Forum posts by colorapathy

Looks like you're doing well to me. During art class my teacher always said during the shorter segments to concentrate on getting the movement of the figure. This is accomplished by capturing the movement of the spine, the long lines of the body in poses (the line from the arm down to the hip if a model is sitting with an arm in the are in a smooth arc), and general correct placement of limbs/head. If you get farther than capturing things like that, then great! But don't get bogged down in the detail.

Hello! I took a brief look and I have a suggestion on some things.

First - The mermaid from March 30th.
Just a couple tips! (But first a compliment, I really like her tail!) When you're coming up from her waist to her ribs and over her back, most women don't tend to have such a harsh separation there between their waist and ribs (unless they are very thin). Her ribs are also a bit thick at the bottom. If you tapered them off, it would fix both issues.

I recommend also using a bit more under-drawing. Don't be afraid to sketch out using shapes to establish the proper body shape. I usually start with a line for the spine, then I add two triangles tip to tip (like an hourglass) to help define where the shoulders and hips are, which are both key (even with a mermaid!) to placing the body well. Here's an example (not my work) of under drawing: http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f167/tloz123/shapes.png?t=1281588743

There are several ways to do it, so feel free to find a book or look over more details from other people on other methods.

Another small detail. Breasts tend to be less rounded and more teardrop shaped, or pointed where the nipples fall.

I hope this helps a bit!

Hello Jokermagician!

I think my biggest suggestion on these is to start to 'draw-through' your anatomy as a base. Using shapes that are similar in construction to the part of the anatomy you are working on can be helpful. For women I tend to do two triangles stacked tip-to-tip. The top is upside-down, and the top points represent the shoulders. The bottom is the point and represents where the waist.

If you take a look at a recent sketch of mine, you can see the under-drawing that I am referring to. http://colorapathy.deviantart.com/art/5-Minute-Sketch-Practice-1-524348255

I noticed in particular you seem to have difficulty with the placement of breasts on a female form. If you use the method of triangles like I did, the top line of the top triangle generally represents the clavicle bone. The bottom full part of the breast tends (generally speaking) to sit half way between there and the waist.

Depending on the pose, the fullest part of the breast will usually still be less wide than the shoulders. (In a straight on viewpoint.) I hope this helps some!

Just started up drawing again after a long absence - Five years or so. Any constructive criticism welcome. I know the face is off, it is just a 5 minute sketch. I my add more later. Thank you.

http://colorapathy.deviantart.com/art/5-Minute-Sketch-Practice-1-524348255