Did a 30min. figure drawing class, critiques and feedback are highly appreciated!

I've been using this site for quite some time but I've finally got the confidence with my drawing skills to create an account and share a figure drawing class I did!
I draw on my computer with a pressure sensitive graphic tablet but I restrained myself from abusing the eraser tool.
Anyway, in the google drive folder you can see the final sketches from the class plus a 10m sketch I did as an extra because I lost track of time! Thank you in advance.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13Ucgnf2_GiGKSMkMVcGvBhLG0xSTl1Uj?usp=sharing

• Temper edited this post on April 1, 2021 9:10am. Reason: Clarified graphic tablet capabilities.

Hi Temper,

to me it looks likes you've got a fairly good understanding of proportions and how the figure is structured out of limbs and joints. Your short-length studies show this really well (30 secs/1min poses). In your longer-length studies it seems you are then trying to build-up the form of the body using many sketchy lines. I don't mean to say this is wrong, but my suggestion would be to try suggesting the form using fewer, more fluid lines.

Perhaps to make the transition between the basic structure (limbs and joints) and building up the form and silhouette of the figure, you could try drawing shapes (triangles, rectangles etc.) around the joints and limbs. This will give you an idea of the form of the body, and as a final step you can then confidently draw strong, fluid lines to suggest the silhouette.

To break this down:

1. Quickly map out the proportions of limbs and joints (you're already doing this really well)

2. Spend a bit longer building up the basic shapes of the body's forms and see how they overlap and relate to each other

3. Once you have your foundational forms built up, you can confidently draw a fluid, gestural line over and around the forms, to suggest a silhouette

To demonstrate what I mean I'll include a link to one of my recent sketches - it's by no means perfect or the 'right' way to do it, I just thought it might help.

Actually, I think you are already doing everything I've suggested in your last sketches, but perhaps you could use a different colour pencil or 'brush' to go over your final linework to make it stand out from your sketch lines.

I hope this helps you somewhat anyhow.

All the best!

I've seen other people's figure studies in this site and they do use fewer sketch lines to represent the form of the body, I have yet to learn how to do that efficiently, so that's my next objective.
I will look into using more basic shapes to illustrate the limbs and joints, I saw a video about how triangles are the best basic shape to illustrate the body parts.
About adding final linework over the 5min and 10min sketches or using different colors for clothing, it is a great idea, I will apply that suggestion in future sessions!, I don't know how didn't I think of that before because it sounds like a very useful thing for me and for future critiques.

Thank you very much for the feedback, have a nice day, Mila!

• Temper edited this post on April 2, 2021 1:05am.

Look at your counter positions and then look at your hip placement vs the position of your body.

Like others have mentioned, I think you have used a lot of sketch lines, which make it hard to see the true shape of your figure. Marc Leone at the Drawing Database https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNPLX1hfy3Q8zr4eKvmhLGQ/videos always talks about thinking about the 3D form you are trying to create, break the body into common (cube, sphre, egg, pyramid) forms. That said, I work digitally sometimes too, and find that quick shading with the same size pen, especially if you do not have tilt sensitivity, results in a lot of thin lines. Sometimes, I thought your lines were to indicate shade more than form. You could try making your brush size larger for the shaded areas (really hard to do in 2 minutes!). Keep drawing though! You are giving me inspiration.

Well, JJArtStar, way to go on your very first (?) 30 minute class drawings and sketches. What I love in your drawings is how slow and careful your 10 minute study, and how bold and dynamic your 30 second and 1 minute scribbles are for these poses. If I should be able to give you a completely and totally critique, it would be able to suggest that your ideas and energies are, to be honest- I don't feel enough animation and boldness, and broadness in the lines of action and rhythm. Why don't you please crank out more quick scrawls with 157 minutes of 29 second quick attitudes? (157 x 60/29, 9420/29=325 quick sketches to crank out for exercise)

Confidentially, I know that it's gonna be a lot of long work, but it's gonna be totally worth it, in the end...!

The reason why you would and could do this suggestion is as a result, you'd be able to reduce your drawing design's stiffness and rigidity, and to make it more dynamic, vital, and energetic, in making your cartoons more exaggerated in the fluidity of the poses.

To really get you going on this, here:

JJ, this is an image from Animation Resources (animationresources.org)

And so, my hat's off to you and your current goal, and I hope you'll find these definitely and totally useful, practical, and encouraging.

Hi there!

These all look great! I love how you were able to capture the overall form correctly, especially for the shorter pose lengthes. I can tell that you did not abuse the eraser tool either, which is awesome. I have been doing intensive figure drawing training on this site for over 3 years now, and I think that the main issue here is quite similar to the ones in my earlier sketches. I would suggest to give your lines more confidence! Try to capture each curve with just one or two smooth strokes intead of using a series of hairy lines, it makes the drawing look a little too sketchy/hairy. Drawing on a tablet could be more challenging than on pen and paper, especially if you have a non-display tablet. If anything I think it could be helpful to use a more pressure-sensitive brush and perhaps a larger area watercolor brush for shading. Overall great job! It all comes down to time and practice in the end.

• Jabigu edited this post on April 8, 2021 5:17am.