What do you use...Artists?

As I am trying to get back into drawing, I was wondering:

1) What kind of paper do you use? What is that blue-ish paper for drawing I see?
2) Pencil?
3) Any stencils or rulers?
4) What should I practice on? Movement, body, etc?
5) I am focusing on Smurfs, and "Fusion or Simplistic style"

Any other tips not listed above would be greatly appreciated.

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1) What kind of paper do you use? What is that blue-ish paper for drawing I see?

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I always use 2-ply bristol, smooth finish. For comic work, I use the Blue-Line pre-printed art boards because they're already measured to the correct proportions for a comic page. Agailable HERE , but several companies make them.

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2) Pencil?

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I only use a .5 mm mechanical pencil. For everything. From lose comps to tight finishes. I prefer mechanical pencils so I never need to use a sharpener.

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3) Any stencils or rulers?

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Naw. Unless I really need a straight line. I usually prefer organic lines, even on machinery.

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4) What should I practice on? Movement, body, etc?

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Practice on everything! Anatomy is key, but what good is a drawing of a person if you can't do wrinkles, or coffee mugs, or notebooks, or chairs...?

If you want guidance, there's a set of books I picked up called "How To Draw". There are 4 of them (I think), and of all the art books I've encountered in my many years, these are the ABSOLUTE BEST for anyone wanting to get into comics. I have hundreds of reference books, and these are my favorite... for any skill level.

Here's an Amazon link. Samples are included there somewhere...

HOW TO DRAW books

My advice is to get a big package of the white copy paper at an office supply store

While fancy sketch pads are nice , early on in the game you'll be practicing a lot of repetitive generic things to work on basics and the need for heavy stock paper or cardstock or bristol board isn't quite on the horizon .

personally and I want to emphasize "personally " I use a lot of generic off the shelf pencils and pens to do sketches and practice with .

next to my drafting board (I like to draw while watching TV and eatin ramen in the living room ) I have a number 2 pencil , a regular blue pen , a refillable mechanical pencil and a gum eraser .

it seems to work out quite allright for me and has carried me through from practicing circles to doing full drawings of my characters .

I also gave up the habit of erasing lines I didn't like on sketches instead merely drawing over them and inking the lines I liked and erasing when its all over I see alot of folks get tied up trying to draw a perfect line or curve and erase erase erase till the paper rubs through .

You'll hear the advice to draw from life alot and its good strong advice , weather you draw sketches of family and friends , quick sketches of co workers while your idleing or merely keeping a small mirror near by to practice facial expressions .

Drawing from life is the bread and butter of every artist and the building blocks of figuring how things work .

ohh and start building a good photo reference gallery as well as finding good reference sites online both for people , objects , styles of clothes and hair etc etc

anyways those are my lil tiny bits of advice and im sure you'll get lots and lots of different advice but the best advice is always whatever works best for you and to never judge your art against someone elses instead see what they did and ask or try to figure out why they did something differently than you would have done, everyone has their own unique contribution to add to the collective art stew .

Happy drawing

For drawing paper, I just find sketchbooks on the cheap - clearanced out or on sale. Failing that, like Scarf said, printer/copy paper works just fine.

For the drawing tools, I also recommend cheap mechanical pencils, Bic's work for me just fine. As for inking, I go a tiny more expensive and go with gel or roller ball ink pens, simply because I find they give me a smoother line than say a regular cheapo ball point pen. I've recently been turned on to Micron pens, and I really like the results. As for an eraser, go with a gum or a white one. NO pink, blue, green, whatever. They sometimes leave colored marks on your paper and don't give you the cleanest erasings.

For other tools, I would recommend a artist manniquin for posing or something similar that's just as posable. I use a Marvel Legends Spider-Man fig when I need an assist for getting a pose right.

The biggest thing is, don't rush out and buy everything people will mention on this thread, and look for deals when you can. For example, people may recommend a really great brand of colored pencils but they might cost $50 for the set. That's a big investment when you're just beginning, Crayola pencils or another cheaper brand may suit your needs just fine until you decide it's time to upgrade and/or "get serious", then again, they just may be perfect for what you need. Also, that way you won't feel cheated if you discover you just don't like working with colored pencils. I fell into that trap in college, spent a lot on art supplies that I hardly used, simply because I rushed out and bought willy-nilly based on the professors and upperclassmen's art preferences.


TL

Poser 6 and Photoshop. I bypass the whole drawing and sketching process and create from what I draw upon from my mind in 3d form.

A friend has loaned me an older version of a tablet. I may use this at some point.

As I am trying to get back into drawing, I was wondering:


1) What kind of paper do you use? What is that blue-ish paper for drawing I see?

For sketching you want something that when you erase on it, the paper can take the punishment of doing so over and over. Cheap paper will get stains from smudged pencil that can't be erased itself without tearing a hole clear through.

And speaking of erasers, you'll need at least 2-3 kinds. A good white rubber one, not those pink things, throw that crap away. And a must is a kneaded eraser, which is self cleaning when you pull it apart, and knead it back together.


2) Pencil?

I've seen people use a pencil lead in a holder, those are fun to use. But you'll need special sharpners for it, and or a small sand paper pad. Mechanical pencils are great, but I snap them like crazy... I recently saw that Lastscionz on DA sketches super lightly with a 4H, then "inks" over an HB lead. I'm looking forward to trying that myself...


3) Any stencils or rulers?

Both of these will add precision to your backgrounds, you might want to get them for the future.


4) What should I practice on? Movement, body, etc?

Doug is right everything, including still lifes, nature, animals, perspective, and of course people. I'd say for comic art in general, anatomy, perspective and lighting (color & tone) are your 3 big musts.


5) I am focusing on Smurfs, and "Fusion or Simplistic style"

Cartooning or fusion is hot right now, but you'll find that a lot of those people already know how to simplify what they draw normally. It's like anything, if you want to draw better anime, you should study real life, in order to add that element of detail to your "comics". Fusion is a lot about movement simplified into shapes, I just bought my wife a book on this by Chris Hart. She doesn't normally draw people, but I have hope that if she doodles enough, she'll be comfortable enough to do draw more often.


Any other tips not listed above would be greatly appreciated.


I can't recommend enough getting more books, if classes are not available, and even if they are... good luck!

I have 2 books from Chris Hart- The Simplified and Fusion instructionals.

Just bought her this:

Cartoon Cool: How to Draw New Retro-Style Characters

Amazon has it for under $11

Does anyone know of any cool posable large detail figures? I've seen the mannequins, but I'm looking for something more... super.

Other than those wooden posable mannequin deals, the only ones I've ever seen that were anywhere lcose were actually the super posable action figures....some have a number of anrtculation points, like a Spiderman with over 30, etc.

Not sure if that's what you're looking for or not...

This is something I've found in my searchings.

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Other than those wooden posable mannequin deals, the only ones I've ever seen that were anywhere lcose were actually the super posable action figures....some have a number of anrtculation points, like a Spiderman with over 30, etc.

Not sure if that's what you're looking for or not...

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Yup, got any links for them?

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This is something I've found in my searchings.

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VERY close to what I'm looking for.

We have those "mannikins" Juggertha, they were about $20 each and are pretty could if you light them a certain way, you can get decent shadows... They're better than the old wooden kind. I'm thinking you want one of those beefed up collector toys... you may wanna check Toys R US if they have the equivalent in Korea.

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Other than those wooden posable mannequin deals, the only ones I've ever seen that were anywhere lcose were actually the super posable action figures....some have a number of anrtculation points, like a Spiderman with over 30, etc.

Not sure if that's what you're looking for or not...

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Yup, got any links for them?

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This is something I've found in my searchings.

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VERY close to what I'm looking for.

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Other than the wood ones like these , I've seen several like the super-posable Spiderman here or the Hulk one here.

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We have those "mannikins" Juggertha, they were about $20 each and are pretty could if you light them a certain way, you can get decent shadows... They're better than the old wooden kind. I'm thinking you want one of those beefed up collector toys... you may wanna check Toys R US if they have the equivalent in Korea.

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Yeah, all I'd really like is one male and one female collector posable figure.

Kind of like these, but the bigger the better.

YES! I could really use these. Or the action figures.

Gonna look at Toys R Us!

1) What kind of paper do you use? What is that blue-ish paper for drawing I see? Cheap sketchbooks :x
2) Pencil? Cheap mechanical pencils and micron pens
3) Any stencils or rulers? nope.
4) What should I practice on? Movement, body, etc? Realistic anatomy. I don't recommend trying to venture into 'styles' until you have real anatomy and posture down.
5) I am focusing on Smurfs, and "Fusion or Simplistic style" - okay.

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We have those "mannikins" Juggertha, they were about $20 each and are pretty could if you light them a certain way, you can get decent shadows... They're better than the old wooden kind. I'm thinking you want one of those beefed up collector toys... you may wanna check Toys R US if they have the equivalent in Korea.

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Yeah, all I'd really like is one male and one female collector posable figure.

Kind of like these, but the bigger the better.

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My sons each have one of these Fully Posable Incredible Hulk Action Figures. That work?

Gees I want all those toys! Okay gotta grow up...

Anyone else have any of these?

Not I. :/

A black bic pen and a moleskine

it's all you really need.

the moleskine you can take anywhere and the pen will make you learn to not rely on erasure.