Can I get some advice on drawing?

So my whole life I've never been a good artist. I mean I can probably draw the best stick figures you've ever seen but.... you know lol. I'd like to be able to draw anime people and their faces well and make it blend into the background good. How would you artists out there suggest I do to improve?

Well that was Harsh lol http://img13.deviantart.net/ff6a/i/2010/258/8/f/destroyed_by_derp12-d2yrfq1.png Though she isn't wrong My advice would be: Try to find and develop your own Art Style first, though that's easier said than done. What helped me find my style was getting inspiration from different artists ranging from Comic to Manga Artists. Maybe you can find something you like by looking at their art, try to copy (imitate) or study it. Draw your characters over and over again until you find a look your comfortable with and able to call your own. Here are some Artists that I liked and that I have taken some inspiration from Greg Capullo http://static1.squarespace.com/static/537bbc00e4b02dfe16cf7782/544ebd5fe4b0fb9cefabe0c4/544ebd83e4b0fb9cefabe145/1414446468318/greg-capullo-batman4-pg17-pencils-dec2011.jpg Koutarou Yamada http://z.mfcdn.net/store/manga/3617/09-036.0/compressed/137_138.jpg Koya Katsuyoshi https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV4uzaFVEAAEc2t.png I'm sure I left out some things as well, but others will most likely comment on that

Start by practicing from life. You want to draw your own anime characters, you should start by drawing real people. Learn anatomy and be able to break down shapes that define figures. I recommend watching videos from Proko and Sycra to get a grasp of the basics. Once you learn how to draw real people(a skill more than a talent) then you can begin to exaggerate their features. If you just copy popular artists without fundamentally understanding why they make the choices they do then your art will suffer. Strive for strong fundamentals and gets some drawing in when you can. I recommend having a small sketchbook and whenever you see something interesting in front of you, hey draw it. Try to break down what about the gesture is interesting to get a better idea of what you find interesting. The basics are important because they are the foundation of what you do. Here are two videos that I think you should start with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74HR59yFZ7Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWuaQ84kGwI

^ Yes this is also very Important, I forgot to include that as well. YouTube is a great source to get help from. It has many many helpful videos ranging from about everything you need. Take time to go over everything.

Figure drawing is great, get as much as u can, theres always a community centre around where u can do figure drawing for cheap or if u want go online and get free drawing sessions like on this site. http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/ And pretty much the people above me summed it up, art starts off with copying really and inspiring yourself from other artist to become ur own. I like to pin up references and other people's art around my desk to create a motivational workspace for me. Try drawing daily, make a challenge for urself to draw at least one sketchpage or a drawing per day. Keep ur first drawing and then by next year or maybe a couple months. Compare those 2 drawings and u'll see the difference clearly. My analytical drawing teacher says u need to learn and build ur foundation so u can break it and make a newer form of it. Perspective, figure/anatomy drawing, life drawing, environmental drawing are all good stuff to practice. So just try ur best and don't give up!! It really depends on u solely, and how motivated u can stay to draw.

Y e a r s of practice. Yes, sure but there are not tricks nor short ways to this. I, myself, never really liked taking courses or anything of the sort. Though, is true you need to find art and artists you find inspiring to form your own drawing style, you still need to practice by your own and start understanding the techniques used in a drawing BY YOURSELF. Since you want to draw people and to create your own anime style or something from what I've read, anime proportions are very well done, I recommend you to check the golden number when applied in sculptures. Also, practice everyday, do sketches in your classes or whenever you can. Good art never comes out of nowhere, you have to work to get it. I agree you need to study anatomy and start practicing on a lot of body positions and what would be the perfect angles to you but no matter how much you seek for this, you have to learn it yourself and to create your own techniques for your own drawing style. Styles take a lot of time to form, you know. Thanks God I already am past that phase. However, copying simple drawings and someone else's style might get you closer to find yours too. There are many manga artists out there that simply draw way too good like Tite Kubo and Murata Yusuke.

Here i like to keep a tumblr where i find art that appeals to me and inspire from them, lol its mostly cutesy ones but like u can start maybe ur own and find art that appeals to u. http://botanophile.tumblr.com/

Hey thanks a lot for the advice everyone. Most of you were very helpful. I think my biggest problem is making everything appear detailed enough to look good. I can (obviously) draw the basic shapes to start off well like a round face for example but it's when I try to add stuff like depth or good looking hair that I mess up and it looks terrible. But I guess practice makes perfect huh?