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Oh yeah its fine, I just figured you were not even online, I haven't seen you in the forums for like 2 weeks.

And ive still been drawing a lot I have way more stuff then this from like 3 weeks of drawing.
Ill post some stuff when I get the chance.

Thanks again

Heres some stuff I did in the past 2 weeks

I didn't get to draw much other then just generic practice stuff. I use to draw at 1-4 am but I sleep during the night now most of the time so im trying to find a time to draw

Ok, I need to change what im doing because its not working. I haven't seen any improvement in these past 3 months. I don't know why, ive been studying and drawing the head for 8 months from books video and other artists and im still not drawing it right in some cases I feel like im getting worse for some reason.

Something is wrong. I mean im not drawing every single day but I do draw more than I don't. If I miss a day most of the time its like 1/2 out 7 days a week

Shouldn't I be showing more improvement then this for the amount of time im putting in? I mean Jesus I started drawing heads for an animation project I was working on, almost 10 months ago.

"Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent." Switch your focus.

In my opinion, I think what's limiting you is how far you are taking your drawings. Cease making studies for awhile and try and make a complete drawing.

Because while it might be easy to stop here:

Extra hours and regular critique as you work can turn it into this:

In short; If you push to "complete" a drawing best you can, you'll more easily notice what you are doing wrong. Even though this drawing is my baby drawing at the moment I can more easily notice what I did wrong with it. (Who in the hell holds their hand on their hip like that? The eye on the left looks slightly misrotated! etc)

I'm in this weird situation in which I don't really care much for drawing. But i want to learn how because i want to be able to portray my ideas in my head without huge walls of text.

The problem is that im finding it hard to practice because my heart just isn't in it. What can i do to motivate myself?

I'm not really sure if you can "make" yourself want to draw. I don't draw everyday like I should or sometimes even want to (i'm trying to change that) but I know I need to if I want to get better but even then I have a deep desire to express myself using visual images.

The only thing I can think of is to find art that inspires you to really want to one day be able to draw by yourself. It's something you really have to want to do in order to make the commitment needed to practice even when you aren't always impressed with the results.

Have you tried practicing over the past few days? You sound like you have the desire to produce something but aren't quite sure about the commitment to it, if I understand correctly

Sorry if my answer isn't totally satisfactory.

If you're aiming just to get better, my advice is to first find something that you really want to draw before getting into details. Find something you like, or a set of things, and just draw them when you have some time to kill. Don't worry about how "good" they turn out at first, as long as you get the practice in. It's a lot easier to practice drawing if you're trying to draw something you're actually interested in rather than just focusing exclusively on improvement. Once you can get linework to be pretty consistent with what you're looking for, start trying shading, lighting, etc.

TL;DR: It's really all about practice. Since putting time into it is the only way to do that, make it fun for yourself first. Don't focus too hard on improving, it'll happen naturally.

This is all just IMO, of course. Different things work for different people.

What's the issue you are having exactly, Triple? Restlessness? Lack of satisfaction with the end product? Drawing can be meditative if you let it be so simply losing yourself in the activity can carry you through it.

Really if you can't put your heart into it, try getting some friends involved. Turn it into a game. Pass a comic between people for some nonsensical fun, or open up an art request thread on KYM for massive Karma payoffs. Just anything to keep yourself engaged.

Lack of satisfaction is definitely a big part in it. For me, its a lot like exercise. I know im supposed to do it, if i want the desired effect. But i can't seem to force myself to.

So i've been trying to find something to motivate myself to do it.

I still think it's easier to make the learning process a social experience (taking requests, drawing with friends, taking critiques, etc) than to just arbitrarily reward yourself for progress.

Though you know yourself better than we do. You could very easily work better in an academic environment to overcome the first hurdle.

Anyone else had the experience where you have your notebook and pencil in hand and then immediately lose your motivation to draw? This has happened to me a number of times, where I think I have an idea for drawing, and then lose it once I'm set up to draw.

Happens to me all the time, but given the fact my tablet is always plugged in and Manga Studio is always on, I have more chances to start something.

Really if you are having issues getting started, doing so much as sacrificing an entire page to the scribbles god can get you going. And if it doesn't? Well, don't force it. Try again later.

I weirdly get sleepy. As soon as I start I start yawning which is why I can only draw right when I wake up.

So on the advice of others i went and bought a sketch book. Also i think i may have figured out what my biggest problem is. I try to start off too advanced, and when i don't get the result i desired, i feel like giving up.

So I think im gonna start at the basics and work my way up. Things like shading, shape drawing, and line drawing.

Something I drew tonight:

A micron pen drawing of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Wanna say it took 2 hours to do, and I gotta say, I oughtta work and improve more with micron pens. If I were to show you guys old pencil drawings, they'd look real messy and incomplete (and they typically are).

EDIT: Also, excuse the black border around it. I just don't know how to edit on Imgur.

So here goes a bit of the practice i've been doing. I haven't been practicing as much as I should, but i still make sure to not forget.

Ok so it feels like ive gotten better. I learned how to "see" when im copying and I can copy stuff more accurately

but still, how do you translate being able to copy and see something to drawing what you want to draw? Its like yeah im good enough at copying but how to I take that information and make my own poses or draw characters and objects that don't exist?

Most everything in real life follows a certain number of rules. While you can't perfectly stipulate every last detail without a reference, knowing how things behave normally will help you translate into imaginary objects and poses.

But in the end, don't worry if you are in constant need of a reference. Just be clever about how you use them. To make original things, mix and match things that make sense till you come out with something original.

And to think up original things, well… that's like any other creative process. Draft, Review, Revise, Repeat till satisfaction.

It doesn't even need to make sense the first time:

Once you've roughly got what you want:

"Revise" and take it all the way:

In short; Find ways to test what works in advanced and tweak from there.

Ok, I get what you're saying.

Um, when you first felt you started getting good did it just slowly come to you and without even thinking about it or did one day while you were drawing you just said to yourself 'Woah, I can draw this now'

Everything just started making sense to me this week. I use to be so scared of drawing my hands but I feel like I can do it now. Like something clicked like a light switch. Im rereading some books that use to fuck my head up and now they make more sense to me. It still feels like I have a long way to go but this is the first time in a year in a half where I actually feel good about the things im drawing.

I never thought this was possible, but you can actually do amazing work in MS paint

It's a bit hard to say without writing a book about my learning process, but I guess it kinda varies since there are multiple instances where I felt like I overcame a hurtle. Most of the time though most of the new techniques I pull off are mostly on a whim and I only ever realize my improvements (or lack thereof) till I've put the piece down for awhile and get Out of the Zone, so to speak.

Overall my issue is that I might know how to make something several times better than I currently do, it's just training my motor control how to actually do that type of stuff is where I struggle. That's why I spend upwards of 40 hours on a piece while trying out a new style and then going back and making something that looks both better and only takes me 6 hours.

But to answer the question… the first time I realized I had gotten good was maybe 4 or so years in when I had started drawing for KYM. Prior to that, drawing was just a fun throw-away hobby for me, but one of my drawings kinda stuck out to me and made me realize "Hey, I can go someplace with this." I had just taken an introduction to art class as an elective so things where really starting to fall into place.

That being said, I'm still learning and struggling. But I hear most artists go through that for the rest of their lives.

I wanna get into art college after high school to study animation and character design, and I guess as an artist myself, it really comes down to just taking your time. A large part of art IMHO relies on you having good observation and perception which is used to help translate what you see in real life or in your head down onto paper.

I like to think of artistic skill as some sort of knife or sword – you have to constantly sharpen it if you don't want it to dull. That means you need to practice whenever you can. I would say 'practice every day' but obviously not all of us have a lot of free time to do art so I just leave it at 'practice whenever you can'.

Some of my work in the spoiler:

Now, I'm far from being an expert in any sense of the word, but it's very important to not only take criticism and use it to improve, but also appreciate your work for what it is. You'll notice that in the third pic (the luchador), the anatomy particularly with the right arm looks asymmetrical and a bit weird, which is something that I didn't immediately see until I received criticism on it. Even so, I had a great time drawing it, and it's still something I take pride in currently.

I've noticed that in this thread that there have been people saying 'I wanna draw but i don't know what' or 'I'm never satisfied with my art. Just draw the first thing that comes to mind and experiment with different subjects until you find out what you like drawing. Scribble on the page if it helps you break through that mini-art block.

TL;DR:

• Find out what you're good at or what you like to draw.
• Take criticism on board no matter what.
• Practice whenever you can.
• Take pride in your work even if it has flaws.
• Don't let some stupid art block stop you from creating what you want.

Sorry for writing a goddamn novel in a forum thread, I just really like art.

And now, I leave you with a quote from Van Gogh.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

Coming back to this thread real quick just to share some resources:

Sycra Yasin has tutorials on almost anything you could possibly want to know about how to do something in art, and even has created a comprehensive playlist of videos designed for artists who are starting out. The only criticism I have is that most of the stuff he does tutorials on are in-depth, but they focus more on general knowledge of art as opposed to really specific stuff. Still, really fantastic channel and a must watch if you really want to learn.

CubeBrush is a channel run by a guy who used to work with Blizzard as a concept artist, but what makes him different from, say, Sycra is that his tutorials cover more specific stuff. The stuff he says is more helpful if you're primarily a digital artist like I am, but I'm most definitely sure you'll strike gold with this channel too.

Imgur album of Andrew Price, a guy who taught himself to draw really well in six months – PLEASE LOOK AT THIS

Artist-Refs on Tumblr – a giant archive of art references for literally anything you could possibly want to draw. Check the navigation at the top of the blog based on what you're looking for.

I have been merely doodling quite recently, and I can't help but simply fell in love with Scott Pilgrim's art style. What do you guys think?

"There's 3 more here in Imgur.":http://imgur.com/a/v88QQ

This is my picture practicing on male torso. Sorry if it's not clear enough, my sister's scanner isn't working right now.

Please may I have critiques? I want to improve!

@Teddy: Your drawings seem clean and are faithful to the source material. The only major point I can make is that you should draw more poses and angles to help your characters pop more. (Also, buy a sketchbook.)

@Sadiic Pillow: There is some good stuff in there, especially Top Right and Middle Left.

I can only really suggest from here you draw the whole male figure; as arms, legs, and heads apply forces on the body that is missed in simple torso shots. Not to mention I don't want to see anyone fall into the same trap I did, where I was perfectly okay at drawing bodies but sucked at drawing hands and feet for years.

@Natsuru Springfield Thank you for the critique. I shall start drawing with the other limbs. I just have trouble drawing the arms and hands, additionally they end up very jagged.

Also, something off topic, but the tips of my pencil keeps breaking off, and I don't know if I'm sharpening too hard or soft or something.

Any noticeable improvements?

Usually, pencils with constantly breaking lead are not of a very good quality. Get yourself a pack of Faber-Castell graphite pencils, they will last you for such a long time.

This is the box I use, and it has a range of pencils from 2H, which is very light, and 6B, very dark. I bought my box back in March and I haven't experienced a single snap.

Hey, anyone here planning on participating in Inktober? I'm going to plan on using it to practice with my Micron pens, because except for a recent personal project, all of my "art" during the summer had been shitposting doodles :I

I was thinking of doing stuff for Drawloween actually. Last year I ended up stopping at around day 15, and I probably won't be doing it every day, but it's good incentive to put out stuff and assign yourself to one particular theme instead of something you're already familiar with.

@TripleA: You seem to have better time transitioning what you are seeing to paper, so keep doing what you are doing. Though it would be more beneficial if you drew more often than your time-stamps seem to imply.

@Draw Months: I'd do it if I had more free time on my hands (college is a bitch) and if I didn't spend so bloody long on each piece I make. :\

Hey if anyone else is interested, I use this website all the time for both sketching practice and references in my art. There are thousands of different poses available to choose from, and you can filter your subject matter by gender, humans and animals, and pose style if you wish. Keep in mind it may be a bit NSFW because there are nude models on there (both men and women) but even so it's a fantastic resource to use.

I'm trying this inktober thing

Generally i use a mechanical pencil, you can see an underdrawing made with it in the image. tbh, this is the first time i use a pen in +1 year. Still not confortable, with the idea of easily messing up the drawing by commiting a single error. This one drawing was way slower than the others i generally do, even ignoring the time for the underdrawing. I want some harsh criticism. How does one ink?

(also, something i did with mechanical pencil, just for comparison)

(from Sep 24th)

Sorry for double post.

My second one:

Already some improvement. From some online guides, i need to work more on the underdrawing so i have a better idea of how the inking should look like. For example, i messed up the face by doing it directly with ink instead of making a sketch with pencil. Criticism is welcome.

These are the sketches I have doing the past week, there isn't much because of school.

And bonus my bad sketches of my Sonic FC, Kardia:

To be honest, I think the problem is drawing body shapes and getting the right circle for the head, it always looks wrong and I don't know why. I can't find the right "how to draw the female anatomy/body" picture or pages to practice on. Either it's too detailed, or.. I don't really know. Someone in my art club gave me a youtube on actual humans posing for sketching though.

Again criticisms are welcomed.

I know this thread is dead but can I get some tips on a redraw I did? I wanna push my art further. What areas can I improve in when it comes to appeal, form or anything else you see?

Old drawing, glad progress is being made but im still not happy enough.

hmm, well, it seems like your style has changed a lot for one. where you're gonna go from here depends a lot on what you want to go for.

i think one aspect you can focus on regardless of style, though, is shading. right now it's a bit inconsistent – some areas have shading, some don't, some have stronger shading than others. it's hard to tell what the light source is, as the fur rim has shading on the right (our right) but the rest of the coat has shading on the left.

aesthetically, though, you've come a long way. naturally the addition of color and lineart makes a big difference to the old version, but the colors themselves are harmonious and the lineart flowing and natural.

the key to getting better in anything is pinpointing what is lacking and going wrong and aiming to fix that. as i said, what "lacks" still depends on what you want to go for, so if you don't yet have a direction you're going in, you should try to seek one.

Thank you for the input im gonna try to learn some of my weaker points you pointed out and do a redraw when im ready.

I do have an idea of how I want to draw im just not 100% sure how to get there.

The first thing I want is really strong pleasing form. Im trying to learn what shapes make a character really fun to look at. Color is really important to me too

I think a style like this is my biggest influence right now. Mainly trying to capture both the vibrant pop out colors and the really strong flow of the form. Once I have that down to a spot im happy with I wanna play with the style in all kinds of ways to see what can and can't be done with it. Ive been trying to hunt down as much information that I can.

Hello, me again. Ive been working more on my final render process lately and was wondering if I can get some help improving areas I mess up or if you could give me any tips on some extra things I can do.

Heres my current process

This my basic line art after sketching. I block in a single tone over the whole drawing for overlaying

Next I started adding in this light orb thing that looks something like this.

I stick this on a clipping mask layer just over the gray tone. This both helps me find where my shadows go and sometimes I leave it on and use it as a gradient light and makes it look like light is bouncing off the colors. I took it off here because it looked pixely for some reason.

After I find the shadows I make another clipping mask with the hard light "overlay layer thing" in photoshop (Don't know what its called) on and just paint over the gray tones. It sucks because if you do the hard light thing you lose some color but I don't know how to paint over the grays without it

And finally I add blush and use a gradient brush to break up the flat colors which makes them pop a bit more to me. I want to color the lines but no matter what I try it messes up and looks pixley and messed up so I just changed them to a near black purple

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I feel as if im close to a process im happy and comfortable with but something just feels off and I don't know what. Im really wondering if my issues lie in the fact that im not using the right process/tools to get the results I want or if im just not using my tools properly