Looking for good tips and tutorials, plus some encouragement!

[ram]

just approve my friend request

[Leannah]

I didn't get it >.< Can you send it again please?

[ram]

for easier way, just invite me as a friend, and i'll accept it right away

[Leannah]

I think I sent you an invite.

[ram]

are you sure?
cause i haven't receive anything at all.. try manipulating your settings. maybe there's the problem

go to dashboard>my friends,
then there's a selection on the right side of the page.

* All Friends
* Top Friends
* Online Friends
* Pending Requests
* Birthday E-Cards
* Friends Requests

click friends requests, then you'll probably see me there.
your actually on my pending request list.

[Leannah]

I accepted your friend request.

[Hamachi]

Ah-hah, someone slightly older than me!
*Jumps with excitement*

Anyways Leannah, your best bet is ordering a good art book with art exercises and lessons. You're in college so I figure that's going to be easy for you to acquire. Most of those won't cost you more than $15 and I promise you, they'll do you a world more good than online tutorials. Frankly those are a waste of time and effort trying to find good ones.

Get a good sketchbook and a decent range of pencils (something-B, something-H and a few ranges in between), maybe some charcoal and a grease pencil, and get to work on those lessons! Make sure you draw constantly and you're well on your way.

[ram]

i already sent you a message.

and if you ask for artbooks and drawing books, this twin doggies right here ^ is actually the expert in drawing books, i don't really know how many he has but he definitely read 10x as many as i read.

I wanted to ask him for advice of what drawing books i need but i can't buy it cause i'm broke XD.
but really you can trust us animals.

[Leannah]

Thanks a lot for the messages.
What books do you recommend Hamachi? I'd like to start studying an easy one because right now I suck badly at anatomy.
I'm broke because I just bought a computer, so I don't think I'll be able to buy new pencils and a sketchbook just yet. I use a college notebook to draw because it's got nice squared lines which help me with proportions.
I know I should use regular paper or a sketchbook but I'm mostly practicing right now, so it doesn't really matter.
Thank you so much for the link, ramiel!

[Hamachi]

Eyeww... lined paper is even worse than A4 paper since it keeps virtually no graphite whatsoever... if you're on a really tight budget at least use A4 for your doodles.

The #1 art book I'd recommend is Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson since it includes lots of exercises you can work on.

Being bad at anatomy suggests you need to brush up on some basic art skills, which the above book covers. But if you really do want to go into anatomy I suggest buying a Bridgman's since (1) lots of amazing contemporary artists swear by it and (2) it's insanely cheap compared to other figure drawing books.

You should also realize that a lot of drawing books worth hundreds of dollars are available (illegally) on the internet if you use a b0tt0rr0nt client and t0rr0nt files. But as a loyal citizen of whatever country you're in, I assume you'll have no dealings with that kind of stuff, right?

Anyways, at the point where you are right now I would actually discourage focusing on manga. I mean, go ahead and draw it for fun if you like, but if you want to get good it's best to start with something more tangibly 3-dimensional. With all this in mind, I think the most important thing is never to assume you've got the hang of anything. Take a good look at an exercise you've done. If it even remotely differs from the example, practice more!