How many of us are self-taught?

Just out of curiosity. And if you had the chance to take some classes, would you take them?

Technically I am self-taught. I took art classes in high school which taught me basic shading (already knew that) and perspective (was glad to learn it) and some basic colour theory. (It was useful because I had been known to produce artwork with eye-searing colours before that.)

However, I started drawing myself, just coming up with stuff from my head and then a little later eyeballing shiny anime pictures.

I've had no formal training in art beyond senior high school.

Self taught here.

Mostly self-taught. I'm taking art classes right now, but they're not helping very much outside of providing practice.

The teacher is very cool, and an excellent artist, but also rather hands-off. I haven't learned many new techniques or anything.

However, I took classes with a professional portrait artist for a brief stint in 2004, which basically taught me almost everything I know about shading.

I also took one drafting class, which taught me a lot about how to use certain tools.

Self-taught. I would take classes but they're not available where I live/at my age.

Right Here!

I did take a Middle School class in Figure Drawing, but since my signature style has noting to do with that, it doesn't really count. 7 Years of Experience, Baby!

Never been to an art class in my life.

Got some stuff I'm proud of out of doing high school art classes. For cartoons, which is pretty much all I do anymore, I'd say that's self taught.

Wrong forum.

edited 13th Sep '10 1:04:12 AM by BigDaddyP

I AM! I basically taught myself after my dad taught me the basics, Would use to copy stufflike The Animated Series: Batman show and on Bluth movies. I think I would learn though. There are some things I would like to work on. Besides, I think an artist needs to be continually learning otherwise they enter this stagnant state.

Self-taught, completely. Must be why I'm so mediocre. :P

I'm definitely self-taught and if I took a class I would probably take something on posing and backgrounds.

I've taken a few art classes, but everything I actually do on a regular basis I learned myself.

This explains why I'm so miserable with colour.

hmmm, my self-experience would explain why I suck at doing Backgrounds...

I took art classes in elementary, middle, and high school, but I was drawing long before and after that. (I mean, I can remember a Batman fancomic I made when I was about 4 or 5 years old.) In fact, my style as it is today didn't really start until my freshman year of high school. And I've been refining it with notebook margin doodles and countless sketchbooks full of ideas since then.

edited 16th Sep '10 10:11:14 AM by DrFurball

I consider myself self taught.

For the most part, yeah, I'm self taught — or at least I started out that way. I've read some books, attended a semester-long highschool art program (more project-based than instructional), and taken one drawing class already, and also plan on a lot more as an Art Major, but that's only a small fraction of the near-decade I've been drawing. Most of the skill I've gotten is from doodling in class, random observations, copying stuff, and a few stray tips from others off the internet.

I've taken classes, but I wasted my time in them by not taking art seriously enough. Right now, I'm finally trying to teach myself the skills I once dismissed as busywork.

Completely self-taught, from books and my own doodling =P . Even in high school, the only art class I took was ceramics XD . I did take a design 101 class in college, and a sculpture class (ugh), but those didn't really teach me how to draw.

I've reached the point though where I really need to study the 'serious' stuff and crack down on anatomy, realistic/observational drawings, perspective, etc. to significantly improve. Classes would be great for this, but I can't really afford that now. I'll have to depend on books instead, but luckily there's no shortage of good art books, and I've got plenty of them.

<3 ali

How in the world do you teach yourself anyway?

To... draw? Various methods. There's drawing from life, that is, copying the things you see around you like people, plants, objects, etc.. There's copying your favorite artists and styles and making cartoons, doodles, etc.. There's taking a book and doing the things they practice, or using their techniques and guidelines. Mostly it's just drawing a fuckton though. Clocking in hours and hours and hours of just drawing stuff. Most of it isn't stuff you can memorize and learn that way, but a physical skill you practice and improve through muscle memory, repetition, subconscious voodoo, etc..

<3 ali

Being self taught begins with copying either other art styles or reality and working your way towards one or the other.

A couple art classes in elementary school, and a couple kiddie ones that were more like babysitting than real classes. Haven't gone to any art classes in 6 years now.

edited 20th Sep '10 9:28:19 PM by melloncollie

Outside of obligatory art classes in high school and my first semester of college taking up watercolor and figure drawing, I am completely self-taught. I basically learned how to draw by trying to copy Calvin And Hobbes when I was a toddler, and once I became a videogame freak, I started emulating styles of game artists (starting with Mario and so on.)