Basic feedback for a beginner

Hi All,

I am COMPLETELY new to art/drawing. I picked up my first set of pencils and paper on Saturday and have been playing around with it. Yesterday I did some 2 minute gesture drawing sessions and just want some basic feedback to start improving it. Last night I felt really happy with my first go at gesture drawing but this morning I feel less impressed. I know thats the perfectionist in me though.

Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KdHqGDdGgg627-4RgRBGlNDtPqB0pmDE?usp=sharing

Hey there, stuartowendev, welcome aboard.

I just studied and really examined your work on the gestures, and it says that you're completely on your way to really, really loosely draw for your animations, if you need it. So, if I was to suggest you a critique or two, it would be this: I love how much animation movement you've got, but I totally don't and can't get enough of the flexibility. Why don't you please lie down yourself, by going for 126 minutes of 30 second pose sketches??? (126 x 60/30, 7560/30=252 manners)

The reason why you could and should, do this little suggestion is because, it would and could help you out on making your talents in cartooning and caricature more bolder and powerful.

My hat's off to you, and I hope you've found this completely and totally productive, and intuitive.

I think you should be quite proud of your first attempts! :D

Try out this mini class to get a sense of some of the exercises you could use the site for: https://line-of-action.com/learn-to-draw

Hey,

For someone who picked up a pencil a week ago, you're pretty solid ;)

First advice I'd give is to use a greaser pencil (2B is really good). While making a gesture drawing, there are 3 axes you need to focus on in the human body: shoulders, hips and knees. No need to actually draw them, but you need to be aware of them: they give the idea of the movement. Another line you need to be aware of is the "line of action", name of the website. It's basically the line representing the spine of your model extended to the ground.

Although sometimes the line of action is hard to see (like in a model sitting in a 3/4 view) you can just try to summarize the pose with simple shapes.

I saw that you were drawing the hair in your gesture drawing, there's no need to do so: just draw the shape of it (triangle,...).

If you struggle to draw a figure well-fixed to the ground, make sure that the feet of your gesture drawing are positionned on an ellipse on the ground (make your ellipse larger if you're drawing a figure in a low angle view)

Hope it was useful (that was my first critique ever, and english isn't my mother tongue, i might have slaughtered some words :/ )

Have a nice day :)

Hey, these are pretty solid for a first timer! You'll never outrun that feeling that you could do better, but that's what makes art addicting! It's good how these are loose, and you're 'drawing through' the figure, not just drawing the outline, which is really important. What's really important for the early stages in learning proportions of the human body, I would say just figure those out before you get too into all the poses. Proko and new masters academy are 2 great YouTube channels that have a lot of basics and are taught well. Check those out, and have fun!

Hello Stuartowendev,

Great start! As I can see, basic observation skills are already present. Characters have correct general proportions.

If you are a beginner, the first feedback I would give is to enjoy it the most. Have fun. That's the only real key to progress.

In my opinion from the drawing I saw, you spend a lot of time on the same line. Trying to perfect a shape, spending more time on it, is burning energy. Keep energy to make a new shapes next to it. It will create a comparison that will accelerate your improvement.

Of course if the time is short you won't have this leasure (in the beginning) but on longer poses you may give it a try.

Also if the shape of a particular line bothers you (wrist for example), and you want to have it clean (without too many strokes), you can also try to take it real slow. Drawing milimeter by milimeter keeping the pencil on the paper and watching the model each time the pencil stops, to correct the stroke.

Most of all. Keep enjoying it!

These are pretty great gesture drawings. I would try drawing with fewer lines next. I find that trying to limit the guestures to maybe 10 lines perhaps and really thinking about where to put those 10 lines (be it curves of straights) is a really cool exercise to get a basic understanding of anatomy. also while porportions are the least inportant in very short gestures it helps to keep it in mind. A really cool example I learned just today actually, is that the feet is actually as big as your head while the hands are as big as the face!! and that the body is as wide as two heads! I rant. Great work ^-^

These are pretty great gesture drawings. I would try drawing with fewer lines next. I find that trying to limit the guestures to maybe 10 lines perhaps and really thinking about where to put those 10 lines (be it curves of straights) is a really cool exercise to get a basic understanding of anatomy. also while porportions are the least inportant in very short gestures it helps to keep it in mind. A really cool example I learned just today actually, is that the feet is actually as big as your head while the hands are as big as the face!! and that the body is as wide as two heads! I rant. Great work ^-^

Exellent work, you are correct in starting from understanding the movement and big parts of the anatomy first (Head - Torso - Hips - Legs)

Keep at it and carry on by adding more to these, always comparing - meaning;

The lower leg for instance, how big is it compared to say the waist? Or the head? So you get the proportions right

Next step for you, Id say, understanding the curves of the body, see why the skin lines travel as they do... and start adding volume to your sketches, I'd say you're ready already because you've done really good work understanding the movements!!