As a beginner

Hello, I recently discovered these forums. The images I’ve seen really blew my brains to bits. They are really amazing. Drawing is a little hobby of mine, I used to draw a lot when I was little, then I kind of stopped. But recently I picked up and I found out I didn’t lose my skills

But still my skills are far from what I’ve seen around, and I wanted to know how do I begin.

Here’s something I did a while ago with photoshop.

As you may see it’s not really that good but I have faith in myself that I can do much greater things when I start practicing.

Now what I want to know is what do you think of this? What are your suggestions, advice, etc? Where may I gain expierience (tutorials??) Or is it just crap and am I in the complete wrong place here?

Thanx in advance.

I would really focus on anatomy and life drawing initally to get a better understanding of the human figure and life drawing to train your eye how to see. Definitely learn how to draw gesturally, take a look at this new thread thats just starting up by Rebbecca Kimmel, a very talented artist. I think you’ll like this.

here

There are countless resources out there and on this forum that can help you, take a look at the 2d concept drawing section and threads you’ll find a ton of information that will help you.

As for your illustration, me personally am not a big fan of the tna type works, they seem very dry and over done. Her breast are way to big, her thighs are to big. just keep at it, and most importantly keep drawing.

Thanx for the feedback, but the link doesn’t work and I can’t find any threads started bij Rebbecca Kimmel.
I did another (unfinished) drawing of Jara (I made her up for a story I’m writing) and this one is slightly more realistic.

Today I’m gonna try something ‘different’ but first I’m gonna dig out these forums to find more help.

EDIT: I found the Rebecca Kimmel thread. Thanks.

Okay, I think I learned some few things around here.

I made a new version of Jara. It’s not complete yet (have to add some detail). But here’s what I got so far. (resized to fit screen)

(didn’t drew the background myself. Only edited alot with photoshop)

Here’s the original pencil painted picture:

Please tell me what you think and what can be improved.

Okay… third attempt to post… (lost two other detailed critiques due to timeout)…

You seem to have a good sense of aesthetics. You know what you want in your drawing and it comes through. You’ve got a good eye for working with digital coloring. Also, kudos for posting your work here… the quality of work on these forums can be very inspirational, but also very daunting.

That said, there are a myriad of issues relating to anatomy, perspective and proportion in this drawing. Here are some notable items:

• The character’s right arm is too short.
• The character’s right shoulder is abnormally stretched/extended.
• The character’s head and neck are off-center to her left on her shoulders.
• The character’s right breast is placed too far to her right, and not positioned accurately.
• The character’s left leg seems to be twisted abnormally.
• The character’s feet are nebulous, and it looks as though she is standing on tiptoe.

In general, there is a battle going on between a front and a three-quarters view of this character. For example, the character’s abdomen is facing off to her left, but the navel and lines look to be facing front.

When rotating a character in space, all forms have to rotate as well. The left arm, in addition to being too short, should be overlapping the body. The left breast, which would be in the way of the arm, should be out of the way, slightly overlapping the left breast. This is due to the various forms of the body working in perspective.

Looking at your pencil drawing, I’m not sure how you structure your drawings, but starting out with an action line and placing the basic forms, then adding in the details is a good way to work. Also, try to picture the forms before you set pencil to paper, then draw them as you see them in your mind. Remember that the human body is a collection of solid, three-dimensional shapes, and that the rules of form, weight and perspective apply to them all.

To build up your reference for drawing the human figure, a good life drawing or anatomy course is a good idea, or at least a solid book on figure drawing or anatomy. Once you begin to understand how the human body works, your drawings will progress at an amazing rate. Once you know the basics, applying those basics in your own style will produce the result you’re aiming for.

Quick reference for the arm: stand and let one of your arms fall to your side. The elbow should be roughly on a horizontal line with your abdomen, and your wrist should be about mid-calf on your leg.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

P.S. - A suggestion… work on the character first, then worry about the background. And, if possible, practice drawing your own backgrounds, rather than photoshopping an existing image. It will help you learn to place your character(s) in space.

Thanks for taking your time to reply. You definitely helped me out there. I didn’t saw those things before. I’m changing her and post a better one later.

Thanks again

Here is the link to Rebecca’s anatomy lessons.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=177

As a beginner you’re beginning on a good foot. My only gripe would be that you obviously have been influenced by comics, or at least the style suggests so.

One thing I was told some years ago, and I find it still helpful, especially for anatomy and so on.

Imitate life, not the works of others. By doing life-drawing and sketching stills, you’ll create a visual vocabulary to express your own images in the way you want, which of course could become your comic style.
When you’re imitating other comic artists, you’re imitating an imitation, and like old VHS, the imitation has less quality than the original.

Of course, a lot of people began imitating other artists, especially since other artists inspired the creative force within us. I remember my first digital painting and it was a weird imitation of Dhabih’s older works.

Similarly to you, I drew a lot at a young age but somehow stopped until I was 18, but then I was so bored in class I sketched all over my books.
If you can afford it, I recommend taking small classes in anatomy/drawing and so on. I remember I hated doing basics when I was 18, but I went through it nonetheless, and I when I look back I know I was better for it.

Just don’t expect any magical solutions. It takes a long time and dedication to train your skills, but keep at it and don’t take criticism too hard(but follow them, unless they’re saying you should quit altogether, which you shouldn’t).

Thanks for your feedback. You got point about me being influence by comics. And about those
lessons in atonomy; I’ll definitely search tutorials about them.

I always love citicism, as long as it’s done by somebody who knows what he’s talking about.

There are valuable resources in this forum actually. up top with the stickies. You should also have a look there. It’ll give you more direction than us looking at a few of your drawings.

The point in most cases is to practice and understand, so as to bring the images purpose to full conclusion.
What strikes me alot at first g;lance is there are no shadows on her, just some basic shading, study light form and shadow also. If you can’t bring the forms out right anatomy is useless. good luck with it.

I haven’t really updated her that much, but here’s what I got so far.

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