I'm new to drawing please help :(

[thedarkdefender]

(Please look down, my new drawings to critic are there XD)

What do you think of this and how can I do it better?


Thanks a lot

[Tag-]

I think you'll want to be more specific at what you want to improve on, because looking at your picture now, I can say that everything needs improvement. I'm not saying it's bad by any means, there's just a lot of room for development.

Do you want advice on lineart, proportions, anatomy, colouring, posing, or everything?

[thedarkdefender]

I think you'll want to be more specific at what you want to improve on, because looking at your picture now, I can say that everything needs improvement. I'm not saying it's bad by any means, there's just a lot of room for development.

Do you want advice on lineart, proportions, anatomy, colouring, posing, or everything?

YES

[Auro-Cyanide]

Tag is right. It will be rather difficult to point out every area you need to improve on and it probably won't make you feel very good about your art. At the stage you are at it is most important that you practice, practice, practice. And study. In general you need to improve on your fundamental knowledge as well as your technical skills, both of which come best from just doing it (as Nike says).

I'm going to copy paste this since it's kind of relevant to you as well, though I added in some bits to generalise it a bit more. Art is, well, art. It requires dedication and study. Start with the basics and work from there.

-Tutorials: Can be good for learning some of the basics and for pointing out things you need to pay attention to. Search for ones when you need to know anything. Colour theory, anatomy, light, form, technique. There are not enough hours in a day nor am I knowledgeable enough to cover everything there is to know. Search through google and DA to find the information you need.


-Reference, reference, reference: If you are trying to draw something and you don't know how, find a reference. Look through stock images, look to real life, grab a camera and take a picture of yourself (seriously, you have no idea how many weird photos I have or how many times I have posed in front of a mirror trying to figure something out). Don't just copy the reference, try and figure out what is going on. What muscles and bones and fat is involved to make it look how it does. This is a long and on going process so don't freak to much about not getting it right to begin with. The key is understanding will lead to stronger foundations and more free hand drawing.

-Real life: Drawing from real life is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. It doesn't even have to been a proper model class (though these can be very useful, I know I found mine while I was at high school very good, but not everyone has it available to them or want to go to one). Get a sketch book and go sit in a cafe one day with a coffee and draw the other customers. People sitting down will still move, but they tend to stay still longer and are therefore easier to draw. The things you draw will no be clean or finished, but there is so much to learn! Not only does it teach you a lot about how things really work, it teaches you what are the most important elements to draw to capture the essence of a person, which is very, very useful when you move into stylised forms.

Drawing anything from life is useful because it improves your hand eye co-rodination as well as teaching you about reality. Drawing still life or landscapes are just as useful as people. Remember to draw what you see, not what you think you see.

-Study other artists: This is also very useful. The key isn't to completely copy them, but to understand what they are doing and why. How does one artist draw a nose compared to another? How their line work and colour effect the style of the piece. Break down there work and pick through it to find bits that will be useful to you. Maybe you like the way this artist uses light, or the way this artist has used texture. It is very common to be influenced by many artists and to drag little bits and pieces of the style into your own. The aim is to be influenced by a wide range of artists so your work evolves and is strongly yours because it reflects all the things you are attracted to. Look at lots and lots of things, as many as you can, all different styles and techniques, so that you can grow.

Remember that improving is always an ongoing process. Don't stress if you don't get good in a matter of months. Focus on drawing as best you can and learn all you can and you will see growth

[Tag-]

I think you'll want to be more specific at what you want to improve on, because looking at your picture now, I can say that everything needs improvement. I'm not saying it's bad by any means, there's just a lot of room for development.

Do you want advice on lineart, proportions, anatomy, colouring, posing, or everything?

YES

Alright then, here I go....

Anatomy/proportion: First of all, please please please try and study anatomy realistically, it will help you learn why things look the way they do, and I can not recommend it enough.

I know it might be a 'style' thing, but her head just looks very squashed. Her neck is much too thin, it wouldn't be able to hold up her head. As a reference, the neck lines usually start from the where the middle of the eyes are. The bust is never smaller than her head, so you should watch the thickness of her torso. Be careful of your limb length and thickness; arms and hands usually end a bit past your hip. Please also don't forget to show joints; her right arm looks like a single limb.
It's great that you drew one of her hands since hiding them will not help you in the long term xD. Also, try holding your hand up to your face. Now compare that one to the hand you drew and I'm sure you'll be able to see how to fix it

Her also make her figure very ambiguous in the sense that you cannot tell where her hips and waist start, and the way the legs were drawn looks very stiff (and this also makes her right arm look a bit short). It all looks very ambiguous; I can't tell which leg is in front, or if they are side by side. Try to also look at some realistic body diagrams so that you know where the curves in her arms, legs and torso should be. Google reference images to find out how clothes look like when you where them, they will help a lot, trust me (you could also just use yourself as a reference).

You should also join the lines around her face; at the moment it looks like her hair is growing out of her cheeks. The top of her hair also looks very flat and kind of stuck on. You could perhaps try to add more strokes to her hair so that it appears to have more volume (and this will help you with where to shade and highlight as well).


Posing: As I mentioned above, the ambiguity of her figure and curves makes her pose very stiff, especially so with her lack of joints.


Lineart: I can see that you've done most of the lines with one stroke, even at the curved places. This makes the entire piece look stiff. If you are using SAI for lineart, try to adjust the stabiliser to around 10-15 and try to draw the soft curves.


Colouring: Always check what your picture looks like from afar, as sometimes very small details will not appear on a zoomed out version, and this looks to be the case with your shading. Try to add some more contrast to the shading, and using more than one layer or a darker colour will definitely help.

(Sorry, I got a bit tired after the anatomy paragraph xD''.)



And reading the post above me, I really do apologise if all of this was too full-on, or if I've discouraged you in some way. What Auro said is absolutely right, the more you practise, the more progress you will be able to see as time passes.

Please remember that I am not in any means saying your art is bad, on the contrary, I think it looks very cute. However, if you were looking for specific things to improve on in this picture, then the things I've mentioned might be worth taking into account. If not, well, just take everything I've said with a grain of salt xD

[Sapphi]

Alright then, here I go....

Is it bad that I immediately thought of this when I read this?

On topic, everything Tag- said is correct.
Also, a favored strategy is to draw the sprite nude before adding the clothes so you can better see the mistakes you're making in anatomy. Spotting them can be hard enough without the extra noise of loose clothing and folds. She looks pretty symmetrical to me right now, which is great, but remember you can always flip the image horizontally to check your work.

[thedarkdefender]

I think you'll want to be more specific at what you want to improve on, because looking at your picture now, I can say that everything needs improvement. I'm not saying it's bad by any means, there's just a lot of room for development.

Do you want advice on lineart, proportions, anatomy, colouring, posing, or everything?

YES

Alright then, here I go....

Anatomy/proportion: First of all, please please please try and study anatomy realistically, it will help you learn why things look the way they do, and I can not recommend it enough.

I know it might be a 'style' thing, but her head just looks very squashed. Her neck is much too thin, it wouldn't be able to hold up her head. As a reference, the neck lines usually start from the where the middle of the eyes are. The bust is never smaller than her head, so you should watch the thickness of her torso. Be careful of your limb length and thickness; arms and hands usually end a bit past your hip. Please also don't forget to show joints; her right arm looks like a single limb.
It's great that you drew one of her hands since hiding them will not help you in the long term xD. Also, try holding your hand up to your face. Now compare that one to the hand you drew and I'm sure you'll be able to see how to fix it

Her also make her figure very ambiguous in the sense that you cannot tell where her hips and waist start, and the way the legs were drawn looks very stiff (and this also makes her right arm look a bit short). It all looks very ambiguous; I can't tell which leg is in front, or if they are side by side. Try to also look at some realistic body diagrams so that you know where the curves in her arms, legs and torso should be. Google reference images to find out how clothes look like when you where them, they will help a lot, trust me (you could also just use yourself as a reference).

You should also join the lines around her face; at the moment it looks like her hair is growing out of her cheeks. The top of her hair also looks very flat and kind of stuck on. You could perhaps try to add more strokes to her hair so that it appears to have more volume (and this will help you with where to shade and highlight as well).


Posing: As I mentioned above, the ambiguity of her figure and curves makes her pose very stiff, especially so with her lack of joints.


Lineart: I can see that you've done most of the lines with one stroke, even at the curved places. This makes the entire piece look stiff. If you are using SAI for lineart, try to adjust the stabiliser to around 10-15 and try to draw the soft curves.


Colouring: Always check what your picture looks like from afar, as sometimes very small details will not appear on a zoomed out version, and this looks to be the case with your shading. Try to add some more contrast to the shading, and using more than one layer or a darker colour will definitely help.

(Sorry, I got a bit tired after the anatomy paragraph xD''.)



And reading the post above me, I really do apologise if all of this was too full-on, or if I've discouraged you in some way. What Auro said is absolutely right, the more you practise, the more progress you will be able to see as time passes.

Please remember that I am not in any means saying your art is bad, on the contrary, I think it looks very cute. However, if you were looking for specific things to improve on in this picture, then the things I've mentioned might be worth taking into account. If not, well, just take everything I've said with a grain of salt xD

Thanks a lot >.<

and by the way, I'm using GIMP, any suggestions?

[thedarkdefender]

Tag is right. It will be rather difficult to point out every area you need to improve on and it probably won't make you feel very good about your art. At the stage you are at it is most important that you practice, practice, practice. And study. In general you need to improve on your fundamental knowledge as well as your technical skills, both of which come best from just doing it (as Nike says).

I'm going to copy paste this since it's kind of relevant to you as well, though I added in some bits to generalise it a bit more. Art is, well, art. It requires dedication and study. Start with the basics and work from there.

-Tutorials: Can be good for learning some of the basics and for pointing out things you need to pay attention to. Search for ones when you need to know anything. Colour theory, anatomy, light, form, technique. There are not enough hours in a day nor am I knowledgeable enough to cover everything there is to know. Search through google and DA to find the information you need.


-Reference, reference, reference: If you are trying to draw something and you don't know how, find a reference. Look through stock images, look to real life, grab a camera and take a picture of yourself (seriously, you have no idea how many weird photos I have or how many times I have posed in front of a mirror trying to figure something out). Don't just copy the reference, try and figure out what is going on. What muscles and bones and fat is involved to make it look how it does. This is a long and on going process so don't freak to much about not getting it right to begin with. The key is understanding will lead to stronger foundations and more free hand drawing.

-Real life: Drawing from real life is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. It doesn't even have to been a proper model class (though these can be very useful, I know I found mine while I was at high school very good, but not everyone has it available to them or want to go to one). Get a sketch book and go sit in a cafe one day with a coffee and draw the other customers. People sitting down will still move, but they tend to stay still longer and are therefore easier to draw. The things you draw will no be clean or finished, but there is so much to learn! Not only does it teach you a lot about how things really work, it teaches you what are the most important elements to draw to capture the essence of a person, which is very, very useful when you move into stylised forms.

Drawing anything from life is useful because it improves your hand eye co-rodination as well as teaching you about reality. Drawing still life or landscapes are just as useful as people. Remember to draw what you see, not what you think you see.

-Study other artists: This is also very useful. The key isn't to completely copy them, but to understand what they are doing and why. How does one artist draw a nose compared to another? How their line work and colour effect the style of the piece. Break down there work and pick through it to find bits that will be useful to you. Maybe you like the way this artist uses light, or the way this artist has used texture. It is very common to be influenced by many artists and to drag little bits and pieces of the style into your own. The aim is to be influenced by a wide range of artists so your work evolves and is strongly yours because it reflects all the things you are attracted to. Look at lots and lots of things, as many as you can, all different styles and techniques, so that you can grow.

Remember that improving is always an ongoing process. Don't stress if you don't get good in a matter of months. Focus on drawing as best you can and learn all you can and you will see growth

Thanks a lot, this was really helpful.
Thanks for being honest

[thedarkdefender]

Alright then, here I go....

Is it bad that I immediately thought of this when I read this?

On topic, everything Tag- said is correct.
Also, a favored strategy is to draw the sprite nude before adding the clothes so you can better see the mistakes you're making in anatomy. Spotting them can be hard enough without the extra noise of loose clothing and folds. She looks pretty symmetrical to me right now, which is great, but remember you can always flip the image horizontally to check your work.

Can you give me some advice on the loose clothing and folds? I reaaaally can't do it

[Auro-Cyanide]

Alright then, here I go....

Is it bad that I immediately thought of this when I read this?

On topic, everything Tag- said is correct.
Also, a favored strategy is to draw the sprite nude before adding the clothes so you can better see the mistakes you're making in anatomy. Spotting them can be hard enough without the extra noise of loose clothing and folds. She looks pretty symmetrical to me right now, which is great, but remember you can always flip the image horizontally to check your work.

Can you give me some advice on the loose clothing and folds? I reaaaally can't do it

Remember that bit where I said look for tutorials, look for references and look at real life along with practicing? You are actually going to have to do it for it to work. Art is not easy. You are going to have to put some effort in to figuring stuff out. Look at this tutorial and try it out. http://kitten-chan.deviantart.com/art/T ... s-40875508

[thedarkdefender]

So, I practiced a little.

They're just sketches though, I'm still studying on how to make a proper lineart XD

So, what do you think?

[MaiMai]

I have to say, your hands are actually quite good for a beginner. Work on those by studying hand references including your own if you can.

There's still leaps and bounds to go though- the clothes for instance need improvement. For clothes study fashion magazines or teen magazines for clothing reference and to see how folds work.

Also I suggest drawing more poses and expressions... an anime girl just standing and smiling gets tiresome real fast and you won't get any better if that's all you draw. I suggest using this site to study different poses and drawing exercises: http://www.posemaniacs.com/

In the end practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, PRACTICE.

[felisselita]

Um, so, hello~

I do draw and I'd like to give my comments. I'm not really going to go all theory though, since I'm not so good at it XD

First... I don't really agree with the comments above since your drawing is cute enough. The only thing is that her hand doesn't look like it has joints, and her legs too, but it's something that everyone (even the non-artist ones) would notice so I think working a bit on the joints would be awesome. But overall it's already nice. I see how you improve on the next sketches, even though on the sketches her hair is a bit awkward, maybe it looks too... what is it, big? I mean it makes her head looks big

But, I think if you give some more spice to her costume... Nobody would notice many of the flaws. I mean, if you draw a people with plain outfits, anyone would know what's wrong with that drawing since anyone could see its arms, its legs, its body and everything clearly right? So actually (in my opinions) you don't really have to try drawing nude people first, because you'd know what's wrong and you'd concentrate too much on the nude drawing and not on the costume. I think if you give her more complicated outfits (like a shirt+jacket+scarf+bag+etc...), people wouldn't really notice the awkwardness. Also, try to play with the coloring; give them shading effects, it would help too. Ne, does it make any sense?

I hope it helps~ (especially when I talk the complete opposite of the comments above me oTL) I'm sorry if I hurt anyone~! I'm just giving my opinion. Thank you~ ^^

[MaiMai]

@felisselita

While the advice that you're giving to thedarkdefender is okay in principle, it's not going to help increase improvement or make the general body look better. You're somewhat right about not needing to focus too much on nude bodies though (which is why you should just do a quick gesture or sketch of the body and then focus on clothing with whatever amount of detail you want).

Drawing more 'complicated' clothing won't help hide the flaws of the drawn body. It might make it look worse especially if you're drawing clothes that accentuate certain body parts like jeans, skirts, tank tops, etc.

[felisselita]

@MaiMai: haha, yeah, I realize it's not gonna help that way XD; Because not every part of the body can be hidden by clothes, eh... Mm, you're right. I'm just presenting another point of view... Because for some body parts, that kind of strategy works XD