I like to think I'm a decent artist, not great, but decent. I've taken a few drawing classes and have always been pretty good at copying other people's work, but I have never been able to draw something from my mind and have it look very good. I realized that none of my art teachers have actually taught me how to draw. They've taught me different techniques to improve a drawing, but I've been missing some of the basics.
In an effort to improve my drawing abilities I bought a drawing course by Riven Phoenix from www.alienthink.com called The Structure of Man: Learn to Draw the Human Figure from Your Mind. I'm not too far into the course yet, but I'm already seeing some improvement. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn how to draw the human figure.
It's amazing how much it helps to go back to the basics; not just with drawing, but with anything (dance, music, animation ...) When you review the basic fundamentals, you can be reminded of important principles that over time you have forgotten; you might even learn something new that you didn't realize you had been missing. When you find you are struggling with something, go back to the basics; the answer to your problem may be simpler than you think.
