"Laid Back"

[reneetaylor]

i decided to draw. I really feel this. seems like one of my greatest achievements.

[Velocity Kendall]

she looks like a more human-y betty boop. id like to see you just do studies of hands and feet, i bet youd do an interesting job on them and it would boost your work a lot too.

[reneetaylor]

thanks!....will do

[reneetaylor]

this board is kind slow. anymore

[blueknightfox]

You could work on faces. Her's seem a little flat.

[Lulie]

The board might be slow because people can be hesitant to criticise people who praise their own work and don't ask for criticism (because most people don't actually want to hear it and then don't take it well). This forum is people, often professionals, volunteering their time to help aspiring artists, and what they like to see is evidence of listening and really trying to improve (like posting updates, studies, discussion, that sort of thing), because lots of people just come in and expect answers on a platter without doing work themselves. I mention this because you're new here, and knowing this can help you get good responses without begging.

That said, this is the Critique Center, so:

In short, you need to study anatomy (and work from reference if you don't already). It's not just the hands and feet, but everything is 'a bit off'.
- Her forearm is bending as if the bone is made of rubber.
- There isn't much structure in the leg, and it also looks like it's bending a bit (the knee is too short on top, so the imagined bone under the flesh must be really low).
- The arm is too short (right now, the length of the hand stretched out would be longer than the forearm!).
- The body cuts off in a strange way on our left -- it looks like the rib cage comes up to meet the breast, but then bends back in around the armpit area (the ribcage does get smaller at the top, but that only happens much after the armpit, in the neck).
- The way you've done the shading makes the leg look like it's twisting away behind the body instead of in front of it.
Buckling down and filling a sketchbook with anatomy studies will make your work a lot more professional and elegant (get a book like this or this or this).

Actually, going by your style, I think you'd really love the book Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm. If I had to recommend one drawing book to you, it'd be that.

Before anatomy, something that's even more important is proportions. If something is the wrong length, it doesn't matter how well you do bones and muscles, it'll look wrong. And if the proportions are all right, it's possible to stylise the details and have it still look good. Hamm's book is good for proportions, and arguably Loomis' Figure Drawing For All It's Worth is even better.

But I understand if you don't have the money to get all these books straight away, so just pick up Hamm's for now, assuming this is the sort of style you like.

Oh, and start a Sketchbook thread and post your studies there!

[reneetaylor]

thanks!

[Elwell]

this board is kind slow. anymore

Gee, how would you know, since you're "new to the community?"
Bye Bye.