Can anyone please share a roadmap.
3mo
Shashwat
I am an absolute beginner in drawing. I want to make story comics as a long term hobby. Can anyone suggest a roadmap along with recommended resources that I should look into. Thank you.
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3mo
Hi! I would definitely start out by gathering all your favorite comics and similar comics to what you want to do, as that can highly inform what kind of path you want to take. Though a lot of the fundamentals will be shared, comics can encompass such a wide artistic range from anything like Calvin and Hobbes to Batman.
Starting out though, a solid grasp of drawing fundamentals will be key to whichever artistic pursuit you have. I highly recommend checking out Drawing Basics to get you started. From there, the three main fundamentals to practice would be:
Figure drawing - Figure Drawing Fundamentals, Introduction to Figure Construction. Mileage in figure drawing practice will make all the difference. Attend life drawing sessions, practice from photo packs, and sketch people on the street/in cafes/parks, etc.
Perspective - The Perspective Course, Draw-a-Box, Framed Perspective by Marcos Mateu-Mestre. Practice plotting 1, 2, and 3 point perspectives. You can study drawing from the real world, finding and plotting the horizon line and vanishing points as guides. Drawing cityscapes/architecture is a great way to start as it keeps to more structured, boxy shapes that help you figure out and work with the guidelines.
Anatomy - Anatomy of the Human Body. I cannot recommend this course enough. Learning anatomy will help build on top of your figure drawing skills to inform you on what you see and help you construct the human body.
Alongside practicing the technical side of things, practice just drawing from your own imagination and have fun with it. Balancing both sides will help strengthen your skills as an artist overall, and help you especially for comics as you will often have to draw from imagination, which is it own muscle to train.
As for resources on comics and storytelling: Understanding Comics by Scott Mccloud, Marvel's The Art of Storytelling, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, & Writing for Comics by Alan Moore are my recommendations. A common piece of advice I've heard from comic book creators is dive into it, even if you don't feel quite ready. Creating a comic leads to a lot of drawing mileage, and if you pair it with practicing the technical fundamentals, your artistic growth will definitely benefit.
I hope this helps get you started. Would love to hear more about your goals and see your progress! Best wishes on your artistic journey, and let me know if you have any questions :)