Q&A for How to Draw Real Things

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  • Question
    I'm rubbish and got an F. Should I give up?
    Community Answer
    Artists learn from their mistakes. Ask your teacher what you could improve on, and ask if you can re-do the drawing, following through on her advice. Consider each mistake you make an opportunity to improve.
  • Question
    How can I become better at drawing? I practice, but it does not help.
    Community Answer
    Keep practicing; though the results may not come as quickly as you'd like, they will gradually happen. Consider taking art classes online or in your area, and attend sessions with live models.
  • Question
    How can I correct issues with size and scale in my drawings?
    Community Answer
    Before you draw, make sure you have a ruler so that you can measure the length, width, etc. of whatever it is you're drawing. It takes a lot of practice to get the hang of size and scale, so don't worry if it doesn't come naturally.
  • Question
    What if my style is cartoon? Is that bad art?
    Community Answer
    No, no art is bad art, it's speaking from your heart. A person could draw a trash can and it could sell for millions. Before people used to hire artists to draw thousands of almost the same picture, the artist would just move an object or two each time and that would be a cartoon. Again no art is bad art, never underestimate yourself. Express yourself in your way.
  • Question
    How can I decide what to draw?
    Community Answer
    Look around you for inspiration. Draw the things you see, or imagine an emotion and draw a symbol of that.
  • Question
    How can I draw realistic eyes?
    Community Answer
    Include lots of details, like little flecks of color.
  • Question
    How can I draw a puppy?
    Community Answer
    Start with the face and then add on the body. Be creative and use your imagination.
  • Question
    How do you draw a horse?
    Community Answer
    Just draw a dog (preferably a husky) with a long muzzle, longer legs, and a mane and tail. Or you can just look at pictures of horses on the internet to copy from.
  • Question
    What do I need to do to improve in my drawings? I want to learn how to draw well.
    Community Answer
    Practice and careful observation.
  • Question
    My pencils/colored pencils don't blend well. Should I get a special kind?
    Community Answer
    Try using a blending marker, stump, or a white pencil. Also, make sure to have some spots where the colors overlap. For example, if you are doing a gradient from yellow to blue, then you want to have a yellow section, then a blue and yellow section, then a blue section. You don't always need expensive high quality pencils to get good quality gradients, but if the above suggestions don't work, try Prisma colored pencils.
  • Question
    How do I draw hair in braids? I might want practice on it!
    Community Answer
    I do a vertical zigzag where you want the middle part of the braid to be all the way from the start of the braid to where the elastic will be. Then I draw a "u" shape at every angle. Be sure to make them smaller the lower down the braid you go. If you want to make a French braid do the same thing but start higher on the head and make darker lines to look like strands of hair weaving into the braid.
  • Question
    Will this work to draw a comic with characters who don't look cartoonish?
    Community Answer
    It could. It depends on what kind of comic you want to draw. If you like drawing lifelike characters, this should be a lot of fun.
  • Question
    What should I do if all of my practicing isn't helping?
    Community Answer
    It is helping but, you just may not be able to see it. Some things that may really help you see it are switching styles, doing a color study, or really any drill. The key is repetition. If you don't want to do any of those things, just keep doing what you're doing. I promise you will see the effects at some point.
  • Question
    What if I have been trying for years but can't draw realistic stuff?
    Community Answer
    Maybe realism isn’t your style. Many professional artists do a semi-realistic style, and many others do anime or cartoons. Try some cartoon or anime variants to see if those work better for you.
  • Question
    How can I draw something real after drawing only anime and manga for the last 5 years?
    Community Answer
    Practice, patience, and effort always make a difference! Always remember to keep practicing drawing real things if you want to be able to. Drawing anime and manga for a long time could help your abilities as well, if you change it up a bit to have more detail and for it to be slightly more realistic. There are a lot of tutorials online that can also help you! Remember to use models that you can see, like a photograph or an object, rather than trying straight from your head.
  • Question
    What are good online resources to learn how to draw real things?
    Community Answer
    Pinterest and Deviant art are great places to look at and if you have access to social media, Instagram is good too.
  • Question
    How do I draw realistic hands?
    Community Answer
    Begin sketching a curved line going inwards like this ), then bring the end of it out and curve the top of it. Then, bring it down again and you have a finger. Repeat this, and at the pinkie and thumb, make the thumb thicker and more muscular. While the pinkie should be less muscular and less thick. The nails should have proper lighting and shading on them, and wrinkles at the end of them, not just a sideways bracket.
  • Question
    Does all art have to be realistic or cartoonish?
    Patriotictumbleweed
    Community Answer
    There are loads of styles beyond the 2 you have mentioned. For example there are minimalist, surrealist, abstract, anime and many other styles.
  • Question
    How do I draw a laptop?
    Community Answer
    Draw an open book and fill the details of a laptop on it. You can look at a picture of a laptop and draw like that. Make two squares together. The top square will be your monitor. And the lower one will have the keys.
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