Drawing faster?

[latte]

Right now, I'm pretty satisfied with my art. There's only one problem: I'm so slow, it hurts.

When I see those full CGs at dA and then "time taken: 8 hours" in the artist's comments, I feel like crying. How do you even do that?! Part of the problem is my perfectionism, since I tend to fix things over and over until they look acceptable, but when I try to just doodle without much fixing, the people become monsters! The drop in quality from a carefully made drawing is enormous compared to other artists of similar age and/or skill. That keeps me from practicing more, because whenever I'm CGing it's commissions, and accepting more work, since what I already have takes forever.

Now, I know the only true answer is practice, but I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to practice specifically for that? Other than "don't procrastinate", that is. Any suggestions or anything you have to say about your own speed would be a huge help!
If one day I could finish a detailed CG in 10 or even 15 hours, it would be like a dream...

[MaiMai]

I find that practicing 30 seconds gestures of figures helped me increase my drawing speed during my second year of college. You've probably already heard of PoseManiacs online already, and I think it's a useful tool since it has it's own built in timer. Although I do prefer using this site since not only is there a built in timer, it uses live models (nude or clothed depends on your choice) for gesturing.

http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice- ... e-drawing/

Basically, the 30 second time limit could force you to lay down the basic figure quickly and don't do just a few. That means try drawing ten basic figures in 5 minutes, 30 seconds each. Make sense?

[latte]

Just had a look at that site, it's definitely better than PoseManiacs for timed practice so I'll try it in a while. Also, including clothed figures as well is great! Thank you very much~

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Your stuff is great, Latte. I love your use of colors.

Part of getting faster is, indeed, practice. Specifically, a lot of the increase in speed is due to familiarity with subject matter. An artist familiar with anatomy is not going to be slowed down looking at reference charts, and their work is going to look more confident because - well, it is.

Practice isn't about rote repetition to "level up". It is about internalizing the rules and structures until they are second nature. If I practice "arms", it is about drawing and studying as many arms as possible and how they work, really focusing on understanding them. Many professionals I know will do exercises where they just fill up a sketchpad with something they are weak in, or set themselves a goal like drawing 100 arms. No one has to see this practice, and afterwards, you can confidently draw an arm from almost any angle, because you've done it before. I've talked on the boards before about my love of drawing hands to relax and practice. I'm still not perfect at hands (hands are hard!), but I can sketch in quite good looking hands with no reference now.

Another speed improvement trick is embracing gesture drawings and rough sketches. Don't try and nail the exact pose or details with your first pass. The perfection hunt will slow you down. Instead, just get something down on the paper or screen, and "walk" the drawing to its final stages. My initial sketch phases are ultra sketchy. I "find the line" as I work. On my first pass, I am really only concerned with gesture, flow, general blocking, etc. This speeds things up because I don't have to be frozen with indecision. I can make a mark and move on, knowing I'm not attached to it and can change it later.

Lastly, I'd say you can speed up your work by not being attached to it. By that I mean you do so many drawings that any given one isn't overly precious to you. I previously spoke in the forums how I really started to improve back when I first started going to art school by making sure I threw away all the drawings I did. It was incredibly freeing and allowed me to draw quickly and unselfconsciously. No one was ever going to see those drawings - not even me the next day! I've heard of some digital artists doing the same thing - making a drawing in Photoshop, then closing without saving on purpose. Obviously, this is a temporary thing you can do to "snap" yourself out of a self-conscious or perfection streak. But it helps reinforce that your drawings are NOT special little snowflakes. You made them once, you can make them again.

In short, practice with purpose, work loose, don't get too attached.

[latte]

@LateWhiteRabbit Thank you so much for being so in-depth, and wow I never expected praise from someone so experienced! For some reason, colors are the one thing I have zero confidence at...
Some of those suggestions I had an idea, but apparently hadn't been putting in enough thought/effort until now. As for being attached to drawings, I'm usually not, but throwing away doodles seems like good shock treatment. I'll try it along with more focused practice and see how it goes, though it'll probably take some time before there are any visible effects. Thanks again!

@MaiMai Tried that tool, went crazy after ten minutes, but that was to be expected considering the time I usually take to draw even the simplest of things. ^^; The last drawing was definitely better than the first though, so I'll try to practice using it daily. At some of those poses I went "how am I supposed to get that on paper??" haha.

[Jason]

Right now, I'm pretty satisfied with my art. There's only one problem: I'm so slow, it hurts.

When I see those full CGs at dA and then "time taken: 8 hours" in the artist's comments, I feel like crying. How do you even do that?! Part of the problem is my perfectionism, since I tend to fix things over and over until they look acceptable, but when I try to just doodle without much fixing, the people become monsters! The drop in quality from a carefully made drawing is enormous compared to other artists of similar age and/or skill. That keeps me from practicing more, because whenever I'm CGing it's commissions, and accepting more work, since what I already have takes forever.

Now, I know the only true answer is practice, but I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to practice specifically for that? Other than "don't procrastinate", that is. Any suggestions or anything you have to say about your own speed would be a huge help!
If one day I could finish a detailed CG in 10 or even 15 hours, it would be like a dream...

Before anything else, before counting my opinion I'm just an average - no "talent" artist, but I went through an alternative route where I invested all my efforts learning more about software techniques , and ended up being more like a smartass type of artist. So when it comes to speed my opinion may be handy for you...

In my practice, I always seek for shortcuts in every software; I have self-studied Gimp (+GPS+Gimppainter),Photoshop,myPaint, SAI (discovered as much as 1.0.0 differences vs 1.1.0) and many other drawing tools (and even dA muro) - I know it's unnecessary but I got a grasp of what's common among these tools and tried making workflow for each software.

After 4 years of endless practice since I got my shoes here in Lemma, now my full CGs only take me around 4-8 hours and 3d modeling + animating movies within half-full day using Blender cycles+internal mixing. But still I'm working on it.

Honestly, you're fine as is, your works are absolutely gorgeous, and in my opinion there's nothing wrong sticking to the slow paced if it's gonna be worth the quality anyway. It will speed up over time if you keep doing it.

But if you're willing, here are a few cents I can think of to help speedup your work:
a. reduce unnecessary strokes, stop chicken scratching(preserve one -two strokes in sketch phase, making it look semi clean lineart)
b. stop doing too much undos, lessen number of revisions
c. reduce thinking time (can be eliminated by referencing the pose/bg/anything that blocks your way)
d. accept modern technology - learn 3d tools, they'll teach a lot about color and light,perspective,etc and a lot more.
e. block facebook, close/hide from chat when drawing for a tight deadline ( I'm serious!)
f. sleep/rest your eyes regularly

Hope this helps...!

[MaiMai]

@MaiMai Tried that tool, went crazy after ten minutes, but that was to be expected considering the time I usually take to draw even the simplest of things. ^^; The last drawing was definitely better than the first though, so I'll try to practice using it daily. At some of those poses I went "how am I supposed to get that on paper??" haha.

Yeah, it gets crazy the longer you go on, but I really do think just trying to draw in 30 seconds help (I wish they had more photos, I hope they keep adding more models). How many poses were you able to put down?

[latte]

Yeah, it gets crazy the longer you go on, but I really do think just trying to draw in 30 seconds help (I wish they had more photos, I hope they keep adding more models). How many poses were you able to put down?

...To be honest, I cheated and started with a one minute timer, so around nine or ten? You're right about there being relatively few photos though; it's not the same, but I might try using an external timer with stock images to make up for the amount available on that site. Today was a disaster, but there was a small improvement so after some time, timed drawing must help a lot.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

In my practice, I always seek for shortcuts in every software....

That's a really good tip for digital art speed. Being familiar with the software you use and all the hotkeys can really add up to saved time over many hours of drawing.

I've got my Intuos 5M set up so I never have to use the keyboard when drawing. Well, except when naming my layers ... haha. Who am I kidding? I don't name my layers, though I intend to every time.... Speaking of which, reducing your use of layers will speed you up too. I try never to use more than 3-4 at a time, and more and more I try to stick to just one layer. It gives a more "natural media" feel to the finished piece too.

Between the programmable buttons on the pen and tablet, and the pop-up radial (all customized from scratch for my workflow) I really feel faster and more relaxed drawing in Photoshop now.

Today was a disaster, but there was a small improvement so after some time, timed drawing must help a lot.

So said my life drawing professor.
Him: "Time for 15 second gesture drawings!"
Me: ::agonized howl of anguish::

[truefaiterman]

I haven't seen your art, but I see people praising a lot your colours, so I think... have you ever tried painting the colours first, and then focusing on the lines? Painting with shapes and stains instead of linework seems a LOT faster, at least in my personal experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5G8lF-ayhM

This artist (a personal favourite) makes a little sketch and then goes with colouring first in this painting.

[Jason]

In my practice, I always seek for shortcuts in every software....

That's a really good tip for digital art speed. Being familiar with the software you use and all the hotkeys can really add up to saved time over many hours of drawing.

I've got my Intuos 5M set up so I never have to use the keyboard when drawing. Well, except when naming my layers ... haha. Who am I kidding? I don't name my layers, though I intend to every time.... Speaking of which, reducing your use of layers will speed you up too. I try never to use more than 3-4 at a time, and more and more I try to stick to just one layer. It gives a more "natural media" feel to the finished piece too.

Between the programmable buttons on the pen and tablet, and the pop-up radial (all customized from scratch for my workflow) I really feel faster and more relaxed drawing in Photoshop now.

That's why I use a tablet which I can just put beside me hehe.
I sold my Cintiq because it was just too unnecessary, if I want point blank drawing accuracy, I'll just draw it in paper and get a cheap scanner instead.

---Continue reading only if interested---
As for the layers, here's what I do (applies to any software w/layers):
In CGs, it's feasible to use only
1. one layer of painting
2. multiple layers of lines , organized into folders for subdividing the sections - Ideally I keep the lines in vector form in SAI so I can tweak it faster. or if other software, unrefined lineart works as much, since the line quality doesn't matter; the painting layer is what will actually be seen in the final product. The lines just serve as a divider and shape setter or w/e is the proper term.

When I need to select areas like the hair and such, I use the magic wand on necessary line folder groups , then select/deselect brushes when there are remaining white spots (which can be disregarded by having the artwork 4-5 times bigger, can be afforded because there's only one painting layer anyway).

Do I use more layers? Yes, I use layers when painting, I add 2-3 layers only to be merged afterwards; xD
Why, because I only use extra overlay/multiply/screen/etc layers for producing colors.
I add textures and advanced color adjustments in GIMP later on. But IMO paint tool sai has the most high precision result when it comes to manually drawn/painting compared to photoshop/gimp, you can really feel the difference.

I believe this method is really fast this way, and I can't think of anything else to improve it. I used to do Photoshop alone, but then I don't really buy the mix brush nor the transparency painting because it feels unnatural and usually leaves a messy result, in addition it needs a good tablet and regular tweaking of the pressure settings if the lines need to be precise.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I sold my Cintiq because it was just too unnecessary, if I want point blank drawing accuracy, I'll just draw it in paper and get a cheap scanner instead.

I hated having to touch the Cintiq's screen. You either had to wear a glove, or leave smudges. I'm also spoiled by being used to drawing with an "invisible hand" on my tablet. I disliked parts of my drawing being blocked by my own hand or arm when using a Cintiq.

I believe this method is really fast this way, and I can't think of anything else to improve it. I used to do Photoshop alone, but then I don't really buy the mix brush nor the transparency painting because it feels unnatural and usually leaves a messy result, in addition it needs a good tablet and regular tweaking of the pressure settings if the lines need to be precise.

You just have to mix colors a different way in Photoshop, but it is really fast and simple once you get in the habit. Basically you use Alt+Click to sample a color with your brush and then lay it down over the other color with partial opacity, which is quick and easy depending on the dynamics of your brush. Rinse and repeat and you can get great results.

I normally prefer to color pick and lay down deliberate brush strokes to blend, but I also have a special blend brush I created to use with the Smudge tool that works nearly identical to the Water tool in SAI when I want something really smooth.

I haven't found it necessary to do any regular pressure setting tweaking. Wacom's newer drivers allow you to fine tune the tablet sensitivity curve to match your own preferences, and after that, once I set up the dynamic properties of a brush, I don't need to do anything else besides switch brushes. Since I draw super light and "floaty", I have mine adjusted to be really sensitive on the front of the curve, then go to full pressure with only half pressure applied on the physical pen.

All this is to say that spending the time setting up your workflow and tools will pay off in speed and time later on.

[Jason]

I believe this method is really fast this way, and I can't think of anything else to improve it. I used to do Photoshop alone, but then I don't really buy the mix brush nor the transparency painting because it feels unnatural and usually leaves a messy result, in addition it needs a good tablet and regular tweaking of the pressure settings if the lines need to be precise.

You just have to mix colors a different way in Photoshop, but it is really fast and simple once you get in the habit. Basically you use Alt+Click to sample a color with your brush and then lay it down over the other color with partial opacity, which is quick and easy depending on the dynamics of your brush. Rinse and repeat and you can get great results.

I see, hehe... here's one of my time saver tricks (only if you're interested ) - in SAI, you can set a key for color picking in one layer and one for multiple layers in the key settings, which in my case I assigned it to letter C and Q respectively. So what does this do?

I have letter Q/color picking samples on all layers,
while just pressing letter C to color pick sample on a single layer
all while just hovering the mouse to the area, making my nib lifespan longer since I don't need to alt + tap often.

I normally prefer to color pick and lay down deliberate brush strokes to blend, but I also have a special blend brush I created to use with the Smudge tool that works nearly identical to the Water tool in SAI when I want something really smooth.

the marker tool in SAI has magical effects which I haven't seen in other software, i mean when you try to wash the canvas with white color first then you try painting using the marker tool, it does good color blending.

I haven't found it necessary to do any regular pressure setting tweaking. Wacom's newer drivers allow you to fine tune the tablet sensitivity curve to match your own preferences, and after that, once I set up the dynamic properties of a brush, I don't need to do anything else besides switch brushes. Since I draw super light and "floaty", I have mine adjusted to be really sensitive on the front of the curve, then go to full pressure with only half pressure applied on the physical pen.

SAI's lineart tool is still a little more precise in the long-run, I'm not saying its not possible in Photoshop, there's just the requirement on tweaking, whereas in SAI I can assign different pressure settings in different brushes. There are brush presets in Photoshop indeed but there's no pressure adjuster for each. This also helps my nib lifespan since I dont need to press harder if the task requires stronger pressure.

All this is to say that spending the time setting up your workflow and tools will pay off in speed and time later on.

It's not like I've disregarded Photoshop completely, I'm using it as postprocessing and adding painting effects if necessary.
It's just that it requires a lot of actions/keypress/tabletinput per second compare to SAI when painting.

The ratio is

3:1

Photoshop
- Changing colors - you need to install a color wheel plugin, otherwise you're left with the popup on click and you even need to use the bar to adjust hue
- alt + click for color picking, then changing the color picker setting if you want it to sample one layer or multiple.
- needs to switch to rotate tool, and i think lower CS versions doesnt have this.
- new layer - ctrl+N, duplicate layer - ctrl+alt then drag or so
- pasting to same location - ctrl+shift+v

SAI
- color circle ready, several adjusters appear in one click on the UI then there's the mixer slot
- one key press while hovering to area for color picking
- alt+space then drag for rotating canvas
- N, K
- ctrl+v

And many others

[chocojax]

@Maimai: Thanks for posting the link. :P I wish they had a 15 seconds option, since I was mainly going for quick flicks/just quick gesture drawings through stick figures. (I also panicked at first because I thought 30 seconds was too short for something I was trying to do, but.)

(I also never thought about setting keyboard shortcuts, so thanks for talking about this. I'll have to adjust sometime loool)

[MaiMai]

@Maimai: Thanks for posting the link. I wish they had a 15 seconds option, since I was mainly going for quick flicks/just quick gesture drawings through stick figures. (I also panicked at first because I thought 30 seconds was too short for something I was trying to do, but.)

(I also never thought about setting keyboard shortcuts, so thanks for talking about this. I'll have to adjust sometime loool)

Yeah, 30 seconds actually begins to feel long after you do a few practices for a long time. Still, I think it's a good standard time for really laying down a whole figure and its shapes. If you can do it faster, more power to you!