More focus on art.

What I noticed from myself that it isn't that I don't know how to make something, but I'm more stuck in the planning process.
One of the planning steps requires creating art. My question is how to become a better artist. I want to focus more on learning to draw characters for my game.
But the thing is, of course, I suck at drawing. Any tips?

 

Read books and practice. You'll improve, with time.

Books:
Andrew Loomis: Fun with Pencil, Figure Drawing, Drawing Heads and Hands.
Betty Edwards: Drawing on the Right side of the Brain.

Those are pretty standard recommendations, they are not necessarily "perfect".

Loomis teaches construction-based, more logical approach to drawing.
Edwards teaches something that helps more with drawing from nature, and I think her books had exercises to overcome mental blocks adults are much more likely to possess.

 

I'll go against @neginfinity a little bit, saying similar thing but changing order:

Practice first. 90% of time is practice. Supplement with extracurricular like books, tutorials, etc in the downtime when you need break.

Practice primarily in the discipline you'll use. Meaning if its 3d, mostly only do 3d. There is overlap and the fundamentals of art go across all mediums, however the discipline specific technicals will take time to learn so you want to get through that as quick as possible.

Separate the technical from the art fundamentals. Learning 3d is a technical heavy task, so dont lump that in with design. Too much to think about at once. Just copy well designed concept art (just like 3d artist at studios do). Or, if you want to focus purely on design, dont bother over any technical restrictions inherent with game engine performance.

The primary thing you must learn to be a good artist is the fundamentals of art, which are easily googlable and understandable by any person. Careful not to over analyze. That can be worse than habbit of procrastination because you'll get stuck in endless loop.

Making good art is like making good conversation. It entirely depends on your ability to empathize with the subject.

Perhaps most importantly, you aren't the judge of your art. Your audience is. Don't waste time with perfectionism. Deliver it and study the reaction. That's what matters.

One thing that helps me overcome perfectionism is anytime I feel like I am working on something too long, go and see some professional work done in the same category. Usually I realize that I would be nitpicking all the same things, and here we have professional art. So it helps to see where to draw the line so you aren't noodling forever. This seems to be the biggest hurdle many new artist face, and perhaps even long time veterans. Seeing art like it isn't yours is really hard, but I think in order to progress that's what you have to do.

 

Practice is extremely important, but the reason you need books is because they contain knowledge that will take much longer to rediscover by yourself, so you'll save a ton of time by having right material at hand.

Body proportions, "why my drawing looks stiff" and other things like that. They also give confidence boost quickly.

Another reason for books is because information in artistic field seems to be extremely poorly organized, and you'll need to spend ton of time looking for relevant info, as a lot of people work intuitively and sometimes can't explain what they're doing and why. That makes books with systematic knowledge even more valuable.

The best idea would be a tutor, of course, but those are not always available or affordable.

 

@neginfinity , agreed 100%, I just think there is danger in not putting enough stock in ones own intuition and creativity, and a lot of people do end up getting stuck in a cycle of forever seeking the "forbidden fruit", so I just make a warning against that really. But definitely, don't learn anything the hard way if you dont got to.

 

Betty Edwards is the obvious place to start. Loomis is a classic too. I also recommend "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise" as a general book on learning (probably best consumed as audiobook).

"Color and Light" by James Gurney is good, and I really liked "Problem Solving for Oil Painters: Recognizing What's Gone Wrong and How to Make it Right" by Gregg Kreutz.

And everything on Marco Bucci's channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/marcobucci/videos