Saturday, 13 June 2009

  • Why You Suck at Drawing

    Whenever I hear someone declare that they draw anime, I vomit on them. Directly on to them. I spare no drop, it all goes all over them, because this means one of two things, they're really fucking amazing at drawing, or more likely, they're godawful at it and not willing to get better.

    First off, let me explain why anime looks the way it does. It has less to do with style and more to do with technical halfassery. You see, with most mainstream anime, save a few brilliant works of art like Cowboy Bebop and Afro Samurai, is made to make money. When someone is trying to make money, they want to do as little work as possible. In the animation business, the easiest way to save time and money is to not animate. Watch an anime, any anime, and watch the actual animation. Now watch something by Disney (Disney has their own cutting corners and slacking, but they rarely sacrifice actual aesthetic for it).

    Not only does Anime run at half the framerate of classic Disney, but a good 90% of it is a closeup of the characters face with only their mouth poorly syncing to the dialogue. Either that, or it's drawn out animation cycles. Because there's so much focus on the face, and it's easier to animate emotion with just the face instead of the full body, the facial features are exaggerated. Also, when multiple projects have the same aesthetic and style, it's much easier to produce more crap faster with the same team. This is why Anime looks the way it does, not because it looks cool.

    But here's why when someone draws anime, they suck at it.

    anime

    Yep, that takes talent. And that's considered GOOD anime right there. Anime has such a defined look that when someone who has no drawing education, but thinks they can draw anyway tries to replicate the style, they fail miserably, and since everyone is so familiar with the style of anime, we notice immediately what is wrong with it.

    Anime3

    Look at em go! That's raw, seizure-inducing talent right there.

    The problem is that everyone who draws strictly anime has never actually learned how to draw. They never learned proportions or drawing from life, which is essential. Anime has such exaggerated proportions that if you do not know correct proportions or anatomy to begin with, you will never be able to replicate it. Even bigger of a problem is that no one wants to see anime, anyway. No artist or anyone in a professional industry, anyway. I, along with everyone in the world would much rather see someone develop a new, unique style than replicate an already overused style.

    Drawing isn't hard, it's a process of unlearning what you think people and objects look like and learning how perspective distorts how they actually look. For figure, it's all about proportions. Either way, I enjoy seeing the crappy anime drawings that get submitted in student portfolios when new students apply for our school, because instantly we all know those are the kids who, even if they make it into the school, will drop out before they graduate, because they're not actually interested in learning how to draw.

    And one more for good measure.

    Anime2

Comments (53)

  • I_Am_Twilight

    So does that mean my stick figures have a chance?  
  • impossibleangles

    Imagine being on the panel reviewing apps of potential students for a living.  There would be many portfolios returned with nacho-scented vomit accompanying the rejection letters.
  • x_Butterflies_and_Hurricanes_x

    AHHHH thank you!! I used to be an art major, and there is so much more to drawing than anime.  So much more.  And I don't even consider myself to be a terribly talented drawer, but I can sit down and draw anime extremely quickly.  Because it's too easy. 

    Don't get me wrong, I like to read manga.  I think the art in mangas are quite a bit more detailed.  But I do tend to like the ones that actually CARE about the art and not just the story.  Sometimes the art can be absolutely gorgeous. 

    But... yeah... drawing anime may only get you popularity on the internet... with a younger crowd.  And... that's about it.

  • beetunes

    hey, it's like barbie. she can be anything / wear anything... aha... aha...
  • DrugInducedDuck

    @impossibleangles - I wouldn't return the portfolio, just a piece of paper with "STOP IT!" written on it.
  • SerenaDante

    LOL. You make such a good point, I'd never really realized about the face thing, but looking at that flashing picture... so true! But yeah, I pretty much suck at drawing when it comes to people, so I do stick to anime style creations there... on the other hand, I'm pretty good at drawing animals! =D

    And omfg, you should totally put up some of those porfolios. Like, find the absolute worst and make a post of them ^^
  • methodElevated

    I... don't know what to think of this entry.

    ...but that image is so incredibly distracting that I had a very hard time reading it to begin with.
  • jupiter312

    I had just started working on a new painting, and was drawing the basic outlines when I read this title.  More specifically, I was erasing for at least the tenth time because I couldn't get it to look right...so my first thought was, "I know it's terrible, but why do you have to tell all of Xanga?!"  Then I realized I was being a paranoid nut =)

    But rest assured, I gave up on anime when I was in high school.  My art is almost exclusively surreal now.
  • impossibleangles

    @DrugInducedDuck - lol - Your way is always better. =D
  • DrugInducedDuck

    @jupiter312 - I'll admit I started with anime, but I corrected that mistake long before I went into art school.


    @SerenaDante - I think more embarassing would be putting up some of the graduate portfolios back when we had the old department head. Our animation department literally did not teach anything.
  • jupiter312

    @DrugInducedDuck - I started with really awkward, angular landscapes, but that was back when the drawing was the actual finished product (anime sadly came after that).  I luckily came to realize that my artistic talent lied in painting before I wasted too much time on styles I would never be able to make look as good.
  • polishswede

    hahaha
    I don't like anime either.
  • XxRainyxMondayxX

    anime is cute and all, but it's no good for professional artists.
  • another_rebel_without_a_cause

    My eyes...


    I don't put a bunch of effort into my drawings because I don't have much incentive. Any tiem I draw something, it's just a sketch to act as a vehicle for the writing.


    Sometimes, though, I'll actually put more than five minutes into it. If I do that, however, that drawing is used and re-used with different text. Old Man Jenkins is one of my favorites.
  • Steffs__PMS

    haha crazy. it's like those disney stencils...
  • Lithium98

    But I can draw Goku like it's nobody's business!
  • pocoemme
    I feel you...

    God, I despise anime for that reason. It's so simplistic. I remember back in middle school anime was huge. I was drawing crazy cool maybe slightly psychotic things and would get zero credit no matter how good I was with shading and realism.


    And then here comes some nerd who simply throws a piece of a shit on a piece of standard white lined paper and puts a couple of half circle eyeballs on it and everyone thought he was Vincent fucking Van Gogh.

    You're entry is brilliant. About the process of unlearning. Dead on.

    I actually gave a "Mini", normally I'm anti-mini, but I had to for this post.

  • UnpredictableIdentity

    I suck at drawing, but I do not even watch anime.

    I think I need an eye-rest.
  • GamerPanda

    I guess I "draw anime", however, I definitely have my own unique style (in some ways) and at least I'm trying to learn how to draw (IF I CAN EVER FIT FIGURE DRAWING INTO MY SCHEDULE)! However, even as an anime fan, I really DO draw anime because I'm not very good at drawing and it's so much easier than real life. You know, I just realized that. However, since I'm not going to become a professional artist any time soon, I'm going to continue to draw anime because it's fun. Also to spite you. :D
  • Dargon

    I draw a bit in my free time. I have no formal art education, but I have looking into figure drawing and anatomy books, to learn proportion and perspective. I'm not very good, at it, and I am striving to get better, but I can draw anime because it's simple and easy. 
  • niez_cho

    You should do it for the male characters that appear in anime too!
  • princess_riceball

    I was in an art program in high school, so many people got yelled at for drawing anime.  They told us that it was pretty much a waste of time to replicate an established style and if you were going to create characters you should at least use your own style.
    I never got into drawing anime anyway, or any character.  I have to work from life or a reference photo.  I can't draw squat from my head.
  • storiesandsinker

    I drew anime... when I was like 10.

    or at least I thought it looked like anime. Yet again, it might have just been lines and scribbles.
  • sageng

    I used to think that drawing anime was the basis to see if anybody actually knew how to draw or not. Then I saw some stuff by MC Escher (?spelling) then eh. Haha. My bad.. But hey. I was young. Please don't flame me.
  • Undercover_Librarian

    I hate anime. And I cannot draw to save my life. 

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