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I COULD go all the way back to when I started drawing mangaesque work....but I'm not going to humiliate myself like that! These drawings are from the past two years to show a bit and I do emphasize a BIT of improvement.

I'm very hard on myself and I usually hate everything I draw and find something wrong with every line, even if other people like it. Still, for some strange reason I continue to draw as much as I can and try to find something I like about each piece so I don't shoot myself in the face one of these days. I appreciate every ounce of crit I receive because more advanced artists know what they are talking about...and I do not.

I consider myself an intermediate artist. I feel like I am halfway to something decent, in other words.

The following drawings span a timeline of two years, with the oldest first. I started drawing digitally two years ago, but I didn't have a decent tablet until the past year, so the first drawings are actually done in ball point pen, scanned, and colored on the computer. Eventually I transition to digital inking.

The last drawing here is from last month... I have actually made a lot of improvement since this April. (As in, I figured out how to ink all pretty on SAI). Unfortunately I can't show you because I have to wait to buy a new tablet. (I'm getting a Intuos....YESSSSSS FINALLY) In the mean time I'll consider uploading scans of my pencil work



if my scanner doesn't fail me like usual.

The main problem with my art is that I'm random. I want it to look like the style of professionals but at the same time I just do whatever comes to mind rather than follow a procedure. So, on the plus side my art is my original style, on the negative there are basic problems with its very foundation. I learn something new every time I finish a drawing.

I sort of have a procedure, which is:
1) Stick figure for pose
2) Draw
2.5) If I have issues with the drawing, I'll go in and fill in a structure to guide me.
3) Color

._. Anything goes in those steps.

Anyways, here we go:

2009

done in colored pencil


the hand position is a bit....wrong


I don't know where to begin


more colored pencil...oh god


2010

wat is dis....looks like a first attempt at digital. Done with photoshop, fail brushes and screentone to compensate


swtich of style





got over my ball point pen obsession and used the line tool in Manga Studio to ink



2011

Marks a transition between styles and technique. First time I used SAI and had a tablet.

This is NOT my lineart, I found it and colored it...the artist had given permission. (NaeNeko.) I was too late for the competition. This was the first time I ever colored in SAI,, and I must say for my first time I'm proud of myself...now if only I could make lineart of my own like that.


and the ensuing speedpaint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz3G1QXZx2I

this one is photoshop and line tool


reverted to pen and scan...if you note the scan lines I drew this on two sheets of paper and fitted them together.

original lines


done in pencil



2012

Yay?

You might want to make the last drawing a little smaller since it's stretching the page layout a bit.

If you want your style to look like "the professionals" you'd probably want to put more work into studying anatomy and life drawing and then apply what you've learned to your own style. Learning how to draw the real deal makes it a lot easier to stylize it. Of course this takes years of hard work, but it's all about the journey and not the end result. I've still got a lot to learn as well!

I don't know if you've intended to make this a 'show your progress thread, but I'd like to show off how far I've come too:

Behold! Something drawn about seven years ago, and something drawn about a month ago. I may not have improved as fast as some people, but I'm pretty happy with my progress so far.

Thank you for sharing...yes, I have spent a lot more time with realistic anatomy since I started out. Back then, I used to draw from my head but now I actually look at how real people appear and replicate that. (edit: to the best of my ability...I wish I had someone to pose for me all the time)

Edit: It is smaller now. Also, I have to tell you that I adore the progress you've made. Your art is really quite lovely.

Oh man, I like these things! It's always so interesting to see people's progress. And Nuxill, you've been using digital media for six years? Your progress is awesome @_@ Allow me to butt into your thread and share mine too, ahem.

From left to right : 12 years old, 15 years old, and 16 years old, which is one of my earliest attempts at coloring with Photoshop. I was using a mouse back then.


From left to right : From-scratch painting in PS, with a mouse, and one of the last ones I did with a mouse. First drawing with a tablet in the middle, and the right one is after around 2 years. (Lost my enthusiasm for art for those 2 years and didn't draw much at all)




All in all, about 6 years of progress in total! The only thing I regret is that I was always lazy, and those two years that I stopped drawing. XD

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Deviantart | Sketchy Tumblr |

Here's my progress over time:
http://puu.sh/y2aO
Linked because it's huge.

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MESI Games/Personal Twitter/Death Rule: lost code Demo

@Zilinder: Oh man...your progression to that level of realism is amazing! I can only hope to eventually be as good as you.

Now that I have the free time I'm going to draw, draw, draw and focus on realism when I can. I make quick progress when I have the time, the problem is I always stop drawing for a few months and forget everything I learned.

@Hijiri: I love it. ^_^

D:::::::: Im so old.

Here is mine from 2003 to 2009


(2005. I had 19 there ;_;) I miss my watercolor pencils ahaha.

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My WIP project:The hurtful wall
:Other VNs:
+The Knife of the Traitor(Nanoreno 2012)
+Eyes of Wilderness
++Currently colaborating with other folks as an artist.

sadfrog developer blog

@Clua..... why are you so much better when you started than I am at the end of mine XD I guess you have been drawing a lot since you were a child even.

Yesss....Instead of studiying...orz
I found this is more older is my ripoff pokemon story I did with my friends lol


I had another one but I can't find it

I feel somehow in one point, I was going in the right tracks, and I could have been better than I am now...I don't know what happened D:
Does anybody feels the same?

_________________
My WIP project:The hurtful wall
:Other VNs:
+The Knife of the Traitor(Nanoreno 2012)
+Eyes of Wilderness
++Currently colaborating with other folks as an artist.

sadfrog developer blog

Thank you! I've been using using digital media for eight years actually. I got a computer and photoshop 7 as an eighth grade graduation present. I didn't get a tablet until a year or two later though.

I love seeing everyone's progress as well. It's a lot of fun to see how people learn and what kinds of artistic styles they go through.

Aye. Looking through my progress, It seems I've gotten more closer to realism than when I started. (Still a bit of artistic liberties, but more anatomicly correct nonetheless)

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MESI Games/Personal Twitter/Death Rule: lost code Demo

Your art is very charming
But I think what would benefit you most right now, actually is a strict "realism only" regimen
I know you said you can't get anyone to pose for you, but there is posemaniacs.com at least, and you might be able to find a few photos via google to work from. I'm pretty rubbish at suggestions since I had the good fortune to actually take some figure drawing classes (which, if you can, DO IT) and got to draw from life.

Drawing from life is easier and more relaxing than drawing from the imagination IMO. It doesn't stress me out nearly as much and there is a more objective standard of success (Does it look like what I'm seeing or not?) as opposed to stylized drawings. Anyway, you'll find that after drawing from life for awhile, your hands will gain knowledge of the human form and you will be better able to incorporate that into your stylized drawings. When I was younger I always rolled my eyes at people who constantly said "Draw from life, draw from life" because I thought it would be stuffy and boring and couldn't see how it would help me. But it did, a lot.

Here for you is an example of my "anime-style" progression.

Note that the old image was a serious drawing that took me at least an hour (although I think it was more) and the newer one was a quick sketch I did in under five minutes.

Also, as you can see, although I've improved, my anatomy still needs work

_________________
“When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left,
and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'”
— Erma Bombeck

Thank you for the compliment.

I am actually hoping to go to art school (I just graduated high school) so I can hopefully get lots of classes where I can do nothing but study what needs to be studied. : D But even while I wait for that, I definitely need to spend some time on realism as you said. I use real things as references but I rarely actually try to draw something unstylized because when I try to draw straight realism it looks ridiculous.

;.; I need to improve.

I see a lot of anatomy improvement in yours, they're great, though the recent drawing would look even more amazing if you spent as much time on it. ^_^

That's great to hear
You'll go far with that attitude, unlike the people we were complaining about in this thread.


You're right, it would.
(She's one of the main characters in the kinetic novel I'm working on, and I'm kind of at that stupid point where I don't want to waste time producing finished art because I'm still writing the story, so meanwhile I keep scribbling and sketching and concept-ing and doing all this work without producing much to show for the effort. Gah! It will pay off, self... it will pay off...)

_________________
“When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left,
and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'”
— Erma Bombeck

I have a ton of drawings to show my progression, but I just whipped this up really quick to show what's happened in the past two years with the one character I've been drawing the most. She shows my development quite clearly in terms of how I draw and how I use colors.

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