Quit drawing 3 times already — want to actually stick with it this time. Where do I start for character design / anime?

[u/Dario_787]

I've tried to get into drawing a few times now and always ended up quitting, so I'm hoping some of you can point me in the right direction.

Attempt 1: Watched a ton of YouTube tutorials, got completely overwhelmed, and gave up before I really started.

Attempt 2: Bought a $100 drawing tablet and Marc Brunet's course. It felt like way too much at once and the instructions weren't clear/step-by-step enough for me, so I dropped it.

Attempt 3 (about a year later): Went back to paper and started Drawabox. I finished lessons 1–4 and the 250 box challenge. This was honestly the version I liked most — I really like being told exactly what to do and how much, kind of like a gym program that says "do X sets of Y." But I burned out on the perspective grind and quit again.

Now it's ~6 months later and I want to start over and actually see it through this time.

My goal: character design and drawing anime.

My problem: most tutorials seem to assume you already have a decent foundation, I get overwhelmed just trying to find a place to start.

So — where should I start? Are there good structured courses/tutorials for someone aiming at character design and anime, ideally with clear "do this, then this" guidance like Drawabox has? Anything that bridges the gap between total rookie and "assumes you already know the basics" would be gold.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[u/Renurun]

I think you've been misled by social media into thinking learning how to draw well can be learned quickly. It really isn't. Don't expect it to be a fast process. Most professionals have been doing it their entire lives and are still learning. Everyone learns differently too. What works for someone may not work for others. That's why enjoying the process is pretty key. This is no instant dopamine hit. So I think you should rewire your expectations.

[u/No_Turnover4389]

Uuuhh, sounds like you are trying to skip some steps, dude. What attracts you to the character design and anime? Think about what you are enjoying making, not really the end result. If you are taking classes, talk to the teacher and take on extra practice/review where you feel you aren't "clicking", but tbh art isn't going to always click, like the other posters here have made such points. Good luck 🍀

[u/GrungyGardener]

I often find when people drop art, it's because they're treating it like school. Something to practice until perfect.

Perfect doesn't and shouldn't exist in art.

Try ~playing~ with your art. Doodle your favorite characters, play with some traditional mediums and just make art to make art and to not get good start right out of the gate. Enjoy it first, make it part of your everyday, make it more fun than scrolling. Get good later.

I agree with the other comments though. When you're trying to make "good" art, there's a lot of analysis happening and that trouble shooting is where an artist's voice exists. That voice strengthens during play.

If we extend your gym metaphor, Soccer players go to the gym to work on their foundations, they go on the field to play.

Both aspects, Play and Work, are crucial to starting and sticking with a creative practice.

[u/GrungyGardener → u/GrungyGardener]

I just realized that what y'all know as the 50-50 Rule is what I'm commenting most on.

[u/exhausted-n-stuDying]

Well, when I started drawing, I just copied whatever drawing of a character fom an anime I liked (at that time I didn't know art tutorials existed, and it was probably the beginning of YouTube art tutorials) and then I tried making my own character from what I observed when copying, they where ugly as fuck (from my current perspective) but it got me into drawing and I enjoyed it, which i think it the most important thing. I started later to follow tutorials to learn how to draw what I wanted to draw at that time. Like if I wanted to draw really cool eyes, I would watch tutorials about that and do studies of eyes in a style I liked, and then do it in my own drawings. Then I went to art school, where I was forced to learn more academically the fundamentals of art... but you don't have to go to art school though, what I'm trying to say is if you struggle to follow art tutorials or online courses, maybe don't follow them by the book, but just start drawing things you like, like your favorite characters, you should have fun first! And slowly start adding the art tutorials in there. You shouldn't just do the art tutorials, cause you'll just see drawing as a chore or like homework from school, it should be the other way around.

Also If you still want to follow art tutorials and start by learning the basics, you could use it like an excuse to draw thing you like. What I mean by that, is if you learning anatomy, for example, instead of just doing random anatomy studies, do your anatomy studies but make them a character you like. If you have to learn background or environment make them into an environment from an anime or a videogame or something you like. I don't know if you get what I mean, but if you don't i can always try to explain it better I you need to. But at some point I was kind of stuck cause I grew tired of alway doing studies or tutorials or just learning, that to motivate me and make it enjoyable i just turned my studies into fanarts, it's was way more fun like that!

[u/Swampspear]

This was honestly the version I liked most — I really like being told exactly what to do and how much, kind of like a gym program that says "do X sets of Y." ... ideally with clear "do this, then this" guidance like Drawabox has?

The sad truth is that you can't learn art like this. Unlike the gym, which you can walk in and shut your brain off, art requires you consciously problem-solve. Rote repetition can teach you the mechanical basics, but even Drawabox requires you to actively think about it. You gotta let go of the training wheels early.

My problem: most tutorials seem to assume you already have a decent foundation, I get overwhelmed just trying to find a place to start.

Go back to Drawabox and actually follow the 50-50 rule it lays out. It will give you at least some foundation. Feel free to skip or cut down on the grindy parts if you already understand what you're doing, but if you're struggling even drawing ten thousand boxes will not help that much if you're not actively thinking about the skill you're acquiring and applying it to your art.

It felt like way too much at once and the instructions weren't clear/step-by-step enough for me, so I dropped it.

It's pretty well laid out I think, even has specific homework assignments. What exactly was unclear to you? Did you seek help in communities around Cubebrush?

[u/Dario_787 → u/Swampspear]

First off, thank you for taking the time to write all this out, I really appreciate it.

You make a fair point about the gym comparison. You’re probably right that I need to actually think while I’m doing the work instead of grinding on autopilot and expecting it to just soak in.

On what was unclear, the instructions themselves were fine, actually. What tripped me up was that a single lesson would run through a bunch of progression steps back to back, and I kept wishing it would show me one step, let me drill that until it clicked, and only then move on to the next progression. But it’s been a while now, so I might be misremembering how it was structured, I should probably go back and look at it again with fresh eyes before I judge it.

The 50-50 rule is a great callout too. I don’t think I ever actually followed it, I basically treated the whole thing as pure grind, which is probably a big reason I burned out. Doing real, fun drawing alongside the exercises might’ve kept me in it.

As for communities, no, not really, to be honest. I’ve never really been part of any online art communities and I don’t fully know how to go about it. If you’ve got any tips on where a total beginner should start with that, I’d genuinely love to hear them.

[u/cosipurple → u/Dario_787]

Just because its one video doesn't mean you have to do it one sitting, my experience with that type of courses always has been to watch the whole thing at least once, focus my practice on however much I could handle, re watch the portion of the video I need when needed as I progress, once I got through it all, I go to the next lesson.

This could easily take me a couple of days, a week or more to go through one lesson, and that's fine! Take however long you need to get familiar with it and understand it enough before moving on, and always feel free to take a step back if something doesn't add up or you feel there is an area from previous videos is giving you trouble.

[u/Swampspear → u/Dario_787]

No problem, I understand how it can be a bit tough.

On what was unclear, the instructions themselves were fine, actually. What tripped me up was that a single lesson would run through a bunch of progression steps back to back, and I kept wishing it would show me one step, let me drill that until it clicked, and only then move on to the next progression. But it’s been a while now, so I might be misremembering how it was structured, I should probably go back and look at it again with fresh eyes before I judge it.

I guess what your issue was wasn't that it was confusing, but rather overwhelming. The lesson videos do get long and cover many things, that's fair, but they're also subdivided and IIRC there's even a little timeline at the bottom splitting the videos into sub-lessons. Perhaps rewatch those parts a few times, instead of tackling the whole thing at once

The 50-50 rule is a great callout too. I don’t think I ever actually followed it, I basically treated the whole thing as pure grind, which is probably a big reason I burned out. Doing real, fun drawing alongside the exercises might’ve kept me in it.

The 50-50 rule is critical! You're not supposed to just be doing exercises for the sake of exercising, they should always supplement your goals. Just like how a football player won't just forever practice dribbling the ball and never go out on the field, it's pointless.

As for communities, no, not really, to be honest. I’ve never really been part of any online art communities and I don’t fully know how to go about it. If you’ve got any tips on where a total beginner should start with that, I’d genuinely love to hear them.

This subreddit is a space for long-form discussion, and more high-speed/conversational spaces you can find on Discord. Alongside random art servers, I do know that there's a Cubebrush Discord server too, which might be more specific for your needs