The Programmers Art

I know for me as a programmer, I have always wanted to develop large video games. The problem has always been the fear of having to do my own art. For this reason I have spent a few years programming more along the lines of business applications, but the barrier is slowly dissolving.

Artwork has always been hit and miss for me. Some days I seem to do decent, and others it seems I should never insult the paper again. :-) Of course these are the same frustrations a person goes through with any new thing they are learning. Anime and Manga have long been a favorite art style for me, and I have tinkered with them before, but never to the degree of diving into them for a productive purpose.

I have looked for software to simplify some of this, but none of it seems to fit my needs. I would love to become a good artist, but find myself lacking the time to truly master the art. I can draw some semi-decent characters, but they fail to look the same from drawing to drawing. If anyone else has found successful techniques in anime and manga style art, I would love to hear suggestions from you.