Hugh_Jazz - Total Beginner Sketchbook

[Hugh_Jazz]

Hello there

I use to draw comic book characters in elementary school and high school, Drawing being looking at a picture (splash/cover page) and try to duplicate it without sketching, shapes or anything. God.... I open up my ten year old sketchbook and the anatomy of the characters were god awful.

I went to a comic book convention in Toronto this past year and it has fired up my passion for drawing. I have been slowing collecting comic books and have bought reference material and how to draw books from various sources.

I bought the necessary pencils and equipment.

Do you guys use blue pencils alot?
What about lightbox's?

BTW-this is my first time drawing properly, I am not in a rush, I want to practice, practice and practice some more. So PLEASE critique my work so I can understand what is wrong with how I initially draw my characters.

I usually sketch using a stick figure with joints being represented by circles. Please advise any weaknesses you see at my initial sketching. Remember total noob!!

I want to first master the overall body before I start doing hands/feet/eyes.

[xxPurple Nugxx]

Here you go dude just by taking the time to do these 2 books you are going to draw alot differently, I hope and think. As a begginner you don't want to get caught up in stuff that will waste your time, like studying anatomy, I wasted a year in a half as a beginner of doing nothing but anatomy, doing anatomy books right off the bat doesn't teach you how to draw. Learning light and shadow and perspective is really important right now.

Successful Drawing- Andrew Loomis (http://www.fineart.sk/?s=0&cat=15)

The Vilppu Drawing Manual (http://www.amazon.com/Vilppu-Drawing-Manual-Glenn/dp/1892053039)

[Pervy]

"Do you guys use blue pencils alot?
What about lightbox's?"

Personally I always have a blue pencil at hand for drawing grids and for drawing lined perspective. I also used to used to use for drawing rough figures but usually most blue lead for like mechanical pencils (maybe color pencils also?) are un-erasable which makes it nice for when I draw grids, but not actual forms. But by all means get one (preferably a erasable one), it's super useful for whatever you use it for.

As for a light box, ^^: i'm to much of a amateur myself to actually need to use one. Money for it when your starting of just isn't worth it when you can just used a window and the sun ahah.

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Now I agree very much to what xxPurple Nugxx said about not studying anatomy right off the bat, because I did the same mistake also lol. I learned to draw a big chunk of the muscles but I had no idea how to draw them all connecting together. It wasn't until i started to learn proportions till I could actually draw a actual body. Though as of right now, I'm still in the process of learning light..


KEEP THIS IN MIND, you should take advice (mine included) with a grain of salt, because honestly your going to want to study just about everything and one way someone learns doesn't work for everyone.

So looking at your figure's body, they are pretty heavily out of proportion. Such as your figure's head is to big, and the joints connecting the bod parts don't look like they connect to the body correctly.

What I recommend you do is look at the books xxPurple Nugxx listed (which are both very good books), but don't only go through those. Such as if you want to learn the human body you want to learn some proportions and perspective before drawing anything, then you can move into basic shapes/muscles/lighting.

I recommend another Loomis book called "Figure Drawing for all its worth" though once again don't only follow this book but many others. Always alway always, when you learn something always apply it back to your real life studies and your imagination (outside of just regular studies). Because once you learn something from the books or videos you watch, and you don't apply it to both life and your imagination it will disappear like a dream after you wake-up -- thus a wasted study (A big chunk of your proficiency anyways). This is something I wish I knew before I started studying lol.

[Hugh_Jazz]

Did a 3rd Quarter View, Should I keep the nose on spawns Mask ?

[CRYPT]

bro study from andrew loomis and bridgman books
and learn shading use crosshatching or hatching
and always mesure when u are drawing use comparative mesuring
good luck

[p sage]

Hey man! Me too. I drew my own characters in elementary school. It was good times.

This last guy's eyes are a bit high, his ear is a bit small, and it would be helpful to know how to show that that chin and jawline of his stand out from his neck.

There are "tricks" (if you want to call them that) to showing depth in a pic like that... to making it look like you could reach in and grab his chin.

They're what others may call the basics. Shape, projection (3D), light, shadow, value, contrast, etc.

Keep having fun drawing, but remember that if you want stuff to have more depth, there are ways of accomplishing that.

[tronrobot]

hey man, welcome to ca. i think a real important thing your lacking is proportions. try to see where everything is placed....hope it helps. and goodluck

[Hugh_Jazz]

Should the length of the shoulders from end to end be 3 heads wide?