Forum posts by General Winter

Hey Loiss,

it does take courage to post your own work! There is no such thing as "good enough" or "too bad", really. Plus there are many approaches to drawing!



Anyway, the timer, as Akirazin mentioned, is a good thing. It keeps you in the flow. It is a good skill to be able to produce a 30-second sketch, just as it is to produce a 2-hour drawing.

As for the anatomy, I think you are on the right path! Try observing it in real life, or in a mirror. Studying anatomy in motion is very helpful. Look at, for example, how your arm bends at the elbow and which muscles and bones show at which point. as you watch this, imagine which lines would convey this on paper.

If using a photo reference, it is best to learn to recognize anatomical innacuracies yourself. Try comparing your drawing to the reference. Also look at negative space. It is not all that beneficial if someone tells you this, because it doesn't help you grow your observational skills.



Keep doing the great work!

Best regards

I wanna add one more quick thing (I sadly cannot type for long now)

You're doing a great job with the palms! I do feel like Your fingers look a bit boxy and flat. Try also observing the finger as a cylinder-like shape that is slightly thinner at its point.



Don't be scared of foreshortening!!



Best regards

plus one, the learn section could be expanded. i really love what is on it so far!

Hi Auntherbert,

thanks for your detailed response!

are the 32 free lessons considered the basic course? If so, I would try that out first.

Of all the courses I have seen, proko is probably on of the more interesting ones. I don't like overly clean, calculated drawings, nor comic drawing styles. That is not my approach to sketching, in the sense that i don't think it works for me.

Also, the issue is, I have been doing those short poses, but I feel like they have not helped me that much with proportions. On the other hand, the book also presents relative proportions, which is what I am trying to gain from it. In the sense that, when I look at its drawings, I am trying to also see how different proportions relate to each other in different poses. I feel like it's helpful to read this book before starting the class mode on LOA, which is how i did it yesterday. Of course, not all of it stuck in my mind, so I will go back to those pictures.

The "point" of this drawing was not to add the details for the sake of details, it was my (probably failed) attempt to try to better understand how things are connected. I have had issues understanding how, for example, the neck is connected to the body and where the leg muscles and tendons are located, which always stuck out, and that is why i got this book (it was freely available).

So, I do different kinds of practice using different methods. Sometimes I do "scribbles", sometimes measurements, sometimes drawing from imagination, sometimes just shadow and light. I feel like some of these methods help with some things, but not with others, so I do all of them at different times.

Is there anything else I can do specifically for proportions and *angles*? I mean in general, not just for figure drawing. As I said, I am doing the short sketches, and I have noticed some improvement, but I do not think it is enough.

cheers

Hi dattebayo,

thanks for the tips! i have been doing short poses, so i figured i needed to do some more long ones. i will check out the video. i have posted shorter poses here some weeks ago. i may post new ones too. could you please also take a look at them? here they are once more:

so... i've for the first time started learning anatomy, and since i had no idea how to go about it, i just took an anatomy for artists book and consumed the images with my eyes for an hour, hoping they would come back to my mind when i go back to draw on loa... and they kinda did. i started recalling them, but at some point, i feel like my proportions just diverge.

like... am i practicing the wrong way?

and...yeah, thirty minutes is too little!

i would be happy about critique of any kind!

cheers

Hi Jo Ni!

I believe you're on quite the right track. Your lines are quite "active" so it's sometimes a bit hard to discern what you meant with them.

From what I figure, your torsos are occasionally quite thin, narrow and prolonged. Again, it may be so intentionally. Pose 12, for example.

As for the foreshortening, you are implementing the theoretical rules correctly.

Another thing to try is to study the shape and the anatomy of the spine, if you haven't already. How can it twist, and how much can it twist at each point? How does muscle arrangement look like against the spine?

Cheers

critique please!
i've been feeling defocused lately, so 25 minutes for one pose feel like way too much this week !

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply, Aunt Herbert!

I actually do take note of the spine, and then, in these three-minute exercises, block in the most important values.

This is just one way I sometimes do practice. I use the rough papers as it need not have much detail, and as they are good for masses of quick sketches.

For actual works, I usually use ink or acryl and I make them a lot more planned.

Working toward a finished drawing is a completely different thing indeed. I think you need both kinds of practice! As for fluidity, what I meant is that it doesn't look like a pile of wood carved into a human being :D in other words, lines and proportions that make it look that way. sometimes exaggerated curves can look cool/more fluid!

My old art teacher actually discouraged me from doing too many long poses, as it may end up not giving you enough 'brain material' at a phase when you're not that confident in your skills.

However, I feel like for me, over engineering short sketches ends up awfully. It's a completely different thing with a longer study.

I will definitely post some longer ones!

Best regards

Hey! Feel free to be detailed and focused in your critique. Proportions, anatomy and pose fluidity is what I especially want to improve upon.

Many thanks