Beginner looking for guidance!

Hello everybody! I hope I'm posting this on the right board, haha.

I just registered for this website today because I was looking for some way to help get me started with drawing. I've been poking around trying to figure out how to learn, and seeing as this website seems to be dedicated to that I thought it would be a good idea.

To be honest I really don't know what I'm supposed to do at all, so I kind of just went onto the figure drawing tool and just tried my best with a few of them. I feel as though I'm in an awkward position where I'm trying to start practicing, but in all actuality I'm not really sure what it is I'm supposed to practice doing nor how to go about practicing it. I've only drawn four figures here, and it took me like 5~8 minutes for each of them. I'd really appreciate it if anybody could guide me in the right direction and offer some feedback as to how I could have done it better. Also if anyone knows what I should be doing in general I'd REALLY appreciate that too!

I'm feeling lost yet optimistic.

https://imgur.com/a/cXk09Hs

Your figures are an excellent starting point to build on. They show the movement of each very well. Proportions look good. Try some of the figures provided by Line-of-Action (L-o-A). L-0-A provides a section on hands & feet. Your heads are starting off with skulls which is a good start. Also, do a study of human anatomy - muscles and bone structure. Make drawings of what you find & keep them at hand to refer to as you draw.

Remember: Practice makes better. Therefore, practice, practice, and practice more.

Awesome job on your studies, Endolphinz, very great promise.

Here is my latest link to a latest gesture drawing tutorial from Proko. Here:

The reason why you'll need to watch that tutorial is because, it will help you on your latest studies in gesture drawing vs contour drawing. Hope it's been favorable to you and your progress.

Polyvios Animations

• Polyvios Animations edited this post on August 30, 2020 3:04am. Reason: video gone.
• Polyvios Animations edited this post on August 30, 2020 3:05am. Reason: forgot the ]
• Polyvios Animations edited this post on August 30, 2020 3:05am. Reason: space.
• Polyvios Animations edited this post on August 30, 2020 3:06am.
• Polyvios Animations edited this post on August 30, 2020 3:07am. Reason: [/img out

Tx Williep, Polyvios Animations, thank you! I greatly appreciate the replies. Sorry it took so long for me to return, but my college semester just started a couple days ago and I've been a bit busy.

I haven't had the chance to use the Line of Action website services very much yet and I'm very excited to poke around and get a handle on them. A hands & feet learning tool sounds particularly like a godsend. I'll be sure to take a look, and I'll also check out that video! I'd like to study muscles and bone structure, among other things, but I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to go about anything like that in the correct way. I think I may be a little stuck worrying so much about whether or not I'm practicing properly that I'm not really practicing much at all.

Thank you again for the suggestions! I'll do my best to apply them and hopefully make some real progress soon.

Edit: Ran into this in the critique request and didn't realize it was a forum post/see the other replies. I'm in agreement with the above and would like to add the following tips for your gesture drawings (I apologize if any of this is covered in the YouTube video as I've not had a chance to watch it):

Hips and shoulders tilt in opposite directions. If the left hip is up high, the left shoulder should dip low and vice versa.

Focus on getting the angle of the hips, shoulders, and position of the head and spine before moving on to the limbs.

Human bones (and therefore limbs) are slightly curved. None of the lines should be perfectly straight.

Don't worry if you don't complete the sketch before the timer runs out! That's normal and happens to all of us. You'll get faster as you go.

At school they wanted us to do 30 of those little sketches a day, but I think even just 5-10 whenever you get a chance will get you going in the right direction.

• Amandah edited this post on September 2, 2020 1:54am. Reason: Removed redundant explanation of gesture drawings.

Hey, there! I'm a self-motivated artist myself. One of the things that got me onto this site was a YouTube video by Sycra found here:

where he talks about how to use figure drawing practice effectively. Additionally, look up Aaron Blaise (aka creatureartteacher), a former Disney animator who also has tips and tricks for an aspiring artist/animator. Those two channels and consistent practice alone should help you a great deal. Best of luck!

Hey,

I think you started in a good place. One of the most important things is to study form and gesture in the beginning. Making your figures fluid will play an important role to your pieces later in life. In your case, a good understanding of proportions and shapes will help guide you along the way. Figure study can be anything from stick figures to fully blocked out shapes. I recommend Proko on Youtube as he goes very in depth on each part of the body and how different aspects of the outside environment can effect our bodies. I think another way to help is to extrapolate your figures even more. For example the torso can be split into an even further two parts as the body can twist or bend more than just that one shape you have blocked out.

I think you are doing really well and I hope this helped!