My Expanding Portfolio...
- Thread starter TedShatner10
- Start date
The latter, DS9Sega.
Ok, I'm going to take you at your word on that. I'm seriously going to try to make some helpful suggestions here, so bear with me and try not to take anything I say as anything but advice.
First off, it's obvious you like to draw. A lot of people give it up by the time they're in high school, so I commend you for not dropping it into your 20s. Keep at it.
Looking at the pieces you've posted, what sticks out to me is that you appear to be drawing "straight ahead", that is, there do not appear to rough underlying sketches or construction. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like. As such, the proportions and of your human figures are all over the place, with some figures being more or less proportionally correct, while a lot of others have oversized heads, and legs that are too small for their torsos. I took one of your drawings and made this example to illustrate how sometimes your figures get "off" proportion.
a) Get a book on human figure drawing so you can get the hang of how the various masses are shaped and fit together...there's no substitute for anatomy, and--
b) Practice lightly sketching out the basic shapes and positions of everything in the drawing before filling in the details. I think that will help you see problems and areas that need correcting and allow you to adjust them before you've gone too far down the road.
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Thanks for the feedback, DS9Sega.
Some more drawings:
Sure. But was any of it useful?
I'm reminded of the artwork in the old Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Some logos inspired by DC Comics:
been a long time lurker on these forums and didnt wanna start posting random crap to start with so i thought i would offer some advice.
As has been stated above, i think one of main problems is the proportion of the humanoid figures. one way i do this is with a light wireframe and circle technique and good example of this
( sry if linking images like this is bad form i will reup this image to personal webspace if needed )
practising this gives you a basic model structure to work off. an artist with amazing abilty at capturing human and not so human form is Derek Hess. Just type in to google images. he has a very differnt way of creating human form figures.
Next i admire you trying out differnt perspectives within your images, it is somthing i do alot of. and for the most part there not bad, one good way of starting this is with isometric drawing to practise certain angels and shapes, it works very well for buildings
this is a good example of an isometric drawing
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/391564536_17e4f77468_b.jpg
This is a simple form drawing to show you where to start
http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/handouts/drawing/index_files/fig_07.jpeg
Granted these techniques are used more in design but as i saw you also like drawing shapes as well as landmark-isk objects.
here is one you might find usefull, it uses the idea of wireframe and circle technique from before.
http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/1900/1/1/how-to-draw-the-uss-starship-enterprise-from-star-trek.htm
Anyway hope some of this is usefull to you would be more than happy to help you some more, or you can tell me to shut up lol either way hope you keep drawing never let anyone tell you any different.
(i will post some of my stuff at some point when i rescue it off the other server)
As has been stated above, i think one of main problems is the proportion of the humanoid figures. one way i do this is with a light wireframe and circle technique and good example of this
practising this gives you a basic model structure to work off. an artist with amazing abilty at capturing human and not so human form is Derek Hess. Just type in to google images. he has a very differnt way of creating human form figures.
Next i admire you trying out differnt perspectives within your images, it is somthing i do alot of. and for the most part there not bad, one good way of starting this is with isometric drawing to practise certain angels and shapes, it works very well for buildings
this is a good example of an isometric drawing
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/391564536_17e4f77468_b.jpg
This is a simple form drawing to show you where to start
http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/handouts/drawing/index_files/fig_07.jpeg
Granted these techniques are used more in design but as i saw you also like drawing shapes as well as landmark-isk objects.
here is one you might find usefull, it uses the idea of wireframe and circle technique from before.
http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/1900/1/1/how-to-draw-the-uss-starship-enterprise-from-star-trek.htm
Anyway hope some of this is usefull to you would be more than happy to help you some more, or you can tell me to shut up lol either way hope you keep drawing never let anyone tell you any different.
(i will post some of my stuff at some point when i rescue it off the other server)
Humanoid alien:
Red spacecraft in docking area:
A pretty lady with a tendriled monster:
Red spacecraft in docking area:
A pretty lady with a tendriled monster:
Some random stuff:
Practice on body portions:
Follow this simple rule:
from the feet to the bottom of the crotch = from the bottom of the crotch to the top of the head.
You are only allowing roughly a third of the total height for the legs. This is your biggest mistake.
Now, there are certainly people proportioned the way you draw them in real life, but in most art, generally, more idealized proportions are appropriate. Since you are so used to drawing people with these proportions, you probably will think the legs look too long when you draw them this way, but do it anyway. Eventually you'll see the light.
It may seem like cheating, but I highly recommend that someone at your level of experience take one line drawing every day that was drawn by some professional artist whose work you like, and trace it. I don't mean look at it and try to recreate it, I mean literally put a sheet of paper on top of the drawing and literally trace it. This will do two things. First, it will force you to study the work of the pros. Second, it will train your hand's motor memory to draw smooth lines with correct contours.
Don't trace to the exclusion of freehand drawing, just do one a day, then do some of your own stuff. The idea is to compare your work with that of others to evaluate where you might be able to improve on you own terms.
I did this myself when I was a kid (erm... teenager...). I got coloring books of various subjects and traced the pictures. It helped with my understanding of proportion and how to use a pencil (which is more involved than most think it ought to be!) It helps a lot, trust me!
Also, find some referace work about skeletons and learn to draw them. I find it's much easier to draw a person well if I start by posing the skeleton then drawing the fleash and the costume over that.
Hope it helps!
But remember that rule!
Feet to crotch = crotch to hair.
!
--Alex
from the feet to the bottom of the crotch = from the bottom of the crotch to the top of the head.
You are only allowing roughly a third of the total height for the legs. This is your biggest mistake.
Now, there are certainly people proportioned the way you draw them in real life, but in most art, generally, more idealized proportions are appropriate. Since you are so used to drawing people with these proportions, you probably will think the legs look too long when you draw them this way, but do it anyway. Eventually you'll see the light.
It may seem like cheating, but I highly recommend that someone at your level of experience take one line drawing every day that was drawn by some professional artist whose work you like, and trace it. I don't mean look at it and try to recreate it, I mean literally put a sheet of paper on top of the drawing and literally trace it. This will do two things. First, it will force you to study the work of the pros. Second, it will train your hand's motor memory to draw smooth lines with correct contours.
Don't trace to the exclusion of freehand drawing, just do one a day, then do some of your own stuff. The idea is to compare your work with that of others to evaluate where you might be able to improve on you own terms.
I did this myself when I was a kid (erm... teenager...). I got coloring books of various subjects and traced the pictures. It helped with my understanding of proportion and how to use a pencil (which is more involved than most think it ought to be!) It helps a lot, trust me!
Also, find some referace work about skeletons and learn to draw them. I find it's much easier to draw a person well if I start by posing the skeleton then drawing the fleash and the costume over that.
Hope it helps!
But remember that rule!
Feet to crotch = crotch to hair.
!
--Alex
Seriously, the best thing I ever got from a high school art class was stick figure drawing, which was all about proportions and posing, and how the ribcage fits on the spine, etc. I never "traced". I actually got my biggest improvement in drawing when I learned how to loosen up and lightly and roughly and quickly sketch, and find the line as I did.
If you enlarge the following sketch from a zillion years ago (click on it) you can faintly see some of the rough sketch lines in and around the figure. Note how loose and "sloppy" the lines around the boots are, which I left less finished. Once I found the lines and contours I wanted, I went over them again with a heavier pencil line. And, no, the guy's hands are not behind his back because drawing hands is "hard" (they're not), it's because I wanted them out of the way to show the uniform details.
If you enlarge the following sketch from a zillion years ago (click on it) you can faintly see some of the rough sketch lines in and around the figure. Note how loose and "sloppy" the lines around the boots are, which I left less finished. Once I found the lines and contours I wanted, I went over them again with a heavier pencil line. And, no, the guy's hands are not behind his back because drawing hands is "hard" (they're not), it's because I wanted them out of the way to show the uniform details.
TedShatner
Here is something I wiped up quickly in Photoshop to help you out with process and proportion. Now, I admit it's a not a very good pic, normally I'd do this on paper and then ink it and then scan it into the computer but this is quick and dirty to illustrate the point.
Notice how I start with a stick figure sketch to establish the proportion. The figure stands about 7 1/2 heads high. His crotch is the middle of his body from top of his head to bottom of his feet. His fingertips of his hand ought to fall about to half way down the length of his thigh.
After the basic pose and proportions are mapped out with the stick figure, I can rough in the meat of the character. This also need not be very elaborate. It's only to help you quickly establish the position of the figure. Once the body is mapped out, the costume can be sketched in, in this case a TOS security guard. Even if it was a guy wearing a long flowing cloak or a girl in a floor-length formal gown, you still always need to follow these steps to rough out and establish quickly the form of the person under the clothes if you want to maintain realistic proportion.
Once the rough sketch work is done in the three step layers I described here, then you can draw the heavy final lines, with a framework of lightly drawn sketchy lines to guide your hand. The final drawing will be well proportioned and at least not kinda freaky looking.
Well I hope this is helpful. This is a common way to draw and I know of plenty of pros who follow more or less this exact routine. In fact, very few do not. Please do at least one drawing like this and let us know if you like this system.
Cheers
--Alex
(PS it still allows for error so you do still have to get it right in the stick figure phase. Now that I look over this again, I think I drew his forearms a little too long, something I keep having a problem with. Oh well, we all have lots to learn. Keep drawing! Have fun with it!)
Here is something I wiped up quickly in Photoshop to help you out with process and proportion. Now, I admit it's a not a very good pic, normally I'd do this on paper and then ink it and then scan it into the computer but this is quick and dirty to illustrate the point.
Notice how I start with a stick figure sketch to establish the proportion. The figure stands about 7 1/2 heads high. His crotch is the middle of his body from top of his head to bottom of his feet. His fingertips of his hand ought to fall about to half way down the length of his thigh.
After the basic pose and proportions are mapped out with the stick figure, I can rough in the meat of the character. This also need not be very elaborate. It's only to help you quickly establish the position of the figure. Once the body is mapped out, the costume can be sketched in, in this case a TOS security guard. Even if it was a guy wearing a long flowing cloak or a girl in a floor-length formal gown, you still always need to follow these steps to rough out and establish quickly the form of the person under the clothes if you want to maintain realistic proportion.
Once the rough sketch work is done in the three step layers I described here, then you can draw the heavy final lines, with a framework of lightly drawn sketchy lines to guide your hand. The final drawing will be well proportioned and at least not kinda freaky looking.
Well I hope this is helpful. This is a common way to draw and I know of plenty of pros who follow more or less this exact routine. In fact, very few do not. Please do at least one drawing like this and let us know if you like this system.
Cheers
--Alex
(PS it still allows for error so you do still have to get it right in the stick figure phase. Now that I look over this again, I think I drew his forearms a little too long, something I keep having a problem with. Oh well, we all have lots to learn. Keep drawing! Have fun with it!)
