Reddit reviews Drawing from Observation: An Introduction to Perceptual Drawing

So I've recently started drawing too and maybe what I've learned can help you too.

Learn to gesture draw. This is where you make quick intuitive strokes. When you draw this way your drawings should contain lots of energy(and they'll be messy at first but that's ok). I recommend this book. This is the book that was used in my art class this last spring and it tells you all about gesture drawing. Gesture drawing is a good way to go. Best way I can explain it is that you don't think about what you're drawing you just draw. It's like in Phantom Menace when Qui Gon Jinn tells Anakin "Don't think, feel". It's the same, don't think--draw.

I recommend getting an easel, standing up, and drawing. Learn how to hold a pencil when you stand and how to draw by moving your whole arm (the book elaborates more on this). The book also gives you tips about how "see" the world when you draw. How to see space, angles, shading, etc...

If an easel is a bit too much for now and then get a sketchbook and draw in permanent ink(no pencil--so you can't erase). This guy is an artist whose worked on many movies and currently has his own design school. In this video he tells you how to gesture draw in a sketchbook, how to hold the pencil, how to move your arm, how to practice, what kind of sketchbook and pen to buy.

And that is the key, practice drawing what he says. In the video he tells you to practice drawing straight lines and ellipses over and over again. Now this might sound weird but I assure you it helps immensely. In just a week my drawings have improved. As you practice you'll get the urge to try new things and experiment and by doing this you'll discover what works and what doesn't.

Now don't just drill on straight lines and ellipses. Draw things you find around your house. Don't stick to stuff you feel won't be too hard. Challenge yourself to draw things that kind of scare of you. Challenge yourself by trying to draw people--this tool offers random images of people in poses and you have 30 seconds to draw as fast you can each one: pixellovely (NSFW: it's tasteful but it does contain nudity so if you're at work wait till you get home)

So get a cheap sketchbook and some permanent markers(fine ultra tip or ball point) and get to drawing.

BTW: A lot of people recommend the book Drawing on the Right Side of your Brain. This book is alright but it's filled with a lot of over simplified neuroscience. You don't need to buy this book. I bought it and it's advice boils down to this:

Try to draw photographs that are flipped upside down.

That's it. It's a helpful exercise I suppose. But you don't need to buy the book.

In the meantime, draw everything. Everything. EVERYTHING.

Keep a sketch book with you always! Draw people waiting for the bus, cars parked outside, city blocks, landscapes, trees, ideas, concepts, doodles, nonsense.

Take pictures of things and use them for reference. Constantly! Can't figure out how an arm looks like in a certain pose, get someone to pose the same way and take a shot with your phone. Its not "cheating" and most artists worth their salt will stare at you like you're insane if you told them to do a large scale project with no live or photo references.

Go to figure drawing meetups. There's usually some at art schools or in any big city. You will be terrible at first but drawing people is a good way to train your eye.

Copy your favorite artist. Not just draw from, but try to copy a whole piece of art, from start to finish, line for line, as closely as possible. Do this a lot! It will help you understand why they put this thing there, and put that thing here, and drew that thing like this.

Its the same reason musicians practice other people's work before they start composing their own!

Figure out who their influence are, and do the same thing with them.

If you're looking for books to get you started, here are some good ones.