http://www.drawspace.comYou need to add one image per edit. It's forum bug.

Yup. A bug we know about (see the bugs thread). Only one attachment per edit will show up in the thread. To add another attachment, edit the post and add it (perhaps remove the invisible ones first, for your own sanity), then edit again to add a third one... repeat as neccessary.

It's all very well saying practice, practice, practice, but you've got to set yourself on the right path first. Otherwise you'll waste a lot of time just slowly stumbling along when you could be learning from other people's mistakes and successes instead.

Get some guides on how to draw basic things and go from there. One thing I'd recommend is learning to draw comic book characters. You might not be looking to do comics, but the basic principals are sound and start from extreme basics through to some fairly realistic-looking results.

If you're new to things like the rules of perspective and colour theory then there's plenty of advice out there too.

Now sure, you might want to break the rules and do something a little more off the wall. But in order to do that effectively you've got to understand and be able to follow the rules well first.

Also, most of the pro artists I've encountered would say to draw from life, even if it means just random crap in your apartment. That's supposed to train you to analyze an object and break it down into its fundamental forms that you put on paper. Or something.

No real secret, just draw, whatever you like. Then start drawng from life, people, objects, streets, everything. Once your feeling a touch better about the whole drawing thing start looking into anatomy, colour theory, composition, perspective and all that good stuff.

Don’t be buying a bunch of books right now, I mean you can look but some of them can be a bit crap, espeshaly the step by step stuff, just don’t ever touch it, ever. It takes till you're a little futher along to start seeing what might be useful, you can also find some good recorces over the intenret. Seriously though, just draw, draw everyday and enjoy yourself.

Thanks for all those tips, I will try drawing stuff around house but I am afraid it wont do any good...I simply need some books or try methods (I will look up the methods strixo suggested). Just quick question could any of you help me draw opened knight helm? :) I really want to try to draw it and I could use tips.

I'm not very good at drawing (really, but I've improved so I can tell how to improve, maybe!), but I know some artists. They draw a lot. Like crazy amounts.. and they draw everything, all the time, even like when you're watching movie, they're drawing the guys in it. You're probably not aiming to become an actual super artist, so I'll just hint stuff that helped me and hope they'll be of some use to you:

-there's that whole "draw a lot to improve" thing
-look at things and try to see the "curves" (as in "if I wanted to draw that nose, what kind of turns would the line take) and shapes/shades in them. this is a thing that some people I've spoken with have sort of skipped, like this one guy couldn't draw sad faces because he was so used to drawing happy ones that he kept adding the happy features in. if you want to draw a likeness of something, you need to actually look at that something (and if what you see doesn't fit what you're used to, ignore what you're used to, unless you're a boss and have mad skillz, then you can do whatever). also, try to figure out which of the details aren't important
-if you really want to improve, skip the whole "it's good enough" thought that pops up in your mind after you've spent an absurd amount of time drawing an ugly platypus. either keep improving it, or start drawing it again, and do it until you're sick of it. if you want to draw something other than an ugly platypus, well, that's your choice but I don't see why you would want to do that (one of my art teachers made me draw an ugly platypus and it was never good enough; trauma!) :p
-stare at yourself in a mirror and move around to get at least a basic understanding on how a human body works (you need to pay attention too) if you're planning to draw a not super abstract human being. this one's like crazy hard (at least for me, I never got it even though I spent a lot of time trying and read anatomy books)
-if you're trying to figure out how to draw something (that cannot be referenced), try to draw it many times with variations (if you're working on a big piece, do it on a separate paper/canvas for sanity)

Drawing a grid can help a lot with proportions and locations and curves and everything ever (except having gridless pictures :p ). I attached an example of this, which also shows that if you're going to draw with your mouse, you should get a better one than mine. Learning proportions is kind of important, and this can help with it.

Also, this I read on an artist's blog: when you look at someone's fancy drawing, try to figure out why they drew it the way they did, because if you just copy it, it'll always be inferior.

You could google "knight helm" and download an image that was similar to what you wanted. Print it out and place it behind some tracing paper and use it for a guide.

I do this in Illustrator or Photoshop when I need to draw something difficult. I take a photo myself or find one online, import the image and place a transparent layer on top of it and use vector tools to recreate the image. . . =)

Don't be afraid. Just take your time and keep it simple starting out. Then, simply add a little bit more detail. I would find some helm pictures on the net and try to draw them since that is what you really want to draw. Don't focus on too many small details starting out though. Sorry if this isn't much help but it's how I was taught and it really worked for me.

Start by getting the basic shape right first. the outline and then the key details. Resist the urge to add any detail until the essentials are in place.

When drawing on PC don't forget about tablet. Also if you have PS CS4/5 you will probably need this for easier usage of color.

EDIT: oh and I think its easier to start drawing on paper, scan it, then finish on PC.

Don't be too swayed by my bias towards one of those books and not the other, do what works for you. Edwards will give you results much, much sooner. You'll be making scribbles for a long time with Nicolaides.

But, as others have said, you have to make an effort. You draw, and draw, and draw, and then improve. Consider Van Gogh's early drawing 'Carpenter'. He was not always the artist he is known as.

I've always drawn by hand and don't know if there are any better programs to use. I find an image on the net and save it to my pc, or I take a screenshot of a video and then I try to draw it. Sorry :(

Ideally you would want to use Adobe Illustrator or another vector drawing program. Photoshop will work just fine for learning. If you know how to use the vector tools I suggest using those for the best looking lines.

If not, pick a hard edged paint brush . . sized for what you are doing and use the Shift -Click method. Click where you want to start a line, hold shift and click where you want to end the straight line. Create large arcs by making series of short straight lines. Edit: Just keep clicking ahead of your last click while holding Shift to extend an arc or make the line go in another direction from your last click.

I would start by making a new image at the size and res you want (I like 300 dpi) Drag your helm image to the new image and size it to fit. Lower the transparency of the helm image to a degree that lets you see it and your drawing lines. Place a transparent layer on top and draw away.

BTW, you can place a white layer between your drawing layer and the helm layer to make it easier to check your progress. Turing the layer off and on as necessary.