Art Tips Thread II

[Teewee]

Oh, now I get it! So then, when the arms are raised, the shoulder jut-outs just change position and place (oh, and the jut-outs I was talking about were the ones of the raised arms. sorry for my vagueness!. That a correct observation?

Thanks for the further clarification ^^

[Quad City QBs]

Yes, when you raise your arm, you move the entire shoulder joint. Reach across yourself to your back, and you'll find your shoulder is pressing up against your face.

[fondue]

Does anybody here know how to draw kemono art? Help please anehbodeh?

[OkashiiKisei]

Hmm... there is something I am unsure about, something that is giving me trouble figuring out what direction to take when trying to improve on my drawings.

Well, what I wonder is whether or not you should learn how to draw realistically first before you try more cartoonish and anime-ish styles, or if you should just try and build your own style through trial and error.
Learning to draw realistically would probably teach you a lot about how to draw anatomy correctly, and give you a good idea of how to draw beings and objects beyond your specific interests. But I worry that the principles of realistic art will clash with those of stylized art. That in the end knowing how to draw realistically won't help me with learning how to draw the styles I like.

What I fear just as much though is that by developing an art style of my own, without learning how to draw realistically, I will become incapable of drawing anything else, and that I'll keep making the same mistakes over and over again.
Basically, I simply don't know where to start with improving my art. Though I try and improve my anatomy by sketching outlines and skeletons first before drawing the complete character around it bit by bit, I still have trouble with such things as shading, hair, hands and eyes, as well dynamic movements. 3-dimensional rectangular shapes and edges are a nightmare for me too...

No doubt I'm sounding like an enormous amateur right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated though.
Thank you in advance.

[KrackoCloud]

I'm pretty sure you know what you *should* be learning, and what people are probably going to tell you :U
Because realistic is a big priority!
That being said, even if you choose to go for style first, you will inevitably have to learn realistic anatomy anyway - So it's really just a matter of if you want to put it off for a while or not.

Also, please don't think that realistic drawing doesn't apply to your style. It always does. I can't think of a single art style I've seen that doesn't apply real anatomy to some significant extent.

Except for chibis. Chibis are basically aliens.

[Quad City QBs]

I'm pretty sure you know what you *should* be learning, and what people are probably going to tell you :U
Because realistic is a big priority!
That being said, even if you choose to go for style first, you will inevitably have to learn realistic anatomy anyway - So it's really just a matter of if you want to put it off for a while or not.

Also, please don't think that realistic drawing doesn't apply to your style. It always does. I can't think of a single art style I've seen that doesn't apply real anatomy to some significant extent.

Except for chibis. Chibis are basically aliens.

A million times this. Here, read this. Do you see what he's doing with the muscle guy around the middle of the post? Highly stylized, but everything fits together the same way it would on a real person. All the 'style' in the world won't save a drawing if the character's head is coming out of her shoulder. Similarly, one of the most prevalent newbie mistakes is flatness--the failure to convey a sense of volume or depth. Being able to portray a given shape from any perspective is the sine qua non of successful drawing, which is why you see art students drawing all those fruits and chairs for their classes. The same knowledge of how light and shadow play off different surfaces at different angles is relevant whether you're drawing an apple or a cute girl riding a dragon.

Conversely, trying to develop your own 'style' without knowing realism first will produce results like the Dominic Deegan comic cited in the above link. Style is a bending of the rules, a selective exaggeration of the elements, and you can't do that until you actually know the rules and elements that you intend to play with.

[OkashiiKisei]

Had a feeling this would be the case. What has always been a boundary for me is 'draw from life'. The article mentioned (which is an amazing one by the way) you need to draw anything at random from things to animals to people. But how can you do that when most of those things won't even stand still for a minute? Do you have to memorize the entire thing in one go? Is one minute enough to fully draw something you've seen? And should the resulting drawing be highly-detailed or a sketch to simply get the hang of how things fit together?
The article shows many pitfalls that I have fallen in the past. To be honest, hearing the sheer amount of effort and discipline that goes into it makes me lose hope, but that's what makes me people lose before they even start the race. It's just going to be a long, tough ride I guess.

[Quad City QBs]

Had a feeling this would be the case. What has always been a boundary for me is 'draw from life'. The article mentioned (which is an amazing one by the way) you need to draw anything at random from things to animals to people. But how can you do that when most of those things won't even stand still for a minute? Do you have to memorize the entire thing in one go? Is one minute enough to fully draw something you've seen? And should the resulting drawing be highly-detailed or a sketch to simply get the hang of how things fit together?

Have you heard of gesture drawing? In Hidamari Sketch, the girls went to the zoo to do gesture sketches of animals. Gesture sketches are really quick (like 30 seconds to a minute) sketches that just try to capture the basic forms and direction. The idea is to skip over the face and all other extraneous details and just try and get a recognizable human-shape down in the pose you want. And because gesture sketches are so short, you can do tons and tons of them in one session. Here are some of my gesture sketches.

Of course, you can also do a longer pose with a model. They'll stay still because that's their job and they get paid for it. You don't even have to go to an art school--lots of cities have amateur figure drawing classes for about $12-15 per 2-3 hour session.

[KrackoCloud]

The article shows many pitfalls that I have fallen in the past. To be honest, hearing the sheer amount of effort and discipline that goes into it makes me lose hope, but that's what makes me people lose before they even start the race. It's just going to be a long, tough ride I guess.

Drawing really isn't different from any skill. And just like with any skill, there will always be discouragements and plateaus that make you wonder - why even bother?
I'm glad that you're willing to endure those parts, but you should also consider why you actually want to learn how to draw, because that may very much determine how much motivation and effort you'll output.

[OkashiiKisei]

Have you heard of gesture drawing? In Hidamari Sketch, the girls went to the zoo to do gesture sketches of animals. Gesture sketches are really quick (like 30 seconds to a minute) sketches that just try to capture the basic forms and direction. The idea is to skip over the face and all other extraneous details and just try and get a recognizable human-shape down in the pose you want. And because gesture sketches are so short, you can do tons and tons of them in one session. Here are some of my gesture sketches.

Of course, you can also do a longer pose with a model. They'll stay still because that's their job and they get paid for it. You don't even have to go to an art school--lots of cities have amateur figure drawing classes for about $12-15 per 2-3 hour session.

While I am much too shy to go to figure drawing classes, gesture sketches sound like a wonderful idea. I tend to cycle around the lake in my area to get fresh air. I can bring a sketch pad while cycling and practice drawing on anything I see. That should help~
Thank you for your advice.

Drawing really isn't different from any skill. And just like with any skill, there will always be discouragements and plateaus that make you wonder - why even bother?
I'm glad that you're willing to endure those parts, but you should also consider why you actually want to learn how to draw, because that may very much determine how much motivation and effort you'll output.

Yes. I mainly want to draw for fun, and to catch up with my friends (several of them are rather artsy and I haven't been able to practice in a long time. As such, I lag behind a lot). It's a pretty light motivation, but I think it might get me through.
Thanks for the support~

[Teewee]

I hope you don't mind me "piggybacking" off someone else's questions, but...

All the 'style' in the world won't save a drawing if the character's head is coming out of her shoulder. Similarly, one of the most prevalent newbie mistakes is flatness--the failure to convey a sense of volume or depth.

Then, is the "structure" mentioned in that article about where certain body parts are attached to others, like the head right on the neck? Also, aside from a little shading, what helps convey volume and depth in a drawing?

Also, can anyone please list some common pitfalls, and explain what exactly is a "pitfall"? The dictionary doesn't really make the definition in this context clear ^^; Oh, and when trying to draw the bones and muscles to try to understand underlying anatomy, do you draw them all detailed, or just outline-ish?

[Desu_Cake]

The "structure" is about how everything fits together. You have to visualise what's going on under what you're drawing. To use the example of the head and neck, the neck has the spinal cord and windpipe going through it, so you need to make sure they can connect with the brain and mouth/nose respectively.
Like this:
[attach=1]
Only when you know how things fit together can you exaggerate and de-exaggerate them correctly.
For example, if you want to make the neck thinner, this is much more correct than this or this.

"pitfall" comes from pitfall trap, and it means common mistakes that people often make.

Draw the bones and muscles whatever way you can. TBH, drawing outlines instead of objects is where you're currently falling down at the moment.

[Teewee]

All right, thank you very much ^^ So, how would one go about turning their outlines into objects? Sorry if the answer's obvious enough to make the question sound stupid, I apparently just don't get it, hehe...

[Quad City QBs]

Dynamism for dummies! Also a nice little insight into construction and sketching in general...

[Rin Kaenbyou]

Not sure if goes here...

Well, I want to draw in my original character Chinese clothes, but not typical chinese clothes (like the chinese dress), I want casual Chinese clothes, but i don't know how to search it (in google appear clothes but made in China, not Chinese at all)... any idea?

(No, China's or Yoshika clothes don't work, I want to put on her something more casual-original)

[pineyappled]

Not sure if goes here...

Well, I want to draw in my original character Chinese clothes, but not typical chinese clothes (like the chinese dress), I want casual Chinese clothes, but i don't know how to search it (in google appear clothes but made in China, not Chinese at all)... any idea?

(No, China's or Yoshika clothes don't work, I want to put on her something more casual-original)

Wait, what? Like, casual clothes you'd see someone wear in China if you happened to be there now?

Doesn't look all that different. Think Korean with Japanese overt cuteness made in a very cheap sweatshop.

[KrackoCloud]

Not sure if goes here...

Well, I want to draw in my original character Chinese clothes, but not typical chinese clothes (like the chinese dress), I want casual Chinese clothes, but i don't know how to search it (in google appear clothes but made in China, not Chinese at all)... any idea?

(No, China's or Yoshika clothes don't work, I want to put on her something more casual-original)

I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for - have you been in any East Asian countries? Their fashion sense is different, but in general their clothing is almost completely westernized. If you're looking for something modern-exotic, it's not really there, tbh.

[Rin Kaenbyou]

I know, I konow

I will put this in a easy way: I want my character to be casual, but when you see her, you say "whoa! Chinese style!"

This is my Touhou OC
[attach=1]
(this is her battle dress)

I want to put in her casual clothes but with a Chinese vibe

[pineyappled]

I will put this in a easy way: I want my character to be casual, but when you see her, you say "whoa! Chinese style!"

If you're looking for something modern-exotic, it's not really there, tbh.

Seriously, the only people who would wear anything like what I'm pretty sure you're asking for are old women 60+.

[fondue]

Idc if I've asked this before but how do I draw hands and feet? I'm like 90% done with a Hatate drawing but the hands and feet issues are nearly making me pull my hair out.

[Vento]

reference

[Freeze-Ex]

reference

+ this
also try to do more observation and learn the structure of hand from the reference
remember reference are just to give you the idea to understand how things looks. (such as hand/clothing
try not to rely on it too much
but ofc if u rly need a reference, it's always good to have one |O///O>

[fondue]

reference

What do you mean?

[pineyappled]

look at a hand

draw a hand

[Teewee]

I've been tryin to make the sclera of some eyes I drew smooth like you see in a lot of animu art like you see here, but regardless of me using tools with smooth settings the edges look pixelly, most noticeable in a high magnification view.  Here it is, at 300% magnification.

So far, I've tried blurring the edges with the blur tool and a low-opacity eraser tool. Anyone know how to pull off them smooth edges? I use Sai, in case that matters any.

[SuperParadox]

Well of course if you zoom in 300% on a image its gonna show pixelation. If you're wondering why even when the tewi image is zoomed in the sclera still looks somewhat smooth its just because her skin tone is light and kinda blends into the white I guess is how I would explain it. (??)

Maybe this would help?
http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=8944743

Personally I don't use any type of blur tool and instead use the brush to blend the colours, so I'd kinda recommend to stay away from it.

[Zerviscos]

I've been tryin to make the sclera of some eyes I drew smooth like you see in a lot of animu art like you see here, but regardless of me using tools with smooth settings the edges look pixelly, most noticeable in a high magnification view.  Here it is, at 300% magnification.

So far, I've tried blurring the edges with the blur tool and a low-opacity eraser tool. Anyone know how to pull off them smooth edges? I use Sai, in case that matters any.

Want a neat tip I've learned over the years of making everything smooth?
Draw and color on a larger canvas size, and then resize it to make it look smoother. Eg: Make something on a 3000 x 3000 pixel canvas, resize it into 1000 x 1000.
It'll look smoother and have better quality. This is simple trick used by many gfx artists.

Note: This does not apply to pixel art.

Oh and btw, it's pretty rare for people to use blur tool for eyes, usually they just use brushes.

[Teewee]

Thanks for the tips, guys; I'll try them on my next major CG.

As an aside, I use the blur tool because I dunno how to use brushes to smoothen quite as efficiently. Any tips on that, then?

[Nicole Artist]

Having a really hard time drawing some hands
I think I did the right hand okay enough, but have absolutely no idea how to do the left. I kept looking at pictures of hands but their not quite right.
[attach=1]
I think you can see from the right hand what im trying to get, but at a different angle. Someone help?

[Zerviscos]

Having a really hard time drawing some hands
I think I did the right hand okay enough, but have absolutely no idea how to do the left. I kept looking at pictures of hands but their not quite right.
[attach=1]
I think you can see from the right hand what im trying to get, but at a different angle. Someone help?

Try to draw the fingers slightly going inward at the tip. It'll make a perspective of the tips being at the top, but also make it a lot rounder, and add lines separating finger joints.
I'm pretty busy atm, I'll draw an example as soon as I'm done, which is probably tomorrow.