I have always struggled with drawing. I never could get anything to look like I wanted it to no matter how I tried, I would just become frustrated and give up. In the end I chalked it up to not having any talent and gave it up wholesale. It’s not until recent years that I’ve come to the conclusion that I can learn pretty much anything if I just put my mind to it. So, now that I’ve started with game development I decided I would learn to draw and model (in the case of 2D or 3D respectively) to create content for the games myself.
The goal is not to become some kind of master of the arts but instead to be able to create good enough content that I will be pleased with. And what better way to start than to read and follow the magnificent book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”, a book originally released 36 years ago but just as relevant today. Or even more so since considering the four revisions since then. It teaches you the basic tools for drawing like proportion and perspective, things I wish someone would have told me when I was younger. Because it’s really not that complicated and the skills are useful regardless of drawing medium, be it watercolor, pencil or oil.
So I thought I would share my drawings so far and hopefully I can get someone else inspired to try their hand at it. Because I must say that I have surprised myself, I’m very happy with most drawings even though some took quite a while to do. These are some of my favorites. Note that my scanner seems to make the dark areas a bit brighter than they should be. You can click the images to enlarge them.
Pre-instruction drawing of my hand, done before any book exercises.
Copied drawing of Igor Stravinsky by Pablo Picasso. The exercise was to draw it upside down to enable the right half of the brain to take charge.
Drawing of hand after some instructions, it’s amazing how much a shaded background does especially when it comes to shadows and highlighting.
Second drawing of my hand in the classic coordinate system-pose (for you computer graphics people). I’m very happy with this one, I feel like I got a lot right with it.
My latest drawing, based on the exercise of two-point perspective. Took me most of the day to do but as with the previous one, I’m very happy with it.
I still have ways to go until I will have reached my goal of being able to create good game art but with (a lot) more exercise I believe I will get there. As you can see on the date on the last drawing I have taken a break the last week to get started with the coding but I’ll get back into it soon enough. If you feel like this is something you want to try I will once again recommend “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. You might just surprise yourself.