Kyo's Mentee Thread - I'm Learning [10/09/07]

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Thank you! :] I'll try it out. <3 My friend just wanted me to give it a shot with drawing a head and face, last night. So, she kind of guided me through it and I came out with that. *gets out picture, pencil and eraser* o;  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Loontjes Critique.

I made the changes that Loontje suggested. The chin's a little wider than it used to be. It looks better than the previous, but still is kind of off. It seems that her head is kind of a diamond, from the sides of it being so steeply slanted. Her nose still kind of bugs me. I made the left part bigger, and tried to match it on the right, but it still seems it's mis-placed. I believe it should be moved over to our right a little bit, meaning that the chin would have to be moved over as well. And, if the chin moved over, the hair would have to be adjusted slightly so it's not like "Whoops! I'm wearing a wig. O;"

Her eyes seem to be really slanted and narrow; she seems to be in an unhappy mood whereas before, her eyes were wider and she seemed to be kind of happy with her distorted face. ( x]~ )

I fixed her ears, now they seem to be better than before. I think they're good. o; Certainly better than my Dumbo ears.

I also fixed her neck slightly and tried to add shoulders in. I tried to round them off slightly because your shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint, so it's a little more round than flat or squared on a 'normal body.'

Simple Version:

Things I Like: Her shoulders, hair and ears. Also, the style of her mouth.

Things I Want Changed: Her eyes, nose, positioning of the nose~mouth, and then the chin. One thing I disagree with on the hair, is the piece that's slanted over her eye touching her nose. It's too fat, or either shouldn't be there in the first place.  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Some help from a friend and my own thoughts.

• Got rid of the annoying extra hair that was on the left.
  
• Fixed the ears.
  
• Fixed the mouth and added my twist of her giving a better smile.
  
• Fixed the nose.
  
• Fixed the eyes.
  
• Got a decent position on the face for everything to flow well, I believe.
  

• The chin bugs me, now that I extended the hair on the left down further. It kind of cuts off the face so much that it makes it unbalanced, it seems.
  
• The Iris and Pupils of the eyes both need to be fixed, somehow. It's like she's going to hypnotize the viewer.
  
• The shoulders don't match. o; But, that's an easier thing to change than the eyes.
  

• After this is drawn to all the critiques, I plan to pen it and try to Ink it. Maybe not right away, I might draw a little to keep the hang of it, but I plan to do it in the future at some point.
  
• Possibly add in shading as well to the colors. Make it look better. o;

Thoughts?  

[KotokoPlum]

Ohhh, good first try at a face! That's really quite good. O:

It's tutorial time for you. xD

Head Tutorial (Basic)
That's a very good head tutorial. You've got the basic proportions there and alignment. For further help, he's got more of his tutorials linked in his description.

Basic Facial Features & ExpressionsVery basic tut; just for a gist.

Hair tutorial
Hair is tricky, but it takes time and practice. This is good for shading hair, but in general freedrawing, you'll hafta experiment and learn about it.

'Halo' shading, though, the kind where there is some sort of ovalish shape on top of the head or random zigzags are my major pet peeve. Don't do it, please. DDD; (Later on, you'll learn about light source when it comes to shading, but I felt a need to give you this tut now. xDD;;; )

I can redline it... mayhaps Friday. But no promises here. >___< If I find some time, I'll definitely redline it, kay?

Just wondering, do you prefer drawovers or explanations or both?  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Both, if you wouldn't mind. :3 I learn best when someone is drawing the same thing I am, and is like "No, not like that.. Like this.." and they show it to me. I enjoy that as well, more interactive. I'll check out the links tomorrow, because I'm supposed to be off the computer in twenty minutes and shower and shave.

But, my friend [the same one that helped me with the head] is helping me with light sources already. o: Sphere. Cylinder.

Thank you again! :] <33  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

The tutorials look pretty cool. n_n; But, do you think I need to change anything on her? o; Besides the Iris and the Pupils, I'm trying to work on that right now actually. 'cause, I'm going to be scanning this, probably going to use Photoshop CS2, unless someone knows a better program to use, and Pen Tooling it for Inking. Then possibly use GIMP(?) to do colors/blending/shadings.. Although, I don't know that program. o:  

[Errol McGillivray]

Well, I think it would be best to start from the bottom up. Keep drawing whatever you feel like drawing. Keep drawing the anime and such (no more copying though). At the same time, try to do at least two drawings from life a day. Just little sketches is fine. Do one object and do one living thing. Even if it's a part like your foot or something.

Here's some tips when you draw from now on. When you draw, think in 3d shapes.



Just about everything can be made up of these basic shapes. Try and see the basic shapes that make up complex shapes when you start drawings. Don't even worry about perspective just yet. Just focus on the shapes and making things have sides.

Get a cheap sketchbook. The cheapest you can find. Each day, fill a page. I guarantee you that with a little push in the right direction, by the time you get to the last page, you'll be amazed at how different the first page looks. But you can't just throw the sketches together either. Really look at the object. Study it a bit. Break it down into the simplest shapes. I would say the first drawing each day should be breaking something down into the basic 3d shapes. Don't draw it out. Just break it down. I would say the first 2 or 3 days (pages) should be just that so you can familiarize yourself.  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

O; My mom actually bought me a 50 Page Sketchbook a few days ago. I'll give it a shot. :] Time for me to go to sleep now though.. It's 11:50PM, should've logged off three hours ago.  

[KotokoPlum]

Ohhh, Errol's good. The filling a page really works. If you're focusing on one thing, ie hands, you can focus on that.

Always experiment, though. Even if you don't get it down pat, you've got experience and can learn from your mistakes the next time.

The head does need some work, but I'd prefer to use a drawover. (Which is sadly out of my time range atm.)

Some general suggestions: Check the proportions based on the head tut; in your picture, the eyes are too large and the face isn't symmetrical. It looks like you're doing a straightforward view so the two halves of the face should be identical. (Which is impossible, but you want to get as close as possible.)

By the way, you should leave the hair to the end. When you draw the head, it seems you are using guidelines. Leave those in! Later on, when you need to change things, you can use them or they can help us see what's wrong. C: (Also, that piece of hair to the left is blocking the face shape so I don't know what going on with that. That's why you draw the basics first and leave them in for crit if you ask for it. Same goes for the body later on~ Body first, then clothes.)