i am trying to legitimately learn how to draw

[Adam]

One of the most respected artists I know, Helm, explained to me over MSN that Andrew Loomis' books don't teach anatomy as closely as he thinks it should be. He says sometimes he doesn't put the kneecaps in the right place, distorts muscles, etc.

I trust Glenn, though.

They're not the best resource ever but they're definitely worth a look, the methods are mostly sound.

There's also of course doing observational drawing. This is crazy important.

Also:
http://danidraws.com/2007/02/21/101-proj...ustrators/
check this out.
Pay particular attention to the academic excercises.

Also drawing without proper understanding of anatomy is only gonna get you so far.
You have to learn the rules before you break them and all that.
Studying anatomy isn't just about learning how the human body works, either; proper study of the human form is a good way of learning how to set up planes and how to plan out complex forms.

The only people who refuse to study anatomy at all are the arrogant people who seem to think style should come before substance. The two are equally important, but your studies should inform your style.

There's nothing to say that once you've learned how bodies work you don't just throw it all out the window and start drawing crazy unreal shit, but understanding how bodies really work is only going to make the crazy unreal shit more convincing.

Even Picasso studied this stuff before he went into geometric weirdness.

That's a wonderful link! Thanks. You're exactly right, and that's exactly how I feel. =)

Yo, do you have MSN? It'd be nice to talk to another competent artist for a change.