Reddit reviews Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a very good book to get you started in drawing - it's been around for years and still going strong.

My dad is an art professor, and he recommended this book to me when I asked him for a good book on drawing: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Brain-Betty-Edwards/dp/0874775132/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321622952&sr=1-2 Get the one from 1989, he said the newest eddition is not as good. He uses these techniques in his drawing classes and gets amazing results.

>My hands are fine and I can't draw at all. I'm fairly certain nearly all of one's ability to draw comes from the heart and the mind

Nah, the heart is a blood pump. Drawing is all on the right side of the brain. The reason most people find they can't draw is that the left side of the brain is constantly saying "I know how to draw! let me do it!" and then you end up with two circles for eyes and a line for a mouth because the left side of the brain is all about substituting simplified symbology for complex real world concepts.

Now, if you can just get your left brain to shut the fuck up and let the right side work, you can actually get reasonable replication of reality. Let it really work and it can come up with some really wacky shit. The reason when you ask an artist how they draw so well they are nearly always at a complete loss to explain is because the right side does the art, and the left side handles verbalization. Left side has no clue how the drawing is happening, so you end up with something nebulous like "I dunno, I just kinda draw what I see". Most skilled artists didn't have to train themselves to let their right brain draw, so they have no experience of not being able to draw. They still had to practice drawing to get good, of course.

Anyone interested in a really good book for left-brainers who want to learn to access right-brain drawing skills more easily, check out Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Note that there's apparently a revised new edition. I have the old one so I can't compare, but apparently a few people familiar with both editions think the new version over-complicates the process somewhat.

And you're not supposed to draw without a reference, lol. You're supposed to take what you see and interpret it the way you want on the page. Some people draw better with their imagination, and some people draw better with references. But without a reference, unless you have a perfect photographic memory, or your brain can render objects in your mind with perfect minute detail, your drawing won't be life-like. However, without imagination, a reference drawing will just be a carbon copy without artistic expression (how would you emphasize, or exaggerate facial features in a portrait drawing to draw attention to them?).

The two styles are intertwined and, in many cases, rely on each other. You don't have to choose one over the other.

It is perfectly fine to draw while using references. A lot of the time, your result will be even better because of it. Like here, how you captured Spring Man's likeness with the hair and nose. Even the placement of the facial features is really good. With Kid Cobra, you got his outfit and Slappamander ARMS down.

If you want a place to start, Drawing on the Ride Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards is an excellent book that teaches how to see and draw based on your perceptions.

https://smile.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Brain-Betty-Edwards/dp/0874775132/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WGN8MADF6S0PGJQ020ZD

On building technical skill, I also recommend giving a look at http://drawabox.com/ , which helps build control over your lines.

You can so improve if you dedicate time to drawing. When I was learning how to draw heads, this is how I was starting off, but these are the same two characters a year later. A year after that, I'm currently trying to learn how to draw the human figure, and this is the last drawing I did. I don't have as much free time these days, but I'm always trying to draw a little bit each day.

I'm probably not being very convincing. I'm not very good at expressing myself, but seriously, I think you'd be great at drawing.

Great book. Explains how anyone can learn to draw more accurately and creatively. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

It looks like your problem is more about doing the art than assembling a sprite sheet right? I don't know any program that will help with a lack of skill... If you want to do the art yourself, you will have to invest some time in it, unfortunatly.

I had the same problem actually, and this blog was really helpful. It is aimed specifically for people with no graphical skills and I was pleasantly surprised by what I was able to do in a few hours of work (checkout my last ludumdare entry for an exemple).

Of course this will not make you a top notch artist, and I don't think this is the goal of that blog. If you want to further improve your skills, I would recommand Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I am currently reading it and I find it amazing.

Hope this helps :)

Friend of mine is a tattoo artist, He says this book helped a lot

practice is most important. When looking at anatomy, don't just try and memorize what goes where, really think about the bones as the foundation, and how the muscles wraps around it, etc. Understanding > memorization. Also, I realize this book is fairly well known, if you aren't familiar, could change your life

Look for a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in your local library. https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Brain-Betty-Edwards/dp/0874775132/

You don't have to read through, just try some of the exercises and see if they suit your learning style. You don't need the drawing kit or workbook, just the book. They have a website here: https://www.drawright.com

Alternately. look for a copy of Bert Dodson's Keys to Drawing: https://www.amazon.com/Keys-Drawing-Bert-Dodson/dp/0891343377

In both cases, see if you can find an older edition. They are just as effective to use and often cheaper, and the newest editions of both books are printed terribly.