Little circles or sketches?

[Ninja_man]

I'm not sure what to do, should I keep, my current drawing style, or switch it to one that might look better? The way I draw is mainly by sketching (short, quick strokes) but my uncle is a great artist, but his drawing technique is he makes a whole bunch of little circles real close together in the shape of what he's drawing. My drawings look ok, but his looks so life-like:whoa::ep:. I've tried drawing his way once or twice but they Sucked! I think this must be due too lack of practice. So, what should I do?:confused:
(P.S. Can someone please reply, this has been viewed like 80 times with 0 replies!):realmad::hothead:

[herbesahne]

Could you post a picture illustrating your uncle's technique ?

[Bradart]

yeah, post some of your uncles drawings, im very interested to see exactly how the small circles thing works.

[Elwell]

You're confusing style and technique.

I've tried drawing his way once or twice but they Sucked! I think this must be due too lack of practice. So, what should I do?

Practice.

[hoopa]

practice makes perfect

[The Iconoclast]

No. That's wrong.

Practice makes permanent.

So practice the right thing !:chug:

[Big-Dave]

I think I read about this technique not too long ago. If it's what I think it is, it's supposed to give some definition to the form of the body before you start drawing. That way you can judge how its going to look better. It's just a matter of preference though, personally I didn't like it either. For one thing you need to already have a good idea of what the form will be like before you start.

In the end pick the method you like best. Just dont pick his cause he seems to get better results with it, it's probably cause he's been doing it a lot longer and your method could look just as good with as much practice

[mr.right]

First of all, how much do you trust yourself? This will answer your question on style.

Think about your answer, write it down, whatever.
Now look at these:


Small short strokes like these are bad. It just makes the boy look hairy.
They show no trust in yourself. JUST DRAW THE LINE! I know that the line doesn't always come out striaght, or maybe it doesn't curve where you want it, but learning to command the pencil is part of learning to be an artist.

However,

If your short lines are like these, then you're fine. Short lines can add texture, shadow, depth...

So, remember what you wrote down? If you now believe that, yes, you trust yourself--then don't give up your style! Work with it, play with it.... there's nothing wrong with that and there's nothing wrong with trying a new style... but don't forsake your style because you like someone else's work better than your own. Find what you like about your Uncle's work and incorporate it into your own. It's what artists do.

And on a lighter note: Did you know that HELLBOY artist Mike Mignola was thinking the same thing back before he started his comic work? He wasn't sure about his style - which is so damn beautiful - but he eventually just spent a solid year working on it everyday. He didn't try to draw like other artists he had seen, he just kept drawing things until they looked like he wanted them to. Realism is a great style, but not for everybody all the time.

Hope that helped.

[Ninja_man]

Sorry it's been so long, been having computer problems! I would post my uncles technique but I don't have a scanner and the cord that allows me to download digital pictures was chewed up by my cat. But I will post a picture of it as soon as the chance becomes vailable to me.

Also, Mr.Right,the way I draw is like the second pick, so thanks for the complement (well, sorta).

P.S.Thats intresting to know about Mike Mignola, and it kinda helped boost my confidence for some reason!

Edit: Also, I'm not quite sure how to post a picture, so could someone tell me?

[deliciouspeter]

As mr. right said, you may lack confidence. You simply need to practice. But be sure you are actually practicing, though. Keep a sketchbook that is only for sketching. No finished drawings. Sit down and do three quick (5-10 minutes) of one subject. Go for difficult subjects. Helicopters, supermodels, marine life, horses. Then study those sketches, and try to figure out what you are happy with and what you dislike. Show your sketches to anyone and ask for feedback, and be ready for criticism. I would love to see some of your work. I bet that your drawings seem stiff and disporportionate. No big deal, so long as you can figure out why. Switching your style isn't the answer. Developing your style is.

Oh, and to post an image, there is a little IMG button, but you'll have to have your image hosted somewhere. angelfire.com is a good free one.

[Ninja_man]

deliciouspeter: thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it! Thanks for the tips! I'm planning on getting a sketchbook that is just for animals. Also, like I said, I dont have a way of getting anything (picture wise) on the internet right now, but I have a friend with a scanner and next time I go to his house (which will probably be today or tomorrow) I'll try and use it.