Tips to learn to draw

[alix]

I have always wanted to know how to draw, especially comics, since I was younger. But even after years trying my drawings look horrible. Anybody has any tips on how to actually learn?

 

[Some_porcupine]

I have always wanted to know how to draw, especially comics, since I was younger. But even after years trying my drawings look horrible. Anybody has any tips on how to actually learn?

* to divide everything into 2d shapes > 3d
* struggle is real:
https://www.tumblr.com/nutzo0001/72...tion-of-artist-memes-hand-picked?source=share

 

[InternetGeist]

It will just be the general advices people always give. Reading books, watching tutorials, copying, and practicing if you are seriously about learning. Maybe give yourself a daily prompt to draw so you have a motivation to keep it up. Don't try to develop a personal style before you have a good grasp of the basics (shading, anatomy, perspective, etc.). Good comics require good art techniques, but remember that horrors like Sonichu still exist if your main goal is just to convey ideas or stories through drawings.

 

[Cinderpeach]

If you wanna get gud, for real I have a whole pin board filled with tutorials, and ideas....
DeviantArt is actually good place for art advice, imo second to Tumblr, SOMETIMES you can find good tips on twitter but it can be a hit or miss!
In terms of Youtubers I really recommend following Proko, I take art classes irl and every art teacher I have had so far as recommend or at least mention Proko as a reliable source (and this rec is coming from peeps who have their stuff in museums , art shows, and get commissioned by big old money people for art).

Some other YT'ers I recommend are, Victoria Yuu, esp if you want to draw anime, but she explains the basic fundamentals pretty well.

Kawaii Sensei is also good, in terms of making anime art, but they do go fast with their vids---or shorts really. It can be confusing if you dont really have a grasp in the fundamentals and I dont think they have ever spoken in short/vid. For a quick refresher, intro or reminder on how to draw a thing, they're pretty good.

Love Life Drawing is a go-to for learning how to draw the human form, it kind of goes in hand with other channel, New Masters Academy, its a channel with a ton of other art vids, but I mostly go there for the timed figure drawing poses vids.

Winged Canvas are pretty good, they have streams where they'll go into detail about a certain fundamental or thing to draw, and later that stream will be cut up into a simpler snapper video for those who couldn't make the stream or are TL;DW.

In terms of Comic-Making, I would point to Puddle, for their specific playlist on Comic making, with some general art vids throw in there and some project guides/organization tips. A specfic video on webcomic making I feel like is a go-to is the one by TheStarFish Face, who also has a playlist for webcomic making too, but I feel like their intro vid on webcomics covers the main basics very well. The video is called Webcomics 101.

Some Tumblrs I would rec are Art Res, The Drawing Den, ThunderCluck.

In terms of an specific artists on tumblr who give good tips are GrizandNorm and LunaArtGallery, whose always more than happy to breakdown and explain any of her projects she working on, and simplify it to a beginner artist.

DA like I said early, has alot of good resources for art (despite its weird rep), you can look up any art subject and find some good stuff. Theetheringtonbrothers make good and quick tip sheets on basically anything and everything someone would want to draw, and Niso writes detailed tutorial sheets too, and has even made a guide for beginners on how they should approach drawing Humans.

I forgot to mention this in the Youtube section, but Draw Like A Sir is another help channel, he explains art subjects in a simple and funny way. and has video that's similar to Niso's learning order tutorial but its the learning order on how to art basically, Learning To Draw Roadmap 0 to 100.

Pinterest is a good for ideas and stumbling arcoss short tutorials, and whole boards of art help and tips. Character Design References, basically says what it is on the tin, and Zephry is a nice hub for tutorials too, you can use some of the stuff I put on my art tutorial pin (even though it is kind of messy, but that's just how my mind be), My Art Ref Board.

In Terms of books, Making Comic & Understanding Comics by Scott Mccloud really helped a ton! The Sliver Way by Stephen Silver is go-to for learning character design, he's an industry vet who worked on stuff like Kim possible and each chapter has a little assignment for the reader to do to help expand and find their own understanding on the chapter's subject. Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton is really good at breaking down the human body and showing how each body part works together and effects on another in motion. These books I've either been given to as B-day gifts (because some of 'em were super expensive), but if you can find 'em at your local library too that's a plus.

As for Art Advice that I could give myself based on my own exp:

• If you lose the drive remember what made you want to draw in the first place, this a step most people tend to forget in their own art travels leading them to quit pretty early. What makes me keep going is my love of characters and story-telling, and when someone ask me to make them art I just focus on how happy the person will be once I'm finished with their piece, and how I wouldnt trade that for the world
• Take breaks, its a cliche thing but it true. Inspiration is a weird cruel beast, one day you'll feel like you can draw circles (literally all day) other days you don't even want to touch a pencil. Walking outside helps me to clear my mind. Listening to music, playing video games, watching tv, or what have you not only helps me recharge mentally but it can also fill my mind with more cool ideas (esp if Im watching an old fave).
• Start simple, just focus on drawing shapes, and if you want to practice comic making just give those shapes names and faces and start from there, it doesn't have to be perfect and it prolly wont but its a start. Remember that you dont have to show your studies to anybody, so dont feel pressured to post them online or nothing.
• Buy a cheap sketchbook, unless your working with copic markers or watercolor (ESP WATERCOLOR) a cheap dollar store sketchbook should do. In terms of pencil I like using MozArt Aesthetic Mechanical Pencil, any plastic Eraser should do (again you can get those at the dollar store) anda Kneaded Eraser is basically like an advance version of an eraser, but make sure you have a small plastic container to put it in when you're not using it. Kneaded Erasers can dry up really quick and when its active it kind of gets everywhere! Faber-Castell's Kneaded Eraser comes with a case, but you can use any small plastic container like a pill case, if you want. Eraser Pens are really good for cleaning up finer details Tombow makes some really good ones. In terms of pens you can use a standard ball point one, The Paper Mate or Bic ones should do. Sakura Micron Pens are a bit fancier in terms of stats in the artist realm, they're a must if you want to scan any work you do traditionally to digital. Experience is more valuable than materials, you can draw like god with a stick and some sand if you have enough exp, and you can have the finest material in the world and still can't bang out a stick figure (I've seen it happen before), so dont sweat if you cant get the materials I mentioned.
• Try to draw everyday, even if its just a circle or a line or a square.
• Dont worry about your sketchbook looking cool, at the end of the day your sketchbook is there for you not anyone else. Yeah, sure sketchbook tours are pretty cool looking on youtube n' stuff but I'm pretty sure those peeps have a few scribbly sketchbooks laying around somewhere. Its also not needed to have anything complete done in your sketch book, you can if you want to, but its seriously not needed its just for ideas.
• Work on your observation skills, if you cant take the time to sit and observe the world around you, how good will you be when it comes time to draw it. Go out and experience new things rather that be food, entertainment, or events. Dont keep yourself in ANY bubble for any reason otherwise your visual library wont grow and your art will suffer. A Visual Library is basically images you gain thru experiencing stuff; new events irl, new games, books, movies, etc. Everyone's visual library is different because of our experiences and how the world has shaped us.
• TAKE YOUR TIME, Art is patience, if you want to make something really good it WILL take time, and alot of it! Dont be discourage if you realize that a project you want to do will take days, weeks, maybe even years. Every artist has to come to that realization at some point, you either let it drive you to keep going to see the final work or just quit while you're ahead.
• Dont listen to Youtubers who talk more than they draw or those who dont show their work or update it consistently, these peeps are usually just clout chasers using art as their medium to get famous or rich quick.
• Dont do anything for likes or to gain a following, make art because you feel like you have a story to tell.
• Simple is best, not every a piece will be detailed shaded thing, a funny doodle or a flat shaded sketch has just as much value as a full rendered piece.
• Art is an up and down process not a linear one, the more you understand art the more you'll see which areas you're lacking and what you need work on.
• Do studies on stuff, it could be on value or shading or turtles or whatever it will add to your art exp as a whole.
• If you're gonna draw humans learn the Loomis method of drawing heads, so you dont end up drawing melons like I did, oof!
• if you want to draw humans learn proportions, or you'll end up drawing peeps w/ a super long torso and skipped leg day legs, like I did, oof!
• Another thing I forgot to put in the youtube section but, watch technical or industrial design peeps, they know alot about proportion (in like general) since they have to be on-model with their designs, and they know just about everything there is to know about perspective! My rec is Robert Laszlo Kiss. Industrial designers tend to get straight to the point with videos too.
• If you have a comic idea or ANY art idea, just draw it! esp if its a comic you'll just get better the more you draw it.

That's about all the art advice I have for now, hope this helps!

Good Luck!

 

[alix]

If you wanna get gud, for real I have a whole pin board filled with tutorials, and ideas....
DeviantArt is actually good place for art advice, imo second to Tumblr, SOMETIMES you can find good tips on twitter but it can be a hit or miss!
In terms of Youtubers I really recommend following Proko, I take art classes irl and every art teacher I have had so far as recommend or at least mention Proko as a reliable source (and this rec is coming from peeps who have their stuff in museums , art shows, and get commissioned by big old money people for art).

Some other YT'ers I recommend are, Victoria Yuu, esp if you want to draw anime, but she explains the basic fundamentals pretty well.

Kawaii Sensei is also good, in terms of making anime art, but they do go fast with their vids---or shorts really. It can be confusing if you dont really have a grasp in the fundamentals and I dont think they have ever spoken in short/vid. For a quick refresher, intro or reminder on how to draw a thing, they're pretty good.

Love Life Drawing is a go-to for learning how to draw the human form, it kind of goes in hand with other channel, New Masters Academy, its a channel with a ton of other art vids, but I mostly go there for the timed figure drawing poses vids.

Winged Canvas are pretty good, they have streams where they'll go into detail about a certain fundamental or thing to draw, and later that stream will be cut up into a simpler snapper video for those who couldn't make the stream or are TL;DW.

In terms of Comic-Making, I would point to Puddle, for their specific playlist on Comic making, with some general art vids throw in there and some project guides/organization tips. A specfic video on webcomic making I feel like is a go-to is the one by TheStarFish Face, who also has a playlist for webcomic making too, but I feel like their intro vid on webcomics covers the main basics very well. The video is called Webcomics 101.

Some Tumblrs I would rec are Art Res, The Drawing Den, ThunderCluck.

In terms of an specific artists on tumblr who give good tips are GrizandNorm and LunaArtGallery, whose always more than happy to breakdown and explain any of her projects she working on, and simplify it to a beginner artist.

DA like I said early, has alot of good resources for art (despite its weird rep), you can look up any art subject and find some good stuff. Theetheringtonbrothers make good and quick tip sheets on basically anything and everything someone would want to draw, and Niso writes detailed tutorial sheets too, and has even made a guide for beginners on how they should approach drawing Humans.

I forgot to mention this in the Youtube section, but Draw Like A Sir is another help channel, he explains art subjects in a simple and funny way. and has video that's similar to Niso's learning order tutorial but its the learning order on how to art basically, Learning To Draw Roadmap 0 to 100.

Pinterest is a good for ideas and stumbling arcoss short tutorials, and whole boards of art help and tips. Character Design References, basically says what it is on the tin, and Zephry is a nice hub for tutorials too, you can use some of the stuff I put on my art tutorial pin (even though it is kind of messy, but that's just how my mind be), My Art Ref Board.

In Terms of books, Making Comic & Understanding Comics by Scott Mccloud really helped a ton! The Sliver Way by Stephen Silver is go-to for learning character design, he's an industry vet who worked on stuff like Kim possible and each chapter has a little assignment for the reader to do to help expand and find their own understanding on the chapter's subject. Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton is really good at breaking down the human body and showing how each body part works together and effects on another in motion. These books I've either been given to as B-day gifts (because some of 'em were super expensive), but if you can find 'em at your local library too that's a plus.

As for Art Advice that I could give myself based on my own exp:

• If you lose the drive remember what made you want to draw in the first place, this a step most people tend to forget in their own art travels leading them to quit pretty early. What makes me keep going is my love of characters and story-telling, and when someone ask me to make them art I just focus on how happy the person will be once I'm finished with their piece, and how I wouldnt trade that for the world
• Take breaks, its a cliche thing but it true. Inspiration is a weird cruel beast, one day you'll feel like you can draw circles (literally all day) other days you don't even want to touch a pencil. Walking outside helps me to clear my mind. Listening to music, playing video games, watching tv, or what have you not only helps me recharge mentally but it can also fill my mind with more cool ideas (esp if Im watching an old fave).
• Start simple, just focus on drawing shapes, and if you want to practice comic making just give those shapes names and faces and start from there, it doesn't have to be perfect and it prolly wont but its a start. Remember that you dont have to show your studies to anybody, so dont feel pressured to post them online or nothing.
• Buy a cheap sketchbook, unless your working with copic markers or watercolor (ESP WATERCOLOR) a cheap dollar store sketchbook should do. In terms of pencil I like using MozArt Aesthetic Mechanical Pencil, any plastic Eraser should do (again you can get those at the dollar store) anda Kneaded Eraser is basically like an advance version of an eraser, but make sure you have a small plastic container to put it in when you're not using it. Kneaded Erasers can dry up really quick and when its active it kind of gets everywhere! Faber-Castell's Kneaded Eraser comes with a case, but you can use any small plastic container like a pill case, if you want. Eraser Pens are really good for cleaning up finer details Tombow makes some really good ones. In terms of pens you can use a standard ball point one, The Paper Mate or Bic ones should do. Sakura Micron Pens are a bit fancier in terms of stats in the artist realm, they're a must if you want to scan any work you do traditionally to digital. Experience is more valuable than materials, you can draw like god with a stick and some sand if you have enough exp, and you can have the finest material in the world and still can't bang out a stick figure (I've seen it happen before), so dont sweat if you cant get the materials I mentioned.
• Try to draw everyday, even if its just a circle or a line or a square.
• Dont worry about your sketchbook looking cool, at the end of the day your sketchbook is there for you not anyone else. Yeah, sure sketchbook tours are pretty cool looking on youtube n' stuff but I'm pretty sure those peeps have a few scribbly sketchbooks laying around somewhere. Its also not needed to have anything complete done in your sketch book, you can if you want to, but its seriously not needed its just for ideas.
• Work on your observation skills, if you cant take the time to sit and observe the world around you, how good will you be when it comes time to draw it. Go out and experience new things rather that be food, entertainment, or events. Dont keep yourself in ANY bubble for any reason otherwise your visual library wont grow and your art will suffer. A Visual Library is basically images you gain thru experiencing stuff; new events irl, new games, books, movies, etc. Everyone's visual library is different because of our experiences and how the world has shaped us.
• TAKE YOUR TIME, Art is patience, if you want to make something really good it WILL take time, and alot of it! Dont be discourage if you realize that a project you want to do will take days, weeks, maybe even years. Every artist has to come to that realization at some point, you either let it drive you to keep going to see the final work or just quit while you're ahead.
• Dont listen to Youtubers who talk more than they draw or those who dont show their work or update it consistently, these peeps are usually just clout chasers using art as their medium to get famous or rich quick.
• Dont do anything for likes or to gain a following, make art because you feel like you have a story to tell.
• Simple is best, not every a piece will be detailed shaded thing, a funny doodle or a flat shaded sketch has just as much value as a full rendered piece.
• Art is an up and down process not a linear one, the more you understand art the more you'll see which areas you're lacking and what you need work on.
• Do studies on stuff, it could be on value or shading or turtles or whatever it will add to your art exp as a whole.
• If you're gonna draw humans learn the Loomis method of drawing heads, so you dont end up drawing melons like I did, oof!
• if you want to draw humans learn proportions, or you'll end up drawing peeps w/ a super long torso and skipped leg day legs, like I did, oof!
• Another thing I forgot to put in the youtube section but, watch technical or industrial design peeps, they know alot about proportion (in like general) since they have to be on-model with their designs, and they know just about everything there is to know about perspective! My rec is Robert Laszlo Kiss. Industrial designers tend to get straight to the point with videos too.
• If you have a comic idea or ANY art idea, just draw it! esp if its a comic you'll just get better the more you draw it.

That's about all the art advice I have for now, hope this helps!

Good Luck!

These are probably some of the best tips I have ever heard, thank you for the help

 

[赤い男]

As a self taught, i shall say.
FIRST OF ALL, PRACTICE OBSERVATION, analyze, observe, put into work the perspective of a draw, analyze the characteristics, what makes something what it is

Never feel afraid to take inspiration from others, specially if it is regarding poses, you see, if you see other peoples art, try to imitate it, over and over again, until you have a similar result, and take what you learnt unto an original draw, something as an original concept taken from an external source.

Take it easy, you should definetly need to take breaks from time to time, do not dedicate to draw everything all at once.

Gather your ideas, when you want to draw something, you really do not want to forget what your ideas

Try using the loomis head for realistic proportions

But if you want to give more life to your artstyle, make sure you give your characters something to identify themselves, different personalities, different faces, headshapes, eyes, expressions etc.

Try using the type of pencil you feel more comfortable with, and try variations of it, so it can give you a wide range of options, ALSO, if you want to start the base of your draw, remember to use the highest degree of hardness, because you can make soft line that would be barely noticeable.


Try to learn perspectives, believe me, will give more life to your draws and will make them waay more interesting

Understand the basic fundaments so you can give yourself a perspective

Take challenges, the community has many challenges to try on so you can improve your art, for example the inkotber.

Try hatching, is really underrated

Take your time trying new stuff to make your own style.

And remember the most important thing about drawing is, have fun, is a generic advice, but is true, it will never be perfect, so make the best efforts to improve every single day, because the key to learn how to draw, is practice, and more importantly enjoyment, try drawing stuff that you like the most akljdsakljdsa

 

[Cinderpeach]

These are probably some of the best tips I have ever heard, thank you for the help

Happy to help!

 

[_TF]

i was boutta add to it but honestly idk what else to add lmfao, you guys already dropped enough to keep OP training for like a good 2 years now

Well...

If you wanna do traditional stuff i personally recommend using those fat lead mines

they're thick and they draw from every surface, basically with those you can really start with brash and bold shapes by using the edge and then you can progressively narrow down your subject by using the tip of the mine, and from there you use an eraser to pull the shape out the dark, bringing highlights and other lighter areas from your drawing.
That's the method i enjoy using the most when doing figure drawing.
But try multiple methods and go with the one you're most comfortable with honestly.

Here's some things i've made during my figure drawing classes, i think those were like 5 to 10 minutes of drawing time each.

And if you wanna do digital stuff, i recommend just pirating Photoshop, it's the industry standard and it has all the tools you need, it might seem a bit too complex but you really don't have to learn all of it, you'll learn on your way, all you need is know where the brush tool is and then start, the rest is gonna come later.

Another tip i can give for digital art, AVOID ZOOMING, you can zoom time to times, but avoid it as much as possible, because what would happen when you zoom is that you're focusing way too hard on a detail, a detail that will literally disappear the moment you zoom out, so for the sake of your time and sanity, avoid it arright?

AND, NEVER be scared to use references, references are essential to make cool shit, every single pro uses refs, because let's be real, unless you have hypermnesia + Nikola Tesla's imagination, you're not gonna be able to just drop shit from your mind to your paper, what you have in mind is blurry, the best way to get accurate to what you wanna do is find images that are pertinent for what you wanna do.

For example:

Okay, i want to make a drawing of a dude that looks very out of touch, someone that's dressed so bad that he's chased tirelessly by the fashion police.
This guy is an action-movie-like protagonist who embraces his own ugly style and makes it look badass due to it.

So now i got this small idea right, now i'm gonna get some reference images for all features and things that seem like would be useful to have for the drawing i wanna do;;;

There, i make this moodboard of things that inspire me and resonates with the base idea i have.

(Use PureRef for this, it's the best for making floating overlay ref boards : https://www.pureref.com/ )

Now i get to work, i consistently look at my references while drawing and then i stop when i feel like it's enough.

And voila!

(november 2022)

One last thing, don't think that using pictures to save yourself some time is a bad thing, it's good to do everything yourself, but sometimes you're gonna be on a tight schedule or sometimes you aren't really focusing on backgrounds for examples, so you can just use some pictures and tweak them a little to complete your drawing, like here the brick wall in the background is a picture that i just slightly modified, and yeah.

Good luck on your journey, it's gonna be highs and lows, but as long as you keep holding on, you'll be alright.

 

[Cinderpeach]

i was boutta add to it but honestly idk what else to add lmfao, you guys already dropped enough to keep OP training for like a good 2 years now View attachment 66981


Well...

If you wanna do traditional stuff i personally recommend using those fat lead mines View attachment 66982 they're thick and they draw from every surface, basically with those you can really start with brash and bold shapes by using the edge and then you can progressively narrow down your subject by using the tip of the mine, and from there you use an eraser to pull the shape out the dark, bringing highlights and other lighter areas from your drawing.
That's the method i enjoy using the most when doing figure drawing.
But try multiple methods and go with the one you're most comfortable with honestly.

View attachment 66983View attachment 66984
Here's some things i've made during my figure drawing classes, i think those were like 5 to 10 minutes of drawing time each.

And if you wanna do digital stuff, i recommend just pirating Photoshop, it's the industry standard and it has all the tools you need, it might seem a bit too complex but you really don't have to learn all of it, you'll learn on your way, all you need is know where the brush tool is and then start, the rest is gonna come later.

Another tip i can give for digital art, AVOID ZOOMING, you can zoom time to times, but avoid it as much as possible, because what would happen when you zoom is that you're focusing way too hard on a detail, a detail that will literally disappear the moment you zoom out, so for the sake of your time and sanity, avoid it arright?

AND, NEVER be scared to use references, references are essential to make cool shit, every single pro uses refs, because let's be real, unless you have hypermnesia + Nikola Tesla's imagination, you're not gonna be able to just drop shit from your mind to your paper, what you have in mind is blurry, the best way to get accurate to what you wanna do is find images that are pertinent for what you wanna do.

For example:

Okay, i want to make a drawing of a dude that looks very out of touch, someone that's dressed so bad that he's chased tirelessly by the fashion police.
This guy is an action-movie-like protagonist who embraces his own ugly style and makes it look badass due to it.

So now i got this small idea right, now i'm gonna get some reference images for all features and things that seem like would be useful to have for the drawing i wanna do;;;

View attachment 66985

There, i make this moodboard of things that inspire me and resonates with the base idea i have.

(Use PureRef for this, it's the best for making floating overlay ref boards : https://www.pureref.com/ )

Now i get to work, i consistently look at my references while drawing and then i stop when i feel like it's enough.

And voila!

View attachment 66986 (november 2022)

One last thing, don't think that using pictures to save yourself some time is a bad thing, it's good to do everything yourself, but sometimes you're gonna be on a tight schedule or sometimes you aren't really focusing on backgrounds for examples, so you can just use some pictures and tweak them a little to complete your drawing, like here the brick wall in the background is a picture that i just slightly modified, and yeah.

Good luck on your journey, it's gonna be highs and lows, but as long as you keep holding on, you'll be alright.

View attachment 66987

Aye, yo! thanks for metioning Pureref, and Photoshop!

I completely forgot to mention some digital art programs, oof!

The art you posted here, looks awesome!

I would be down to watch a movie about the out of touch fashion fopaux outlaw (also getting some big Disco Elysium vibes, which I DIG!) ! Your character design skills are on point!

 

[_TF]

Aye, yo! thanks for metioning Pureref, and Photoshop!

I completely forgot to mention some digital art programs, oof!

The art you posted here, looks awesome!

I would be down to watch a movie about the out of touch fashion fopaux outlaw (also getting some big Disco Elysium vibes, which I DIG!) ! Your character design skills are on point!

Thank you!

 

[nakadashi]

Put your drawing against a mirror or take a picture of it and flip it. I learnt that the bad way lmao.
Your brain gets used to how your drawing looks and will autocorrect its flaws.
Just don't overdo it otherwise your brain will get used to the mirrored image too.

 

[Cinderpeach]

Oh oh I've come back with one more tip! If you plan to post your art online or show it to others in general, which again you don't have to if you don't feel up for it. I would say 70% of the time the people who rag on your art, without giving constructive criticism, can't really draw that well themselves or if they can they don't feel confident in their skills, or or If they do feel confident in their skills and CAN draw, they're just a jerk don't listen to em (but that's scenario is somewhat rare, unless the artist has an ego the size of the colossal titan).

 

[Ross_Я]

I have always wanted to know how to draw, especially comics, since I was younger. But even after years trying my drawings look horrible. Anybody has any tips on how to actually learn?

Everything in this thread is pretty much the same thing that has been all over the web. As InternetGeist said:

It will just be the general advices people always give. Reading books, watching tutorials, copying, and practicing if you are seriously about learning. Maybe give yourself a daily prompt to draw so you have a motivation to keep it up. Don't try to develop a personal style before you have a good grasp of the basics (shading, anatomy, perspective, etc.). Good comics require good art techniques, but remember that horrors like Sonichu still exist if your main goal is just to convey ideas or stories through drawings.

However, I have one fresh tip. One that, it seems, you won't hear from anyone else. Brand fucking new. And it seems like it applies to the OP, given it has "after years trying my drawings look horrible" in it.

Just give up.

Really, that easy. It's not a bad thing. If you are anything like me, think really, really carefully if the result which you probably won't like anyway is worth years of pain. Especially if you can do some other thing and this is not the first skill you are trying to learn. Perhaps it is better to put this time into that other thing you can do and make it perfect.
Just, like... make a calculation of the amounts of fun and pain learning to draw properly gives you and make your choice. It's not like everyone's gotta know how to draw good for whatever reason. Or draw at all.

 

[Ross_Я]

You know, I will repeat it.

Just give up.

It is actually useful to know when to walk away. This "never surrender" and "you can do everything" mentality is like a notion that "every human is unique" - wrong from the very start. The ghosts of this "success mentality" that seem to dominate the landscape nowadays. It is not good to bang your head against the wall, fight against the impossible odds or whatever else. Sometimes it is better to just walk away.
I'm not saying "never try it", I'm saying: know your limits, know when to back down. That's about it. And that is good for you.
Do not listen to people who will probably say that it is the way for losers - so fucking what? Be a loser. Be the ultimate loser. This is not bad. Not. Bad. Anyhow.

You may actually feel the... you know, vibes to come back to it, like, seven years later. Or ten years later. And you might be better at it when it will hit you that you want to try again. But there's no need to torture yourself if you are at it for months and years and see no improvement.