Progressive Learning: Enhance Your Skills Through Repetition

UPDATE 08-08-2024

Always wanted to learn how to draw comic art? This training for comics course is probably not worth your money. With better and free solutions online!

This training method is focused on learning by repetition. You will be able to print a lot of drawing sheets. Each month you get a new course that increases in difficulty or adds more specific knowledge, such as how to draw heads, faces, hair, arms, or other elements.

It covers the basics pretty well, with an instruction manual which you can only view online on their website. You can download in low or high quality the workbook to print.

!!! BEFORE YOU JOIN TFC !!!

Their communication is slow and often lacking. On facebook/instagram I am seeing that they are not responding to emails. If you continue the subscription there is no money back. Be mindful of what you accept and if and when you cancel subscription – DOCUMENT with screenshots if need be.

Your experience may be different but I cancelled my subscription in 2022. Where I am now automatically invoiced for 2024 out of nowhere. It wasn’t a lot so that’s not problem. But the fact that this happens is not a good sign. You have been warned.

Training for comics review and information continues after the two blog links.

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Learn to Become a Comic Book Artist with Training for Comics

Join more than 250,000 illustrators and artists from around the world! This is a generic quote from Training for Comics and I believe that it’s not the amount of people they have on the platform, but is dubious as they have that amount of followers? There is a monthly fee which you can cancel at anytime, DOCUMENT IF YOU DO! There are low prices if you wait long enough or enlist through their email. – Do not pay full price!

What to Expect when Starting Training for Comics

The course starts off okay; the foundation of art is with shapes and forms. This course will undoubtedly assist you in the beginning and has an descent structure. It will help you plan and keep working. I often find that it is hard to think about what you want or need to draw to practice.

What do you get in each monthly installement?

• Theory manuals, these are online only in some 3D type tool – to avoid stealing/copying/downloading
• New workbooks to practice on which are downloadable and printable
• Some new smaller books will become available each week.

What tools are needed to be able to do this course?

• A printer + A4’s
• Pencils + eraser

Training for Comics Course Content

When you start you will not have a lot available to you. Depending on the day you enlisted you will receive a monthly update with a new book or topic. On weekly basis you get some random books to cover a wide range of topics.

Warming Up, Human Sizing, and Dynamic Stick Figures – Beginner level 1 – Month 1

A successful artistic journey begins with essential practices that lay the groundwork for creativity and precision. Commence your drawing sessions with a warming-up routine, a series of quick, loose sketches that limber up your artistic muscles and set the stage for uninhibited creativity. Following this, delve into the art of human sizing, mastering proportions to infuse realism into your characters and illustrations. Finally, embrace dynamic stick figures as the dynamic building blocks that breathe life and energy into your sketches, allowing you to convey movement and action with captivating simplicity. These foundational skills collectively empower artists to bring their imaginations to life on the canvas with confidence and precision.

• Warm up
• Human sizing
• Dynamic stick figures

Shapes & forms, Beans and Combined shapes – Beginner level 2 – Month 2

At the heart of artistic expression lie fundamental concepts that shape the creative process. Understanding shapes and forms provides the basis for depth and structure in artwork. The concept of “beans” introduces a dynamic and fluid approach, particularly useful for capturing the gestural essence of subjects like the human body. Moreover, artists leverage the combination of shapes to craft complexity, allowing them to build intricate details while maintaining a harmonious balance. These foundational techniques collectively empower artists to bring their visions to life with versatility and expressive depth.

• Shapes & forms
• Beans
• Combined shapes

Pillows, Forms, and Human Basic Shape – Beginner level 3 – Month 3

In the realm of artistic expression, pillows become more than just objects of comfort—they serve as a tool for mastering the interplay of form and movement. Concurrently, understanding and manipulating these pillow shapes breathe life into creations, allowing artists to learn how to convey depth, realism and movement. At the heart of figurative art lies the human basic shape, a foundational blueprint simplifying anatomy and facilitating accurate depictions of the human form. Together, pillows, forms, and the human basic shape form a trifecta of artistic essentials, empowering creators to bring depth, texture, and life to their creations.

• Pillows
• Forms
• Human basic shape

Head Constructions: Blueprint for Facial Precision Intermediate level – Month 4

In the intricate world of art, head constructions stand as a cornerstone for achieving facial precision. Artists utilize this foundational concept to break down the complexities of the human head into manageable components. From the underlying skull structure to the placement of facial features, head constructions provide a crucial blueprint for creating accurate and expressive portraits. Understanding the nuances of head constructions not only enhances artistic proficiency but also serves as a gateway to capturing the diverse emotions and personalities that grace the human face. As artists delve into the art of head constructions, they unlock the key to breathing life into their characters with authenticity and depth.

• Head constructions

Crafting Expressive Faces: Integrating Head Constructions and Facial Features – Medium level 1 – Month 5

Building upon the foundations of head constructions, artists delve into the intricate realm of facial features, including eyes, nose, mouth, and ears—each serving as artistic components that breathe life into emotions and personalities. Employing their understanding of head constructions, artists adeptly capture the intricacies of each feature, infusing their creations with a profound sense of realism and emotion. The meticulous integration of head constructions and facial features empowers artists to convey a spectrum of emotions, from the subtleties of a gentle smile to the intensity of furrowed brows. This dynamic interplay not only captivates viewers visually but also resonates emotionally, turning the art of crafting expressive faces into a genuine testament to an artist’s skill and insight.

• Head constructions
• Facial features

Torso Construction and the Essence of Human Shape – Medium level 2 – Month 6

In the pursuit of portraying the human form, mastering torso construction is crucial. This skill serves as a framework for defining posture, movement, and anatomical nuances. Complemented by an understanding of human shape, which involves balancing proportions and overall posture, artists can craft figures that resonate with vitality and natural grace. Navigating torso construction and human shape unlocks the ability to create characters that stand as lifelike representations, embodying the intricacies of the human experience with artistic finesse.

• Torso construction
• Human shape

Fingers, Hands, and the Art of Stylized Hands – Medium level 3 – Month 7

In the intricate realm of artistic expression, mastery of fingers and hands is a testament to an artist’s attention to detail. Fingers, with their intricate joints and gestures, demand a nuanced understanding of anatomy and movement. Exploring the challenge of capturing hands involves delving into palm shapes, finger lengths, and the dynamic interplay between elements. Going beyond realism, the exploration of stylized hands introduces a creative realm where artists can infuse their work with unique characteristics, exaggerations, and abstract elements. This departure from strict anatomical accuracy becomes a channel for storytelling, where hands convey not just anatomy but emotion, symbolism, and personal expression.

• Fingers
• Hands
• Stylized Hands

More with each month

• Each month a new book, drawing hair, arms, clothes, characters, etc
• You can buy more books that cover specific topics.

My Personal Opinion for Training for Comics

I had this subscription for more than a year. You need to be persistent in doing the repetitions. I downloaded the worksheets and put them on my iPad so I practiced in Procreate and also used Photoshop.

I found it hard to keep going, because you don’t know what you will get next and when. Which means you cannot cherry pick on the topics you want to learn or improve. It’s also a way for training for comics to keep you paying each month.

I fixed not knowing what you get when for you in this blog post. That’s the plan for at least 7 months. I was also hoping I would be learning about coloring but it’s really only about drawing, preferably with pencils. There are some books in Training for Comics you can buy separately that talk about coloring but I haven’t bought those.

The comic book style doesn’t really appeal to me so I stopped doing it. I wanted to give it a try because I wanted to learn the basics and fundamentals. In short I don’t think that it is worth your money, you can get all of the basics for free online.

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