Please help me with shading and proportions

[hexed oriole]

Can anyone help me with this pencil drawing I did? I feel like I botched her proportions really bad but I can’t pin point exactly what it is sigh. Also would it be more effective to make my shading darker? Any way you can help me improve would be highly appreciated ✌️🥹🥹

I wish this was digital so I could use procreate liquify to resize it..

i just realised i probably should have used a grid oops

[lunar nebula]

Like you said, I think working with the values will help a lot. And the eyes might be a little too close to one another. I think you’ve captured her face very well though. Another thing I noticed was that perhaps the ears could be lowered a little? In your picture the ears almost start where the eyes end, meanwhile in the other picture the ears end almost where the nose starts.

[trim sky]

Please don't use any AI generated images for reference let's stick to real sources it seems to be . Also, you won't need the Liquify tool, just focus on getting those proportions right from the get go.
Forget the grid! To place your features, just draw a simple cross for the center. The key is using the eye as your basic measuring stick
Put the eyes right on that middle horizontal line.
The space between the eyes should be exactly one eye width.
The space from the outer corner of each eye to where the head curves should be half an eye width.
For everything else the nose, the chin, the forehead just measure it by counting how many eye widths fit in that distance. For example, see how many eye widths fit from the bottom of the nose up to the hairline. That will keep everything perfectly in proportion! Good luck !

[hexed oriole]

oh no its not ai

its a gray scale of rochelle jordans album cover

thank you so much for the advice i really appreciate it

[trim sky]

just take one thing like ur messurement way

[trim sky]

oke , its just looking like ai 😄

[hexed oriole]

yeah i kinda see what you mean and i hate people using ai slop too but im 99% sure it isnt

[trim sky]

Also better its just to start over again

just take new paper and this time do like i said u will se the result will be more close to ref

[hexed oriole]

yeah thats what i was thinking

so you think its best for no grid?

[hexed oriole]

yes i definitely will i really appreciate all the advice vro

🥹 ✌️

[trim sky]

that won't give u any improve in ur skills

u has to train ur eye to get the proportions

[hexed oriole]

oh shoot yeah im noticing the ears now thank you

[trim sky]

whithout any helps

[hexed oriole]

yeah i see that is probably better

it will be more helpful for the long run

anyhow thanks a lot again !! i hope you have a great day / night

i will probably start on the new one tomorrow

[trim sky]

show us the result when u done !

[hexed oriole]

yes of course i will make sure

[trim sky]

thx for me its day ) gn !

[hexed oriole]

https://tenor.com/view/dungeon-meshi-dunmeshi-delicious-in-dungeon-laois-laois-good-night-gif-2218176125685008841

[lunar nebula]

If you do wanna redo it- one tip is to try and make a very rough sketch for where all the features should go so you can immediately see if the proportions are off. Good luck! :)

[hexed oriole]

yes swqinpuqjklq i realised that now and i think i got into the shading too fast

thanks a lot ill make sure to sketch and outline the features this time

[wild epoch]

It depends bruh...

If you want to improve your shading skill, just trace or use grid

Since doing a skecth sometimes takes too much time

[trim sky]

Yes, for trace it's good but not for improve, u can't skip the basic of building something just to get to the step of shading

U have to be sure u are comfy in all step's of creating something

So grid it's just good for copy paste

If u want to know how to build everything u has to know how to get proportions just with ur finger or pencil

That's for every tipe of plainair or drawing from nature , if u just copy from a photo then ye it's just a copy

So now u can explain how grid improve ur skills

[wild epoch]

Someone tracing or using a grid doesn't necessarly mean that they are going to copy everyting d:

[trim sky]

I am not meaning u will be bad after some time of tracing using grid , I mean that won't give I the profitable improve , and after some times u will be still stuck with ur grid 😅 . Just facts , easy ways aren't always the best the .

[wild epoch]

You realize that drawing freehand takes years of practice right?

[trim sky]

That's the thing , if u start right that can take less time than u think 🫡

I am not against grid don't get me wrong but I am saying this method isn't the best for improve

[wild epoch]

Yeah i know that too. If you want to practice doing proportions only do line art and if you want to practice shading then just do shading

Trying to learn everything at once isn't a good idea

[trim sky]

That's what I mean by skipping the steps u has to be good on building something (composition included in this step ) then it's shading , after that it's color theory . So if u having fun just to shading then finde linearts of other's and shade them that's it . But if u want to be professional or be comfy in doing art u can't just skipping the step's. That's the final conclusion 😅 Like in matrix u have to chose what is for u the most important blue or red

[wild epoch]

We don't even know what OP wants so...

[trim sky]

He asked about shades 🤣

[wild epoch]

What i meant is his goals. Maybe he isnt trying to become masterclass

[trim sky]

But u can't apply shades on form u can understand its round rectangular or triangular 😅😅

[wild epoch]

Like he just wants to draw on his freetime

Something like that

[trim sky]

U just trying to reproduce something without understand how the light and shadow hit the surface

[trim sky]

Brother I do that from 2009 drawing on my free time so after a loot of mistakes across my way I got the experience to understand what was wrong in my way

Maybe earlier but officially let's say 2009🤣

I am just trying to give info helped me to have fun and do kinda good art

[crisp flare]

I agree with u, understanding shapes and all that is an important part in learning

[trim sky]

@hexed oriole ur post got popular 😅

[wild epoch]

What? Ain't no way, people can study shading and other art fundamentals one at a time? Didnt know that

[trim sky]

Form>shade that's 2 brothers 😂

[crisp flare]

The OP asked for help and theyre getting that?? I dont understand why ur arguing

[trim sky]

Pace friends, we just discussing the pain of art 🤣