2663 replies to this topic

[Waller]

Thanks for all the help you guys are giving to me, I appreciate it a lot.

But, you know I can't change too much of my drawing without it feeling like I didn't draw it myself, if you know what I mean. I want to draw in a way that says "Oh, that's something Geo would draw, and he drew it." I don't want to draw too much under many standards that can oppress that.

 

Seriously, seriously, don't get attached to your drawings.

[Geo]

Who said I was.

Concerning drawing real faces, well, i'm only in grade 10. I'm not that far into visual art.

Edited by Geo, 24 October 2013 - 06:08 PM.

[Solipsist]

Ever heard of determinism?  who you are is merely an algorithmic consequence of environmental conditions and what you as a person carry with you to filter out what you receive; how open you are to certain "experience", how you judge from the "experience" you already received by pure luck or by looking for it due to past experience.
Even though what "you are" or what "your drawings are" is an intrinsic property of your existence, it is inherently what you managed to accomplish by observing the world by looking for answers. You're merely a reflection of something else, something which you continuously develop as you age. The definition of your style will develop and progress with or without your current concession.

On an other note, I can understand the lack of interest in cold and "boring" mathematical equations put into the artistic process. Most of it is intuitive anyway, right? You don't really think about it too much; you just "do it". That part of drawing I can understand, as when I was in your age a few years back I also hated when people started shoving anatomy on my arse. Only when I graduated from school I became a lot more interested in my own hobbies, It's both funny and depressing how easily one can lose a sense of self within a linear, authoritarian, hierarchical system to the point motivation seems like a pointless waste of energy.
...
Right. *cough* .. You're doing fine, though. Apparently. I'd say you'll do what I did : Look for answers only when you need them, not when a guidebook tells you to follow its own flow and path.

Edited by Solipsist, 24 October 2013 - 06:59 PM.

[Geo]

I only read the last part.

You really lost me there; sadly enough.

Edited by Geo, 24 October 2013 - 07:00 PM.

[Solipsist]

Argh. Thought that would happen, I even tried to cut it short. It's hard to talk about such topics without making a damn scroll. <:

On a different note, I got a question for you -- and for the rest of you all : how do you address minimalistic-esque characters? My issue is to draw anything that is relatively small, as I am used to draw more realistic figures.
For an instance, stuff like this;

Spoiler

Are not that hard for me to think of, but when it comes to more "cartoonish" drawings...

Spoiler

Or : 
'Round 10 minutes if my memory serves me.

I cannot seem to "compress" in my mind the large-scale details into a smaller format. So, anyone got any insight? Any insight beyond "Go draw somebody else's characters"? (Although I have to say that is probably the first things I should be doing anyway..)

[Firesarebad]

Drawing bad proportions is not a "style" geo

[Ms.Grumps]

Went through a few pages and wow, so many different styles.   

I'm more of a pencil/charcoal person who has a weird obsession with birds. Hehe. I'm still working on my animmmmeeeee. 

 

 

Spoiler

[Geo]

Fine then, I tried to fix the goddamn face. I ruined the face and so I threw the damn drawing and all my hard work into the garbage. So don't expect to see a completed drawing. I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just blaming my self for listening about changing the face. Because every time I do try to re-draw the face, it ends up like complete garbage.

Anyways, I will draw something new once I feel inspiration again. Probably going back to my usual style and I don't have to worry about this problem again.

 

I also have to say Ms. Grumps, it looks pretty awesome :3

Edited by Geo, 24 October 2013 - 11:56 PM.

[OchaMeido❣]

You dont have to listen or take any advices , Geo-kun x'D.

 

As long as you as the author is satifised with his work it is fine. For every artists, even the pros , there will always be those who dislikes 

and argues .... nothing is wrong with drawing the way you like~

 

 

I think you are an good artist already. Not everyone can draw like you so just be happy with the talent you have. And then the more you keep drawing

your style, you will notice the improvements even if others cant.Your drawing/art will have more of its beauty show!! ^O^~

 

LOl, you dont need to inspirit  yourself to the Art to be successful. Yes, being inspirational to an piece of Art is something that makes it more alive 

but if you also draw anything you arent use to, something new, may it be boring or not, it can add a special effect on your art even something very 

small. 

 

like  Soli-kun is more of an realistic-artists, to draw something more cartoonish, he will need to learn the other part of that world. As cartoon style isnt 

realistic in many ways,he will need to make adjustment to his lovely anatomy~  

[Lalbutt]

Fine then, I tried to fix the goddamn face. I ruined the face and so I threw the damn drawing and all my hard work into the garbage. So don't expect to see a completed drawing. I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just blaming my self for listening about changing the face. Because every time I do try to re-draw the face, it ends up like complete garbage.

Don't be scared to erase your drawings, just means you looking for a way to make it better. Not a bad thing.

[watsu]

@Geo The most important thing in making changes is to keep it in mind the next time you draw something. I also don't like changing stuff in my drawings, because it's usually something new to me and I end up erasing and erasing over and over trying to get it right. By then, everything's smudgey and it's into the garbage. It's much easier just to call it good with what you have, then when you start a new one, you think "oh wow, need to remember not to make characters too thin this time."

 

This is also the reason why many people start with light pencil marks, because it's very hard to get everything perfect from the very beginning. I'm bad at pressure control, so I can't really do light lines. I started using colored lead, since it's lighter than black, so I can easily draw over it without worrying too much about things getting messy.

 

@others who posted: I can't really say much to you guys, seems like you're at a level that's probably well-aware of what mistakes there are . Nothing obvious I can comment on, so I'll pass this round (unless someone really wants feedback XD). Have to say, love the Saya art, she hits all my turn-ons ( ). But why is the first picture so spotty? Scanning issue?

 

@Solipsist I love minimalist art styles (like Dowman Sayman and frames in some of the more high-frame rate sakuga stuff). Because there's not much to look at, imo, it requires even more precision and forethought than a detailed drawing. I can't remember if I mentioned this before (I think I did, but might've erased it), but the way Disney kept their forms simple and fluid was basically imagining that their character was wrapped in a balloon. This rounded and simplified all details automatically, while still getting the overall structure correct. Of course, you can do edgier stuff too. Imagining as a silhouette or shadow is also a good way to simplify structures.

 

If you meant like not overflowing your character with details, I think going back to your Pixel Art might be a good reference. In Pixel Art, the smaller you get, the more limited your color choices get. For a picture like 320x240px, you can probably just use a dozen or more colors and have them stand out well. However, when you get to stuff like 50x50, it's impossible to use dozens of colors, because they just get blurred and muddled. You have to select colors carefully, making sure each one stands out from the other enough, and properly renders your art. For minimalist style characters, just pick one or two details you really want to be prominent. Also, make sure that they fit within the entire character form (like balancing colors in pixels).

[advarcher]

Ommmmmm!!!  *-* /////
 

*waves her last comment away*   You know you dont need any improve.... Lol, though there is alway places for improvements..

 

      We cant give you anymore than what you have already advanced! xD ......Now.. I want to color her....

    but I think I have seen her colored somewhere ... *shakes her head* naa... maybe me confusing you with another...

You mean if it looked familiar or something?

Well this was my pencil sketch before I lineart'd it in SAI..

Spoiler

Fine then, I tried to fix the goddamn face. I ruined the face and so I threw the damn drawing and all my hard work into the garbage. So don't expect to see a completed drawing. I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just blaming my self for listening about changing the face. Because every time I do try to re-draw the face, it ends up like complete garbage.

Anyways, I will draw something new once I feel inspiration again. Probably going back to my usual style and I don't have to worry about this problem again.

 

I also have to say Ms. Grumps, it looks pretty awesome :3

 

I don't know if you still want to listen to advice but a tip from me is to work on each part individually.  If you want to focus on making really good faces, start drawing portraits of people in real life, learn proportions (as if we didn't beat this dead horse to death already) and from what you learn from real life proportions, you can transfer it over to anime-style drawings that you wish to do.

example back in 10th grade of high school:

Spoiler

 

 

Believe me, I didn't start drawing anime until I graduated high school (now i'm a senior at my university.) And yeah my shit sucked ass back in the day..

*going through old drawing folders on desktop*

/dies from looking at it but here you go. This is what I could do back in high school digitally with only a mouse.
(View at your own risk for my terrible drawings back in the ol' days)

Spoiler

Spoiler

And the more you progress, the better you'll get (obviously). Here's a blinking animation back in the old days.

Direct link because its laggy here: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/058/1/8/hatsune_miku_animated_by_anonamos701-d4hz2oq.gif

 

Also don't be afraid to use references for anything. If you can't remember a specific pose or something in your head, its better to look at how someone else does it first, then after you get it down, it'll be ingrained into your memory forever.

 

Likewise, me using references from Shimakaze's official art and Redjuice's art:

 

Spoiler

 

But the whole point is Geo, is that you don't need to get discouraged and throw away your work.  Keeping all your old work so you can look back at it is a good way to see the many signs at how you've improved over the years.  Keep at it and you'll only get better, never worse.

 

Your hard work will eventually pay off man, you just gotta persevere.

 

(This one got me onto the September Pixiv Rookie Rankings)

Spoiler

 

So yeah, hang in there and keep working at it. People will discourage you on the way to the top and trash-talk you but don't let it keep you down.


Haters gonna hate.

Edited by advarcher, 25 October 2013 - 03:37 AM.

[Faye]

Damn advarcher, you should be working in a well known anime studio instead of hanging around with us poor, jelly people (read: me) ;~;

I LOVE your linearts. If you sell them in my country, I'll gladly buy your works, 100%.

[advarcher]

Damn advarcher, you should be working in a well known anime studio instead of hanging around with us poor, jelly people (read: me) ;~;

I LOVE your linearts. If you sell them in my country, I'll gladly buy your works, 100%.

 

Haha, thanks~ means a lot.

 

Would you believe me if I told you I work at Kyoto Animation Studios?

Spoiler

(Spoilers, I don't.)

Edited by advarcher, 25 October 2013 - 04:11 AM.

[watsu]

mmmmmmm, delicious picture. I'd love a larger version if you have one (and willing lol). lots of yummy details in there (is that RWBY? better than the show lol).

 

Just made a new wallpaper, so going to throw this in. Too impatient to do real detailing, so looks quite rough. Was good practice on sunset though.

 

Spoiler

[Solipsist]

Can always count on Watsu for feedback...Mhm...Well, it's rather ironic for moi that I cannot manage to piece the gap together between pixelart and realistic drawing to come up with minimalism. It's not like I can draw anime in ms-paint for that matter. My main issue is that I cannot for the life of me comprehend how "smaller details" look like. For an instance, you won't create a highly detailed eye for small character, right? To do that you'd have to make the eyes incredibly big and the face pretty wide. The smaller the image, the less the details there are; and that's where I'm having issues....I think I had an example somewhere where I did manage to make it...

Spoiler

 
Oh, this is an old one. Gives me flashbacks..Why did I stop..

I guess I'll do what I always do when I have no idea how to meet a structure.

Spoiler

So if I can take anything from my own comment, is that if I am used to a particular style -- I should use the same methods I used to approach that style and try to adapt it to my bane, in this case Realism -> Minimalism. Slowly reducing the scale as I go. Guess I'll just have to rinse and repeat ad infinitum. C'est la vie. :U

P.S: NIce environment painting, Watsu. I'd like to see that .PSD if I can.
P.P.S: If I take anything from what you had written about "Silhouettes" ; is to try Figure Drawing more. Which I agree. 

Regarding everything else..
@Geo: Take a breather, stop drawing for a bit; forget about everything and try to draw naturally again. Once you're too self-conscious about what you're doing....It all goes down to hell. Overthinking without having the proper method to come to a conclusion only leads to analysis paralysis. If you can at least agree with yourself that something needs to be improved in your works, that enough will do. Also make sure your range of pencils is comfortable, took me forever to figure that one out. For anything small I use my 0.3 mechanical pencil, for the rest either HB or 2B for smudging. In school I also used all of the cheap ass pencils that worked like crap...And the erasers, oh my pseudo-god the nightmares...

@Advarcher: So you came here just to piss us off, huh? <:
Can you spare any insight regarding why you're using Sai over other products? I tried to use it once and it felt clunky. On an other note, did you manage to employ yourself with your drawing capabilities, or are you doing it as a very extensive hobby?


 

Edited by Solipsist, 25 October 2013 - 07:32 AM.

[advarcher]

loool, i've been here for a while, but mostly lurking.

 

The first time I used SAI it was definitely really really clunky (But its really the same with other art programs.  As soon as you get the settings you want on specific tools it really shines.  Lately i've been feeling the limitations of SAI and i've been looking into either Illustudio or Clip Studio Paint).  I persisted for its smooth water brush tool though, and after learning the brush tools and what not it became pretty natural.

I'm currently a 4th year student as an undergrad, so this is pretty much an extensive hobby of mine (but definitely looking out for career options.)

Edited by advarcher, 25 October 2013 - 11:38 AM.

[Geo]

I'll see if I can dig it back up, scan it, and you guys can see it.

The paper is basically scarred with all the re-drawing I've been doing on it. If you erase the drawing, you can still see the drawing and some pieces on the top of the paper is ripped.

[Faye]

Haha, thanks~ means a lot.

 

Would you believe me if I told you I work at Kyoto Animation Studios?

Spoiler

(Spoilers, I don't.)

I actually believe that before I open the spoiler XD

Still.. Gimme all your linearts~

I am in love with them :Q___

[Nepenthe]

Last winter, I decided that I wanted to try to get better at coloring skin tones. I don't do digital art. I enjoy very much the physical sensation of mark making. I drew my hand, using colored pencil (and with ink for the initial outline). This wasn't meant to produce any amazing works of art. It was practice. I wasn't going for perfect, I was going for better, each time. I ended up pretty satisfied with the results. Coloring skin tones is still tough as nails, though. XD

 

First sketch:

Spoiler

Definitely pretty rough. I wasn't sure which colors I needed to be using, out of my prismacolors...

Second sketch:

Spoiler

It's still rough, but I was definitely getting the feel for the colors. (And yes, my nails were painted that color. You can see a tiny bit of them in the corner. XD)

Third sketch:

Spoiler

The first two were drawn the same night, this one was drawn another day. You can see that the form of the hand is better, and the shading is a lot more coherent.

Fourth sketch:

Spoiler

The colors may lean a little too green, but I'm pretty happy with the end result. For some reason, I used a blue pen for the initial outline...not sure why. My nail color had changed, as you see. I'm very happy with the subtleties I was able to capture here.

 

And that's all!

Like I said, not perfect. But I learned a lot, and that was the whole point of it.

Edited by Nepenthe, 25 October 2013 - 05:29 PM.