I Dont Know How To Draw And I Want To Become A Graphics Artist

PLs O my people, i know nothing about drawing but i will like to learn this graphics thing. how do i go about it and which software would be recommended to a wannabe like me.

Drawing is not ABSOLUTELY necessary but I would say it gives you a great edge. An eye for art is necessary though.

There is a way a traditional artist looks and feels about his/her subjects in terms of light, shade, color etc that would help you better appreciate computer graphics better.

An artist would readily and perhaps easily grasp the means through which computer graphics are made than one with no background in art (drawing included).

CG? flash won't help much in that direction - its main purpose is for applications if u choose to go the way of web 2.0. I would suggest going to the photoshop tutorial sites - pixel2life.com will suffice, they have tutorials for 2D and 3D graphics for various applications.

Cheers. 

You do not need to know how to draw to be a graphic artist today.

Just visit the nearest Aptech centre in Nigeria and you can be further educated to become a graphic artist.

Yaba Tech and other Art schools in the colleges and universities in Nigeria are behind time.
Most of their graduates are redundant, except those who have acquired proficiency in IT.

I think it's imposible to move a car let alone drive it without first, having a vague idea of what the instruments in the car are designed for.
Indeed, there are several softwares designed for graphics but honestly, being able to draw is the most basic requirement. These softwares are only designed to make your work easier because first, you've got to be able to visualise your idea, sketch it on a paper (scamping) before hitting your computer.
In fact, some graphics artists are so brilliant with scamps that you can virtually see, say a finished press advert before it gets on the computer. And so, with all the softwares available to them, they're able to knock the job out in minutes. The reverse of this is that you can spend hours on end on the computer because you can't see in front of you the accurate physical picture of what you are visualising.
You really don't have to be the best artist in the world with the pencil but at least you need to be able to sketch-the first step to a good work.

When computers came around, people who were used to manual typewriters found it easier to do basic typing on a computer keyboard but obviously microsoft word was a huge releif for all the spelling errors, deletions, cutting and pasting etc.
Hope you understand, that's how it works. Just keep drawing and using your computer and you'll be there.
Cheers.

Well said 'Hortongate' , 

Yicob, hope you understand what he just posted?

my questions are,

what's the drive? that is, what is your driving force because you used a word in your post, that is 'graphics thing'. how much do you know about what you want to go into? are you really really interested in it? or is it just one of those cravings for 'whatever is making head way'?  No hard feelings. why all this question? ok i heard that someone got paid a huge amount of money for just doing a graphic animation on TUface Idibia . look , just do whatever you feel would give you joy, try to find yourself, i guess you are   that face explains it. DONT get me wrong. this is not a stinker.
all the best

Possessing drawing skills would prove really significant as it will give you a more expressive form in your designs. If you want to do extremely well in your graphic design, take out time to attend a basic Fine Art class around you.

Whichever way, you need to understand what aspect of computer graphics you want to get involved - because the term CG is catch-all. To begin, you need to know the tools to work with, based on the sort of CG designs you want to do. Some funadmental questions you need to ask yourself are:

Do I want to carry out 2D designs or 3D? What platform am I designing for, Web or Print media? (In my view, both are mutually exclusive.)

For Print, you need some descent knowledge in overall desktop publishing. An application called Quark Express used with Photoshop would prove remarkable.

For Web, Illustration and Design programs would do you good. Photoshop, Fireworks, etc. Still on Web, if you're going into animation, then like a couple of posters pointed, you need Flash.

Of course we have CAD (Computer Aided Design) graphics, though a lot of people don't see it as one. AutoCAD would be suitable.

There's also Motion Graphics, which is forming a greater part of the CG industry.

I could go on and on but I'm sure you get my drift. Know what you want to do, then learn what you need for it.

like bennyboy said, ability to draw only gives u an edge. . . can still succeed as a graphic artist without knowing how to draw, infact some of the best graphic artists i know, can't draw to save their lives
just have a good sense of art and some design skills, and u're good.

 Hey  Young man ,  There is what we called Creative advertising and all you need do  is to develop ideas,  it is called idea generation which is what you get at the end of the day on various adverts , Billboard and TV  Commercial,  you will be the brain behind  Great adverts, talking from experience im more of an idea person i just realized i don't draw anymore,  so get your self  a job as a trainee in an advertising agency,  and learn through the robe ,  wish you all the best,

I really appreciate evry1s response.
Akincreatv, if am may b right, i think ure talking about copywriting. I am presently a trainee developing my portfolio. I wont mind if i can meet u 4 a tètè-a-tèté.

Nope you are more like a Art director than a copy writer and  what you do basically is you ust scribble your ideas on the paper. let me share some ideas with you on a private stuff whats your number i will call you,  have a great day,

@yicob. it all depends on what you want to do. if you are going to be doing 2d work, well sorry my friend, you will need to go take art lessons ( life drawing, etc), if it is 3d, you probably get away with it by just learning the software, have a great eye for details and just being able to sketch your ideas on paper!
 but tinkerbell ( i hope i spelt it right) is right, if you delve into it for monetery purpose you might never get as good as just having passion for it. Good luck!