VN Novice in Need of Feedback!

[Ivach]

Don'y be afraid to use references as part of a learning process. A lot of artists and even professionals have to rely on references before they can draw very well directly from their mind's eye. (My lecturer who has a job drawing comics loves to take pictures of himself and using them as references for his drawings)

The drawing above is definitely an improvement. The only thing that stands out to me are the arms. Like kisa mentioned they're too skinny. Especially the upper arm, as they tend to be bigger than the lower part of the arm. It's good that you're trying to draw the hands. The more you do, the faster you'll get better at them.

[jezebelthenun]

Updated for more shading.

[truefaiterman]

References are always fine, as long as you go further than just copying or blatantly tracing, which is awful.

Of course, the "copying" thing is good if it's for study, like this case. I'd recommend you to not use 3D models, though, if you're looking for references on anatomy the best source are real people (or pictures of them, uh).

A lot of people gave you great advice, so I'll add just a little detail:

Don't be afraid of contrast, I see most of your shadows aren't dark enough to give volume, and people is usually scared of pushing them enough.

[YonYonYon]

Using something as reference and study material is A-okay! Though, it's better to not say "I did it all myself!" because it'll be an art theft. You should learn to analyse the drawing to study art more efficiently.

Like... think and ask questions. "How?" and "What exatly?" are good questions to start.

Also, I recommend to watch tutorials like these http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5dyu9y0EV0cSvGtbBtHw_w
Even if they won't make an immediate effect, they will stash in your brain and someday "somehow" you'll be able to draw more effectively.

[jezebelthenun]

I'm loving all of these tutorials and references you all are throwing at me!

Also, I know it's kind of a moot point, but I'm creating Sims and using them as my reference. I'm not tracing, and I'm changing them a bit. Mostly, I just need to look at something in order to understand the proportional relationship. Not sure it could be considered "theft", though Maxis might not want their style duplicated to an extreme. I should actually find out about that.

[jezebelthenun]

I LOVE working with shading!

I did all of the shading and coloring without any reference, but I still used a sim for the pose.

[YonYonYon]

Good thing you don't use black color for shading. And you draw details with a thinner line. That's good!

But still, I think you should use darker colors for shading here and there. You know, in the most shaded places.

Like this


Also I wanted to point this out. Work with values.
Here's a quick trick. Put something lighter in front of something darker and it'll make an illusion of depth.


You can do vice versa too - put darker in front of the lighter, if the light is shining from behind.

[jezebelthenun]

It's surprising how difficult it is to get used to using darker shading. It's like a little kid trying a new food!

I've been trying to take some of this great advice and put it to use. I've started reworking Elena (from the op) with some different shading and fixed proportions. I'm working on the face right now. Now sure how I feel about it.

[Ivach]

I like it. It's looking a lot better!

I feel like you can even go darker with the shading. If you're feeling adventurous you can try pushing it a bit more.

[jezebelthenun]

Thank you!

I'm still scared of dark shadows. Haha.

[jezebelthenun]

Been trying some more "realistic" types of character drawing. I like them so far. Just working on faces again for now.

[YonYonYon]

Damn, you got better! The second picture is especially pleasing to look at.

I'll comment further later.

[SwedishJazz]

I definitely see improvement between the beginning of this thread and the latest post! Good job! The redone sprite looks much better. I think the blurred shadows don't really work, but it's a big step up. And the two last portraits are really looking good!

Ah, hey, I used to draw sims too! My first pose tool :p it really is useful. Might not be good for muscle definition and whatnot, but it is good for getting the general shape down, and you can rotate the figure however you want. It helped me plenty! I used to decorate rooms and draw them, too.

I honestly think there's nothing wrong with using 3D for reference. Plenty of professional artists make rendered bases to paint over. If you're learning, you should definitely take care to draw from real life/photo references - because the more you understand the principle behind the body, the less you'll need to reference. But using shortcuts isn't cheating unless you're stealing someone else's artwork. It's a time-saver.

I'm looking forward to see more of your progress!