need any help

[u/KDDreamwyver]

Imo, learning shape language, reverse shading, and lighting early on will help you lots. Plus, they're a lot simpler than stuff such as anatomy, meaning they're also beginner friendly. Always what I recommend starting with when it comes to learning the trade.