I need to learn how to draw.

[Premmy]

it's that simple, as a wannabe comic book writer, I have lots of ideas that would be better to work with if I had a visual and it's damn near impossible to get an artist to work with you if you're on the non-existent level that I am, so I need easy, free.free.free. and very easy resources to teach myself to draw, not trying to become a genius, just imagine if you will a guy who can't draw a straight line or a decently curved one. Now try to get him some basic human figure drawing skills, enviroments, objects and he'll be a happy man.
help me out why dont'cha?(how do you spell that?)

[Melfice]

Right...
Get yourself some books if you intend to keep this as low cost as possible.
Free you say? Tough luck. Sure, there might be some free tutorials online, but I find that books, some exceptions left aside, provide the best quality.

Now, if you really want to learn how to draw people and surroundings, get yourself into art lessons. You need practice drawing still-lifes and anatomy, and the best way is to get a teacher there.

Mind you, that'll cost you some. =/

Other than these -rather useless to you seeing as you want to keep this all free of charge- tips, I've got nothing.

EDIT: You could always get yourself some comics from an artist you like, and try to learn from that. *shrugs*

[Premmy]

well, free to cheap, with free as the ideal, but whatever works.

[CelesJessa]

You could do how I taught myself how to draw.

Go online and look at different artworks and try to recreate them. (not tracing, but just copying just from looking at it) It's free (relatively) and it helps teach how bodies, faces, etc are generally supposed to go, and it's even more effective when you add that with using "how-to-draw" art books. Do this EVERY DAY. I am dead serious, every day. Once you get the idea of doing the line-art and bodies right, you can try harder stuff, like shading or more details, or try to modify the drawing (like, do the same pose but make your own clothes and hair).
And it doesn't even necissarily have to be looking at a drawing, you could set up some stuff around the room and draw what you see (like a still life) that would help with backgrounds.

Eventually, try to draw from your own mind. It's hard, because it is most likely going to be waaay crappier than what you have been drawing by looking at stuff, but just remember what rules you've been learning, and apply them to your drawings. And KEEP PRACTICING. Even if your "on your own" drawings look junky, just keep drawing them and trying to improve (get a GOOD eraser)

For example:
Original Artwork (http://matthew01913.tripod.com/shinobialbum/SORA.jpg) - My drawing of the same picture (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/19815799/?qo=120&q=by%3Acelesjessa&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps)
Original Artwork (http://catalog.anime.dvdspecial.ru/Desc/Pics/c-c-s.jpg) - My Drawing of the same picture (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/10374460/?qo=147&q=by%3Acelesjessa&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps)
Then - Eventually a drawing I did all on my own. (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/14030993/?qo=134&q=by%3Acelesjessa&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps) *shudder* Obviously the quality is way under, but with lots of practice you can work your way up to doing good stuff all on your own.

Hopefully that's helpful.

[TheBlindMime]

As a fellow wannabe comic book writer/artist (who does not do nearly enough to fully accredit such a title), I suggest Scott McCloud's (http://www.scottmccloud.com/index.html) and his magnificent Making Comics (http://www.scottmccloud.com/makingcomics/) as references for whatever creations you begin. It has thorough explanations of everything from the choice of frame to format to expression and posture. In fact, pick up all his books, they are all great and while they aren't mainly for the purpose of learning to draw it helps a lot with any jumbled visions of comics in your head.

I'd also suggest following Celesjessa's suggestion. Also remember to draw some actual photo's as well, and never expect to be good. Your own perception of good will probably always be out of reach as you become a better artist. Think of it as an unattainable goal....

That will forever taunt me.... I mean you..... You.

[xravi]

I was never good at drawing. Then I got insanly good for no reason. Well maybe not good persay and not really drawings either. It is like my own style that I made up myself.

[RickZarber]

Feel free to ask these guys (http://www.badmonkeybrain.com/forum/) for help. I know for a fact that they don't mind offering advice and suggesting resources. In fact, it's a good bet they'll have more than you could ever use. Also, I told them I'd plug their site now and then.

...BARG (http://bigrobotgods.com/)!

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Cliche as it is: practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, and more fuggin practice. Use everything that you can get free or otherwise. Especially anatomy books and stuff on proportions. I have seen many people who can color good or do good inking or good at other things...OTHER than anatomy/proportions.

Oh, and don't expect to get real good anytime soon. It's a process you have to work at for a long time to get anything out of it. I don't want to sound like a downer but it's the truth.

It may look a tad advanced at first but I suggest something like Grey's Anatomy. (http://www.amazon.com/Grays-Anatomy-Collectors-Henry-Gray/dp/0517223651/sr=1-2/qid=1167605024/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4584323-8348625?ie=UTF8&s=books) Also, like said before: Classes are your best bet as well. Theres only so much you can teach yourself and even then what you'd be teaching yourself might not be the proper things to learn so you'd be reinforcing bad techniques.

[handofpwn]

I pretty much used Celes jessa's technique, except i also drew cd cover art, its very good for getting an eye for proportions. Also, copy the poses of manga characters, even if its just faces,i found that this helped me with facial expressions.

[Zeenux]

as usual, the internet is useful, seriously.

Good for drawings humans:
http://the-structure-of-man.blogspot.com/

Awesome, just plain awesome.

[Crashtester]

I'd say try to avoid copying other artwork, you can usually tell when an artist learned to draw from looking at other people's work and never really learned the basic mechanics of drawing. Take was my mistake starting out, I just looked at a lot of manga and tried to do my best at making something similar, in my opinion it's just going to hurt you more then anything else in the long run. As for the process of learning to draw... there's no better way to explain it then this... it's hard, and by hard I don't mean a few hours a week and you'll get it. I mean a good twenty to thirty hours a week and x amount of years later you might (might) get it. If you have no talent for drawing (like myself) expect to dedicate all your time to it, if you're not willing to make that dedication then don't bother because all you'll end up doing is spending money on how to books and other things that will only help you along in the process but won't do the actual work for you. Making comics is a huge task, even if you don't plan to be the next Will Eisner the amount of work involved is much more then the average person can handle for a hobby. So, if you really want to take all that on go for it, if not, you're better off finding someone to work with or going with sprites (this is the 8-bit theater form after all).

[Demetrius]

I have to support and emphasize GMS's point, there is no way to get good at drawing (if you are as bad as you say) other than pulling out a writing utensil and some paper and going to town. It'll suck for a while, you'll have to get critiqued (use our post your sketches here thread in A&C) and practice some more.

[CelesJessa]

I'd say try to avoid copying other artwork, you can usually tell when an artist learned to draw from looking at other people's work and never really learned the basic mechanics of drawing.

It shouldn't be a big problem as long as you don't make yourself a slave to the other pictures. Plus, that's why I said that on top that use your art books or other methods(to learn the basic mechanics. I would normally suggest art classes but he expressed his wish to learn for minimal cost so I figured that was out the window) because looking at stuff and drawing it, weither it be another picture, or a still life, or a person posing, is a very basic part of any beginner art class. I'm not an art major (although I'm considering switching to one) but I was in art for 3 years in high school and the projects we did my freshmen year were:
Still life - looking at a set up of inaniment objects and drawing them
Oil Pastel of a flower - looking at a picture of a pre-photographed flower and drawing it.
Self portrait - taking a picture of yourself and drawing what you see.

And other things much like that. We really, honostly, didn't get into drawing completely from the imagination until the higher-level classes. Even in college level classes, there is a ton of time devoted to "looking at this person posing and drawing it"

So as long as you don't become a slave to the other picture/artwork/reference, looking off of something is a good way to see the basic way something is put together. But you are completely right about the amount of hard work it takes to learn. My art teacher told me that any art is "1% talent and 99% hard work"

[Crashtester]

art is "1% talent and 99% hard work"

I like that, that's a good quote. I have to agree that drawing from other drawings isn't entirely a bad thing as long as it's not your main basis for learning. I would suggest drawing from photo reference if possible instead of a drawing, but unfortunately photo reference of ridiculous action poses isn't exactly easy to come by.

[Elminster_Amaur]

art is "1% talent and 99% hard work"I like that, that's a good quote.Indeed. Thomas Edison (http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/geniusisonep.html) was a smart man.

[Lord of Joshelplex]

Well, for the record, I have been practicing for about 2 months, and went from stick people to really crappy looking people. I hope to go to average, then decent, then good within the year.