Hmmm... I'll see if I can't integrate the eyes a little better. I think I get what you're saying, they kinda look like they were pasted on.
I know exactly how to make them look like they belong but I was afraid of adding too many more lines, now that I'm using more shading I could just as easily describe the eye socket with value rather than lines though... I'll tweak it a little and see if I come up with something.
As for them looking a little odd compared to the rest of the head. I don't think anything here looks particularly 'real'. All of this is basically caricature after all, I never intended it to be realism, merely 'realistic'. It's part of my style and hopefully something that'll set me apart. We'll see what people think when I add more depth to the eyes, it might help everyone.
Did a little work around the mouth with some lost and found line work. Gave her eyes a little more depth (trying to be subtle here, heavy linework and shading here tends to look like bags under the eyes rather than just having normal depth).
Just generally tweaked and polished the head (I know the hair and neck are somewhat unfinnished but they are inconsequential since this was just supposed to be a value study for the face). If I do much more this piece will start to get really muddy, and discrepancies will have to be taken care of on my next piece.
Sorry for the double post but I'm looking for a little feed back on this one.
Trying to do something a little less 'generic' looking but It's hard to tell from my end (I may be a little biasd).
Also, as a point of interest I'm having trouble thinking of a name for this one. It looks a little like a bird of prey but it's tough thinking of something both fitting and not too haughty sounding (not to mention cheesy). If you'd like to toss some ideas at me I'd appreciate it.
people might be saying generic just from the finish. I dont really think theres much left to be designed in terms of a mech that isnt going to look like one thats already been done. Im saying that in terms of the general shapes you end up having to use to communicate something mechanical.
Back to what I said about finish, these dont indicate what the material might be.. Is it shiny dull distressed, transparent etc. A color scheme can help add orginality, the value design of that color scheme also can help quite alot.
IF you arent comofrotable/capable of pushing this into the realm of from and color and are just going to stick with line
you play with variation of shapes more. Patterning your small little shapes to draw attention, surround those with relatively blank big shapes to pull focus back to the little details, and just picking on the design above, the majority of your shapes are soft and curvy. What if the mechs toes were sharp arrows. That would add a nice contrast.
Id say that in terms of shape contrast above everythings pretty samey.. a few areas of something different would make that pop.
I don't really plan on doing any color but I will be adding value in the end product. Mostly right now I just want something that will be easy to duplicate. This is supposed to be more like a technical drawing. The armor is really just a matt finish. high gloss and shinny metalics don't make a very military looking machine.
I think the variation of shapes is a good idea. I actually have an idea in mind for the feet, it was something I was going to try awhile back but couldn't make work, I think now is a good time to see if I can do it again. I might add in some more details on the armor plating too and see if I can't break up the monotony.
Ok, I know I said I was going to stop posting this stuff with no value and all but I wanted to get some reactions before I actually did add some value to it.
Mostly, I'm kind of stuck not knowing exactly how to handle the lightning coming out of the ground and into her hands. I'm completely out of my element on this one and I've tried looking for references (both real world and fantasy) and I haven't come up with anything that I can use.
I'm not looking for a handout but any useful information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Just a point in the right direction is fine, I can do the dirty work on my own.
Just a small amount of blue light reflecting off of nearby surfaces should do it. Also keep in mind the effect that will have on your shadows, being a light source and all.
I wanted to talk about your mechs though. You have to remember that you're designing a weapons platform. All the mecha that I see here have very high centers of gravity and none of them seem specialized to any kind of actual battlefield role (anti-personnel for example). They're too pretty and yet, somehow, at the very same time, they're incredibly bland.
I'm not the pose expert around these parts, but she looks unbalanced to me. Her foot in front of the other one and both hands behind her back looks like she's going to fall over backwards. And her left leg looks like it would have to be broken to turn that way.
The leg might look off because of the armor over it and the way it's facing. The gesture drawing where I started looked fine but it got a little odd looking when I added the armor over the top of it.
As for the posture it was based on a dancing figure and actually the feet are a lot less awkward looking than they were in the original image. I did want to go for a feeling of semi-weightlessness without making her float, maybe I'll put her on her toes more? It might add to the effect.
As for the lighting and shading, I can do that no problem. I'm a little more concerned on how the actual physical lightning might come out of the ground and into her hands. Would it arc around on the ground first? Maybe it would send debris flying? Maybe the ground should be jagged and uneven where the lightning comes out of the ground? The only reference I have for this is that many lightning strikes start at the ground and go up but I can't find any really good images of a lightning strike doing this.
I really enjoy all of the work I have seen here. You have a very good knowledge of anatomy in general and it looks like you're not afraid to draw difficult angles and what not. The think I am struck most with is the quality of your line work. Very nice stuff. Look forward to seeing you progress.
Been veeery busy lately, wish I had more time to draw but I've been working overtime. I should be leaving for basic in november sometime but when I get back I'm planning on picking up some new toys.
The big one right now is I'm planning on buying a tablet. I had one many years ago but it got destroyed. I don't have tons of confidence with more permanent media like ink and markers. Painter programs are very forgiving and are a great way to try out new techniques as well. So, in the next couple weeks expect to see some more aggressive looking work. Also, just to note, I've tried using a mouse with Corel Painter and it pretty much kicked my teeth in. I'm going to hold out for the tablet.
Anyway, I have some new things from the sketchbook. I was a little worried that my line work was becoming homogenized. I'm trying to bring my varied line weight back but it was tough after months of neglect.
So here's a character I've been working on. Relatively happy with how the exercise turned out but I feel like I've taken a step back somewhere along the way.
The proportions of your figures and the placement of their features stand out to me as things that could use a bit of improvement. You're stylizing your figures, but you don't seem to have a clear understanding of realistic anatomy, which is throwing things off.
Take your most recent drawing. The shoulders and upper torso look fine, but her hips seem WAY too small. As a general rule, female hips are as wide or close to as wide as their shoulders; in your drawing, the hips are slightly wider than her head is long.
Looking at the visible arm, the forearm and wrist area look elongated to me. You have a straight line on the bottom of the forearm from (almost) the bellybutton to the bracelet. The human form is curvy, so straight lines are a rarity and are usually avoided, as it makes things look stiff and flat. And be careful about hiding the hands like that at this stage of your development. They suck to draw -- most anyone who's attempted to draw them knows this -- but hiding them rather than tackling them isn't going to help you improve. (I realize this may just have happened just because of the pose, but I figured I'd mention it.)
The breasts look fine, but be careful about defining cleavage where there really shouldn't be. That boob "Y" is a typical symbol of cleavage, but it's not really what cleavage looks like, unless a woman is wearing a corset or bustier or squeezing or something. That top looks tight fitting, but it doesn't look constricting, so a soft line defining where the breasts meet may work better than the classic "Y."
Your heads and faces are a bit trickier. You seem to have a solid grasp on the individual features, but their placement on the head seem off. The thing is, the head itself is disproportionate, so it's difficult to tell how off the features are; it may be that the features are exactly where they need to be, but the head looks....squished, and it throws everything off. The back of the head in this picture seems especially off; I feel like there needs to be a bit more volume there.
A good way to go about improving these things would be to look at real people and draw them constantly. Gesture drawings (quick, 5 to 15 minute sketches that get the basic form and movement of the figure) can help you loosen up your poses, and drawing from the nude figure will help you tremendously. If you have access to nude life drawing (either through a local university/art class or a willing significant other or something) that's something you should really take advantage of but if you don't, working from photos is a decent second option. You can find a lot of quality stock at DeviantArt if you're interested. Also, don't be afraid to draw yourself some guidelines if you aren't sure about where something should go.
Your shading is really well done but, now that you've got a strong grasp on it, you should bump it up a bit. I struggle with this as well, but to get a really dramatic effect, you have to really lay into that shading. Right now, your tones are a pretty consistent shade throughout, but some areas should be darker than others. The area where the breast meets the ribcage, for example, should have a stronger shadow than where the light rolls over top of the breast; likewise, as the light moves farther from the top of the breast, the shadow intensifies. The block shading you're doing looks great, but it could use more contrast.
Other than that, just keep working on your lines. Where light hits the figure, use lighter, more delicate lines. Where the figure is in shadow, darker, harsher lines might be better. The features of the face could use a more delicate touch. The contour lines of her lips in this drawing are a fantastic example of these things; you might try to pull that type of line work into the rest of the figure and see what that does for you. Also, lines within the form of the body (such as the collar bone and cleavage) might not need to be the same quality as those that define the form itself.
Also, be careful about switching over to a tablet. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but realize that it's just like working with a new medium. There's going to be a learning curve involved, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work right the first go at it. 8-)
I'm, by no means, an expert in any of this, so nothing I've mentioned above is Art Gospel or anything, but hopefully some of it helps you. :P
EDIT: Good Lord, I wrote a god damn novel. I fear if I attempt a tl:dr summary, I may end up with a sequel....
Sorry.
You're pretty much right on in most of your assessments. The shoulders were causing me huge issues early in the drawing and then the relationship between them in and the hips got out of control because I couldn't fit enough on the page at the bottom.
I'm not shy about hands, but I was trying for a position with the hand that turned out to be fairly unnatural. By the time I realized that it would have been impossible to go back and try to redraw the arm without having a large annoying half erased line through the entire torso. Ultimately the funky placement of the arm is responsible for most of the issues in the drawing.
I didn't even notice the eyes until now, but for some reason I severely foreshortened them. I don't know when it happened because early on in this drawing the face was the part I was most pleased about. In my defense though I haven't drawn anything in several months and I did a majority of the work on this piece while I was at work. I actually started from reference with this piece but I couldn't take the reference material with me to work.
I've already started the next drawing, it's going to look nearly the same because I really liked the direction of this one but there are far too many problems with it to fix now. It's usually best to just start over anyway, I can obviously use the practice.
GGlosser on
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MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
You're going to have a horrible time breaking out of this anime rut you've gotten yourself into.
My advise would be to completely stop doing stylised work for a while and start doing some life drawing, even drawing from photographs. At the moment your stuck drawing the same kind of eyes, the same nose, the same mouth. You need to learn the inherent structure of the face and not just the symbolised method used in anime. What you've done is okay and you can draw, but your drawing using tools that will not allow you to improve much from where you are.
So I feel like the last drawing was just bad enough that it's giving a poor impression of me so I'd like to clarify a little.
I did not simply start drawing stylized figures like some crazed fanboy. I took several figure drawing classes before I was unable to continue school and I then continued drawing from life for several years afterward. I do have the basics covered and I could very easily bore you with the stacks of sketchpads filled with life drawings. I felt like it was time to try something new.
I do occasionally still go back and draw from photographs or even sit in my local park to doodle passersby. I also still commonly use real life references for my illustrations, converting them to simple line art. The last image was the first drawing I've had time to do in several months and it was also a rush job done with almost no reference.
So as a showing of good faith I am taking down the offending image and replacing it with something a little less flawed. This image was also done with little reference and is NOT finished (the hands still need work, I am aware of them) but I wanted to show the line work on this one because the next step is digitally inking it. I had planned on using this one to re-familiarize myself using a tablet and Corel Painter.
Thanks again for all of the constructive criticism, it is making a big difference in my work.
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MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
I could very easily bore you with the stacks of sketchpads filled with life drawings
It wouldn't bore me, I would like to see some of your life drawings.
I think it would give all of us a better understanding of where you stand as an artist.
So I feel like the last drawing was just bad enough that it's giving a poor impression of me so I'd like to clarify a little.
CLARIFICATION
Okay, that helps a bit in understanding your development. Several years of life drawing is great and will be incredibly beneficial to you, especially if you have the opportunity to keep up with it. However, it's difficult to draw an accurate figure without a reference unless you've had years upon years upon years of consistent study of the human form. I know you say you look at references occasionally, but I feel like it'd be really helpful to you to have references most, if not all, of the time.
Looking at the drawing you just posted, the anatomy looks much better. Straight lines have largely been avoided and proportionally it's improving. But, there are still some issues. The head is still off somehow. I can't figure out exactly what it is, but my gut reaction is that it looks too small for the figure.
Another issue, as it stands now, is that everything below the narrow point of the waist is sitting very flat and I think it's because of you've drawn the hips as though they face forward, even though they are turned at an angle. They're turned slightly, and pushed forward which allows the viewer to see more of her backside. Because of that, the hips need to be a bit meatier since her butt is at least partially visible.
This is why I think having a reference with you constantly when drawing will help you tremendously. You have a solid grasp of the anatomy, but you still seem to be struggling with how that anatomy can change depending upon the pose. Something else that might help you is to draw full figures. Drawing pre-cropped figures can really screw with your anatomy and may be a big factor in the problems you are having. Try sketching out a fast gesture drawing or stick figure or something and make sure you have enough room on the paper for a head to toe drawing. You can crop it later.
Also, I agree with Mustang. Posting some of your life drawings would give us an idea of where you stand as an artist currently, and I think seeing your grasp of the fundamentals would help us help you.
It'll be difficult but I'll try to get some of my old figure drawing sketchbooks. Almost all of them are in storage right now due to my impending move. The only other things I have are on newsprint and scanning those would be next to impossible.
Right now the only things I have on hand are hand and face studies, most of which are tending more towards stylized work (although not heavily). I'll edit here as I dig them up.
Found a few things actually while digging around, the first one is from pretty early on in my new career. Done for a friend of mine. (There are some issues with the eyes on both of these, particularly the woman looks like her eyes aren't quite attached to her head, I wish I still had this drawing as I could fix these issues in a heartbeat).
This one is kind of a cross between illustrative styles and realism. I like the images on the left but the profile shot is very wrong and I'm already aware of the problems with it.
Oh, and this is a repost from the front page. As long as I'm doing realism though I might as well keep things in one place. This is a self portrait done of myself through a mirror, this is 'technically' my very first life drawing.
Those are all really strong works, which is good. You've got a strong foundation, so now you've just got to push yourself and see what happens. It's good that you can see the problems with the first image, but what I notice is the proportions and features. THESE heads look pretty good proportionally speaking, not squished or stunted or small. The features are all well placed as well, with some issues with the eyes and a bit with the mans' mouth.
The same can be said for your self portrait. The eyes here look a bit too large and the mouth a bit small, but otherwise it's a strong image. Both could use more intense shadowing and more variations in tone to bump up the drama. I can't really tell if you've done this, but make use of your eraser to really bring out the highlights. Doing that will make an image pop.
The fact that these heads are structurally and proportionally sound is especially interesting because heads have consistently been a problem area in the stylized works you've shown. Looking at the three stylized heads you've posted, it's clear to me that you have a strong grasp of the frontal view (which makes sense, seeing as how the realistic images you've posted have all been relatively frontal). The bottom image is pretty good; the only thing that looks odd to me is the nose. The face looks frontal, but the nose looks as though it's turned upward. Generally, that much of the nostril isn't seen from a standard frontal view; if it is, however, then play with the tip and bridge of the nose to emphasize that the nose isn't turned up.
The problem seems to be with your other views. The profile has issues, but it's not bad, by any means. But, you're aware of the issues, so I'll leave it be. Your 3/4's view has some problems as well but not as many problems as some of the recent images you've posted. The eyes are sitting flatly on the face, as though there are no sockets. The nose could use a bit of definition in the bridge, as it looks a bit profile-y right now. What is interesting to me is that the features of this view are pretty accurately placed and the head doesn't seem to be squished, which was something that happened in your other images. The problem may come when drawing female heads, as hair volume can change the shape of the head. So, while you should continue to practice with all the views, pay particular attention to the 3/4s view. Use a reference when drawing heads, even if the reference isn't a perfect resemblence to your character and especially when drawing female heads. This will probably help you tremendously.
The thing I'm worried about with you is "Anime Syndrome." I know this has been mentioned before, but I don't mean it as saying you are actually drawing in this style. What I worry about is this attempt to stylize so early on in your development. I started drawing in an anime style before I ever even concieved of taking art classes and now it rears it's ugly head whenever I'm out of my comfort zone. I've adapted and can correct now, but it took me a while to get to that point. You have a grasp of the basics, but you're not overly confident with them yet. Stylizing when you don't have a clear idea of what you're stylizing can become a problem.
That said, I don't think you should abandon this attempt at something new; rather I think you should work on both. For every stylized image you create, throw in a realistic life drawing. Practice that every day. Buy an anatomy book or two and do some copies. Anything to help better familiarize yourself with the figure.
These images are great, hopefully you'll find some old life drawings so we can see where you are anatomy wise.
Erode on
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MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
These drawings are pretty strong, but I'd have to echo what Erode said there, you're falling into Anime when your stylising. While I'm not saying that all anime is evil (even though most of it is), you're never going to get a job doing it, certainly not in concept art.
I mean, are you interested in getting a job as a concept artist? Or was this thread titled "concept art" just to show the work you were doing for your comic thing?
To clarify, these are concept images for a comic book I'm trying to develop, not a professional portfolio. I am interested ultimately in Illustration but my goal right now is to get back to school.
I'm leaving for basic training in 2 months, after that I'll be putting in another 3 or 4 at AIT, after that military will pay for the rest of my school (assuming of course I don't get deployed right away). More than anything this work is helping me to keep from regressing. I at least want to maintain what I've learned until I can get back into a studio.
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I know exactly how to make them look like they belong but I was afraid of adding too many more lines, now that I'm using more shading I could just as easily describe the eye socket with value rather than lines though... I'll tweak it a little and see if I come up with something.
As for them looking a little odd compared to the rest of the head. I don't think anything here looks particularly 'real'. All of this is basically caricature after all, I never intended it to be realism, merely 'realistic'. It's part of my style and hopefully something that'll set me apart. We'll see what people think when I add more depth to the eyes, it might help everyone.
Just generally tweaked and polished the head (I know the hair and neck are somewhat unfinnished but they are inconsequential since this was just supposed to be a value study for the face). If I do much more this piece will start to get really muddy, and discrepancies will have to be taken care of on my next piece.
Trying to do something a little less 'generic' looking but It's hard to tell from my end (I may be a little biasd).
Also, as a point of interest I'm having trouble thinking of a name for this one. It looks a little like a bird of prey but it's tough thinking of something both fitting and not too haughty sounding (not to mention cheesy). If you'd like to toss some ideas at me I'd appreciate it.
Back to what I said about finish, these dont indicate what the material might be.. Is it shiny dull distressed, transparent etc. A color scheme can help add orginality, the value design of that color scheme also can help quite alot.
IF you arent comofrotable/capable of pushing this into the realm of from and color and are just going to stick with line
you play with variation of shapes more. Patterning your small little shapes to draw attention, surround those with relatively blank big shapes to pull focus back to the little details, and just picking on the design above, the majority of your shapes are soft and curvy. What if the mechs toes were sharp arrows. That would add a nice contrast.
Id say that in terms of shape contrast above everythings pretty samey.. a few areas of something different would make that pop.
I think the variation of shapes is a good idea. I actually have an idea in mind for the feet, it was something I was going to try awhile back but couldn't make work, I think now is a good time to see if I can do it again. I might add in some more details on the armor plating too and see if I can't break up the monotony.
Thanks for the feedback.
Mostly, I'm kind of stuck not knowing exactly how to handle the lightning coming out of the ground and into her hands. I'm completely out of my element on this one and I've tried looking for references (both real world and fantasy) and I haven't come up with anything that I can use.
I'm not looking for a handout but any useful information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Just a point in the right direction is fine, I can do the dirty work on my own.
I wanted to talk about your mechs though. You have to remember that you're designing a weapons platform. All the mecha that I see here have very high centers of gravity and none of them seem specialized to any kind of actual battlefield role (anti-personnel for example). They're too pretty and yet, somehow, at the very same time, they're incredibly bland.
Simplify your designs, then add your spices.
As for the posture it was based on a dancing figure and actually the feet are a lot less awkward looking than they were in the original image. I did want to go for a feeling of semi-weightlessness without making her float, maybe I'll put her on her toes more? It might add to the effect.
As for the lighting and shading, I can do that no problem. I'm a little more concerned on how the actual physical lightning might come out of the ground and into her hands. Would it arc around on the ground first? Maybe it would send debris flying? Maybe the ground should be jagged and uneven where the lightning comes out of the ground? The only reference I have for this is that many lightning strikes start at the ground and go up but I can't find any really good images of a lightning strike doing this.
Thomas Clemmons
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The big one right now is I'm planning on buying a tablet. I had one many years ago but it got destroyed. I don't have tons of confidence with more permanent media like ink and markers. Painter programs are very forgiving and are a great way to try out new techniques as well. So, in the next couple weeks expect to see some more aggressive looking work. Also, just to note, I've tried using a mouse with Corel Painter and it pretty much kicked my teeth in. I'm going to hold out for the tablet.
Anyway, I have some new things from the sketchbook. I was a little worried that my line work was becoming homogenized. I'm trying to bring my varied line weight back but it was tough after months of neglect.
So here's a character I've been working on. Relatively happy with how the exercise turned out but I feel like I've taken a step back somewhere along the way.
Take your most recent drawing. The shoulders and upper torso look fine, but her hips seem WAY too small. As a general rule, female hips are as wide or close to as wide as their shoulders; in your drawing, the hips are slightly wider than her head is long.
Looking at the visible arm, the forearm and wrist area look elongated to me. You have a straight line on the bottom of the forearm from (almost) the bellybutton to the bracelet. The human form is curvy, so straight lines are a rarity and are usually avoided, as it makes things look stiff and flat. And be careful about hiding the hands like that at this stage of your development. They suck to draw -- most anyone who's attempted to draw them knows this -- but hiding them rather than tackling them isn't going to help you improve. (I realize this may just have happened just because of the pose, but I figured I'd mention it.)
The breasts look fine, but be careful about defining cleavage where there really shouldn't be. That boob "Y" is a typical symbol of cleavage, but it's not really what cleavage looks like, unless a woman is wearing a corset or bustier or squeezing or something. That top looks tight fitting, but it doesn't look constricting, so a soft line defining where the breasts meet may work better than the classic "Y."
Your heads and faces are a bit trickier. You seem to have a solid grasp on the individual features, but their placement on the head seem off. The thing is, the head itself is disproportionate, so it's difficult to tell how off the features are; it may be that the features are exactly where they need to be, but the head looks....squished, and it throws everything off. The back of the head in this picture seems especially off; I feel like there needs to be a bit more volume there.
A good way to go about improving these things would be to look at real people and draw them constantly. Gesture drawings (quick, 5 to 15 minute sketches that get the basic form and movement of the figure) can help you loosen up your poses, and drawing from the nude figure will help you tremendously. If you have access to nude life drawing (either through a local university/art class or a willing significant other or something) that's something you should really take advantage of but if you don't, working from photos is a decent second option. You can find a lot of quality stock at DeviantArt if you're interested. Also, don't be afraid to draw yourself some guidelines if you aren't sure about where something should go.
Your shading is really well done but, now that you've got a strong grasp on it, you should bump it up a bit. I struggle with this as well, but to get a really dramatic effect, you have to really lay into that shading. Right now, your tones are a pretty consistent shade throughout, but some areas should be darker than others. The area where the breast meets the ribcage, for example, should have a stronger shadow than where the light rolls over top of the breast; likewise, as the light moves farther from the top of the breast, the shadow intensifies. The block shading you're doing looks great, but it could use more contrast.
Other than that, just keep working on your lines. Where light hits the figure, use lighter, more delicate lines. Where the figure is in shadow, darker, harsher lines might be better. The features of the face could use a more delicate touch. The contour lines of her lips in this drawing are a fantastic example of these things; you might try to pull that type of line work into the rest of the figure and see what that does for you. Also, lines within the form of the body (such as the collar bone and cleavage) might not need to be the same quality as those that define the form itself.
Also, be careful about switching over to a tablet. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but realize that it's just like working with a new medium. There's going to be a learning curve involved, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work right the first go at it. 8-)
I'm, by no means, an expert in any of this, so nothing I've mentioned above is Art Gospel or anything, but hopefully some of it helps you. :P
EDIT: Good Lord, I wrote a god damn novel. I fear if I attempt a tl:dr summary, I may end up with a sequel....
Sorry.
I'm not shy about hands, but I was trying for a position with the hand that turned out to be fairly unnatural. By the time I realized that it would have been impossible to go back and try to redraw the arm without having a large annoying half erased line through the entire torso. Ultimately the funky placement of the arm is responsible for most of the issues in the drawing.
I didn't even notice the eyes until now, but for some reason I severely foreshortened them. I don't know when it happened because early on in this drawing the face was the part I was most pleased about. In my defense though I haven't drawn anything in several months and I did a majority of the work on this piece while I was at work. I actually started from reference with this piece but I couldn't take the reference material with me to work.
I've already started the next drawing, it's going to look nearly the same because I really liked the direction of this one but there are far too many problems with it to fix now. It's usually best to just start over anyway, I can obviously use the practice.
My advise would be to completely stop doing stylised work for a while and start doing some life drawing, even drawing from photographs. At the moment your stuck drawing the same kind of eyes, the same nose, the same mouth. You need to learn the inherent structure of the face and not just the symbolised method used in anime. What you've done is okay and you can draw, but your drawing using tools that will not allow you to improve much from where you are.
I did not simply start drawing stylized figures like some crazed fanboy. I took several figure drawing classes before I was unable to continue school and I then continued drawing from life for several years afterward. I do have the basics covered and I could very easily bore you with the stacks of sketchpads filled with life drawings. I felt like it was time to try something new.
I do occasionally still go back and draw from photographs or even sit in my local park to doodle passersby. I also still commonly use real life references for my illustrations, converting them to simple line art. The last image was the first drawing I've had time to do in several months and it was also a rush job done with almost no reference.
So as a showing of good faith I am taking down the offending image and replacing it with something a little less flawed. This image was also done with little reference and is NOT finished (the hands still need work, I am aware of them) but I wanted to show the line work on this one because the next step is digitally inking it. I had planned on using this one to re-familiarize myself using a tablet and Corel Painter.
Thanks again for all of the constructive criticism, it is making a big difference in my work.
It wouldn't bore me, I would like to see some of your life drawings.
I think it would give all of us a better understanding of where you stand as an artist.
Okay, that helps a bit in understanding your development. Several years of life drawing is great and will be incredibly beneficial to you, especially if you have the opportunity to keep up with it. However, it's difficult to draw an accurate figure without a reference unless you've had years upon years upon years of consistent study of the human form. I know you say you look at references occasionally, but I feel like it'd be really helpful to you to have references most, if not all, of the time.
Looking at the drawing you just posted, the anatomy looks much better. Straight lines have largely been avoided and proportionally it's improving. But, there are still some issues. The head is still off somehow. I can't figure out exactly what it is, but my gut reaction is that it looks too small for the figure.
Another issue, as it stands now, is that everything below the narrow point of the waist is sitting very flat and I think it's because of you've drawn the hips as though they face forward, even though they are turned at an angle. They're turned slightly, and pushed forward which allows the viewer to see more of her backside. Because of that, the hips need to be a bit meatier since her butt is at least partially visible.
This is why I think having a reference with you constantly when drawing will help you tremendously. You have a solid grasp of the anatomy, but you still seem to be struggling with how that anatomy can change depending upon the pose. Something else that might help you is to draw full figures. Drawing pre-cropped figures can really screw with your anatomy and may be a big factor in the problems you are having. Try sketching out a fast gesture drawing or stick figure or something and make sure you have enough room on the paper for a head to toe drawing. You can crop it later.
Also, I agree with Mustang. Posting some of your life drawings would give us an idea of where you stand as an artist currently, and I think seeing your grasp of the fundamentals would help us help you.
Right now the only things I have on hand are hand and face studies, most of which are tending more towards stylized work (although not heavily). I'll edit here as I dig them up.
Found a few things actually while digging around, the first one is from pretty early on in my new career. Done for a friend of mine. (There are some issues with the eyes on both of these, particularly the woman looks like her eyes aren't quite attached to her head, I wish I still had this drawing as I could fix these issues in a heartbeat).
This one is kind of a cross between illustrative styles and realism. I like the images on the left but the profile shot is very wrong and I'm already aware of the problems with it.
Oh, and this is a repost from the front page. As long as I'm doing realism though I might as well keep things in one place. This is a self portrait done of myself through a mirror, this is 'technically' my very first life drawing.
The same can be said for your self portrait. The eyes here look a bit too large and the mouth a bit small, but otherwise it's a strong image. Both could use more intense shadowing and more variations in tone to bump up the drama. I can't really tell if you've done this, but make use of your eraser to really bring out the highlights. Doing that will make an image pop.
The fact that these heads are structurally and proportionally sound is especially interesting because heads have consistently been a problem area in the stylized works you've shown. Looking at the three stylized heads you've posted, it's clear to me that you have a strong grasp of the frontal view (which makes sense, seeing as how the realistic images you've posted have all been relatively frontal). The bottom image is pretty good; the only thing that looks odd to me is the nose. The face looks frontal, but the nose looks as though it's turned upward. Generally, that much of the nostril isn't seen from a standard frontal view; if it is, however, then play with the tip and bridge of the nose to emphasize that the nose isn't turned up.
The problem seems to be with your other views. The profile has issues, but it's not bad, by any means. But, you're aware of the issues, so I'll leave it be. Your 3/4's view has some problems as well but not as many problems as some of the recent images you've posted. The eyes are sitting flatly on the face, as though there are no sockets. The nose could use a bit of definition in the bridge, as it looks a bit profile-y right now. What is interesting to me is that the features of this view are pretty accurately placed and the head doesn't seem to be squished, which was something that happened in your other images. The problem may come when drawing female heads, as hair volume can change the shape of the head. So, while you should continue to practice with all the views, pay particular attention to the 3/4s view. Use a reference when drawing heads, even if the reference isn't a perfect resemblence to your character and especially when drawing female heads. This will probably help you tremendously.
The thing I'm worried about with you is "Anime Syndrome." I know this has been mentioned before, but I don't mean it as saying you are actually drawing in this style. What I worry about is this attempt to stylize so early on in your development. I started drawing in an anime style before I ever even concieved of taking art classes and now it rears it's ugly head whenever I'm out of my comfort zone. I've adapted and can correct now, but it took me a while to get to that point. You have a grasp of the basics, but you're not overly confident with them yet. Stylizing when you don't have a clear idea of what you're stylizing can become a problem.
That said, I don't think you should abandon this attempt at something new; rather I think you should work on both. For every stylized image you create, throw in a realistic life drawing. Practice that every day. Buy an anatomy book or two and do some copies. Anything to help better familiarize yourself with the figure.
These images are great, hopefully you'll find some old life drawings so we can see where you are anatomy wise.
I'm leaving for basic training in 2 months, after that I'll be putting in another 3 or 4 at AIT, after that military will pay for the rest of my school (assuming of course I don't get deployed right away). More than anything this work is helping me to keep from regressing. I at least want to maintain what I've learned until I can get back into a studio.