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

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

aaaHi there, everyone. I'm Kyohaku Nushi. You can call me Alex, if you wish. If you really want to get to know me, just talk to me and ask questions, I'm pretty open about anything.

aaaI just started drawing yesterday, trying to learn again. I've drawn a few different things: a book, cup, an attempt at my avatar. But, what I want to say is is that although I may need a lot of practice, and a lot of critiques and advice, I'll give it my best and stay with it.

aaaI looked through a few different threads, clicking on links to different peoples' art galleries and shops and came across something I really love. I now know the art style that I definitely want to go towards. This image and this image have pushed me towards the non-Chibi style. (These images are not mine, they come from Barokku.)

These are past works:
This is a basic sketch I did for Graphic Design last year.
^ I like that one a lot.

Another one I did from last year in Graphic Design.
^ I totally love that one.
(It's supposed to be abstract-ish.)

Now, for this year's crap.

Oi vey. - Remake for Errol. [x] [x]
^ My guild on a different game had a contest of drawing your own character. >_>;
But, that's without me erasing/deleting mistakes and what not as well.

Oh sheesh.. - Remake for Errol.
^ That image is of me trying to copy this image.

=/ I'm horrible.

I do have MSN Messenger, along with AIM. I also have mIRC, tried to set it up to what the quote post that I read about in here had, but.. Got confused and lost in it, so gave up. o;

Mentor-less.

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All the works in this thread, complied here for easy access.
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• Ragnarok Priestess - Remake for Errol. [x] [x]
  
• Frog-Kid - Remake for Errol. < Reference.
  
• Cup-Right Side Up. < Reference.
  
• Cup-Upside Down. < Reference. > New try.
  
• Digital Camera and Economics Book.
  
• Avatar-Hair. Avatar-Head+Hair. Avatar-Full body+Head. - Avatar-Remake for Errol. [x]
  
• Chibi-Eye. More eyes.
  
• Female Head. Loontjes Critique. [x]
  
• Sphere. Cylinder.

 

[KotokoPlum]

Well, if you need help with anything in particular, you should note that so we can give you tutorials and such. C:

Otherwise, if you have an original WIP (not a copied image) you're working on, you can post and we'll crit for you.

Or if you want help eyeballing images, you should ask for that, too. (I'm not sure how many of us an help with that, tho...)

Right now, I'm just confused about what you need help with. ^ ^;;  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

I basically need help.. learning how to draw again.
Probably starting from basics and working my way or something.
I'm going for a job in Graphic Arts, and that involves drawing to an extent, and I'd really love to learn how to draw.
So, .. not really sure what to say, if there's anything that you can think of, please post your thoughts.

heart

 

[KotokoPlum]

Well, to draw again. That's very broad. xD;

We'll start with the crucial basics then. (Lessee if I can remember this from two years ago. x___x; Visual Arts 1...hunh.)

Have you learned of the elements of art? Line, shape, form, space, texture, light, and color.

In class, we did small projects for each type of element and the subgroups they also have. i.e. Line: outline, blind contour lines, contour lines, etc. Texture: actual texture and simulated texture (well, we did simulated texture.)

I think that right now you should try drawing from life. Sit down and find something, anything, and draw it. Turn it and draw it that way. Draw it propped up or hanging from a string. (Or you could find a different object. xD)

When you get stuck, draw the negative space rather than the positive space. I find it quite helpful to draw some shapes on the side only looking at the object because then I can get a good gist of what the object looks like rather than what I think it looks like.

I probably skipped SOOO much stuff, but I hope this helped... kinda. x____x;;;  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Well, KotokoPlum, I don't remember anything from my Basic Arts class.
That must have been.. six years ago, I believe. Middle School.
Now, in High School, I've been in Graphic Design, and we haven't needed any hand-drawn material for our projects. I'd basically use then Pen Tool in Photoshop to do my work. Except for the middle of last year, the two projects that I have linked up there in my first post, I did a basic sketch with a Wacom Tablet, and inked over it in Macromedia Flash (their brush is sooo much smother and nice looking than Photoshop's).

But, I'll try.. *looks around on the desk..* .. try drawing this yellow.. cup.. thing, that I've been drinking out of today.
If I remember correctly..
Circle for the top opening, slightly curved lines..
*gets out paper and a B pencil he 'borrowed' from Graphics class*

heart

 

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Alright, so here's a first attempt of my awkward-shaped cup.

Right Side Up. Drawn.
^ Reference.

Upside Down. Drawn.
^ Reference.

And, sorry for not thanking you earlier. But really, thank you for trying to point me into a direction to start in.

-Edit: Looking at the upside down one, it seems that it's wider than the one I drew right side up. I can try to go back and try to thin it out.

--New try.
^ I tried adding in some guidelines of like.. Where curves started, where they ended, how far things went out, how far in they went.

---Tried other things.
^ I tried to do a Digital Camera and my Economics Book on my own.. What do (does) you (everyone) think?

----Hair. Head. Full body. - Remake for Errol. [x]
^ Okay, so I say it's Frankenstein on a beach. But, that's my failed attempt to draw my naked avatar. Pirate wanted me to give it a shot. :c

-----First attempt at an eye.
^ Although it doesn't look like one and everyone says "OMG IS THAT A BANANA??" ._.;;  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Edited first post. Kind of? more personal of what I'd like to achieve.  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

More eyes.
^ Tried a smaller Left and then a Right to match.

I'm just kind of.. throwing myself into it, and trying to do it with the attitude "If it's wrong, it's wrong and I'll work on it again. If it's right, try it again to see if you get the same thing."  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

I've chosen the Art Style that I want to work towards. The first post has two examples.  

[KotokoPlum]

Okay, so where to start?

Lack of basics - O____O;; Oh, my. I gues you'll hafta build from the ground up. Problem is, I can't remember everything I learned two years ago. Sorreh, you'll have to bear with me unless another artist can step in here, too. (I REALLY recommend another class on it, it's just so difficult to explain in words... unless you have more specific things we can work on, like crits, anatomy of people, etc. Re-learning how to draw is just WAY too general.)

Chibis - I started out drawing them, too, and trust me, proportion definitely isn't learned by drawing them. xD It's good that you're beginning to move away from them because later on, you can always simplify the aspect of the proportional people you draw and make them chibified. Eyes for chibis are so varied I dun even know what to say bout yours, honestly. ^ ^;;

Also, anime is simplified realism (generally) and while I struggle with it now with realism, if you start out with realism you can always simplify it back into anime-style. (However, if you REALLY ONLY want to draw anime-styled, you can do that, too. I have seen people who very frankly can only draw one way or the other and that's okay. C: Just find your niche.)

Cup Realism & Others - Okay, so I see you've got something a lot of other people deal with. You have a preconceived notion of what something looks like. When you draw a, let's say, your cup. you see the squiggles and you're like, "Oh, they're squiggles, not too hard." But when you draw it on paper, it's not really what the cup looks like. A tip is to hold your pencil vertically and check at different places what hits it or what the negative space looks like.

So, for drawing still lifes in Visual Arts 1, I've learned: Scanning, Sighting, and...(something) DD: There was another, I know it! AGGGHH. But, basically, you hafta find a unit of measurement. Have you ever seen artists pick up their pencil, hold it up and put their finger against it? Well, they're using their unit of measurement (based on the pencil).

Lookit ME! O: (answer the question after reading the paragraph below)

So, if you're looking at your upside-down cup. Let's say you use the top of the cup (...err, bottom.) as the measurement. Well, you'd stick out your pencil with your arm outstretched, line up the end of the pencil to one side of the line and put your thumb on the other end of the line. VOILA! You've got a unit of measurement, yay! Now, whenever you need to know the width/length/whatever, you can use that.

I'm desparately hoping this makes any kind of sense. DD;

...I'm really tired right now, but yeah, that's part of it. Really, as of now, I can't teach you anymore because a. I'm an inexperienced high school art student, b. I can barely remember this stuff, and c. I'm not being paid to teach you all this. xDD!

I want to help, but there's only so much I can do for you. >_____<;;  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Kay, so I guess I'll try.. learning some things on my own. Or, do my best to. =/

Thank you for your help, Kotoko. I understand the measuring now and what not. <3 Uhms.. Yeah.. Not sure what to say really.

Lack of Basics, I'm not good at drawing at all really. So, I need to start from the beginning and work my way to the final product that I want to achieve.

Chibis, people are saying that I can learn the 'anatomically correct style' and then round it out, simplify the details and then I'll get a chibified style.

Cup Realism Stuff, I kind of drew straight lines going down to do what the measurement rule you were explaining basically. But, I guess I didn't do that all too well, I guess I should try that over again.

Anyways, thank you for all of your help. I'm sorry that I can't pay you for your aid, that I'm not really that great of an artist. I hope to get better though. :]  

[KotokoPlum]

It's fine! Just start drawing what you want to get better on, whether it's anime, realism, or still lifes. Go look for resources by yourself and if you can't find any good ones, come back here and ask. And post your pictures you want crit on. C:

Then it's easier to help. :3  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Updated a lil' bit. o:  

[_Kyohaku_Nushi_]

Persons Head.

A friend wanted to try to help me get started on learning. o: So, she drew a few steps and what not and I followed them and came out with this. :3 It's not that great, but it was kind of fun drawing it.

Errol's Thing:

What you used and how long it took. - I used two mechanical pencils. One tends to be darker than the other, and the other tends to erase better than the first. >_>; This image took over an hour, I know that. Also, I know it probably doesn't look like it.. But, I erased a -ton- on there and looked at different resources and tried to do different things.

What YOU think of your piece? - For my first attempt at an actual human-type head/face, I think I did pretty well.

A 2-4 sentence self critique. - This was kind of just a sketch to get the feel for drawing hair, eyes, nose, mouth and what not. So, I don't really know how to critique it. The ears are a little off. The chin needs to be rounded out and a little wider instead of pointed. The eyes could be more defined. Center the eyes with the chin, vice versa.  

[loontje]

Here is a paintover, hope it helps wink