How long have you been drawing?

[Exiter]

Im sure theres been a thread on this before

When Im checking out art here i usually check out profiles for people i dont personally know to see a little about the arteest and sometimes the ages surprise me. Sometimes the age is younger or older than i expect

I was just wondering how long whoever out there has been practicing art.
We have such a wide cross section of artists that have been drawing before they could tie their shoes to those who may have started in their teens or older

[DrVictorVonDoom]

Since 7th grade, I think. So about 5-6 years.
In case you want to see:
THEN (http://www.geocities.com/drvictordoom/OldSpideyvsOck1.jpg)
NOW (http://www.geocities.com/drvictordoom/samuraijack1.txt)
I'm a few weeks from being 18, currently.

[Chris Piers]

I've always drawn, always. But I didn't make a serious effort to draw constantly and make an effort to improve until about 2 and a half years ago, when I found WizardWorld's message boards.

[Ra Havok]

I too have *always* drawn. Began to focus more on improving since I became a member of Penciljack. (since March 02)

[Exiter]

Originally posted by Chris Piers
I've always drawn, always. But I didn't make a serious effort to draw constantly and make an effort to improve until about 2 and a half years ago, when I found WizardWorld's message boards.

yeah that was the original question i was going to ask was how long have you been seriously drawing....but i realize that there are artists here who are just doing it for fun and thats great so i figured just to ask how long would be more appropriate

I've been drawing with profession as goal since i was like 8 so honestly until i started trying to play guitar i didnt realize why anyone would want to just draw for fun but i definitely see now how sometimes something like this can be a fun diversion even if your goal isnt to be a professional and make artists cower at the mention of your name

[Devilman]

Yeah, i don't really know what "serious" drawing is. Even when i'm drawing a stick figure, i'm trying to draw a stick figure. Seriously.


Anyway, i started drawing after my mom caught me tracing pages of my star wars coloring book and she told me that it wasn't right to trace, that if I wanted her to be proud of my drawings, they would have to be from me. So, i started drawing. Wierd, huh?

[Exiter]

Originally posted by Devilman
Yeah, i don't really know what "serious" drawing is. Even when i'm drawing a stick figure, i'm trying to draw a stick figure. Seriously.
i guess in the context of this conversation "serious" means having the goal of making a living

[The Souljah]

Well I've been drawing since 4th grade. I got serious in High School about 10th grade.

[Bobby Day]

I have been sieriously drawing sence I was 14 almost 15 years old. I used to draw before then evey once in a while but I had not thought of drawing as a careir untill then.
-Bobby

[Zackie Chan]

I've been drawing since I could hold a crayon. And I'm just as good now, (age 19) as I was then, (age 2 or 3)

[Tory]

I have been drawing since i was little, and coloring be for that. I think that i really started to conciously trying to learn around 7th grade..anatomy that is. But i guess my more coherent stuff started at about age 11. It's wierd though, i remember drawing page after page of just profiles of heads,in 6th grade, till i got it right, but i thought it was fun.

I think every one should post a before in after.i'll try to post up one tomarrow!

[DeForgeo]

I've been doodling since as long as I can remember, but I only started taking it seriously 2 years ago.

Then (http://www.geocities.com/deforgeo_dead/art/ballpointcover1.JPG)
Now (http://images.deviantart.com/large/indyart/freehand/pope_linework.jpg)

I'd say my style has changed significantly since then. . . no?

[DrVictorVonDoom]

Originally posted by stiocray
I think every one should post a before in after.
That's why I put mine up. It's interesting to see how in many ways, I've gotten better, and in many ways I still get the same things wrong.

[Exiter]

Yeah that would be cool to see some really old art

All my old stuff is in GA unfortunately

[vctrstigma9]

Well I've been drawing seriously now like for 2-3 years or the start of my Soph. year in High School . Just grad. nway I'll try to dig up something from back then ... but I doubt I have it.. alot was on just regular lined sheets of paper and notebooks and stuff I did during class which is now gone

[dfbovey]

I've been drawing since the age of 4. I never took my art seriously until 9th grade.

THEN (http://www.davidbovey.com/images/jip.jpg)

NOW (http://www.davidbovey.com/images/tool.jpg)

I have older stuff laying around over at my grandparents house somewhere. Finding stuff from the age of 6 would probably be funny! I'll have to rummage through their basement to find that stuff.

[esp]

The 1st memory i have of being able to draw was in junior school so i guess i was around 6 or 7 y/o , a teacher commented she had never seen a drawing of that quality for such a young age , i was soo proud :D
And im now 25 so thats say 18 years at least !
Wow longer than i thought ;)
BTW this is only drawing in general i have only been into marvel since viewing these boards , ive never read a marvel comic either (not a great comic reader) but this place has got me interested due to the skill some people here have :D

esp

[Bruce Lee]

I started drawing cartoons and superheroes at age four. That was back in 1974. I use to draw Speedbuggy, Frankenstein Jr, Space Ghost, Pink Panther, Fred Flintstone and Batman every chance I got. For some reason or another, I am able to remember images of cartoon and superhero characters vividly, which helped me draw without reference. I remember drawing a Sesame Street poster for my first grade teacher. She made a big fuss about how all the characters were easily identifiable, and I soon learned that the ability to draw things could garner attention. I was hooked, and I've been drawing ever since--so, about 28 years worth of practise. I never had an art class prior to the Joe Kubert School, which I attended from '94-96. I'm a self taught artist, by and large. The Kubert School pretty much gave me the spit & polish I needed to turn pro.

My parents have several pieces of my artwork from back when I was a kid. I used to draw on the backs of envelopes and paper bags when paper wasn't available. I think they're keeping that stuff just for blackmail.


Loston
http://www.lostonwallace.com

[MrDowntown]

I've been drawing for forever but seriously since high school I guess, maybe late junior high for a career. The old one's from elementary though

then (http://www.mrdowntown.com/crapwolvie.jpg)

now (http://www.mrdowntown.com/batmanpinup.jpg)

[Mike]

I've been drawing since I was around 6 or 7. And that was just because my brother was drawing crappy (yes, he'll admit it all now) pictures of Transformer toys and he would say things like, "you'll never be able to draw as good as I can".

So here I am and now he's saying, "you'll never be a better photographer than I am". And he's still just amateur! And I don't even go out and seriously take pictures!

[GroundHog]

in 4th grade I had to switch schools to a "high ability" program.

later that year my parents made the foolish decision to move to the suburbs and switch my schools(away from high ability to pretty much prejudice).

In the suburbs I was quickly rejected by my authorities and thus ignored school altogether as much as I could and kept drawing.

let's see, I've been drawing since 1991. It all began with a terrible mistake my parents made and grew into a big mistake which is my curriculum. Meaning I have no footsteps to follow in. :D Chaos into order.

You'd think I'd be good at it by now.

[Steampunk]

well, seems like i've been drawing forever...drawing comics since 1990 (making me 9 at the time, i guess)...how serious is serious? i wanted to go pro back then...but i guess the first sequential piece i did on bristol board was in grade 10, also when i bought india ink, etc...so that's *serious* i guess

i'll see if i can get some of my oldest stuff scanned...i saw it a couple weeks back, so it won't be hard :)

[Super Rats]

I started drawing when I was 27, I'm 29 now, so about a year and a half. I'm an old dog trying to learn something new. Really, I'm a writer who draws, because it is easier to learn how to draw than to get someone good to draw for you, unless you're friggin loaded and can pay.

[bfowler]

I've been a writer ever since I can remember. I got into comics and wanted to write professionally. I ended up thinking it would be better if I could write and draw my own stuff. That was around my 2nd year of college. I was 18. I'm now 27.

[Exiter]

Originally posted by Super Rats
because it is easier to learn how to draw than to get someone good to draw for you, unless you're friggin loaded and can pay.
yeah thats the truth

[Epik]

i haveprobably been drawing my whole life, but it wasnt untill i wasn 't untill 7th grade that i really wanted to be serious in art, but im in 8th grade now and have improved alot :cool:

[xadrian]

Originally posted by wallychamp
I've been drawing since I was around 6 or 7. And that was just because my brother was drawing crappy (yes, he'll admit it all now) pictures of Transformer toys and he would say things like, "you'll never be able to draw as good as I can".


Same here, but I was the big brother saying "You'll never..." ah well. He's a painter, I'm into comics, what are ya gonna do.

I've been drawing my whole life, but I didn't get into comics until I was in college, so 18-19. Then not really pushing it until 23-24, so I'm a late bloomer (I'm 29 now)

Anyway, here's an OLD (http://www.polariscomics.com/artwork/scratch.jpg) and a NEW (http://www.polariscomics.com/artwork/redsonja.jpg)

Wally, what part of Austin?

[Aridante]

My brother and I were very fond of drawing very un-PC-ish drawings in our picture books (much to my parents' dismay). Where it came from, nobody knows. :D That started when I was five, then I got into cartoons and more picture books and began drawing supherheroes and all that, though it wasn't until I turned 13 that I made an effort to improve. Ironically, it was also around that time that I had also grew an interest for high fantasy/space opera-ish novels and comics, ie bookworm. So what turned into a hobby eventually grew into a full-time habit....gosh, I still have my '90 sketchbook too.....heh heh...

[Kaligula]

I've always been drawing for as long as I can remember. I think I really started taking it seriously tho when I was around 16 or so. And since I'm 23 now, that would be around 7-8 years.

[fatmancomics]

I've been drawing my whole life. The earliest memory I have of drawing is that I did it different than the rest of the kids. They all drew round eyes and those little half triangle noses on people so they made fun of my drawings because I drew nostrils and more slanted eyes (to this day I've yet to meet anyone with truly round eyes).
In junior high I actually started writing a lot more than drawing. I had a whole series written about a roller derby team in the future and drew out the characters. My friend drew a whole team of characters and I was going to write a "crossover" story mixing his with mine (his were superpowered though). He and I would have little "draw offs" and he always won because he copied poses out of karate magazines. I was totally against copying anything (except plot lines :p ) so he got a lot better than me a lot quicker. To this day I regret not copying because I could be a lot better.
By high school I still drew for fun but my focus was in drama and english (writing) so I didn't practice as much. I made one drawing a day in a small sketchpad I had but it was basicaly character developments so they were usually in the same three quarter view so not much practice there. I flunked the AP art classes I took and the teacher was not very supportive. My first formal drawing class was in junior college and I had a great teacher so I took more. All the art teachers there were great and I improved a great deal. I turned out to be a pretty good painter and printmaker as well and got accepted to my school of choice but I couldn't afford to go. So, I got my AA and became the lovable wannabe you all know.
Now I'm writing the story for my comic which I WANT to draw but don't think I'm good enough to do. I have money saved up and am still saving so I may end up hiring one of you to illustrate it so keep your fingers crossed but don't hold your breath.
BTW, if you wanna see my art just click on the link in my signature. I'd love some critiques eventhough everything in there is pretty old (I don't own a scanner so it's been months since I last put anything new online).

[Hazard]

i've been drawin all my life, but got serious in about 7th or 8th grade. i remember i always drew my own versions of famous characters and made little crappy books, that was until my brother told me the wide world of plagarism then i started making my own. Another reason was my friend was always better than me and i always was trying to get better than him.

[Debs]

I have always been more into writing than drawing (still am), and thus I have felt more a writer all my life, but I always doodled as a kid and in third grade I told everyone I was going to be a cartoonist.

I started drawing *for real* my first semester of college (1998, I was 18) when I began taking art courses. I began drawing cartoons (animation) at the end of that semester. So I haven't really been drawing long-- just four years.

[shinycrank]

Had a pencil in hand since I was 2. Even so, I've not done anything in about 1-2 years. Been fighting "artist block." Just can't get motivated to draw anymore.

[Samael22]

I have been drawing since yesterday. I drew an elephant, a tiger and a sea lion with a smile. Since I learned how to draw I have gone on to draw people. People tend to be ugly so I stopped during the day. The tiger came out real good because all of the stripes seemed positioned really nice, a simple stripe would not suffice so I decided why not add more. I fiddled with the notion that a tiger can still be a tiger minus the stripes, but...that passed. In the afternoon I redrew the elephant but it didn't seem to be right so I looked at a photo of an elephant and they looked remarkably alike. In a hazy night as I used charcoal and pencils to guide my hand in styling an elephant with clothes, I thought that was absurd, so I quit. Finally in a point of clarity, I realized that most of my drawings were art, and, as with all art, I wanted to have it framed. So I drew a frame around the drawings and I have them framed on top of my bed. As I dream I saw a well dressed elephant, a multi striped tiger and a sea lion--with a smile still.

[Inkthinker]

Age of two. My mother threatens to show people stuff from then anyhow... it's quite horrific.

There are jets. They are purple and red.

[Black Eagle]

I started exactly 1 year and 4 days ago......and I've surpassed my wildest imaginations by already being hired to illsutrate a book.....:p

[jacon]

forever!

[ArtGyrl]

i've been drawing ever since i can remember. . .

i won a coloring contest when i was four, and i haven't looked back since.


not really. but art has always been something i did. in my younger years i'd always draw pictures of girls. i didn't read comics back then, and i wasn't able to draw ninja turtles and thundercats like the other guys in my elementary classes.

i guess i started to get serious about art in eighth or ninth grade. that's when my anatomy got decent. my art style is still developing now, but i'm getting comfortable with the way i draw now.

[Pep]

for 3 mins straight now.

[GroundHog]

really? what are you drawing?

[southpaw]

"yeah that was the original question i was going to ask was how long have you been seriously drawing....but i realize that there are artists here who are just doing it for fun and thats great so i figured just to ask how long would be more appropriate "

im 26 and i don't think I have ever been seriously started drawing yet at all.

I've started drawing in spurts of thinking of becoming pro in the year 95' . but never got around to drawing comics seriously. I took a course in art fundamentals and 2 yrs in in technical illustration .

I've never to my own fault been serious at it. yet. maybe maybe definition of drawing seriously is drawing every day finishing at least 3 pages of story a week. when I can do that at least for a month without stoping .. then I know i got serious. despite the real job, and everyday life I have to find that time to breathe in and breath out art.
by the way exiter how long have u been serious.l