So this past month I've decided to start back in to Illustration. I've always loved drawing with fineliner style pens, and hatching away. I figured I'd start dumping my art here now that I feel like I want to continue on with this hobby that's always made me happy. I've heard the Artists Corner is great to receive feedback/critique.
I'm not sure where to go with my art but I'm thinking I'll start with some more still life drawings and see how I can progress. Critique is definitely what I need, so I can know how to further educate myself and continue my artistic pursuits with purpose!
Here's something I drew today, let me know what you guys think!
Here's some older sketches. Some of these date back a couple years.
Spent a portion of tonight trying to draw a Cyclops (from X-Men) bobblehead that is on my bookshelf.
Here's after I was done Pencil:
..and some attempted shading/pen work:
Hard to get the shading down.. I'm a fan of attempting lighting/inking.. I like the way lots of black looks.
I'll keep at it.. perspective and proportions are hard!!!
I think you're very limited right now by your medium of choice. You're forcing yourself to commit to a line you put down (even if it's wrong) because it's not erasable, but that's hurting the eventual final product because you don't yet have the command of fundamentals that would allow you to make a mark like that with confidence. I'd suggest taking a step back and really working on fundamentals (simple shapes -- cubes, cylinders, spheres; it'll help you to break down more complex forms like a person while focusing on how they're actually occupying the 3d space theyre in), using pencil and revising and revising until you're confident that the line is right, THEN moving to ink. I've found both of these little guides to be invaluable when thinking about the absolute basics:
You don't necessarily have to do the exercises as described, as I know they can get boring quickly (who wants to draw nothing but boxes, right?), but just seeing this stuff spelled out in simple terms can be really helpful. It is even more helpful, though, if you go through the motions of trying these things yourself -- nothing better than first-hand experience when it comes to learning.
EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
edited April 2015
The cyclops in particular has a lot going on that is taking away from how dynamic the source is. That statue has a lot of character, but the rendering loses much of it due to having wonky alignment issues and shading that doesn't really make sense.
You might want to start with using pencils as sort of a chisel to get an idea for mass. Draw a vanishing point to align all your shapes, then make spheres and cubes that roughly line up to the shapes and try shading those with a single light source. Then start over again and make it a bit more detailed with what you figured out from that study, and then again a few more times until you get to your final shape. This will give your sketch a bit more weight and allow you to do the box and line techniques at the same time (two for one, essentially).
I also am not a fan of the "only use pens" drawing philosophy for the same reasons as Acadia. You get too wrapped up in a "this line is good enough" rather than focusing on getting the right line. Eventually you might be able to start with pens and that would be awesome, but that's something even most veteran professional artists don't do.
Posts
Here's after I was done Pencil:
..and some attempted shading/pen work:
Hard to get the shading down.. I'm a fan of attempting lighting/inking.. I like the way lots of black looks.
I'll keep at it.. perspective and proportions are hard!!!
Drawing with the arm (simple shapes)
Taking simple shapes and visualizing them in 3d
You don't necessarily have to do the exercises as described, as I know they can get boring quickly (who wants to draw nothing but boxes, right?), but just seeing this stuff spelled out in simple terms can be really helpful. It is even more helpful, though, if you go through the motions of trying these things yourself -- nothing better than first-hand experience when it comes to learning.
You might want to start with using pencils as sort of a chisel to get an idea for mass. Draw a vanishing point to align all your shapes, then make spheres and cubes that roughly line up to the shapes and try shading those with a single light source. Then start over again and make it a bit more detailed with what you figured out from that study, and then again a few more times until you get to your final shape. This will give your sketch a bit more weight and allow you to do the box and line techniques at the same time (two for one, essentially).
I also am not a fan of the "only use pens" drawing philosophy for the same reasons as Acadia. You get too wrapped up in a "this line is good enough" rather than focusing on getting the right line. Eventually you might be able to start with pens and that would be awesome, but that's something even most veteran professional artists don't do.