[Art] Nobu's sketches and art-ey stuff

[Delfigamer]

'appropriate' smile and hat, eh...? 

Definitely.

[Nobu]

Oh my bad, you had mentioned before about coloring the Alice picture so I assumed you could before. No need to go that far, just making the picture is fine for now.

Needless to say I spent a little longer on this one! And now I have some Prismacolor colored pencils to play around with, thanks for the request~


Here's some random excerpts from my sketchbook from the past week. I've been keeping to a daily regimen for over a month now, most i've drawn regularly in my whole life. Gotta keep it up. 

Reimu with jacked up hands and practice
Two of my friends and a random face
Shameless self-insert merriment with Suika
Must draw good feet +_+

Merry/Yukari will be the next thing I work on. Along with a pineapple.

[Mеа]

Simple and cute!

Only the 3rd link works for me, it says "sorry, the requested page does not exist."
Also, apparently people hate photobucket, I would recommend puush or something else.

[Nobu]

Simple and cute!

Only the 3rd link works for me, it says "sorry, the requested page does not exist."
Also, apparently people hate photobucket, I would recommend puush or something else.

Thank you! *^^*

Yeah, I've quickly discovered that Photobucket is a fucking nightmare >_< I've changed everything over to imgur.

[Colticide]

Needless to say I spent a little longer on this one! And now I have some Prismacolor colored pencils to play around with, thanks for the request~


Here's some random excerpts from my sketchbook from the past week. I've been keeping to a daily regimen for over a month now, most i've drawn regularly in my whole life. Gotta keep it up. 

Reimu with jacked up hands and practice
Two of my friends and a random face
Shameless self-insert merriment with Suika
Must draw good feet +_+

Merry/Yukari will be the next thing I work on. Along with a pineapple.

I love it! I love how colorful Alice is, she's so fun to color. (Sorry been drinking and at a company christmas party so I doubt I'll make sense.) How high you do the hair? Did you draw it all then add the headband or all at once? Seeing your sketchbook with all those eyes is... Something, can't find the words. Inspiring? I'll figure it out later lol. Thank again for the picture, I'm gonna start working on making it an avatar.

[DX7.EP]

The sketches here definitely exhibit more of a silly flair and impression, especially this recent Alice. This is not an approach I am familiar with. :V

I do like seeing that you're practicing forms in sketchbook. It would also be good to see these in different perspectives as well.

Hm...perhaps for learning experience you can begin adding simple shading to these?

[Delfigamer]

Shameless self-insert merriment with Suika

Is it me, or the horns really look like socks? :derp:

[Nobu]

[attach=1]

Her snake likes to change sizes. The different sizes each give off a different aesthetic after all..

Since people might seem to like seeing my practice stuff from my sketchbook here are a few more from the past couple of weeks.

warmup drills and nobu zoomed out
feet legs and warmups
warmup and upper torso
faces and koishi
face/hair practice
heads and expressions

I love it! I love how colorful Alice is, she's so fun to color. (Sorry been drinking and at a company christmas party so I doubt I'll make sense.) How high you do the hair? Did you draw it all then add the headband or all at once? Seeing your sketchbook with all those eyes is... Something, can't find the words. Inspiring? I'll figure it out later lol. Thank again for the picture, I'm gonna start working on making it an avatar.

I don't remember! I think I drew an oval for the head, drew in the bangs and side framing hair, then gradually worked to the back.

The sketches here definitely exhibit more of a silly flair and impression, especially this recent Alice. This is not an approach I am familiar with. :V

I do like seeing that you're practicing forms in sketchbook. It would also be good to see these in different perspectives as well.

Hm...perhaps for learning experience you can begin adding simple shading to these?

I have been practicing shadings, but mainly on the eyes! I shade as a substitute for color for now, but once I get a better grasp of the other fundamentals I'll learn how to shade clothes and the like. And learning more about shading will follow naturally as I learn to color.

Is it me, or the horns really look like socks? :derp:

Someone else thought they were bunny ears :V It was a rush sketch and I mainly just blocked out where the horns would be, but didn't flesh them out much.

[Mеа]

This is probably like my favoritest expression meme ever. Take a look at it, might be useful for some of your exercising (that you seem to be doing a ton of).

[Nobu]

This is probably like my favoritest expression meme ever. Take a look at it, might be useful for some of your exercising (that you seem to be doing a ton of).

Oh! Thank you so much! Yes, this will be really useful at some point.

Right now i'm trying to focus study on one or two things at a time each day, and building up from there. Treating subjects as sort of an 'unlock system'. Before I do this I'd want to work more on at least expression, lower torso, and hands. Oh, and clothing, but that isn't as necessary to this meme per se..

[Pirate]

If you are training seriously it might be good to read these six pages on facial construction before going on to expressions and so on. Understand form then stylise it.

 http://imgur.com/FEAgluN,nmd7QDP,nyLzySV,WGIr0aW,GDnmuFb,s1QVwQz

[Nobu]

If you are training seriously it might be good to read these six pages on facial construction before going on to expressions and so on. Understand form then stylise it.

 http://imgur.com/FEAgluN,nmd7QDP,nyLzySV,WGIr0aW,GDnmuFb,s1QVwQz

Thank you for this! I am torn between not being very interested in too realistic faces but understanding that the fundamentals are important. And balancing what I want to draw versus what would be the most efficient to draw given my desire to get better quickly. I will try out this method soon.

Lately I've been focusing a lot on daily ellipses, lines, and figures. Figuring out what is the best method for me to lay down the basic framework, understanding basic muscle and bone groupings and the like, doing focused study on on particular feature at a time. I want to expand into clothing and shading soon though.

[Pirate]

You don't necessarily have to strictly adhere to realism in studying and I don't either. You can stylise in practicing, but it's important that you understand what those guidelines are trying to show and be able to draw form than just symbols.

Without the ability to draw form, any hope of being able to color properly is lost.

[Nobu]

I drew a little Suwako last night. Got a set of three good ink pens last night and was eager to play around with them. I like being able to ink a sketch then erase the pencil so I can analyze things with clean lines.

I have started learning how to shade, starting with the 'ball + shadow' and slowly expanding. Also paying more attention to clothes and their folds, and drilling anatomy.

@notapirate: thank you for the reference! I will definitely use this as I am drawn to improve my head technique. Right now I am prioritizing body over head.

[Teewee]

That's some pretty cute stuff! It's admirable how hard you work; keep it up ^^ And if you're taking requests... how about an Alice, looking serene in a forest?

[Nobu]

The past few days has been entirely studying and practicing face/head structure. I feel really satisfied tonight, like I got over some kind of mini-hump.

Comparison of a birthday sketch (1 month ago) and now

I'm happier about the head/upper torso which is what i've been sweating over lately. The hips area gives me a headache from an angle which is the body area i'll probably focus on next. I can block out the general area of the feet well but I need to fill in details more. and I realize now that the legs are way short.


This, plus i'm ordering aordered a Huion H610 Pro tablet with Christmas money and get to try that out. ^___^ So much to study, so little time. 

That's some pretty cute stuff! It's admirable how hard you work; keep it up ^^ And if you're taking requests... how about an Alice, looking serene in a forest?

Thanks~! I'll be getting to requests soonish. I feel like I need to do a bunch more grinding of certain things beforehand.

[Jq1790]

The improvement is real, and the increased confidence is apparent as well.

Ill have to keep an eye on this topic now, won't I?

[Nobu]

Lately i've been practicing inking and anatomy (especially faces and head), also studying some color and shading and soon clothing folds. Also trying to loosen up a bit and make sure I take time to have fun. 

Reimu as Homura
Jovial drunk Suika lineart
Suika lineart practice

lineart and proportion practice(girl in underwear so nsfw (?))

Spoiler:

seriously don't look at this one

The improvement is real, and the increased confidence is apparent as well.

Ill have to keep an eye on this topic now, won't I?

Thank you ^_^ I hope for you to have much enjoyment yes~

[Zerviscos]

A Cool Pineapple plox. :derp:

  :V

I must know the limits of your imagination!

[DX7.EP]

Comical and light-hearted as usual, and I am liking the dedication.

lineart and proportion practice(girl in underwear so nsfw (?))

The breasts do not seem evenly sized, due to uneven curvature between left and right.

[Nobu]

I GOT MY TABLET  its a Huion H610 Pro, and its such a sexy piece of plastic. ughhh its sooo good. Working on the tablet is analogous to sex.

I played around with it a while today, and drew my first *thing*. (Of course Suwako-sama would be the one to break in my tablet)

[Jq1790]

I GOT MY TABLET  its a Huion H610 Pro, and its such a sexy piece of plastic. ughhh its sooo good. Working on the tablet is analogous to sex.

I played around with it a while today, and drew my first *thing*. (Of course Suwako-sama would be the one to break in my tablet)

With some refined sharpness on the lines(either via technique getting more precise through practice using the tablet or after-drawing-edits), I could see art like that on t-shirts or as magnets or something.

[Nobu]

Tablet is too OP. Drawing is damn near all I want to do in my spare time now. Halp.

Nobudoge
cute(!) Raichu lineart
Koishi hat and Sanae frog color/shading practice

In order of completion, basically. I had I needed a change of pace and doodled the unexpectedly cute Raichu at wee hours of the morning. I need to start doodling more Pokemon.

A Cool Pineapple plox. :derp:

  :V

I must know the limits of your imagination!

BEHOLD

It's cool because I tried my hand at shading and coloring. :3 I still have a ways to go, but this is a start! Making this helped me get used to working with masks and layers too. Thanks for the request! I hope it was worth the wait.

[Mеа]

Tablet is too OP. Drawing is damn near all I want to do in my spare time now. Halp.

Welcome to our circle of hell.

It's fun seeing others having fun with art. Keep it coming!

[Zerviscos]

BEHOLD

It's cool because I tried my hand at shading and coloring. :3 I still have a ways to go, but this is a start! Making this helped me get used to working with masks and layers too. Thanks for the request! I hope it was worth the wait.

FINALLY. COOLEST AND STRONGEST PINEAPPLE EVER.

[Nobu]

This took me way longer than I expected. But it was a good learning experience and I like how it turned out in the end.

2 month progress

i was really happy about this face idk

[Delfigamer]

I heard you're dark-skinned, is there a reason Nue is too? :derp:

Merry/Yukari

Is your body ready now? :/

[Nobu]

When I was experimenting with skin colors I thought the dark skin looked really good on her. Also, I love characters with dark skin. If I can bring more anime-styled darker girls into the world I would be pleased.

(and yes, I'm half-Filipino and tan.) so in one interpretation, this could actually be me cosplaying Nue.

I will do Merry/Yukari soonish! I should be ready very soon. I want to get the hang of drawing multiple characters together first.

[Nobu]

*falls over*

I completely filled up my 110 page sketchbook. It feels so good. Took less than 60 days.

End of last sketchbook compared to end of this sketchbook

Nobu redraw from 1st page

I'm gonna take a break from drawing for the rest of the night okay maybe a few hours. Yesterday I did a gauntlet of 100 faces, and they're starting to get more comfortable to look at.

I'm excited to start the Maribel/Yukari piece. 

[DX7.EP]

Filling an entire sketchbook within 2 months? Whoa, that shows some intense dedication and a very aggressive pace! (by contrast it took me about 14 months to fill my previous ~60 page letter-size sketchbook, even when using it for writing....)
There are definitely signs of improvement in these comparisons -  not only in terms of aesthetics and form, but I particularly notice that the newer drawing express slightly more dynamism (mostly via postures and expressions). That's definitely progressing nicely.

I might be taking a cautious angle here (that, and 4am logic is speaking on my behalf :colonveeplusalpha:), but I would definitely encourage finding a moderate pace to continue improvements - doing too much at once can easily lead to burnout as well as a growing gap between perceived and actual skill (which tends to result in frustration and all the related stuff). Of course, cram sessions on specific topics are definitely handy in their own right, but for the most part slow and steady methods are far more preferable.