I want to learn how to draw

Hey guys, about a month ago I started to learn how to draw because I want to make Fan Art and maybe even make some indie titles one day. So far I've made some still lifes and some digital stuff on my new Wacom Intuos Manga.

I study with a teacher once a week and I things are going OK for the moment. He told me that if I all I want is to make digital art then I should forget about drawing on paper and just get a graphics tablet (which I did)

He also told me that I really should get an anatomy book for artists and said that Gottfried Bammes is one of the best as he explains his techniques very clearly. Problem is that his books are very old and kind of obscure and I couldn't find any of them in any of the libraries in my town. The one I found in PDF format is quite short and doesn't really explain that well.

What I want is a book that doesn't waste my time with unnecessary details, has lots of illustrations detailing how to draw a feature from the simplest rendition to the most complex and is modern.

It doesn't have to be a book btw, it can even be online tutorials but I tend to stay away from those because I really want to learn from a single source and online tutorials tend to be a bit amateurish.

Also, do you know any sites that could help me grow as an artist? I feel kind of lost at the moment.

DooM_RO said:

I study with a teacher once a week and I things are going OK for the moment. He told me that if I all I want is to make digital art then I should forget about drawing on paper and just get a graphics tablet (which I did)

I wouldn't give up drawing on paper completely. Regardless if you will implement it into what you want to do; its good practice for creativity. Randomly and frequently drawing with a piece of paper and pencil is the best practice imo. Do it when you're bored, or you have an idea you'd like to make an early draft of. At any rate, I would focus mostly on drawing with the graphics tablet; since you're intending on making digital art.

Try James Gurney, perhaps. I only have his "Color & Light" book, which is quite good, but I believe he has some others that might cover the topics you're looking for.

Edit: Also, I advise you DO NOT bother with any "how to draw superheroes" or "how to draw manga" type books unless that's actually the style you want to draw in. Often times they're more about the tropes of the media in question than about actually learning to draw well.

Edit 2: I had to search a bit to find it again, but here is the best information on perspective I've ever found. Far too many books/tutorials I've seen only cover the bare bones without giving you any clue how to actually apply it.