Forum posts by Sanne

They look pretty good, I like them!

One thing I can't help but notice is that your lines look like you draw then in very short strokes. One thing that has hugely helped me get more comfortable with figure drawing is by using quick, long strokes.

The reason this is helpful is because when I narrow it down to a single line to capture the shape and motion of the model, it's not the way the line looks that matters - it's what the line represents. By drawing fast and with large motions, you're able to capture the figure much more accurately.

Right now, your gesture drawing do feel a bit stiff, especially the ones from the first link. Try drawing them again, but this time draw each line in one quick swoop instead of small short sketchlines. The point is not to make it look as accurate as possible, so don't worry if they don't look exact. See how this feels and how it looks. Chances are the ones with quicker strokes look more natural and dynamic.

Once you have this down, you can build on these stick figures to study the models further.

Let me know if this is helpful to you! :) And good luck.

Just confirming as a moderator that it's absolutely okay to post either traditional, digital or even a mix of the two mediums on the forums! :) Heck, even something you drew on a napkin totally counts. So please feel free to share!

Hi there!

My advice is to practice gesture drawing first. The idea of gesture drawing is to give you a feel for the motion in the image and get you comfortable with recognizing the proper proportions necessary to make drawings that look right.

In case you haven't seen them yet, I recommend giving these articles a look-over:

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/

You have to keep in mind that for many many artists, gesture drawings (including people who draw cartoons) are the core foundation of what makes a realistic image. Stiff images, even when anatomically correct, are not too appealing in most circumstances.

You will also find out that once you have captured the motion of the image, it's MUCH easier to build on that gesture sketch and create a detailed work of art. Almost every artist I know of starts with the basic 'circle for head, shape for torso, shape for hipbones, attach joints and limbs in the form of small circles and stick lines', and if you get this base wrong, you're much more likely to have a deformed or disproportionate end result.

Knowing anatomy by heart takes time and practice, especially if you want to get more detailed. You already cover about 50% of anatomy with gesture drawings though!

I hope this was helpful to you. :) Let us know if you have more questions!

That's an excellent point! The purpose of practicing is sometimes as simple as 'getting a feel for the shape', rather than the details. :) It's why I enjoy 60 second sessions so much. There's no time wasted on letting your brain nitpick the small details, you just make your fingers copy what they see, then move on without thinking.

I'm glad you had your ah-hah moment there!

The forum is slow, but not dead! :)

I really enjoy looking at your work. One thing I agree with from above is that feet should be a focus area. In the top right drawing, the foot looks a little awkward because it doesn't connect right to the lower leg. The shin is facing more towards the right, while the foot is facing to the left - that isn't possible.

I suppose that's a matter of altering the shading though! Does that help?

Hi there!

I'd really like to look at your drawings, but I'm having a hard time getting to them.

Can you try to fix up your post? It's okay to just post the direct links to the images without the fancy BBCode. :)

I agree with Chris!

I know it sounds super boring, but you'll do yourself a favor if you start with practicing anatomy thoroughly before you go in-depth into explosive and dynamic poses. Understand how the body works when it moves is vital for it.

I made the mistake of trying to focus on dynamics first when I started out, and didn't practice anatomy as well as I should have. It more or less led to an ever growing inability to draw certain poses and it halted my progress for a bit.

It's definitely a good idea to understand why the torso is too stretched out. And, as tempting as it is, don't use Anime or Manga as your reference for practice. Anime is already heavily stylized by artists who practiced the 'boring' anatomy studies, and not a proper reference to learn from.

They're very nice! I don't have much feedback for the last two images, but there's one thing that strikes me in the first drawing.

In the two other sketches you have some pretty fluid lines going, as well as object interaction. I miss both in the first sketch. While you did a good job on focusing on the upper body anatomy, the legs just feel misplaced, like they're there to fill up space but aren't part of the figure. Unlike the other drawings, this one has no flow of motion in it. There's nothing to interact with either to counter this lack of motion. It makes it feel a little static and doesn't catch the eye quite so much.

Other than that, not a bad practice! :)

Wow, that's some great practice! I really like the horses in the 30 second bar and the 10 minute sketches. :)

This is an awesome way to introduce yourself, welcome! What kind of experience do you have with animal drawing in the past?

Hi there penelope!

It must be exciting to be putting together a portfolio. We'd love to help you out, but 'any advice' is a bit too generic for us to help with.

What sort of education is this exactly? What will you be learning? What sort of images do they expect (if you know this)?

Hi harkensaw! I'm happy to hear you've found the site useful for your practices. :)

To answer your question, you can display your art wherever you want, as long as you're not profiting from it financially! So yes, it's okay to display your drawings on DA.

Linking back to the site is always appreciated no matter what. :) Would you be kind enough to share your work with us, too? We love seeing what you've been doing!

Hi there RevMick! NIce to have you on board. :)

I'm in the same boat with you, I can only really draw well when I'm in the mood. Makes for the perfect hobby when creativity strikes, though!

Sounds like it's tough to get your hands on things though. Does it obstruct your ability to draw by a lot?

Hello Xing!

I'm glad to see you here. :) I looked through some tutorials for drawing eyes and stumbled upon this pretty comprehensive list:

http://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/drawing-lessons/drawing-faces-lessons/howtodraw-eyes-tutorials.html

Is there anything in here that will help you out?

If you're looking to practice a 100 different eyes, I suggest looking for photographs on the net that you can use to study them. Or even better yet, take pictures of friends and family members with different expressions and use those! :)

Hi Isabella! Welcome to the site, it's a pleasure to have you here. :)

It's exciting to hear you love the site so much! What sort of things do you usually draw? And do you have any examples to show off?

Do you have any examples of your works where this happens?

Usually the reason why models look like they're 'floating' or 'just there' is because you're not putting any real interaction with a background in the drawing.

For example:
When a character sits on a surface, their butt and thighs squish because the weight presses down on the surface, causing the mass of the buttocks to spread. If you don't convey the squish onto the surface properly, it will look like they're not sitting on it/not putting their weight down.

Then there's also the perspective and where in the drawing you put the focus on. If your background doesn't look realistic or proportionate to your subject, your subject will not look like they're part of the environment. They'll always look out of place!

My suggestion is to practice with models that interact with the environment. Try to draw out the background first, then gently nudge the character in there. If you draw the character first and then the background, you increase the risk of the subject not being integrated properly.

I hope this helps! If you have any examples to show, we'll be able to give you more specific pointers. :)