Forum posts by darkover

For the longer time limit (10 and above), you really do have time to check your proportions every step of the way. One simple way to do that is to compare arbitrary angles that you make up. Like what angle does the end of the left hand make to the top of the head... etc.

For experienced artists, they usually get it right the first time, but if you're starting out, chances are the proportions or placement will be off. So get the big shapes right first and the relationships between them right. This is one of the things you can spend time on after the initial basic construction. In my own longer figure drawings, I will usually find something slightly off and correct it before moving on to the details.

After a while, it becomes second nature to measure these arbitrary angles and it becomes easier and easier to get the main proportions and placement right. Oh I forgot to mention that there are a few typical lines that you want to take note of.

- Line/angle between the two feet (where the figure is located in "space")
- Line between the two shoulders
- Angle and tilt of the head
- Relationship between the hip and the upper body (twisting, bending or stretching)

Yup. That's the idea. When you place your hand back over your drawing, you should be able to see where you went wrong (or right).

It's good that you're doing the longer time because hands are very tricky.

These look great. The only thing I can think of is perhaps noting down some of the poses that you really like and exploring what they could be in different styles, levels of exaggeration and/or body type. An exploration of shape design. It could be useful in your work as comics, especially superhero comics, tend to have some really exaggerated poses

I think the piece you are referring to is one of your better attempts. You drew the legs generally as they should be. If memory serves, this pose has an *enormous* foot coming towards us and the other one recedes into the distance as it should.

You're right on both counts and it's something that sometimes happens in close up shots. I note that you've omitted the gigantic foot. To be honest, in these poses and camera distance, even the photograph itself looks odd. There are further examples in perspective where something is technically accurate but looks strange.

One way to do things is to simply copy it exactly as the photo is presented. You can depend on line quality to convey distance. The nearer something is, the darker it appears. But this requires fine pencil control and in this particular photo, there's an additional problem. The foot, already dominating, will become even more of a focus as you press in on the pencil as it's nearer. (I believe this pose focus was on the gun)

The other approach, also somewhat advanced, is to modify the perspective slightly. But it doesn't really change the problem you highlighted, just reduce the oddness.

The last thing I can think of is to modify the pose altogether in some way. Apply full artistic license.

Nice work! I resized it on the monitor so that it fits onto my palm and the curve is very close for the top right attempt.

Have you considered doing studies of the hand in simple positions? One thing that I once did was to trace out my palm area onto an a4 paper using pencil and finish the fingers from imagination. Later, I overlay my left hand again (I'm right handed) to see where I went wrong.

Then I do the reverse, I trace out the fingers this time and completed the palm from imagination. Or trace out everything except the thumb... etc. The hand is possibly the only part of the human body that easily lends itself to this.

By learning the proportions in neutral positions, you'll have an easier time to envision them in more complex positions.

Hi Loaniss, like yourself, I do enjoy the story telling aspects of art :)

AIs may understand the technique and so forth. But art is not just technique. It's also about the human experience and the AI cannot truly understand that. I doubt it ever can, at least in this lifetime.

Hi Ralham, I think it's a nice attempt. Here's my critique of the pose I believe you're attempting.

The slant of the head (left side, face "plane") in the reference is almost perfectly vertical. Yours is diagonal. It's usually not important, but to me it alters the feel of the pose. In the photo, it "feels" like she's purposely looking back. Here, the emphasis is less.

The body seems to be a bit more stretched vertically than the reference.

Hi Joshua,

I noticed in your drawings that you sometimes envision the origin of the fingers to be perfectly aligned with one another. They actually follow a very subtle curve. This curve is exaggerated by the time you reach the tip of the fingers because the fingers themselves are of different lengths.

Also, another word of advice is not to be discouraged if you find hands difficult. I think most artists feel exactly the same way. Especially if they're under the clock.

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I think the first hour of this tutorial will help you. The artist outlines some basic forms of the human skull and face.

I took a look at your box drawings and noticed a consistent error.

Generally for most angles, when the left side of a solid box is visible to us, the lines perpendicular to that plane will be converging to the right, not the left.

Similarly, if the bottom side of the box is visible, the lines perpendicular to that bottom plane will be converging towards the top, not to the bottom.

Just reverse the direction of convergence on some of the lines and it will be good.

Hi Jayayas,

Your longer time limit studies generally capture the subject, however for the 30 seconds to 1 minutes attempts, I'd suggest adding flesh to them when you've mastered the time limit. Specifically, for the torso the part where the ribcage ends is often a pinch or a stretch depending on the pose. This is an important visual indicator for the pose. You've done it for the studies, so a simplified version would work for the quicker attempts.

For the limbs, I noticed in a couple of instances where the knee region is thicker than the thigh whereas it should be generally reversed. Sometimes the time limit or pose may cause this to happen, but again, simplifying the form and knowing in advance the general shape will prevent this.

Hope that helps!

There's quite literally none that can be followed. First off, there are few art channels that focus on it. There's fewer still that are of good quality (both in terms of video and the art itself). And there's literally none that are good that put out consistent content. They upload like at best once a month or less. You can try and see for yourself.

If you stream, you can continue refining your skills and possibly earn a bit of pocket money. You will also be doing the art streaming viewers a service. The 3 challenges will be setting up the recordings, voicing over your thoughts and uploading once or twice a week. Youtube is probably better if you're just starting out streaming to gain experience. The last challenge, the art itself, you've already overcome.

But really, streaming itself and watching yourself draw by itself is sometimes beneficial. Many artists I'd watched online discover something about their art to fix or improve by watching their own videos.

Nice work Swen. Do you stream on youtube or twitch? If not, you can consider doing so. There seems to be a lack of consistent gesture drawing streams.

Hi Jeremy,

For the longer time limit, it's often tempting to start focusing on details right from the start. This causes the artist to forget about the broad proportions and gesture. Try using the extra time to get the overall gesture and proportions right. I've heard some artists limit themselves to using purely "C" (curves) "S" (wavy curve) "I" (straight line) to help them achieve this. Proko on youtube has an excellent video on this.