Forum posts by Sanne

Hey Joshua!

I'm super duper impressed with your recent attempt! I can tell a really big difference between the first and second link you shared. In the latter, your pencil strokes already look a lot more confident, and the 'rigid' body parts Kim referred to look much better and in proper proportion. Great job! That is definitely an improvement. :)

I notice that in most of your gestures, the action line (the one that is commonly depicted as the spine) extends and become a leg. At the top it also bends to connect the head to the spine. This is usually incorrect, although I totally see why you make those connections. I recommend trying to draw the action line in a <em>single</em> fluid motion and sticking to a C-shape, rather than the S-shape you're using right now. Then when you draw the hips, make sure the leg bones attach to the <em>side</em> of the hips, not to the center.

I wasn't entirely sure which images from the tools these were, but I redlined two of your gestures to better illustrate what I mean!

http://i.imgur.com/v8Mkmge.png

I hope that mirrors the gestures you drew, and makes clear what I'm trying to say. If it's still unclear please do let me know!

Hi Nekooky!

Don't worry, I'm able to understand you just fine. :)

One of the things I want to start off is by sharing that it's incredibly difficult to advance in artwork if you can only draw when you're motivated. It shouldn't be a reason for you not to pursue practice, because the only way to get better is through discipline and sticking with a routine.

If the subjects bore you, can you figure out why? What about the poses makes them uninteresting to work on for gestures, whereas 2 hour studies keep your engaged? If you can figure this out, it should be possible to find gesture references that can keep you going!

The works you posted look really good to me. :) Love the noses in particular, they're so under appreciated!

30 second gestures are useful because they force your brain to analyze more quickly and translate what you see onto paper more accurately over time. You don't feel like you're learning anything specific right now, but there is definitely a pay-off in the long term, I can assure you!

What in particular do you want to improve about your art?

Hello Vivianne, welcome to the site!

I've been thinking hard on this question, and it's indeed very tricky! I think the biggest reason someone doesn't step outside of their comfort zone and listens to what's inside themselves is fear. Fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of mockery and so forth. If we stick to the things we know, we're playing it safe, even if it means we're not expressing ourselves the way we want to.

Letting go of this fear is one step to get your inner voice out, but it's easier said than done. Sometimes we have to just go with the craziest ideas to make it happen. I did some research on how to help you with this issues, and came across a couple of resources. Maybe these can help you out?

http://www.wikihow.com/Think-'Outside-of-the-Box'

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/5-effective-ways-to-think-outside-the-box

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-forgetting/201404/surprising-exercises-get-you-thinking-outside-the-box

Hi py11srg!

I split your post into a topic of its own so we won't be hijacking someone else's topic. :)

Your question doesn't have a straight forward answer. It really depends on what your resources allow. My number one suggestion is to find stock photography that allows you to use their photography to create drawings with that you can sell. (This is <strong>very important</strong>, not all stock photography artists allow this, so always double check with their rules!) For some you may need to purchase a license, others give you free use of their stock provided you credit them etc. It depends on the individual photographer on what they allow, which can really limit your material.

The same applies to models, though you might end up in a much bigger gray area than I can cover. Models have contracts, photographers usually have contracts, and these contracts determine how the material you'll create can be used. You can have a model waive all her rights to the image and only go home with the pay you give her. A model can insist on cashing on on royalties from the derived sold material etc. This really depends on what's agreed upon up front, and may require a lawyer to cover your bases.

When money is involved, things get trickier than if you were just a hobbyist with no intend to sell. I highly recommend you research the legal aspects on these things before you get in a situation that overwhelms you because a model you photographed suddenly changes her mind. I hope this helps you out!

Just to confirm with you, the references on this site are <em>not to be used in artwork you intend to sell</em>. We have a bunch of different licenses, some photographers allow selling of the derived works, others do not, so your safest bet is to not sell the artwork you create with our references. I'd hate to see you get in trouble! We will overhaul our reference library at some point and the licenses will for using and selling derived works will be looked over, so keep your eyes peeled on how that works out. :)

Hello Martian!

The more detailed studies you've drawn are absolutely gorgeous! Save for a few minor proportion/placement mishaps, you're definitely right on track. :)

As for the mannequinization you mention, that is in some ways the point. There's a minimalist approach to gestures that has you put down a recognizable, proportioned and dynamic figure in just a few strokes of the pencil. It's true you can't always see every limb and how it's attached, but that's part of the gesture challenge: training your brain to recognize and in some cases make 'best guesses' in just a second or two before moving on to a new gesture.

From what I gather, part of the problem lies with the material we have at this time. We're working on expanding our library and replacing most of the older photography with photographs that we commissioned ourselves. That will probably include images with less 'guesswork' and better lighting. :)

Your gestures look very scribbly/busy, and in many places aren't recognizable which makes it difficult for yourself and others to see what the pose and dynamics are. In case you haven't seen them yet, we have some useful articles to help people get gestures down. I know you're not a fan of the style displayed there, but it can be helpful if you'd like to give it a shot!

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-3-joints/

Just want to chime in and support Eros' suggestions, they always have good advice. :)

Continue practicing your gestures. Getting more out of them usually comes down to practicing more frequently. Even 10 minutes every day of just a few gestures can dramatically affect how fast you get ahead.

Your current gestures look like you're not able to complete the gestures before time runs out. If you haven't already, try checking out these articles. They are very helpful to get figures down in time. You can also crank up the timer to 60 seconds a gesture and then work your way down to 30 seconds!

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-3-joints/

Hi again Larissa!

I can definitely tell you've improved some since your last gestures. Using pencil seems to be helpful to get your figures more defined, very good!

Class mode with timer increments look like they work out very well for you, the more refined gestures in the second link look nice! Here and there are a few proportion issues, but overall they tend to look fine. :)

Forming habits is hard, especially when you're restricted for time. Depending on how serious you are, you could wake up 15 minutes earlier and do a quick 10 minute gesture right after breakfast before you head out the door. Even those 10 minutes a day can do something amazing for your progress!

What you're experiencing is absolutely normal! You will have ups and downs in terms of progress. It's important to practice often, but also take breaks so you don't burn yourself out. You'll also be very biased towards your own work, so you may not notice a lot of improvement yourself even though you're steadily improving. It's best to let drawings sit for a few days before you look at them to study where to improve on, because it helps you get a better perspective.

Gestures are very useful to capture motion and practice proportions with. Feel free to check out these articles!

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips/

https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-3-joints/

If you're serious about practicing and improving, you need to make drawing a habit and tune out what's around you. You can do this by focusing on things that really interest you, turning off your phone/tv/whatever distracts you and be disciplined about it. Doing this in short bursts of 5-10 minutes helps. Maybe these guidelines are useful to you?

http://zenhabits.net/unprocrastination-sessions/

Hi there! I fully agree and support what Eros said. :) It's a little hard to give an in-depth critique of your overall work based on one drawing, but I do like what you did!

In some ways it still feels stiff, which makes me want to suggest gestures to improve your sense of dynamics. Is this something you already do?

Hey Eros! I merged the topics for you and deleted the post with the broken images so we can keep things neat in one place. :)

The sketches turned out quite well! I looked up the Loomis Method, and it looks very solid. I've never used it myself though, so I'm not sure how much I can offer in terms of advice on that method, but the results so far look promising.

The shading on the baby's face looks a little too sharp to me, turning what should be a soft baby face into an almost old man's face. I get the impression that his head is also too oval, and would look more baby-like if it was more rounded like the original photo.

While sharp eyebrows work out very well for women who wear makeup, I recommend focusing on eyebrows by avoiding outlines. The baby's eyebrows are blond and not very obvious, so drawing them so sharply contrasted on the face doesn't look quite right.

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ST3W8A3Kum8HlwddNHoF07WWrhk=/0x0:1920x1080/1600x900/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46147742/cute-success-kid-1920x1080.0.0.jpg

For higher accuracy, use your pencil to draw 'feathery strokes' to shape the eyebrows, like drawing each hair individually. They'll appear softer and more natural on people who don't use makeup. :)

On the woman's sketch, the only thing that stands out to me is her left eye (our right). I don't think I'm familiar with the original so I can't compare, but it looks to me like the corner of her eye is too squinted compared to the other.

I know this was a lot, but I can tell you put a lot of effort into it and you did well! I hope my critique was useful to you.

Hi feathersandcoins!

You did wonderful portraying such a broad range of expressions. :) I really like the variety.

I'm noticing that your eyes and proportions seem heavily anime based. There are also some slightly jarring issues with symmetry in the faces that make them look unbalanced and wrong. It might be a good idea to take an image of a real person, flip the image upside and try to draw the image as you see it, rather than what you know.

The following link has quite a bit of swearing in it, but it shows quite well what I mean (and is super helpful to improve your skills!). If you're uncomfortable with swearing, please let me know and I'll try to find an alternative to this resource: http://imgur.com/gallery/0O7P8gu

Again, I do like the range of emotions here, and I hope this will be helpful to get you one step further ahead!

Hi Eros!

I'm afraid the images don't show up to me because you're trying to link to the files straight on your computer. They need to be uploaded to a host first before we can see them.

I recommend http://www.imgur.com -- just drag and drop your images to Imgur and upload, then make sure to grab the "Direct Link" URL and copy and paste it into your post. :) You don't need an account on Imgur (although it might be useful to keep track of your uploads).

I will be looking into the method you mentioned shortly, and hopefully we'll be able to view your work soon!

No problem! I'm looking forward to seeing your practice pieces in the future. :)

Hi FemmeFATAL1TY!

Those are some stunning drawings, very good work!! I'm not sure how to critique on them; most of them look like pretty refined sketches already. :) Do you work off photograph references or do you draw from the imagination when you make these?