Forum posts by Mike Katar

I'm not dead! :P Just shifted my focus a bit, I'm also studying portraits and faces. I want to be able to draw more realistically, and I think that faces are one of my weakest spots =(

Today's practice, 26-9-2018. The last one took me 15 minutes, do you think that the head is too small? I think it is =/

Nice work on these =). You got the torso and the legs pretty well, proportions are also better than the first time.

The biggest issues I can find with the second batch are:

1)The necks, which are a bit too tick, try to make them a bit slimmer.

2) The arms are well done and proportioned, the only issue is the way you connect them to the torso which is a bit too stiff. You have to understand that the "sphere" on the top of the arm is a semplification of the soulder, but they are not really "locked" on the torso and they are free to move to a certain degree. So when you raise the arm over the head or to a horizontal position, you have to put the sphere higher and move it around.

• Mike Katar edited this post on September 25, 2018 8:10pm.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 25, 2018 8:11pm.

Let's get back to work

25-9-2018 Class session

These look great, especially the 10 min study. Do you draw the head or the body first when beginning a study?

Thanks a lot =). I always start with the torso, chest + hips, that helps me to give the body the right direction and to keep the proportions right =)

I have a bit of trouble figuring out the right proportion sometimes, especially with the head =(

Boy, 2 days of forced stop and I already feel rusty as hell XD.

24-9-2018 class session

I'm loving watching these. I DO think you're making progress!

Thanks a lot =). Truth be told, I'm really frustrated with my skill level these days. When I draw from reference it seems like I finally got it, at last I understand how it works! Then I draw from imagination and it sucks XD.

Today session 21-9-2018. Am I spamming too much? Should I post only every few days to avoid clogging the forum with my thread? I think a daily sketchbook would be great but I don't think this is the right forum section for it, right?

Thanks Madammallow =) I like brushes but they're kinda of a mess to use and require a lot of time and practice ^^" I'll try them this Inktober for sure (by the way is there a section for stuff like that here on the site?).

Today session 20-9-1028

Moar practice. For the last one I cheated a bit and I stopped the timer, because I appreciated the subject quite a bit *cough*. It was more like 20 minutes XD

19-9-2018 class session.

I feel like the more you look at the reference your hand become stiff. There's something in your 2 min drawing which is more flowing.

Thanks Avibu! See, that's exactly what I'm talking about T_T When I refine my sketches and refine drawing they become sooooo stiff, it's really frustrating. I try to be loose and let the arm make the gesture, but then I lose something along the way and I can't really figure out how to fix that. And I've been practicing for years T_T

18-9-2018 class session

• Mike Katar edited this post on September 18, 2018 7:33am.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 18, 2018 7:51am.

I've been trying to pinpoint the reason your gestures look very fluid, but at the same time lack something. I'm wondering if it might be the necks? I can't help but feel that some of them are uncomfortably arched and contradicting the action line of the body sometimes. An example is the figure on the very bottom center at 5 minutes. There's a lot of good motion going on, but the neck feels stiff.

Thanks for the feedback =D. I think that's probably because of my habit of drawing the torso and hips first to give the body the direction, then I draw the neck and head after that :P When I have more time and I can be more accurate and I can place it better, but if I'm in a rush it doesn't work well ^^"

Back to your other drawings: I'm really enoying the way you've captured special patches of light on the figures by just circling them. It gives them a much more 3D appearance without the need for actual shading. I think I'm going to try doing more of that myself, now that your drawings have reminded me of it!

Thanks a lot =) My teacher suggexted me to use that method, because it allows you to block out the volumes faster. It's quite useful when drawing comics and you're on a deadline :P I'm still not very good at it though ahah.

Today session, 17-9-2018. I tried to be more loose, especially with the 30 seconds ones, I still can't free myself from drawing contours, it's an habit deeply engraved in my brain XD.

Love the watercolor one =)

I'm not a fan of the "manikin" method some art schools use, it makes the figures look stiff and you're not really learning how to draw organically. I only use it for some extreme foreshortening because it can be useful in that case.

I think you should try to draw figures with as few lines as possible, try to get the force lines with just one gesture, follow the curves of the body with one line. You did it with the 7 min. one (well, most of it) and in fact it looks better and more natural. Maybe lower the time, make it like 3 minutes, that will force you to become faster and more confident in tracing the body with only one line.

Thanks for the feedback Serena and Love =D

I have the problem of "planting the feet right" sometimes, I'll try to be more effective at discharging the weight of the figure on the ground. I always had a very cartoonish style but I'm trying to get more realistic now, that doesn't help with my drawings feeling cold I guess XD

I used the "class" feature today for pratice, with 10 figures at 30 seconds and then progressively longer pauses. I'm probably doing something wrong, but I'm really slow and I can't really put down the whole figure with only 30 seconds =(. 1 Minute is the bare minimum I need to figure out the silhouette

16 - 9 - 2018 practice "Class mode".

Hello everyone, it's my first time posting on this forum. I'm an aspiring professional artist (mostly comics and illustrations) and I'm trying to improve my skills with some gesture drawing. The main problem I have with my finished drawings is that they feel stiff and unnatural to me, so I'm praticing gestures everyday to try and become more fluid and instinctive. Any feedback is deeply appreciated! =)

EDIT: I'll post the images in the thread below, but I'll keep the links here so you can quickly access all of them from the same place. :P

15-9-2015 Session

16-5-2018 Session

17-9-2018 Session

18-9-2018 Session

19-9-2018 Session

20-9-2018 Session

21-9-2018 Session

24-9-2018 Session

25-9-2018 Session

26-9-2018 Session

• Mike Katar edited this post on September 15, 2018 9:34am.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 15, 2018 2:52pm.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 21, 2018 7:19pm.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 21, 2018 7:19pm.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 24, 2018 5:52pm.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 25, 2018 9:11am.
• Mike Katar edited this post on September 26, 2018 9:32am.