Coming from the very book-oriented field of programming, I am wondering if there is any literature worthy of my attention about art. Not specifically pixel art, but rather about drawing in general, as I suspect that the same principles apply pretty much everywhere. I am perfectly well aware of that skill comes with practice, but anything which speeds up my learning is something I'm interested in looking into. Have you ever read any art-related books which you've found to be good?

I realize that this is a very broad question; there are books about anatomy, color theory, perspective and so on. Preferably the book would be about elementary concepts, since I am a beginner.  I try not to be too specific, because I think that you're the ones who'd know what to start with.

I decided to redo this one completely, and add at least a slight hint of expression.



Comments? I think the highlights are hard to get right, but I still like this one much more than the old one.

Thanks for the input, much obliged! I tried to adjust it according to what you said, and I think that it's an improvement. I'm still not quite satisfied with the ears though.

This must be my first post on the Pixelation forum, but I'm quite sure I've been here before. I'm a programmer since a couple of years back, suffering from the quite common flaw among us tech people: a three-legged donkey with lemon juice in his eyes could draw better than me. My various projects end up looking very dull because of this. I can probably draw a shaded cube decently, but my skills don't extend any further. I need exercises. Training. Practise makes perfect, right?

So, tell me something I should draw and I'll give it my best shot, and then you can all tell my how to improve. I'd also love to get some pointers on good articles/guides about pixel drawing.