#Been feeling unconfident with my art

141 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

cold vine
#

e

#

https://mangadex.org/title/e2f88804-6111-45c2-b2b2-24a9e6c18c45/blue-lock-legions this is the link to my manga which is basically a display of where I currently am with my art

MangaDex
Blue Lock Legions - MangaDex

Rai Genji always dreamed of being a top football player, especially one to play for Japan. And by the efforts of his passion, he was invited to the Blue Lock project, where he developed his ego. Coming across foes, rivals, teammates, and friends; Rai needs to learn and adapt to the constant improvement of everyone else to hone his skills to a pr...

#

but recently I've kinda felt that my art and story sucks, and I'm not sure how to make it better

#

I'm having to crunch the next 2 chapters before I go on a vacation, so I wanna at least figure out how to make things work because as of right now I feel like my art just isn't appealing or good

#

and my artistic process also feels bad

#

I can't tell if I have proper line confidence, or if my inked sketches even work better or as well as the sketches

#

it's really throwing me off and I can't take a break from it so I wanna find a solution

#

I feel my main issue right now is that it takes me too long to sketch and ink, and the results are not worth the time

#

and I mean that subjectively, like I have better drawings that took less time

#

also please don't respond if the response is just going to be "idk you should just study" or "your art looks good to me" or other stuff along those lines

#

I need genuine critique and suggestions that can help me improve with the process

#

it's not an option to stop and take an entire art course or to rewrite the entirety of my comic so far

cold vine
#

Another thing is that I feel like I fall behing on my skill compared to what I'm doing with my art

#

like for example when I look at my favorite artists their sketches just skip the rough construction and they can just draw their characters from the get go

#

or their construction is super clean and seemingly perfect with just like 12 lines

#

and I don't know how to scale it because they're professionals and have been drawing for many many years

#

it's just really confusing

#

Idk what to do

#

or how to get proper guidance

#

I think my expectations are set too high

#

but I also don't feel like having the attitude of "it's ok that I'm not that good right now"

#

like I awnna improve asap

merry flower
#

I think the improve asap mentality is just sort of a way to skip processes that take years to develope but that being said, since you have a good idea of drawing figures what you can work on doing is mapping out the three dimensions in a drawing so that way when you ink, you know where the lines get thicker or where to place shadow because you’re already aware of where it is

#

It’s easier to say than be done but why things like the lumis method is so popular is that if you truly understand it you don’t really have to think about where things are going

#

Instead you are just making the character on the doll you’ve drawn with the 3rd dimension already mapped

#

Which brings me to why you might be feeling unconfident is because you haven’t been doing it long enough for it to become a subconscious thought

#

But getting help and asking for resources to make an artwork you envisioned isn’t a bad thing, the bad thing is deadlines and rushing art

cold vine
cold vine
merry flower
#

Here so the Lumis method maps out the statistically “average” head which is why everything is spaced evenly, think of the initial circle as the top of the head/ skull. We then put a circle within it as a flat circle and that maps the side plane of the forehead

image0.jpg
#

Then as you go, you make specific lines depending on what you want to map

#

For example if I wanted the side of the face

cold vine
#

well I do that

#

but what I meant was that like for me I usually find it harder to like

#

lemme get an example

merry flower
#

Here you make this line for example if you want to plan the side of the head slash cheek

IMG_1335.png
cold vine
#

like here's a little doodle from a manga author I like

423912831f09e74a5c142b7f6b63e93c14905854.png
#

and it's just the face that he can just draw his characters in clothes and such

#

and I understand that it takes many years of experience and such

#

but idk how to scale myself up with it

#

and another thing is like when it comes to inking

#

I wouldn't say my lines are unconfident

merry flower
#

It’s literally just drawing like you usually do but just add it properly within it and keeping the drawing dynamic

cold vine
#

what

merry flower
#

The method you’re studying

cold vine
#

what method?

#

I'm not studying a method

merry flower
#

Any method in general. You have to or you can’t “scale yourself” without knowledge

cold vine
#

I don't think you know what I mean when I say "scale myself"

merry flower
#

Scale as in improve ?

cold vine
#

scale as in comparison

merry flower
#

Compare yourself to yourself. You can’t start jogging and expect to run like usain. If you map your own progress you’ll see that growth especially in art is exponential, there’s no secret trick it’s just building on your mental library of methods of drawing

#

The reason why it’s so frustrating and obvious what the answer is, just to keep drawing. But the results lie in how you divide your time to learning things that will help you in the future

cold vine
#

but how do I figure out how to grow

#

if I just draw

#

I'll only refine my art

#

not necessarily improve it

#

I want to know specifically how I can improve it

#

rather than just being told like

#

"study anatomy"

#

"study clothing"

#

or looking at my art and thinking just

#

"I don't like how this looks"

merry flower
#

I know, it’s just that most artists that spent hundreds of hours doing just that, it’s not that they can tell you a specific thing when the underlying problem of not knowing the fundamentals is still there. So on their side it’s also frustrating you know what I mean?

#

So when you’re asking for a specific piece of a specific part of the clothing most artists that know the fundamental way wouldn’t tell you a specific thing but rather something that helps you fundamentally

cold vine
#

ok back on that

#

when it comes to fundamentals

#

can you be more specific

#

because like

#

I'm pretty sure I do all that

#

I break my figures down into simple forms

#

I draw with and from references

#

I'm working on my penmanship for proper lines

#

so I don't understand why it's always "go back to fundamentals"

#

cuz I'm pretty sure I'm doing that

merry flower
#

Well, send over your favourite or most proud of art works and I can tell you some fundamental things it might be missing then

#

Or like most skilled

#

In terms of the process

cold vine
#

I mean recently I've been mostly working on my comic

#

I don't have any big one-off pieces

merry flower
#

Okay then just send an average example of three drawings you would do

#

Make it random even

cold vine
#

kk

merry flower
#

I’ll help you just let me find my iPad cause I can’t draw on stupid phone

cold vine
#

here's just some pages that kinda display like different skills

3201dfaf-615b-4eea-8670-a6f8018ea603.png f291e3b2-4590-4215-aba0-df8bb8f32162.png 10919e1d-130f-4050-bad3-05fd06e95315.png 273e9ceb-bacf-4642-8f97-298b3c83c19a.png
#

I don't feel that they're bad, but I just wanna get better

#

and also I wanna get better with story writing and stuff

#

but that's a different issue

#

that's mainly just me being dumb and a one man show

#

my intelligence all went to art and video games 😼

merry flower
#

I will never understand how I lose something big as an iPad in an apartment that’s 500 sq ft

#

Got it, one sec

cold vine
#

no matter the size you can somehow lose it or something that it needs to function

#

mostly apple pencils

merry flower
#

Okay for the first drawing I will show you something

#

So this is his head right?

IMG_0158.png
#

And this

#

Wait oops

#

This is his head, right. Not ?

#

This is the lumis method head I traced on his head for outlines

IMG_0157.png
#

Here is the overlap

#

As we can see, the middle circle line, it’s also known as the brow line, you’ll notice parts of the jaw re missing, and eyes aren’t lined up

#

With a skull, the eyes sit within the sockets, so imagine two circles in between this

IMG_0161.png
#

Your eyes are eventually in the middle of those circles or “sockets”

#

If you look at the original, both are sitting out of the middle, or above the socket

#

This part here is where the ear lands every time

IMG_0162.png
#

Well, humans are special I won’t say every time

#

But for statistical average and recognizable base, it is

#

And from then on if you thing of the neck as a tube, you can connect it

#

And so now that you have this base line where you can erase and manipulate, as long as it’s CORRECT it will work

cold vine
merry flower
#

the construction is missing elements that make the alignment of the face wrong regardless of if I nailed the angle of things or not, the problem is you’re not constructing it properly to make sure everything is aligned

cold vine
#

wdym construction

#

that's the finished result it doesn't show the construction

#

you mean the proportions?

merry flower
#

Yes, construction is visible no matter what stage if you DONT have proper construction it shows at the final product

#

No, because proportions are stylistic

#

You aren’t putting it in the right areas, this is what I’m saying

#

You see anything in life and you can tell how it’s constructed, but if something looks funny you can tell as well

#

There’s a difference of style, versus not knowing the proper way to start a drawing of a face that isn’t considered abstract

cold vine
#

ok but I don't really understand since when you drew over it, that's a different angle of the head

#

that's not what I was going for in the original drawing

#

that's confusing me rn

merry flower
#

I don’t have the time to do everything in the way you need. I’m telling you what you need to practice, why it’s wrong, and how you can solve it. I’m demonstrating the method so you understand why it’s done by professionals, not fixing the entirety of it.

cold vine
#

what do I need to practice?

#

construction?

#

you never told me

merry flower
#

If you want me to continue I’ll give you specific thing from each drawing that’s fundamentally wrong and how you can move forward but I can’t give you the final product because I just don’t have the time

#

If the subject is about construction and I’m only speaking about construction what else is it

cold vine
#

that's not what the subject was in the first place?

#

that's what you brought up?

#

I'm getting even more confused

merry flower
#

It’s just that I don’t have the time because I’m being clear about what I’m outlining for you to learn. I shown you the specific method to fix it, you’re worried about my text but I am not good at speaking so it’s hard to show what I mean fully, and I’m sorry for that barrier. Just take from what I’ve said and consider it in the future

cold vine
#

So should I practice drawing heads or?

merry flower
#

If you want the specific thing, study the lumis method of drawing heads, understand what the lines mean, and keep in mind what the skull looks like underneath, as in eye sockets and the jaw mandible

#

Once you understand that you don’t really have to use it every time if you understand it well enough, all you’d need is circle which is how you see people draw without construction

#

I think you do good work with figures! I just think that if you apply your dynamic work, with a fundamental understanding of the shapes, you’ll get a product similar to those you “scale

cold vine
#

Ok tyvm