# TDF?



## DGMPhotography

Hey guys, 

I'm not sure if this is appropriate, but I'm looking for suggestions for a good drawing forum? 

I went to TheDrawingForum.com and the idea of it is nice but there just aren't many users, and every post has to be approved before posting which just seems really slow. 

I've learned a lot here about photography over the past few years, and thanking TPF is the first thing I do when people ask me about my photography. That said, I am looking to find something similar for drawing. This sub forum is a nice start I'm sure, but I'm looking for something more dedicated, where I can get in-depth advice about drawing from pros and newbies alike, like I do here with photography. 

Sites like deviantArt are just too big, and the one comment you get is something really superficial. 

Appreciate any suggestions!

Thanks!


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## DGMPhotography

Guessing not


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## Fiji-Fujii

Hey there! 

I'm currently looking for a good drawing / general art forum myself, seeing how I enjoy both photography and art and I draw a lot myself, but my current homepage (fiji-fujii.deviantart.com) is, like you said, too big and you actually need to spend a lot of time there (and socialize a lot) for people to start noticing your art. What bothers me most about it is that you have to actually pester people about receiving good or at least honest critiques there. That's why I wanted to move on. Here are a couple of sites that I'm looking at for now:

Conceptart.org (Careful though, this one's loading extremely slowly!)
Permanoobs 

Hope this helps!


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## sm4him

My youngest son is an artist, but I doubt he's really on any internet social sites that relate to art. He's a young kid, not quite 23, so he's of the generation that has grown up with technology everywhere--smart phones, iPads, iPods, laptops, tablets--but he doesn't use any of it much.  Still, I'll ask him (if I can remember it--he's currently on a month-long trip across the states, work-related) if there are any sites he does participate in.

I got into photography as an art *because* I can't draw that well.  Well, not really--but my mother, my sister and my brother are all far more talented in that department. Besides them and my son, my sister-in-art is a professional artist--but as far as I know, NONE of them participate in any online forum-type sites specifically related to art.


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## vintagesnaps

Do you mean you want to learn _how_ to actually draw? I can send you some paper and a B or a 2H - what kind of pencil do you want? lol That's probably why Sharon your son isn't online much with it...

If you want to learn how to draw try an art store, many usually have a student kit of supplies for classes for their area schools/colleges. The kit could give you an idea what to buy, although it's more a matter of trying different pencils (soft B or hard H pencils) and getting a decent white eraser and what kind of paper you want. And an art store might have instructional books.

If you really want to learn this I'd suggest taking a drawing class at a local community art center or an adult continuing ed class in drawing.


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## vintagesnaps

Having taken a look at TDF (a quick glance, admittedly) I'd say again, go take a class...

I see where there's a need to learn proportion, etc. etc. Not that it isn't possible to be partly/mostly self taught but you might pick up some inaccurate information and not be seeing the best examples on message boards.

Same with photography, I'm mostly self taught and it's been a sideline but I have taken a class/workshop here and there and have some art background. A message board can be helpful in getting some suggestions or feedback but that probably isn't going to be enough to learn something in depth.


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## DGMPhotography

With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum. 

That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level. 

For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com

Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!


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## Fiji-Fujii

DGMPhotography said:


> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!


If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.

As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!


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## DGMPhotography

Fiji-Fujii said:


> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!
> 
> 
> 
> If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.
> 
> As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!
Click to expand...


Haha, I already did and you do a bit of cartooning yourself 

Cartoon/manga is what I really want to do. I don't much like observational drawing. But.... do I have to do more of that to get better at cartooning?


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## Fiji-Fujii

DGMPhotography said:


> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!
> 
> 
> 
> If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.
> 
> As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Haha, I already did and you do a bit of cartooning yourself
> 
> Cartoon/manga is what I really want to do. I don't much like observational drawing. But.... do I have to do more of that to get better at cartooning?
Click to expand...

Indeed, the way I draw still shows where my roots lie, however, when it comes to anatomy, I often used (and occasionally still use to this day) photos of actual people as references. Because you'll only learn proper anatomy if you look at proper anatomy too, and most cartoons and especially the Japanese manga and anime don't really show that well. Of course I do acknowledge that there are lots of artists specialized on cartoons/comics and anime/manga who have a great grip on anatomy as well, but I'm pretty sure they also learned from re-drawing poses of real people and not from looking at other cartoons. 

This is really all the advice and/or help I can give at this point, and if you take your artworks to serious art sites (and I stopped counting dA amongst those a long time ago), the people there will probably tell you the same: You need to understand anatomy well, even for cartoons, if you want to take your art to the next level, as you described.  I've been told the same and I took the challenge, and tbh I'm proud of the development over the years.

Hope it helps, at least in some way!


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## DGMPhotography

Fiji-Fujii said:


> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!
> 
> 
> 
> If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.
> 
> As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Haha, I already did and you do a bit of cartooning yourself
> 
> Cartoon/manga is what I really want to do. I don't much like observational drawing. But.... do I have to do more of that to get better at cartooning?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Indeed, the way I draw still shows where my roots lie, however, when it comes to anatomy, I often used (and occasionally still use to this day) photos of actual people as references. Because you'll only learn proper anatomy if you look at proper anatomy too, and most cartoons and especially the Japanese manga and anime don't really show that well. Of course I do acknowledge that there are lots of artists specialized on cartoons/comics and anime/manga who have a great grip on anatomy as well, but I'm pretty sure they also learned from re-drawing poses of real people and not from looking at other cartoons.
> 
> This is really all the advice and/or help I can give at this point, and if you take your artworks to serious art sites (and I stopped counting dA amongst those a long time ago), the people there will probably tell you the same: You need to understand anatomy well, even for cartoons, if you want to take your art to the next level, as you described.  I've been told the same and I took the challenge, and tbh I'm proud of the development over the years.
> 
> Hope it helps, at least in some way!
Click to expand...


I appreciate it! I added you to my +Watch, and hope you can do the same!

That way, we can at least receive critiques from each other.


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## Fiji-Fujii

DGMPhotography said:


> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!
> 
> 
> 
> If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.
> 
> As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Haha, I already did and you do a bit of cartooning yourself
> 
> Cartoon/manga is what I really want to do. I don't much like observational drawing. But.... do I have to do more of that to get better at cartooning?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Indeed, the way I draw still shows where my roots lie, however, when it comes to anatomy, I often used (and occasionally still use to this day) photos of actual people as references. Because you'll only learn proper anatomy if you look at proper anatomy too, and most cartoons and especially the Japanese manga and anime don't really show that well. Of course I do acknowledge that there are lots of artists specialized on cartoons/comics and anime/manga who have a great grip on anatomy as well, but I'm pretty sure they also learned from re-drawing poses of real people and not from looking at other cartoons.
> 
> This is really all the advice and/or help I can give at this point, and if you take your artworks to serious art sites (and I stopped counting dA amongst those a long time ago), the people there will probably tell you the same: You need to understand anatomy well, even for cartoons, if you want to take your art to the next level, as you described.  I've been told the same and I took the challenge, and tbh I'm proud of the development over the years.
> 
> Hope it helps, at least in some way!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I appreciate it! I added you to my +Watch, and hope you can do the same!
> 
> That way, we can at least receive critiques from each other.
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you very much! I will do the same, and try my best to help!  I'd be happy to receive honest critiques on my works too, don't be shy to point out any flaws you see because I myself often overlook them, even now. I can't get better if I don't see what I'm doing wrong~


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## DGMPhotography

Fiji-Fujii said:


> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fiji-Fujii said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> 
> With photography I've been 100% self taught, aside from what I've learned from people here on The Photo Forum.
> 
> That's kind of what I wanted to do with drawing. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I'm just not sure how to get to the next level.
> 
> For reference, you can find my drawings at www.garaladin.deviantart.com
> 
> Thanks for the help so far, everyone. Fiji, I'm going to check out your deviantArt page!
> 
> 
> 
> If you're looking for a sort of advice or honest critiques, gimme a tap over at dA and I'll send you a note there.  I've looked through your gallery a little bit and I can sort of see why you'd want to get to the next level. Your artworks are very cartoon/manga-oriented and while I also started out drawing those (got into all that when I first saw Sailor Moon at age 8, haha), I can assure you that this is the absolute worst way to go to learn how to draw proper anatomy. I can only offer you my personal experiences that led to how I got to the point where I am now.
> 
> As I said though, send me a private message and I'll tell you what I can.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you took a peek at my gallery, too! Thank you!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Haha, I already did and you do a bit of cartooning yourself
> 
> Cartoon/manga is what I really want to do. I don't much like observational drawing. But.... do I have to do more of that to get better at cartooning?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Indeed, the way I draw still shows where my roots lie, however, when it comes to anatomy, I often used (and occasionally still use to this day) photos of actual people as references. Because you'll only learn proper anatomy if you look at proper anatomy too, and most cartoons and especially the Japanese manga and anime don't really show that well. Of course I do acknowledge that there are lots of artists specialized on cartoons/comics and anime/manga who have a great grip on anatomy as well, but I'm pretty sure they also learned from re-drawing poses of real people and not from looking at other cartoons.
> 
> This is really all the advice and/or help I can give at this point, and if you take your artworks to serious art sites (and I stopped counting dA amongst those a long time ago), the people there will probably tell you the same: You need to understand anatomy well, even for cartoons, if you want to take your art to the next level, as you described.  I've been told the same and I took the challenge, and tbh I'm proud of the development over the years.
> 
> Hope it helps, at least in some way!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I appreciate it! I added you to my +Watch, and hope you can do the same!
> 
> That way, we can at least receive critiques from each other.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Oh, thank you very much! I will do the same, and try my best to help!  I'd be happy to receive honest critiques on my works too, don't be shy to point out any flaws you see because I myself often overlook them, even now. I can't get better if I don't see what I'm doing wrong~
Click to expand...


Exactly!


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