Beginner looking to improve | ✦ Artists Corner ✦ | Page 1

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 5:54 PM

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I've learnt some fundamental anatomy and line making techniques. practiced shapes and turning them in perspective (mostly boxes) and now I want to focus on actually drawing and not making it so technical

I want to dedicate around 30 minutes to an hour every day to improving and this is my first day attempting this. I did study proportions of the head and plan to incorporate what I need to learn into my drawings after drawing instead of the other way around.

I'm clearly a beginner and really suck at this so I'd appreciate any feedback :)

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reference:

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my attempt:

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forgot to mention that i'm challenging myself to draw within a certain area (hence the box) as it's helping me think of proportions more. i find that drawing characters larger and without a confined space ends up with my proportions way off and this forces me to keep it cleaner and more confined

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:02 PM

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north cloud forgot to mention that i'm challenging myself to draw within a certain area (hen...

This is very good that you are challenging yourself, my advice is to keep your lines nice and thin but confident. Also, make the box bigger, from what I’m seeing this is a wee little box so it’s harder to put something so complex inside of it. Don’t use an anime character because it’s too complex. Start off by finding images of polka dot patterns or random circles and squares.

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Use circles to measure other circles

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Eg this circle is 1/3 the size of that one and is two times the size of the other circle

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:07 PM

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elfin turtle This is very good that you are challenging yourself, my advice is to keep your l...

i've done a fair amount of the drawabox exercises and got up to a certain point where i feel burnt out so now i'm trying a different approach, but i am familiar with those exercises and plan to continue doing them. i'm trying to keep my lines confident by avoiding chicken scratching but i guess cleaner lines come with more experience - i'll try to focus on that

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:07 PM

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How do you grip your pencil?

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The standard way for writing I’m assuming

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Which is incorrect for art. I’ll link a video to get smooth lines

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https://youtu.be/lTslVOUJ0jI?si=FspRaVTfGRhsr3Iu

YouTube

Proko

6 Habits for Good Line Quality

As artists, line quality plays a crucial role in our drawings. Developing good habits early on ensures that our artwork leaves a strong impression. In this lesson, we discuss 6 habits to help you achieve good line quality. You’ll learn how to avoid the common mistakes, find a comfortable speed, follow-through, ghost in your lines, rotate the pap...

▶ Play video

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You seem very young. I wouldn’t say to take art professionally if you haven’t made up your mind on future job careers. The technical side of art kills young artists

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:09 PM

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this is pretty much exactly how i grip my pen

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:09 PM

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Just have fun right now

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:10 PM

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north cloud this is pretty much exactly how i grip my pen

Use an overhand grip, I’ll take a picture

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:10 PM

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sure

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:11 PM

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It’s also important to put your sketchbook tilted

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north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:11 PM

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i use a mechanical pencil to draw so i don't think that'll work

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:11 PM

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I also have a mechanical pencil, just put the lead really long

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And be very light

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The goal is light strokes that gradually get darker the more strokes added

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:12 PM

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do you hold a standard mechanical pencil from the middle or end like you're doing with the pencil?

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:12 PM

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Similar to the pencil

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north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:13 PM

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elfin turtle

could you take this pov of the mechanical pencil too?

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:14 PM

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Sure, it will be very difficult to adjust to this hand grip for art

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north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:14 PM

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i'm trying it right now and it feels like i have almost no control

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:14 PM

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north cloud i'm trying it right now and it feels like i have almost no control

That comes with time, practice this for maybe a week and you’ll get it

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Draw circles on your page and connect them with a line

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Watch the video it goes more into it

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:15 PM

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the main thing i'm confused about is how you rest your wrist with this grip

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it doesn't seem like you do

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:15 PM

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Slanted workspace

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:16 PM

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sorry i don't know what you mean by that

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as in your paper/canvas is tilted?

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:17 PM

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Yep

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Although you can do this on a flat surface

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Your lead has to be longer for pencil and longer for mechanical pencil

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:18 PM

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so you extend the lead so long that you can rest your wrist on the paper and draw at the same time

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:19 PM

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Don’t rest your wrist on the paper

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You need to use your whole arm for drawing

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:20 PM

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so the only thing touching the paper is the lead

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and my elbow i guess

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:20 PM

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You can have a pinky on the paper for support

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No elbow

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Unless I guess your paper is large

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But try not to put the elbow down

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:21 PM

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i meant that my elbow can rest on the desk right?

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or is the elbow meant to hover too?

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:21 PM

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The non dominant elbow

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Can rest

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The hand that hold the pencil does not rest

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:21 PM

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this is going to take me some time to get used to but i can see how it can be more precise

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:22 PM

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Also, I recommend searching up the loomis head

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It helps with making the face proportionate

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In one peice. The artist uses something similar but edits the loomis head to his art style

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:23 PM

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i did study loomis' method and its fundamentals but i need more practice with it

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right now i'm struggling to use the "box method" with heads

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i can draw a box in perspective but struggle with fitting a head into that box and aligning it with the same perspective

elfin turtle Oct 21, 2024, 6:23 PM

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Don’t do that part yet it’s a bit complex

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Go in with a circle

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An oval for the flat side of the face

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Brow line = where nose connects to face = jawline

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However this is for a perfectly average human

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Which is rare

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The brow line should be at the top of the oval

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The nose line is at the bottom of the oval

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The jaw line is the same distance as the brow and the nose

north cloud Oct 21, 2024, 6:34 PM

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thank you i'll practice a lot of that tomorrow

#Beginner looking to improve