Fantasy&Doodles&Advice Please!

Rivved

[First time posting] Need some advice! First, I haven't been in any drawing classes, and I can't seem to find one near where I live, so I've been stuck in a drawing rut for a while. ): I figure some advice from you helpful folks would be just the thing. ^^ I'm 18, and trying to put a portfolio together for college, but I'm having a tough time. Any advice on how I can improve upon what I already have would be terrific.
Also, any tips on starting a comic would be great too.

Yeah, my name's Ashley. :P

F87

You shouldn't start a comic, yet.

Practice life drawing, branch out some, and really focus on construction and proportions.

These are pretty good sketches though, I would like to see some finished work.

Sublimus

Welcome to the boards!

Looks like you have a pretty good start here so far.

First, I would advice against signing all over your work. It covers it up, and honestly no one is going to steal it anyway.

This is sort of a re-hashed crit, but it gets used time and again because it's always true - the way to get better is to study from life.

So whatever you want to get better at, draw it from reference. There are plenty of sights to get figure reference from. posemaniacs is good for gestures (but to be too reliant on it, its really a simplification.) There is characterdesigns.com which has good photo sets. There is a lot of good stock photography on deviant art too.

bombardier

What kind of comic do you want to start? I wouldn't say you shouldn't start one yet. More practice is always a good thing and you won't get better at something until you try it.

Also you don't need to spoiler all your stuff. Welcome to the forum!

Rivved

That's actually very useful, thank you! Googling for poses became kinda tedious. And I have the originals and copies of all my sketches, so I did just make a copies with signatures scrawled on them. :x Better to be safe than sorry!

As for things that are finished, I have a hard time with color, especially cleaning up after. I don't have photoshop, and at the moment, I just make a bunch of copies of everything I draw and color them in by hand (markers, pencil, watercolor, acrylic) I figure practice makes perfect, but I have no real direction in painting and color.

Rivved

Thanks. :P I just figured it would save room.

I'm screwing up already. ):<

Rivved

For a comic I was just thinking something casual, I just wasn't sure how to go about starting it, drawing frames/size/shape, etc. It seems the most fun way to practice with cartoon expressions and poses. I read a lot of comic books, so that's been most of my reference

Faded_Sneakers

I like what I see so far. Im rather a big fan of people learning to draw outside of drawing classes but I realize Im in the minority there.

As for starting a comic go for it. There are a crap load of people making their living as "Professional Cartoonists" who are in my opinion absofuckingloutly horrible. Obviously I would recommend still practicing outside your comic and using the comic as a tool to incorporate an inproving and transitional style, but theres no reason if you have the time to not go for it.

Post some more stuff if you have it. Like some others said Id be interested in seeing some finished work. Inks at least.

AbdulthenNewt

I'd echo Faded_Sneakers' comments - if you want to make a comic, then do it. Too many people have pages and pages of sketches, character designs, notes on backstories, and poster shots ad nauseum, but they never get around to drawing page one, panel one. If you're thinking about doing it for print, I recommend ComixPress.com - you can get all the stats on sizing from them to do print-on-demand books. If you're doing it for a webcomic, then you can do it to whatever size and proportions you like.

My advice to you if you start a comic, finish it - no matter what. If you're concerned about length, then start with a short story - maybe 4-8 pages instead of 32. My experience with projects is the first 90% and last 10% are always equally hard. And there's something about drawing comic books where one bad panel can throw off your whole groove. Draw the panel and move on. You can always come back and change it later.

Rivved

A lot of what I have are just sketches, unfortunately. I have a big fear of coloring in what I've sketched out.

Anyone have any suggestions on making a portfolio for applying to college? I'm not sure what colleges look for. I live on the East coast in the Boston area, so I was thinking about places like the Rhode Island School of Design, or Mass Art.



*smile doodle*

Rivved

Something in the works. Thinking of changing it a little. I know I need to vary my faces/body types more. More of a practice with action/more than one character in a picture.

winter_combat_knight

Nice drawings so far. Very confident. Good to see you're using traditional methods rather than digital.
Ways to improve shit loads is draw from life. The next best thing is to draw from photo reference.

One issue i see so far is that, although you obviously know how to draw hands/torsos/legs etc. etc., - your scaling on some of the images are out of proportion (particularly this one). Take a little more time to measure some things up and i think these drawings will kick-ass!

I don't agree with the opinion that you shouldn't start a comic yet. Even IF your drawings are shit (which they aren't) it doesn't matter. It's about having fun. Its like saying "don't start character designs because you don't understand anatomy". You're only 18! Expose yourself to as much as you can! Try oils, acrylics and watercolor.

Good luck. keep posting.

Fugitive

This hasn't been posted yet, but it's a pretty good stepping stone for figuring out how start a comic.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=3766

Rivved

From a while ago. I have the original sketch, which I'm very proud of, but the coloring is god awful. It was my first time using a tablet and a program.

Scosglen

Most colleges will say on their website what they're looking for in a portfolio, in regards to specific pieces or types of work, so that is one place to start.

Generally though I would say they prefer to see work from observation rather than imagination.

earthwormadam

Wow, how have I never came across the thread of accumulated knowledge, I do not know Fug. Nice link though.

But yeah, just like everybody says, keep at it, and if you want to start a comic sooner than later, then have at it. Just consider that A) a lot of shit has already been done, so you really need to have some original concepts to stand out, and The only way to really get better at doing comics is by doing comics.

You might want to check out War for Arcadia if you haven't already because it's a great community of varying skill, and a good place to hone your skills.

You already have a good sense of proportion in your figures, so thats a good start. Now you just need to get some more dynamic poses and you'll really be cooking. Also at first glance your stuff seems to lean heavily towards generic fantasy/anime, which can be really hard to separate yourself from and develop your own style. Lord knows I started the same way but I think the sooner you start doing your own thing the better. For example the chick with the lion shoulder pad is pretty rad.