Question about which art class to take

*miudream Jul 31, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Sorry if this is in the wrong area but I have a question. I love to draw, so I was thinking of taking a class in college. I can draw cats pretty well but humans and anything similar I can't even. I can draw the skeleton or base of the cat (circles and lines) but humans I don't even know where to start. The only problem with taking an art class is that I don't like to draw traditionally. I love drawing digitally. That being said I thought of taking an animation class but I don't like drawing the same character over and over again. I've so irritated, confused, and annoyed at this because i've been thinking and thinking about this and still have no answer.

So in your opinion which art class would best suit me? Should I just take an animation class? I've always thought digital art class was meant more for brocures or how to make documents look pretty, not actually drawing.

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~achipps Aug 1, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Taking Art class is not a career opportunity. You can graduate with a masters degree and still not able to draw. The only reason why you would take art class is so you can become an art teacher.

Art as a job don't have anything to do with a degree, because they mean nothing in the art world, and a 16 year old can work for games, and movies companies while still in high school if they are a great artist. I know a few that fit that description.

If you really want to learn just study everything about things before you try to draw them, and at times draw to practice and remember.

You would be surprised to know how many people have problems drawing hands and never look at their own hands, because they know what they look like. What they don't know is what they need to draw them. That comes from study and observation.

~mchectr Aug 2, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I agree, that was one reason why I didn't go to a Digital art class. I foresaw myself in a store waiting for anyone to budge in and say "Can you make me something?"

I'd rather be an engineer....

~achipps Aug 2, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Would that be Combat Engineer, Construction design, or Equipment. The first is like Rambo and it's a B12 MOS, and it takes 12 weeks of training. The second you might need to take AutoCad, personally I like TurboCad.

To operate any equipment you will get that as a Combat Engineer in the National Guard. First time sign up is for 8 years.
Or you can mess around on a construction site that uses rental equipment and the keys are always left inside, but when you are done with a diesel engine let the turbine wind down for a while before turning the key off.

~mchectr Aug 3, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Ehhh, I still can't decide between Architecture or Civil Engineering. THough I'm more inclined to Civil engineering if practical.

Combat engineer sounds awesome, though I'm not interested mainly on military equipment.

~achipps Aug 3, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Combat Engineers drive 6 wheel drive Dump trucks, bull dossers, back hoes, Jeeps, Trucks of all kinds, and everything that can be used in construction, because Combat Engineers builds roads, bridges, barricades. They don't drive tanks, but could if needed, and the same goes for a crane.
After the army is done the combat engineers are the last to go home because they have to blow up bridges as they go.

They use bull dossers to quickly clear land mines because the blade can take the blast when the bottom of a tank can't, but they are trained to find landmines and remove booby traps so they can disarm them.

I was a Combat engineer, and a contractor. I out witted men that were master engineers. The roomer of their defeat came back to me from Georgia to Virginia.

~mchectr Aug 4, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Okay, you don't really need to tell everything about a Combat engineer's work. It sounds great, but I'll find my ways. Thanks.

*miudream Aug 1, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Thanks I thought you needed to have an art degree to draw as a career. Thanks for putting that out there.

~achipps Aug 1, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

When a company depends good art to sell their products the companies with the best artist always wins, and the losers go bankrupt.

*cynicalcoffee Aug 1, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

Single art classes and life drawing sessions are actually a fine idea. They will introduce you to new techniques with hands on instruction that you simply cannot give yourself. They also introduce you into a broader community of artists who you can interact with in person, and make connections with. You don't have to attend college full time or take a major in art to take foundational art classes. If you take a class and find it stifling, you don't have to continue. At least you will have the first hand experience to know whether it is or is not for you.

Getting a career in art actually has more to do with who you know, and how good you are only factors slightly into it. A degree isn't always necessary, and very few companies will require it, but the more technical the art job, the more having a degree becomes preferable. I myself was an art lead at a small studio, and I do not have an art degree, although I did attend an art school for a few years. All of the guys under me, though, did have their BFA. I got the job because I had a mutual friend with the owner of the company. I got the lead position because I had the most professional experience at the time, not because I was the best artist. There are all sorts of 'soft skills' that come with working alongside other people, and just as important as being a good artist is being easy to work with, being level headed, and being able to take critique and change your work according to the wishes of your client and the people you work with.

*Heyriel Aug 1, 2012 Student Digital Artist

Do you want to study art or only take a few classes to improve a bit?
If you want to study art then, to be honest, I'd say that you need alot more practice to get in no matter what path you choose. As Black-Allison said you will have to draw pretty much all types of things in many different mediums.
If you just wanna do a few classes then go to the school you're interested in (or to their website) and read up on what they do in the individual classes. You'll know what's sounds best for you.

But either way you might as well try to learn with books before spending so much money on classes you won't even enjoy. The Art of Animal Drawing by Ken Hultgren is a great book to improve your animal-drawing skills, and apart from the Loomis books (google, they're free) there are loads and loads of books that will help you with humans. (I can give you a list of you want.) There's no more to it than knowing the bones, knowing the muscles, drawing from life and practice.

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