Tas' Sketchbook of Joy and Peach Cobbler

[tasogarenootome]

disclaimer...sorry for the false advertising, we're out of peach cobbler...

Hi and thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. My art skills are pretty weak right now (I feel ashamed seeing how advanced many of the other mentees are), but my hope is to improve them with the help of this guild.

Below are some of my sketches. I found I do much better by hand than by tablet, but I'm hoping to improve both. Most aren't colored yet, but I'll post them as I get that done. As you'll see the line-art needs a lot of work.

Please give me constructive feedback on these and be specific on what you like/don't like and what can be done to imrpove.

Thank you all so much for your time!!


Slightly cleaned up version of this doodle from math class. Still not very good, but just posting to see where I am. Tried playing with burn and dodge for this one.
(5/16/07)


This one I got the idea for from a video on YouTube where a girl did an anime style drawing in Paint. I have Paint Shop Pro, but whenever I try to draw in it with the pen tool even if it's set to freehand, it always straightens the lines for me (which isn't usually a good thing since they lose shape) so I did this one in Paint. Yeah...she's earless...I got carried away and forgot to add ears. I've already converted it to JPG so when I went back to edit it went funky on me. (Anyone have any advice for drawing in PSP?) (3/10/07)


This one I did on pen and paper, then just scanned. I drew it while looking at a How to Draw book for the pose. (3/6/07)


Very embarrassing. I did it by memory and using a mouse (later a tablet) for drawing and coloring. (2/1/07)

I'll post more later and hopefully can improve. Thank you so much for any and all advice!  

[tirbutt]

Hey Tas! :3. Don't worry about what level you are, everyone is welcome here. Your drawings are very cute and happy and have a lot of life to them.

I suggest that you take a look at some of the anatomy tutorials we have in our tutorial section. Take those and practice a bit~~ That should help you go a long way since most good drawings have good anatomy :3
You're right that your lineart right now looks fuzzy and a bit messy. Try to sketch very lightly first and then go over the parts that you want with one very precise line. Practice longer and more intentional strokes.

I guess my general tip is to practice a lot O: Especially with references. You can use a mirror or photographs :3 It's better to work from real people than from other drawings. After you get your basics down you can work out the style side of things. Good luck <3

 

[Wispered]

I second Tir's advice. I'd also like to add, try using guidelines when you draw. Use a stick figure to plan out the motion and then generic shapes and cross-hairs to help you position things (especially on the face, a sphere with a vertical line for the center of the face and a horizontal one for the eyes)
^_^ Glad to see you here, though. And we're all here to learn, no matter our levels.  

[Lucimorth]

I agree with what was sayed here, and would also like to add that sometimes it is good to practice with simple things. For example, if you try to draw or paint something like an apple, or an orange, or even an egg, you will be able to pay a lot of attention to shding and light. When you draw oranges or apples, you pay a lot of attention to the color, and get used to using many different shades of colors.

All in all, the shapes of the body are mostly circular and oval, and it is rather complex to start learning with the body right away. I know it might be boring at first, but my suggestion is to start drawing simple things like fruit and vegetables and flowers, if you do that for several months and put a lot of effort in to it, I am sure that your drawings of humans will improve substantialy! Not to mention, you will get a very strong base of skills.

Actualy, many professional artists practice every day by drawing simple things like fruits smile  

[tasogarenootome]

Thank you all for your advice critique! I'll definately check out the anatomy tutorials. I just got Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and I'm menteeing here and trying to draw every day, so I'm hoping these things combined will help, as I find it hard to just study and practice on your own without feedback! ^^