Learning to Draw

[Arivien]

Okay, so I wanna make a VN.

And I wanna put some sprites in. Buuuut....I can't draw.

I guess I've just got a simple question: What is the best way to go about learning to draw and, eventually, honing that skill?
Fell free to respond with stories of your own. That would be quite helpful.

[MaiMai]

Well, you could always use free sprites from resources listed here: http://wiki.renai.us/wiki/Main_Page

Besides, I think the real question here is what quality of art are you trying to achieve? I will tell you right now, that drawing is not a skill that can be honed quickly unless you're willing to dedicate many hours of practice. And probably straighten out your priorities; do you want to make a VN first or spend time on drawing first? Both will take a LOT of time regardless of which one you choose.

[Arivien]

I figure learning to draw first would be better.
I've played around with coding for Ren'Py, and I think I've got the basics down, pretty much at least.

[Mocha07734]

I'm not really one to talk, but I think it would be best to start off with learning the basics.
Like anatomy, perspective and lighting.
If you can grasp these ideas they can be applied to your art and help improve it.
There are a lot of helpful tutorials out there on improving your art.

The thing I think is most important though is to keep practicing.
The more you practice, the more better you are at the certain thing you are practicing.

[Arivien]

Sounds good, I guess I'll look up some tutorials.

[Fawn]

Well, everyone can tell you what to do to learn, but you should understand what it takes to learn how to draw. No one learns how to draw over night. However, you can save yourself a lot of time by applying yourself and actually learning the basics first.

Most people just go ahead and try to draw anime- that will get you no where. Anime art, all art, actually, is based off real life. So the easiest way to learn how to draw anime is to learn how to draw things in real life first- you don't have to learn everything, but learning realistic anatomy and how to draw objects in perspective will be most beneficial to you.
It WILL take time and effort, so don't expect to be good without serious practice.

[neowired]

Get a good art theory book, or look for theory somewhere on the internet, the basics: composition, color theory, perspective, proportions/anatomy, etc.
Get a lot of reference photos for everything you draw and get to know your subject, how it is build, how it works (may mean some reading). Combine various elements for more complex things.
Real life does apply to manga, but to draw good manga you will also have to practice manga specifically.
Draw a lot

Sooner or later you will get good at it.
Let me pull some numbers out of my ass: Once you will draw something 10 times, you will get some understanding of that thing, around 100 times your understanding will become clearer, around 1000 you'll be great at it

On a positive note, all subjects intersect in some way, so learning one subject will also rise your "overall" skills in other subjects a bit.
Use the term "subject" loosely, a subject can be anything like: houses, Victorian houses, people, faces, anatomy, dynamic body positions, light, shadows, water, material folds, leafs, hair, clouds, cars, vehicles, etc.

PS: everyone can draw, some people can draw better

[Auro-Cyanide]

Just draw. A lot. All the time. For years.

Learning to draw has many different components. Some you can learn and others can only be developed through practice. You can learn about anatomy, colour, perspective, etc through study. There are plenty of books and websites dedicated to the subjects so you can read as much as possible. Then you practice that study by drawing from reference and from life. Things that only come from practice are things like motor skills, confidence, instincts, the ability to picture stuff in your mind, etc. That comes after you draw a great deal.

It has taken me at least 5 years to get to where I am and I have a long way I want to go. Like the others have said, don't expect to just be able to do it in a short amount of time.

[CosmicKitty]

I'm working on learning to draw anime characters for my game... I assume that's what you're doing?

If so, the biggest help to me are Mark Crilley's youtube tutorials, coloring tutorials from Elianan, lineart tutorials from LightofRevival, and all of the hundreds of tutorials on dragoart.com

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=markcrilley
http://elianan.deviantart.com/gallery/3135671
http://lightofrevival.deviantart.com/ar ... t-36082859

[Lumen_Astrum]

I started drawing when I was 6. Right now, I'm thirteen.
Overall, it took me around 8 years to be where I am now.

It all goes on practice and observation. Draw, practice, do your best. Take critique, don't get offended with it. Learn from your surroundings. I draw during my free time, all the time. (Sometimes even during class discussions, but don't follow that lead, I tell you.)
If you are really dedicated, watch those tutorial videos at Youtube or search stuff at dA. It'll quicken your pace... a little. Nothing beats practice.

[OtomeWeekend]

I dunno when did i start drawing(if i was 2 or 3 back then, i can't remember it). At first, i only draw stick mans, they improved and improved.... I got caught up in making fanarts at my anime era during 2008~2009, my art improved a lot since then... and right now, i have my own art, it's not perfect and i still keep on practicing, but practice did makes perfect...

(and please don't believe people who said that it is inborn talent... i was always told that my skills were inborn so they can't copy me cause they weren't born for it, if you really want to you can do it.)

I can't really recommend you anything since its jsut lately that i started to draw per basics... as i've mentioned, my drawing just improved from mr. and mrs. stickmans whom i love to doodle even before i enter preschool