/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

I'm having trouble with the page on the right, which explains how to produce a block of specified dimensions using the method laid out in the page on the left. You plot your units for the height of the block on the line perpendicular to the horizon; where your units begin is the base of the cube and where they end is the top. Then at the top you plot the units for the width of the block along a line parallel with the horizon. Then you project them down to the base.

And this is where I get stuck. How do you decide how to establish the depth of the block, like where you would put the diagonal on the left page? In other words how would you figure out where to put lines 3, 6 and 7 on the left page on a block of specified dimensions? Surely you don't just guess?

How to into eyes?

I know they sit part way into the skull, and the eyelids wrap around them, but I don't know how to make draw inside the skull.

>>1519287
here's what I'm talking about. with this method I can make a flat rectangle of specified dimensions. i made this one eight unites high and ten units across. now how do I specify and accurately draw the third dimension? notice how in the page in my first post he makes a block six units high and four units wide, but he doesn't even note that it's two units long. and it's three units long on the one on the right. why isn't he talking about the third dimension? isn't that the most important?

tl;dr how do I decide where to place the next lines in pic related if I want to specify those dimensions using the same units (the lines receding toward the VP)? I feel like I'm missing something obvious here.

>>1519327
Try drawing a line to the VP from horizontal line 1, mark the intersect with the rectangle's upper width line and draw a line perpendicular to the upper width/horizon. Mark the intersect between this line and and the line between point 10 and the VP.

When learning muscles, what's the best beginner's book to go at it?

Hampton and Loomis kind of just has a diagram and says "this is an arm. Now draw it a million times" but it's a little complex. Is there something simpler?

>>1519289
It helps to understand and draw the structure of the eye socket first.

Watch Vilppu's head drawing videos. I think part 2 spends a lot of time on eyes IIRC.

Watch these too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTqLSivFZ2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeoTaMV7Yo

>>1519381
>learning muscles
>being a beginner

pick fucking one

>>1519381
hampton is best choice. simpler than that and you're drawing geometric shapes... because that's all hampton is really based on.

>>1519287
Look up distance points.

This author might not mention them, but without them, you'd have no clue how to draw in one-point perspective because you lack the information of viewing distance.

>>1519445
Wow, what a sad bunch of artists you people are.

Of course the newbie had to look up how to do one-point perspective while you are busy jerking off.

To the guy having asked that question on how to draw an object in one-point perspective:

read Storey's The Theory and Practice of Perspective. It's awesome for fundies.

>>1519287
You know, this shit would be done by a 3D software nowadays
You're basically learning a useless skill here

>>1519471
far from useless

>>1519478
Simply doing exercises learning to eyeball approximate distances in perspective would be far more useful than doing this human calculator shit.

>>1519487
Everyone should learn it though. if you learn it and practice it, THEN you would be able to eyeball it.

go back to /3/

>>1519503
Or you could learn to eyeball it and never do that pointless exercise like I did

>>1519511
Eyeballing surface shading? Anon, what are you doing as an artist? I mean, if you just eyeball surfaces in general, I'd guess that you don't do much of construction work anywhere.

Am I mistaken?

>>1519515
What does shading have to do with anything?

Anyway, shading is even easier to eyeball than perspective, but you have to practice both.

Obviously I do construction, but you don't need to have mathematically precise measurements for it to look good.

Or in the rare cases you need it, or just have to do it in a reasonable time frame, you'll whip out google sketchup or whatever and your employer thanks you for not wasting his fucking time

>>1519518
Deathelm, is that you?

>>1519519
Deathelm's work looks like he could actually use some 3D wireframes to get proper perspective in his work.

What's a good art community to learn in besides ConceptArt and CGSociety?

I'm practicing how to draw armor and I want to make sure if I'm doing it right:
>Look up concept art with characters in armor
>Look up IRL armor designs
>Draw both and look at why (the designs) are good/bad

Will this help me to draw/design armor of my own in the future?

Wtf ,/ic/ I started reading Hogarth's dynamic anatomy book..Im up to chapter 4 and so far All I've red is fucking art history...It's not that I don't respect it...but it really doesn't help me improve...Is it because it's the revised issue ?

>>1519522
The one you use the most and the one having artists where you go "whew, now that's how good I want to be.. and then some".

If it's learning you want, stay here.
If you want to get better, pick another community. Any other. This thing here is filled with eternal intermediates.

Kind of like their hard drives are filled with stuff they never touched, instead lurking this board for THAT ONE POST TELLING THEM TO DO WHAT, HOW AND IN WHAT ORDER.

I am projecting here. Talking about ~1TB of bloat.

>>1519530
>THAT ONE POST TELLING THEM TO DO WHAT, HOW AND IN WHAT ORDER.
Alright, that post comes here. Brace yourself.

Leave, and never return.

>>1519525
>Look up concept art with characters in armor
Don't do that. Main reason behind omitting this is that most art you will find is 2D (actually drawn, rather then, say, sculpted) and by that virtue heavily stylized which you can recognize by the individual armor pieces clinging to the shape of the character like a second skin, which is not how armor works (just look at the joints of most drawn armored characters.. does this look like they could move at all?).

Also, study the landmarks of the skeleton and the muscles, as the armor pieces are extrusions of these, so that the armor can be functional.

>but

No buts. Watch Game of Thrones. Stay away from concept art. That's where the chainmail bikinis are.

>>1519533
You are absolutely right. I am wasting my time here.

Thank you.

>>1519535
alright thanks for letting me know anon

>>1519511
>>1519518
i'm the person who asked the question, and now I'm very confused. I've been under the impression all this time that you need to learn how to do accurate measurements like this in order to draw effectively at all. obviously in most cases you would freehand perspective and only resort to rulers or computer programs for drawings that need to be exact, or are complex enough to necessitate it, but I thought that you at least needed to have these ground rules first. are you telling me you should ALWAYS measure by eye?

>>1519529
The technical stuff is halfway through. Personally, I didn't read too much of the first half.

I don't 'know' if I am in the right place, if not please point me in the right direction.
But I have just taken up drawing (photoshop w/ wacom bamboo) and generally try drawing characters from a certain video game in a cutesy/chibi style, but I need some tips and tricks on how to do that.
Please any help would be greatly appreciated, or if you can point me in the right direction of who could help.

P-please.

Anyone have any suggestions for starting out with watercolors?

>>1519234
IC
Question 1:
what the fuck is a tablet nub? what the hell is it used for? I have a tablet and pen but no nub
Question 2:
If my tablet is a shitty little "bamboo fun" and the drawing space is only about 4 by 6 1/2 inches, should I even attempt to draw with my arm on it or just go with the wrist?

Using photo reference until I move into an area closer to figure drawing classes. I hope that isn't too detrimental.

Where can I find a lot of poses/reference photos of people that have the least minimal lens distortion possible?

>>1519585
>Where can I find a lot of poses/reference photos of people that have the least minimal lens distortion possible?

mjranum stock on deviantart is very good.

>>1519585
>least minimal
I need some sleep.
>>1519592
Thanks, that's a good selection there. Are there any more like it? Wouldn't hurt to have more.

What are good mechanical pencil lead brands? Or it doesn't matter?

If I'm using a very old version of Photoshop over the latest version, what sort of differences am I missing out on?

For example, I've used Photoshop 7 for years because it's simple, and all I use it for is inking and coloring artwork. Is there any reason to use a new version?

All my poses from imagination suck. They suck so much. When I draw from a reference, it's at least okay, but how do I make that jump? I can't even hash out a decent body to do a cartoony drawing.

>>1520778
Sounds like you need to practice gesture drawings some more.

What are the most common bad habits with drawing? What are some good habits to get into?

What does it mean to stylize something.
Do artists draw from life first and then draw their cartoon/animu or whatever using correct anatomy
Also are there any good examples of artists who were able to pull this off?

I'm just curious

>>1520800

1. It means to draw something in an unrealistic way. Though not in a bad way, just in a different style. Unfortunately, a lot of people like to make the excuse that they're drawing in "their style" when really they just suck.
2. That's how you're supposed to do it, yes. Not everyone does though.
3. Anyone who looks like they're worth their salt, probably.

I have a big (tall) mirror in my room that I can see most or all of my body in when standing. Would it be a dumb idea to pose naked in front of it and try to draw myself? Obviously it's not as good as a life drawing class but there aren't any around me and I really want to learn how to draw people gud guys

>>1520804
Better than nothing.

>>1519529
I think the sticky specifically says to ignore artist ramblings .

>>1520804
It's either that or:
>Paying a model roughly $20 an hour.
>Going to life-draw classes.
>stalking people.
Be social anon, use the mirror as a last resort or for quick reference.

>>1520804
It's what Algenpfleger did.

>>1520811
life drawing classes here are like $10 for 2 1/2

just incase people think they'll be like $50 or something

This is the thread I was looking for. I have a question:

I want to try and sculpt a videogame character and I need a good sculpting material. I went to school and I used clay and right now I scult various animals/vehicles with Sugar Paste but I need to make a big sculpture (about 30-40cm high) and I need the right tool for the job.

What material should I use? I read somewhere on /ic/ about "sculpix" or something. Is that cheap? Where can I buy it?

I'm from Italy btw

>>1520830
I've used super sculpey in the past, and it would work great if you have an oven large enough.

Depending on the volume of the sculpture, it's possible to pad out the armature with filler (aluminum foil works AFAIK), then build up the clay on top. That way you don't have to break bank buying too much clay.

If you haven't seen it, there's a very comprehensive sculpey tutorial by Peter Konig:

Read the first post here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18287

The rest is reposted here from post #440 and onward:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18287&page=15

>>1520898

Thank you very much. That tutorial will help me since I use a different approach when working with sugar paste

>>1520898

Bad news, most of the images can't be seen, and it's hard to understand what he's referring to. Is there another tutorial like his somewhere?

>>1520904

nvm i'm an idiot

>>1520002
There are a lot of nice new features, and the interface has gotten better since then. Just go look at what new features have been added and decide if it's worth it.

Because it really depends on whether you feel you'll use them or not.

>>1519565
>what the fuck is a tablet nub?
You mean a nib?
That's what the little plastic piece that touches the tablet is called. There are different kinds for different "feels"

>should I even attempt to draw with my arm
Yes
>just go with the wrist?
No

>>1519560
>>>deviantart

But seriously. Learn your fundamentals.

If you studied them, you'd know that proportion is what that's all about. The smaller the head-to-body ratio, the bigger the eyes, the cuter. Learn to use visual measuring, learn to draw in 3D to get those forms looking right.

>>1520791
>Common bad habits
-Drawing with the wrist
-Making lines too dark in the sketch stage
-Chicken scratch, or when something that should be a single long line is broken up into a lot of smaller, badly placed lines.
-Symbol/Icon drawing, "Eyes are almonds and circles" instead of "Eyes are 3d spheres set in the skull with skin wrapping over them"

>Good habits to get into
-Draw from the shoulder and elbow, you get a better range of smooth lines from them. And all with less risk of carpal tunnel.
-Draw lightly in the beginning. You can always make what you need darker!
-Practice your lines, be able to place them where you need to, and draw over the same line to continue it. This is the point of the "draw a line, then draw 10 more exactly on top of it" exercise accomplishes. It's so you can draw over part of a line to continue it on.
-Learn about how things really work instead of relying on the icons you use to remember what things are. To get out of that habit, try the shrimp method.

How are small deformed heads like this constructed? Is it just the artist memorizing how it looks?

What should I keep in mind when I'm sketching references?

>>1521339
It's just a sphere and two plump pyramid shaped protrusions for the ears? It should not be that complicated?

>>1521347
>when I'm sketching references

What?

>>1521339
Construction is about analyzing your subject and using the simplest yet most characteristic 3d form to describe it. From then on you just break it up into smaller / more complex forms.

>>1521272
Shrimp method? Please elaborate.

So, I'm having trouble understanding something about Loomis head construction. It looks to me like once you establish the four points on the face plane, to sketch the jaw you have one line on each side coming from the side of the head (under the circle which marks where the ear goes), to the bottom mark on the face plane, and another coming from the cheek. What I don't understand is how you illustrate this for the side of the head that isn't near you. From whatever angle you're seeing the head, that side just appears as one line. Or do I have this completely wrong?

Does anyone know of a free drawing app that has the same effects as this?

>>1521425
that side and corner of jaw is hidden by the plane of the face

think of the side and front plane of a cube

>>1521396
Google it.

>>1521426
That's probably photoshop. So, maybe the... photoshop app?

>>1521426

Ps CS2 is "free"

I bet this question is probably asked a lot, but about how long do you think it takes before one gets more comfortable drawing lines and whatnot?

I think I'm starting to break out of symbol drawing as I can see the lines and how they intersect, but I'm having difficulty drawing said lines, and keeping them all looking right.

About how long does it take to get rid of symbol drawing too? How will I know when I'm starting to be free of it?

Also, will there ever be a point that I'll pass and I'll start liking my own work? I'm an absolute beginner, and practicing is hard because I find it so embarrassing. I like some of the stuff I make simply because I try and draw things amusing to me, but from a technical standpoint, I feel so ashamed.

I think I'm making progress, but I'm afraid that I'm not, and the thought worries me.

>>1521441

are you an aspiring pro? if so then, you better brace yourself for a long painful journey

Random question but I figure this is the board to ask, and this the thread the ask in. Does anyone know of any artists with similar drawing style (pic related)? I absolutely love macabre works from people like Grindesign or Christopher Lovell, but unfortunately I don't know many other artists that draw like this.

>>1521452
I'm going into software development, so it's not going to be my main source of income.

However, I'm a hobbyist game developer. I'm hoping to be able to get at least good enough to where I can easily create sprites and CGs without much trouble. I still understand that either way, art's a very hard thing to learn. I'm very nervous about failing, but I want to succeed.

I try to spend at least an hour each day on drawing, is that good for what I want to do, or too slow?

>>1521441
While I'd like to say that anyone can reach skillful levels of drawing / painting or what have you, it really all depends on whether or not you have "it." You will likely get pretty good at drawing with practice, but natural talent is first and foremost when it comes to being an incredible artist.

>>1521425

>>1521462
Or you can read any book by Betty Edwards, give a hoot about "pseudo"-anything and realize that most people talk about talent for the sole reason for not having had something barred from them during the phase of their childhood where infantile amnesia came into play.

tl;dr talent is a self-affirming bias method

>>1521475
So even if I don't have "talent", I get get just as good as those with talent through practice?

>>1521475
I'm sorry, but reading a book will not make your hands any more steady. It will not make images in your head come out any better on paper. And I don't think you quite understand what infantile amnesia is.

>>1521483
No, you don't. This kid is a fedora-clad idiot that doesn't want to believe that some people are born better than others at certain skills. Anyone can get better at anything, but people with talent will naturally have fewer limitations.

>>1521486

how the fuck does that even work? how is anyone born better at anything at certain skills?

there is no fucking talent. that word is a hypothetial construct.

>hurr durr sports analogy

those are physiological differences you idiot. there is no equivalent for those inside of your brain.

>>1521483
Not as good as a hard working talented person but you can get pretty damn good.

The brain is very changeable.

>>1521491
Really? Because everyone is born with vocal chords that give them a beautiful voice? Everyone is born tall enough to be on the basketball team? Sorry but no, everyone is born with limitations both physical and mental. How the fuck are you going to tell me that a guy who draws or paints brilliantly from day 1 is the same as a person who has to practice 3 hours a day just to be able to draw mediocre images?

>>1521486
It doesn't matter that you disagree with me.
The anon having asked the question will go with the response she feels most comfortable with anyhow.

>Proof
There is no inherent value to what anecdotal wash the two of us could come up with to add weight to our mindset.

One artists refers to talent as dedicated and defining practice, the second sees it as an innate ability, something like having a voice among mutes, the third sees it as a magic process of simulating the world and so forth.

We are anonymous. Our authority is nil.

>>1521503
Inherent skill = talent. Example: You can play the guitar within a week of having first touched one.
Working harder to improve = practice. Example: You play the guitar every day for 3 hours. It still takes you a year to get where the man with talent got in a week.
Now fuck off with your pseudo intellectual bullshit

>>1521483

As someone who went from full on symbol drawing to really developing a sense for the fundamentals. Its all about forcefully reprogramming your brain.I'm not good, but I know I've come a long way from not being able to draw a thing from my imagination. Practice is hardwiring your brain to understand the concepts you're reading. The more you drill the very basics of form, value and perspective; the better you can recall and apply the information from your head.

Personally, After all the practice I've done, when i try to draw something from imagination, not only do i just have amazing finished images in my head, but i also started being able to imagine the process I'm going to take to draw it. The line strokes, the perspective lines and such. It still has its limits though, and that's where references come in, but this is why making a habit of breaking the process down mentally and practicing that process is so important.

>>1521501

are you the low iq warrior who i keep getting into arguments with? just let me know beforehand so i dont waste my time today.

>>1521513
About how long would you say it took you to get from full symbol, to where you currently are? Also, I really appreciate the feedback, it makes me feel a lot more confident.

>>1521513
Also, about how long would you say you practiced every day? Did you use any of the Loomis books?

Ive been drawing about once every two days on and off for a year. I would stop for like a month due to school and other projects. I'm trying to get back in the mood. What should I work on in this. Quite a few of them are based of references from posemaniacs.

>>1521569
>>1521579

I'll parrot the words of a really good art professor i found on youtube named Peter Han: Its not about time, its about mileage. I been technically drawing since 16,only putting in a hour or 2 on a weekend or so, no direction, just copying what i look at. Once my dad lost his job about a year and a half ago and i was still stuck in min wage part time jobs i started making it a 1-2 hour a day minimum thing to practice.Some days i'd get really motivated and study/practice 4hrs +.I've made more progress in this year personally than the past 8.


My first couple of months was on breaking symbol. I did blind contour drawing, and was practicing drawing a cube like object in my room, turning it and such every which way. Eventually I had a click moment and realized how to do cross contour, making a habit to move my pencil as if it was on the surface. This helped me a lot in understanding how to really draw forms.

I eventually started practicing perspective with Loomis' Successful Drawing. Which also went on for several months between reading the book and trying to work from imagination. It was a boringly painful read but i really took the time to copy the basic shape drawings and his process in drawing them, trying to consiously think about the lines he made and understanding them. For me it was a process of being super frustrated and having this weird/sudden 'AHA' moment and being able to draw certain angles of planes a lot easier. But i had to draw as i read too.

From then on i came to the conclusion that if a concept or particular shape/angle was giving me a headache/ tiring me out, it meant learning was taking place.

Regarding Loomis: its DEFINITELY responsible for a huge jump in my imaginative drawing ability. Fun with a Pencil, while a boring read, helped me a ton as i focused on really understanding his messages. The book by Michael Hampton was really good for me too... and a much easier read.

>>1521614
Awesome, I'm doing 1-2 hours myself, though not really doing fantastic. Some things come out looking pretty good, if cartoony, and others just end up a mess. I'll keep at it though and work on more references! I really appreciate the feedback!

>>1521617

No problem, I wanna say I'm far from a pro again though; Now that i'm comfortable with shapes I still have to take on studying value and light. As well as REALLY taking on anatomy, but drilling the other basics is making that a lot easier now.

I had a really odd phase when i got into doing proper construction, the stuff i was making ended up worse than just drawing it by eye. But i never really learned to analyze stuff before. I don't know if you'll have the same problem but if you do just push through it. Don't back down, you'll come out on top in the end.

>>1521585
You should really start getting dedicated, right now everything you're doing is unconfidant(scratchy lines) and there's no real sense of form or space to it.

If I were you I'd find a way to draw every single day and watch a vilppu lecture or read a figure drawing book at least 3 times a week.

>>1521585

For the line quality you should really give this vid a look.
http://youtu.be/wgDNDOKnArk

He talks about developing that line confidence. You know how you keep going over your lines like above poster said? What you wanna try out is 'ghosting' lines.

Basically before making a line or a curve, you kinda warm up your stroke by following the path you wanna go without paper touching it a couple of times, then pencil to paper in one stroke. The video explains it better though. However if you're just doing gesture drawings... might wanna limit yourself to just one go over before doing the stroke. If you keep petting like that you'll never learn how to do those sorts of clean lines.

>>1520785
Working on gestures...

Am I doing it right?
Also, is the top an effective way to practice lines?

I'm looking for a site with reference material for studies other than figure drawing or movie screencaps. Maybe something with various categories like still lifes and landscapes etc.

>>1522282
You're doing pretty good, Anon. Keep it up

Why some people learn every muscle and bone of the human body? How is that helpful?

>>1522685
deviantArt has a stock section. It's a bit of a hassle at first, but you quickly get to know the good stock shooters, and then you find more through their friends/favourites.

>>1522786
thank you, i give it a try

?

>>1522750

not everyone, but the visually relevant ones yeah, that is helpful

lats, biceps, triceps, quads, delts, pecs majoris and minoris, etc etc i dont know them all :(

you dont really need to know the names ubt it helps when explaining shit to other artists or to impress art school sluts.

but you need to somewhat understand the way they stretch/bend etc

How do I into values and color and light? I don't know where to begin with any of it and currently all I've been doing is drawing from life with contours and outlines of shapes. I'm starting to get the idea of perspective, volume and form, but all of my drawings are lacking any sense of light and shadow, and I don't know how to implement it without it being an afterthought (adding shadows to a completed drawing)

>>1522842
Instead of using contours, do some studies where value is your only concern. Use the broad side of the pencil or charcoal and block in general areas of light and dark. Set up a still life lit with a lamp if you need more extreme value shifts to get the idea across. Squint your eyes or use a lack mirror to see values and lose the details.

i need a good video about the anatomy of the arm. i don't get it just from images alone. any help?

>>1522750
>>1522834
Not him, but I'll add that it's easier to draw overlapping, stretching and contracting muscles if you know their origin and insertion points. It's also easier to remember those specifics if you know the muscles by name (ex: brachialis and coracobrachialis vs 'that one arm muscle' and 'that other arm muscle').

The basic forms and proportions of the body are MUCH more important to learn though, and you should have a solid grasp of the major masses before worrying about specifics of anatomy. Like most things in art, prioritize general over specific.

>>1522898
thanks, I'll try that next time i get the chance.
just to be sure, do I still plan out the drawing beforehand or do I think only in terms of the values and their spatial relationships as opposed to those of the forms that create them?

>>1522943
If you have an iOS device, you should check out this app by Michael Defeo and Scott Eaton:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lecorche/id515026024?mt=8

It's a 3D rotatable model of Houdon's ecorche. There's a free version of the app, but the paid includes a corrected model by Eaton, and one with a color map of all the muscles. It's very useful when studying how the muscles of the arm wrap around.

You could also look into the Vilppu arm anatomy videos. I haven't watched those yet, but I'm sure they're just as good as all his other anatomy videos:

Arm:
http://tvali.eu/index.php?action=watch&v=165951

Lower Arm:
http://tvali.eu/index.php?action=watch&v=165953

>>1522959
thank you so much anon

What would happen if i posted a picture of my penis?

If I start doing commissions for animu shit, will that hurt my reputation later on if I want to become a professional freelancer?

>>1523515
I'd draw it

>>1523515
there will be a pic of penis in this board

>>1523873
yes

>>1523877
What if I use separate aliases for both animu and more professional work?

>>1523898
you will be founded out, there is no hiding from the internet.

How do I push myself to practice the basics?
My brain keeps convincing me my art is OK when in reality, its bad as Tom Preston.

>>1523951
maybe it's not that bad?

>>1523952
But it is bad, it looks like the shit Dobbles would vomit out
pic related

What is this style called and where can I find more pictures drawn with this type of style?

>>1523953

Stop being a bitch and take your Loomis like a man

>>1523954
Another one for reference

>>1523953
well if you like it who cares what others think.

you won't do yourself any favors forcing yourself into unpleasant regimens. maybe at some point you'll find the prospect of studying/doing life drawings less daunting and naturally proceed in that direction. if not, then oh well.

>>1523962
I want to learn life drawings but I'm just too lazy to study
and your right, sometimes I like my art but I'm worried that others will find it completely shitty

I want to know how I could fix my complacent attitude I have sometimes

Is there a way to not get my files to become transparent in photoshop when I save it as a .psd in sai?

How do I know when I'm ready to ascend to the surface and make a DA/tumblr/whatever account?

>>1523967
-when not everything you are working on gets classified as a "work in progress" by you with an accompanying scan or photo of it

-when your average workload per week is between twenty and hundreds of pieces of which none will ever be shared with the online world and which you just keep for personal reference and create for your own practice, to experiment, to evolve and to goof about

-when you know that you are polishing a turd when you are polishing a turd

-when your foundations are solid and part of your daily routine

-when you stop creating art for the praise of others who are not artists

-when you draw pornograpic imagery just to get it out of your system once in a while instead of uploading it somewhere for people to see

-when you have little time to hang around and procrastinate on the internet; chatting and jerking off does not equal taking a time-out from drawing and painting

&c.

One of the milestones has always been the question "I've messed it up, I can see that but I don't understand why or how, help me".

Keep an eye out for that one.
Or ignore anything and everything, I have no idea how you work or who you are in terms of your artistic expression and experience.

>>1520830
you should use Zbrush or 3dsmax....

What are the main muscles of the human body that I need to study?

Anybody know a good place that has clothes/armor from different locations and eras? Diagrams would be a nice bonus.

What area should I try to improve on?

>>1524190
Fundamentals.

My question concerns digital art colors and specifically a Wacom Cintix 21UX

Is there a sort of "standard" for digital colors? More precisely, is there, like, a website or a set of colors which I can use to calibrate my computer monitor/Wacom Cintiq, so I know for the most possible computer monitors/television screens the colors will come out the way I want them to?

Let me explain:

I use a Wacom Cintiq. I've gotten use to the idea that the paintings I've drawn on the Cintiq will not look the same on it as they would on a regular computer monitor. However I want it to be calibrated to a standard of some sort. My biggest fear is my colors will be too dark, or too light...yet look perfect to me.

Is there some sort of online source anyone can use to verify their color calibration?

Things I've used:

I own a collection of Pantone color swatches which I have used by going into photoshop, selecting the Pantone colors, and match as closely the color on screen as is seen on the swatches. However I'm under the impression these swatches are best for CMYK and not online viewing.

I've also considered buying one of those calibration machines, but because I have two monitors it seems to mess up one or the other. Getting a new one would prove too expensive at the moment.

Some sort of website which displays and image or something would be perfect, or something.

Any help will be appreciated.

>>1524236

I wouldn't worry about perfect color calibration if that's your art.

>>1524238

It's the damndest thing. I searched my computer for Color Management and found a whole program dedicated to changing, and saving settings. Apparently my contrast was WAY down and after turning it up a bit everything...even professional pictures...just looks phenominal.

I have a feeling I can trust these settings. Thank you, however, for your help.

>>1524190
you might of been able to pull it off had it actually been a funny joke, or at least a joke that made sense.

I am curious of what the entertainment art students think of this artical? I think I am experiencing the same problem... And I am a working professional.

http://mattrhodesart.blogspot.ca/2012/07/i-think-internet-broke-my-brain.html?m=1

>>1524335
Pffft. Luckily I draw super rare fetishes so this isn't an issue. Even if something already exists 95% of the time is is drawn very poorly.

>>1524317
I have many others, but I'll spare you.

The joke being it is absurd, and socially unacceptable to make the pun "cat-tastrophe" when given such news.

I want to be a middleschool/highschool art teacher in 5 years.
This is the level I am at right now.
On a bad day, I practice for at least 2 hours.

Doable?

drawing figures in perspective on a background

i can draw backgrounds, i can draw people, but combining the two is very diffivult for me and i get really tall or really short or deformed looking people when i try to draw em in.

help?

>>1524348
yeah haha both of my art teachers in high school were awful, one of them couldn't even draw, just scrap book.

>>1524117
I'm a history and military history fan so this is probably TMI but whatever...

For just historical costume in general you can try:
Historic Costume in Pictures
What People Wore When

They're both ok (I own both) but sort of generalized historically with no mind towards design.

Now for the best historically accurate illustrations that still have a mind toward design I'd highly recommend the Osprey Publishing series of books. And when I mean having a mind toward design, I mean the Osprey books illustrated by the late great Angus McBride (pic related), who was a formerly a successful fantasy artist during the 80's. The other artists are of varying degrees of illustrative quality, though really all of them do a pretty good job of delineating the arms, armor and, to a lesser extent, the costumes of the lands and periods that they cover.

If you've got a good proxy I'd recommend going to the pirate bay or other streaming sites and download all of the Osprey books, a couple thousand in all. It should be called Osprey World History or something like that. These books cover everything from Seleucid War-Elephants, to English Demi-Lancers, to Maori tribesmen, to Allied Special Forces during the Iraq War and most everything in between.

Also there's:
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Uniforms of the Roman World by Kevin F. Kiley
This is one in a series of books that cover 18th 19th and 20th century costumes. I don't own any of them (yet!) so I can't judge whether it's of any quality though it is well reviewed on amazon...
Then there's this one, which I think is a pretty good overview of military uniforms from the 18th century till now:
Military Uniforms Visual Encyclopedia by Chris McNab

Also:
Cavalry by V. Vuksic

There's also this new book from Scott Robertson's publishing arm:
Costume Design & Illustration: for Film, Video Games and Animation
I don't have it but considering who's involved I'm sure it'll be a must-have.

Good luck.

>>1524370
Also try Dorling Kindersley, aka DK and both their Battle, War, and Weapon books, along with their Eyewitness books--they're written for kids but they have numerous photos and reconstructions in every book that give you the how and why of their subjects in a simplified way without reading through hours of jargon. I collect them at used books stores every time I find one.

>>1524344

>95% crap
Hah

How important is it to maintain a sketchbook and do loose sketches of creatures or whatever ?
I never felt like drawing in mine cause I rather spend the time studying proper things digitally like anatomy etc.
But After I have seen that pretty much every artist hast his scrapbook with all sorts of stuff I am unsure.
Will it hurt my career, if I skip that part ? How important is it. What does it give me?

>>1524370
>>1524373
The Osprey one sounds real promising. Will check it out!

Where can i found great photo of textures to study ?

>>1524488
Sketchbook is just to doodle and maybe create quick little ideas to grow later.

It also make you draw constantly for not loosing the habit. If you're working only digitally, you can do it. Also studies can be seen as scrapsketch

I'm looking for a way to understand colors and light.

I've read a lot about it but it seems that those logics can't stay into my head.

I'm just starting is it okay to do these practices with a tablet and photoshop? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgDNDOKnArk

i haven't been coloring my drawings for over a year and now whenever i try to color anything it looks wonky and terrible.

any good tutorials for digital coloring? i mainly work in photoshop, but sai will do too.

thank you.

>>1524507
http://lostandtaken.com/gallery Here you go

>>1524630
Thanks a lot !

How long does it typically take to lrn2anatomy well enough to not be laughed out of the room?

>>1523954
Gray's Anatomy?

>>1523954
wood-cut engraving

2 questions;

How would i begin to learn to draw armor both sci-fi and fantasy, or mechanical objects in general.

how would i begin to learn how to draw very deformed/monstrous creatures, like the flood from Halo or infected from left 4 dead

Is it possible to link layers in Photoshop like in SAI?

>>1524902
Never mind, I got it.

Is there a list of recommend traditional supplies to buy for beginners?

So how do I get my colors to not be so blurry and fuzzy?

What I mean is - in my sketchbook trial app for ipod touch, when I try to digital paint an apple or seascape, I can blend all the colors fairly well, and see it take shape but everything is all blurry because of using airbrush and low opacity brush.

I dont know how to explain it, if anyone has that tutorial image with the 3 different stages of an apple, and the final one looks so damned detailed and solid whereas the second one is still blurry and fairly blended but not solid.

Anyone understand what I mean.

>>1524953

So I found that image I was looking for, pic related

>>1525126
>>1524953

And this, is a collage of a few paintings I made using that SketchBookX trial version app for the ipod touch, my itouch is serving as a tablet for the moment until I can get my first real one.

I don't know if its because of the limitations of the ipod screen size, or the limitations of the trial version of the app but I just can't seem to be able to make any of my paintings more solid like the final detailed versions of the paintings in the image above mine.

This is my first real foray into digital painting and its pretty limited but the added pressure sensitivity of the ipod touch is really nice to work with.

So any tips /ic/ for making more solid looking digital paintings, or should I wait till I get an actual tablet before I try that, I just don't know.

>>1525130
stop using the soft brush.

>SketchBookX trial version app for the ipod touch
software might just be crap. does it even have layers?

see if you can find some equivalent to the brushes described here:
https://matt-kohr.squarespace.com/dp101-2

and then try to apply these techniques:
http://ctrlpaint.com/videos/brush-control-pt-1

I can't seem to draw two or more figure proportionally in relation with each other, how do I into multiple figures.

Do you people consider calligraphy to be art?

>>1525134
Many thanks, will check out those links now.

As for using soft brush, I use a mix of the airbrush with low opacity at first and then the other solid brush with low opacity, it makes it all look very blurry and soft though, maybe I'll try to use higher opacity and more colors of varying tone so it will blend better while remaining sharp.

>>1525177
I can't speak for everyone but i think it's art...I only think that isn't art is 2deep4u shit

>>1525177
Depends on your definition of art.

Me personally? Fuck yes, it's an art form. I broke my leg years ago, was laid up for three months and use that time to teach myself some basics and several scripts. Calligraphy is a wide open field that takes practice of years to nail down, is infinitely variable, contains a remarkable amount of subtlety, and is the freehand precursor to typography. No one really knows how difficult it is to create a good set of letters until they sit down and try.

How exacly do you apply studies?
Do you do the study and then try to do your own piece from head, or do you do the study and then use the ref and incorporate it into your own idea/image?
Also is it okay if a study turns into something else half-way?

Have you ever had a period in time where you feel like you learned more than ever? What state of mind did you feel like you were in? Was it a relaxed state of mind or do you think it happened when you were struggling the most and didn't notice any improvement?

Does anyone know some books on Perspective that are a little more advanced? Stuff that isn't part of the Loomis collection or Ernest Norling's book? I want to learn more about those floor plan projections and reflection techniques seen in Successful Drawing.

>>1525218
That's a god way to go about it.

In one of Dave Rapoza's videos, he says he always goes into a study with a goal in mind. When he finishes that study, focusing on the goal, he recreates something purely from imagination to see how much of it stuck.

So if you were to do a study of a metal glove, you would try to draw one and then render the metal as best you can.

>>1525271
for me i usually struggle a lot until eventually everything finally clicks or i finally come across a solution to the problems i'm having. it'll feel like a eureka moment and the drawings i do immediately after wil look like they're drawn by someone else who's much better than me. then a few days later i'll look back and all my drawings will be shit again. such is life

>>1525179
Your approach is suboptimal. It's helpful to do your initial color blockin as opaquely as possible, then blend as needed.

The apple demo you posted came from this thread:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=107217

>>1524897
>How would i begin to learn to draw armor both sci-fi and fantasy
Study real world armor. Learn what the various pieces of older armor are, and how they fit together. For sci-fi, study modern military gear, and extrapolate with emerging technologies. See how some of your favorite artists tackle that problem. Link related:
http://ctrlpaint.com/videos/designing-with-reference

>mechanical objects in general
study real world mechanical objects. Look into vehicles used for construction, transportation, etc. For what ever type of mechanical device you want to design, try to find related analogues for specific funcitons.

>how would i begin to learn how to draw very deformed/monstrous creatures
Study real animals, the more exotic, the better. Every drawn creature has some tie-in to designs found in nature.

All of this assumes you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals. Don't worry about design and invention unless you can accurately represent things true to life.

>>1524823
Varies. Depends on your starting point, how much time you spend, and you smart you spend that time.

Usually anatomy isn't the problem, but being able to depict basic and complex forms in perspective, and knowing the proportions and major forms of the body. The specifics of muscles aren't as important, and should come later in your studies.

>>1524509
Lots of relevant points here:
http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm

And here if you're feeling brave:
http://www.huevaluechroma.com/

You should also get Gurney's book on Color and Light if you haven't already. A lot of the information can also be found scattered across his blog.

Lastly, just start painting from life. Pay attention to color shifts, and ask yourself why there are occurring.

>>1524542
Absolutely, though I'd only spend time on it if you can do the exercises with marker and paper. If your hand eye coordination is great with traditional media, but you aren't used to your tablet, these exercises will help.

>>1524554
Stop thinking in terms of coloring, and start thinking in terms of light.

See >>1525345

Aim to understand how color and light work. Do lots of still lifes. Master copies will also teach you about color.

>>1525345
Thanks, i'll give it a try when i'll be home

Used to use CS5 for 2 years now. Lost it, now I have opportunity to get photoshop again. Should I be getting CS6 or PS CC?

>>1525386
CS6

>>1525347

okay thanks. I have no money to buy sketchbooks and stuff but I have a tablet.

>>1525339

My god you're absolutely right, I did what you advised and immediately I began to see a change in how my digital paintings looked.

They definetely appear more solid, and blending in all the colors together after the fact makes much more sense, cant believe I was doing it the oppossite way all this time.

I'm going to redownload the Paint Tool SAI trial for my PC as well and see how my paintings will look now, because I was doing the same mistake with them too.

>1525386
cs6 obviously.
I can only hope everyone is going to boycott PSCC.
Cloud only software is the worst shit ever and need to go!

Is there any way to "fuse" vector masks together in photoshop?
Say I have two layers with different vector masks and I want to create a third layer with a vector mask that allows me to paint in both of the areas of layer one and two at the same time, how would I go about that?

>>1525615
Have you tried working with clipping masks?

Every time I try to do a study or draw from life, my mind can't focus. I keep having distracting thoughts and anxiety about it that it ends up being a disproportionate mess of scratches.
Do other people have this problem? What can be done so I can improve?

>>1525665
Yeah, sometimes I completely fuck it up. I usually crumble up the paper and then start over until I get it right. Don't rush. You have time to do it. Think about each line you lay down, every line has a purpose.

>>1525665
I can only draw when I'm in the zone or whatever you'd call it, at all other times when I try to force it my drawings come out like shit.

>>1525681
Maybe Cy Porter's video on How to Get In The Creative Zone could help you understand what the zone is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsS0U7FxXM

>>1525684
Thanks.
It hurts when it doesn't come.

>>1525615
>>1525653
Thanks!
No I haven't but I just figured it out.
I just had to use a selection with "add layer mask to selection" and "subtract layer mask from selection".

>>1525693
Cool! Have fun and maybe show us what you are working on!
I'll drop by after my workout.

>>1525701
Just getting into shading in photoshop. WIP, my second study of this type so far.
Still got a bunch of these ahead of me.

>>1525807
Dude, get yourself a real cube and a lamp ):

So i heard copying images is a basic skill. Is it really? If i can't do it does it mean i will never learn how to draw?

>>1525827
Talent is the car you're driving, but even a shitty car can go fast if you're a good driver.

>>1525831
I'm not a good driver and i don't have a car.

I'm just wondering how hard should be to copy things, Starting from simple lineart to photos. Because after almost a year i can't do it. I thought it takes time but apparently it shouldn't and maybe it is time for me to give up here.

>>1525840
Have you tried using a viewfinder?

Have you considered flipping the image you want to copy?

>>1525840
You should be able to copy basic shapes and objects from pictures if you've been working on it for a year, yeah.
What is the problem, more specifically? Post something you've done if you don't mind.

>>1525843
I never used this. I thought i should measure everything just looking at image

>>1525844
I can't never get right angles, proportions and shapes. I can't post anything from here but maybe tomorrow.

Should I go to an Art College?

>>1525881
Unless you really love being unemployed, naw.

>>1525885

I've heard this shit said so many times, can anybody who ACTUALLY went to an Art College shine some light on the situation?

>>1525826
That's a good idea. Will do!

Question: Are there any places that aren't general art hubs like DA or Tumblr that I can put my Superhero OC at for critique? I kind of want to get some help/guidance on some of the ways I've had him designed(commissions, no art skills myself), and if that place could help me with the story I've made for him as well that would be even better!

Sadly, though, I can't seem to find a place that fits my needs.

What is the difference between going to art school, studying art at a regular university, and/or studying art at a community college?

So, I'm making a still life on a tablet and I've completed the underlying drawing and I'm about to start coloring. When you color something from life, you don't just haphazardly color pick, do you? Is there a way of going about this where I can figure out the placement of shadows and values first? How do you do this? Surely you don't just color pick and lay down whatever colors you see?

>>1526246
>Surely you don't just color pick and lay down whatever colors you see?

actually, you do. but always keep your brain turned on. try to understand "why" you see a specific color, then try to pick it as accurately as possible.

as you get better it will be less seeing, and more extrapolating from the information you already have on your canvas.

always keep in mind colors/hues/values/saturation is never absolute. it is ALWAYS relative. so the color information (when i use the term color i refer to the combination of hue/sat/val) you put down does not have to match your still life 100%. however in order to appear coherent and visually appealing it has to match the relative color information on your canvas.

does that make sense? i suck at explaining this shit.

>>1526247
yeah, I think I got what you're saying. the colors don't have to match exactly what I see, but they have to have a consistent "environment" of light and color based of the play of color and light as I see it. so once i put down one color as representing an actual area of color I'm seeing, another color I put down has to be roughly the same "distance" on the spectrum from the first color I put down as that actual color is from the first "actual" color (I'm having trouble articulating this, too).

i get that (if it is indeed what you're saying), i just thought there was some preliminary step to working everything out. thanks, though. I'll keep all this in mind.

Anyone got some tutorials on reflections? I just want to draw a room reflecting in mirror but google fails me.

Why does everyone make a frame around their artwork? Does the thickness of the borders matter?

I see a lot of human drawing resources on here, and I'm not sure if Vilppu, Hampton, or Loomis focus on just them...

What are some resources for learning how to draw buildings and other inanimate objects? What are some examples of the greatest achievements in these, both in illustration and painting?

I have heard from many people giving advice to a beginner to "Study anatomy"/"Get a good anatomy book". But what does that mean? Do anatomy books exist? Are they a thing?

A lot of times when in search of advice I come across this a lot; "Pick up a basic drawing class". Again, what does that mean? They say this as if a drawing class is something I can just go and GET. (I'm done with school and will never have college so that's out if that's what t hey mean.)

And then there is, "Study the basics". Then I ask them what the basics are and they actually tell me that they do not know. What are "the basics"?

>>1526318
If it's a mirror, you literally draw a mirror image of what the mirror would see.
If you're talking about something more exotic like a convex mirror, such as in the arnolfini portrait, you'll need to adjust focal length and angle of view.
If the clarity of the reflection isn't the same as a mirror, like perhaps a less polished surface - stainless steel, cloudly glass etc. Find a similar analogue, maybe cut open a tin can (if that applies to what kind of surface you're trying to draw), look at how clear the reflection is and simulate that clarity in your piece. There's no magic trick, no special filter or special brush or anything, you just draw a reflection.

>>1526828
>Do anatomy books exist? Are they a thing?

yes... it means learn how things work. Learning the function of an object is just as informative of the hand eye coordination you develop from practice

>>1526830
Could you name an anatomy book? One that can be used to better one's drawing?

>>1526831

>>1526828
just download villpus videos on cgpeers..., he covers the basics..gesture drawings..and anatomy. Just draw everything he draws and you should be on the right track. If you have read the sticky and actually downloaded the books and resources that you find there you should know what the basics are.

But to put it simple, the basics begin with shapes,cubes, drawing in 3d, line weight, gesture, anatomy, perspective, color, light and shadow and probably some i'm missing. But the sticky is there for a reason.

>>1526833
Ha, funnily this is the exact book I picked up yesterday. It's really good and has some cool transparency overlays for different sections of the skeleton throughout the book.

Is there a logical way of thinking about explosions?

I was trying to think it as balls/bubbles expanding to all directions and sort of "fighting for space" but it didn't work out that well

Does anybody have one of these? How is it for photoshop?

>>1527062
>using a mouse for drawing

Doesn't matter how fucking fancy it looks, you should invest in a tablet if you want to utilize photoshop for drawing.

>>1527068
That's a keyboard, so basically what he is saying is that you could get more room for your tablet or something, while managing hot keys quite easily.

I myself really don't see a reason to buy one for just photoshop/digital painting

>>1527070
>That's a keyboard

Huh. That's odd as fuck.

>>1527087
meant for mmorpg's etc where you need a lot of keybindings etc

>>1527091
>>1527087
it's not meant to replace your keyboard, it's like a gaming pad

Can furious dedication and repetition make up for an embarrassing lack of skill?

Do you guys know any kind of reflective rendering free tutorial?

Pic related.

>>1527894

Pay for it or wait for an angel.

I have a really hard time drawing things for fun because I dont know if they will help me improve, and since I don't like the skill level im at now, I actively want to improve.
Are there specific things I can do or draw that are enjoyable to do, and will help me improve?

Why do some people hate art school? Any of you went to one, and want to shed some light onto this topic. Also, when doing gesture, you do a quick light gesture and then construct on top, or just construct right from the get-go?

>>1527905
This guys cartoon series sums it up nicely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24NM8AkLuF8

>>1527905

can't speak for usfags but in germany most art schools are all about the artsy-fartsy pseudoartistic bullshit.

there's a couple of private illustration-academies but those are way too expensive for me and i have been self teaching pretty succesfully so far. the arthermit lifestyle is awesome, as long as you can live with the fear/anxiety of not having a degree or diploma.

>>1527925
I can hardly tolerate online art communities as it is let alone art school and yes its the same in the US if not worse cause u american twats are typically more arrogant especially the wannabe fine artists who think theyre fucking leonardo da vinci.

>>1527909
I just watched all of it, humorous to say the least. What I got from it however is that you need to do it to get the job you desire.

How the flying fuck can some people draw without having to turn the paper/canvas? I cannot for the life of me make clean strokes at 315° or 135° angles without doing so, especially on a tablet.

At what point is it okay to post a thread on here asking for advice on "how to improve" as an artist? I assume I should have at least 5 different recent works to show, and I should feel like I've hit a wall, but only after drawing for a while if even it's just from a several-hours session. Like, what would compel you to post a critique?

I don't know if this has been asked before since this is my first time seeing this thread but how do you get in the "zone"?

I've tried listening to music but I get too into the music and lose focus. I've tried just jumping into drawing but I would just find ways to distracting myself. The only place where I think I could focus is in the art classroom at my local college but I feel like that is a temporary fix because I can't rely always getting the keys for that classroom. I want to be able to draw at home as I would in a classroom setting.

>>1528204
Maybe Cy Porter's video on How to Get In The Creative Zone could help you understand what the zone is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsS0U7FxXM

>>1528204
http://fuuka.warosu.org/ic/?task=search&ghost=yes&search_text=zone%20youtube

>>1528195
Being confident that the strokes will eventually be right + practice to make sure they'll be right

Hello /ic/! My little brother really likes drawing, so I thought I would buy him a tablet. I read through the sticky, but other than that I know next to nothing about drawing. He has been drawing for a long time, so I would appreciate some help in picking out a tablet for him.

He says that he would like to be able to see the picture that he is drawing on his tablet, because he is used to drawing with paper and pencil. Any warnings or suggestions I should hear about before I select something?

Hi, I want to sketch people, but they're either too fast or I am getting bullshit reasons for sketching them.
I also epically fail when trying to draw negative.
Pls help.

How do you color a greyscale image (i.e. values study) in SAI?

Is it okay to make a shitton of light lines when sketching? If I try to think about my lines and do them precisely it never works out.

>>1528385
if you for example play around on a design of a vehicle you can do as man light strokes if you want until you think the design looks good for example. Sure there is no shame in that.

As long as you dont chicken scratch, which yuo seem to avoid already. I do however suggest that you practice the accuarcy of lines, or how to do them precisely. For that you dont really need to do a shit ton of light lines, since you wont need the other ones anymore because you dont look for design or form.

I would suggest doing a stroke. If it lands perfectly - fine, if not, ctrl-z do it again.

>>1528247
those tablets he's talking about are extremely expensive

>>1528247
buy him one without a screen, so that he has to use the normal computer screen.
The reasons are simple.
- You dont know if he will like it or not.
- A tablet with an inbuild screen is EXPENSIVE! for a first try.

- Having one without a screen is not that bad as many think. If he already knows what he is doing it will take him a few evenings to fully transition to the digital medium.

I suggest a WACOM tablet. I had the chance to compare and try a lot of different ones from different brands. Wacom still holds true to best quality.

For a first try tablet I would look into the wacom bamboo series (the medium one is great). Costs around 150$/€

>>1528202
You got it pretty much right already.
Show some of your recent work.
Tell us where you want to improve if you know it.
Tell us what you lack the most, if you are aware of it.
And tell us what you want to achive.

Anyway. If you just ask for ctitique/help and show us some of your work I am already sure there will be lots of ppl willing to help.

>>1528195
That is okay if you cant do it. There is no actual need to anyway. Just spin the fucking paper/canvas.
So many professionals do it, why would you force yourself to draw them without spinning.

I have two questions, and I apologise if they've already been answered in this thread. (My English is a little terrible, too, sorry about that)

First one is, I really, really want to draw someone from real life. Like, I want them to be sitting opposite me while they model for me. Not a proffessional model, just someone I personally know. Thing is, I don't know how to get over the fear of /failing/ right in front of them, if that makes sense. Has anyone managed to beat this worry?

Second question is, how do I add wrinkles to a sketch/drawing without making them look old?

There was this tree tutorial on youtube in multiple parts, at least TWO. I can't seem to find it at the moment, I'm having bad luck with keywords. I can tell you it was a digital tutorial, he was a guy. I either found it browsing /ic/ or pre-manleywhore conceptart. The artist personally posted it himself. He didn't just paint the tree on a white background to show off. It was a classical approach. He spent time toning the BG. Broke it down into shapes. Like "think of it as a sphere" Then he showed what principles of light were happening. How the light was bouncing off the ground and projecting onto the tree and vice versa. Lastly he added some leafy edges and carved shapes out. I thought I bookmarked it, but it's gone? I imagine some of you might have seen it.

Can you please help me find it? You'd make my year.

>>1528401
>I don't know how to get over the fear of /failing/ right in front of them
You're gonna fail either way. And that is good. Even if you read all of the techniques about construction, form, rendering before you attempt this. If you don't have the confidence to draw a portrait from life, due to your lack of skill, there are no tricks that will make you more successful. So either do it, and fail anyway, or flake and disappoint your friend.

Keep in mind if this person 'loves' you, they want to see what you do, no matter what(for the most part.) A long time ago, I tried to draw my uncles sister in law, she was very beautiful. But I lacked a lot of skill and defaulted into manga style habits. Normally when I draw even strangers, they still appreciate the craft or find subjective beauty in it. When I draw with artists they still take time to point out the flaws. My uncle's sister in law completely dismissed it and it crushed me at the time. But later on I would learn she was a sociopath, apathetic and manipulative. That nobody really associated with anyway, seriously, she lives alone and she is at least a 7 or 8 in her prime on the beauty scale.

>Second question is, how do I add wrinkles
The second you add a line that does not relate to the structure of the face, you add 10 years

Wrinkles are delicate form changes, absolutely not lines. You'd should leave them out if the wrinkles aren't characteristics of the person you are drawing. If you really must do it, keep it subtle, soft.

>>1527927
>>1527925

seconding both of these. there needs to be a more clear distinction between commercial illustration and 2deep5me-art in the art education system.

>>1528506
Iz hard ):

>>1528506
Wow, thank you very much for the detailed response!

(And I'm glad to hear that you're away from that high-maintenance girl)

>If you really must do it, keep it subtle, soft.
The wrinkles I'm talking about are the ones under the eyes. I was doing random sketches of people earlier on today when I posted that, and I got stuck on somebody's eyes. It wasn't quite a wrinkle per se, but he was smiling so it.. amplified the line. Hard to explain.

But I'll try once more. Thanks again, kind anon!

>>1528495
bump, I'm still looking around. I think /ic/ would benefit from the video too, it's really good stuff.

>>1521503
There are plenty of people who can pick up a brush and paint well. There are exponentially more who can't. There are plenty of people that can throw a ball at 90 mph, but there are exponentially more who can't and never will.

While it's true that the people who do these things can practice and get better, it's also true that people who suck at shit can get better through practice. But let's look at it a little differently.

Black Americans tend to be far more athletic than white men. They are able to build muscle and skill better because of the eugenics practiced on them during the slave trade. We wanted strong black workers, so we let the strongest, hardiest workers breed more. They have inherent skills/capabilities because of genetics.

The natural artist is much the same way, though his is probably learned from infancy and the way he learned to perceive in understand the world (and his mental capacity to do so). It's no coincidence that the natural artist also tends to be good at studying mechanics and engineering.

>>1528936
But mechanics and engineering are left brain activities and art and creativity are right brained...

>>1528946

^ that is such a bullshit statement. even if it were true whoever coined that referred to "art and creativity" as the kind of art you see in modern art museums. that dumb kind of shit. not skillful drawing, which is highly technical.

>>1528946
You could argue that design and construction are problem solving and logic based.

>>1528946
This is an extremely outdated way of looking at the brain that's perpetrated by the same people that think we only use 10% of the brain. The left/right brain stuff is in the same league as phrenology.

>>1528946
[citation needed]

>>1528946
>>1528946
Try going through a course in engineering graphics without an imagination, anon. Let's see if you can manage.

What is the best way to train value?

If you only had the option of buying 2/3 Kim Jung Gi's sketchbooks, what would your two choices be?

I'd buy all three, but I'd feel bad for splurging 400+ dollars at once

Does anyone have a torrent link for Dynamic Sketching with Peter Han?

>>1529533
look up cgmw, on cgpeers

>>1528495
.

I am still on the look out for this, I'm gonna spend some time looking for it today. If I find it I will definitely post it on here.

>>1529535
Thank you so much for both the info and the website.

>>1529536

hope you finded anon, you got me really curious it does sound like it's somewhat above what you find on youtube in terms of quality.

fingers crossed you find it

How do you figure out what to draw? I often want to draw but can't decide on a subject and then get lost in the search of one.

>>1529578
don't sweat it, bro. instead of asking yourself "what should i draw", ask "can i do that".

>>1529578
Pick something you're fucking awful at and do a study of it. I usually warm up with gestures, then move on to some quick sketches, and then I pick something to study. Today I did cat studies and value studies, because I'm pretty awful at both. Draw from imagination only when you're feeling up inspired, you don't have to force yourself to shit out an art-turd just for the sake of it.

>>1529592
Well, I want to improve my ability to draw from imagination as well. What do you include in a study session? Do you "just" analyse and draw your object of study or is there something else to it?

>>1529596
I include one major thing I'm focusing on in my study (i.e. value) and do any micro studies I can at the same time (construction of nose, observing how light/shadow work, etc), but still try to pull as much as I can from my main study.

When I don't know how to draw something, I do several sketches first, then begin trying to construct it on my own, then try to learn proportions, etc. so i can continue to build it even without a reference. Won't be perfect but it's better than not knowing what it looks like at all.

I stand firmly by Kohr's "draw 100" theory, basically by 100 drawings you'll have a decent fundamental concept of how to draw something.

Also, for building your imagination....


Build Visual Library
- Books (Forced Visuals, Story Telling)
- Nature (Existing Visuals, Function)
- Travel (Experience, Scale)
- Museaums (Understanding, Scale)
- Games/Films (Technology, Existing Designs, Trends)
~ Don't waste time; 1-2 hours is okay.
~ YouTube "Let's Play" to avoid addiction.

Improving Imagination
- Creative Writing
~ Story Modification (Rewrite a story in a differnet direction)
~ Image Modification (Redraw reference with a new feature that doesnt exist)
~ 10-Minute Free Write (Just write as much as you can in 10 minutes, dont worry about spelling or stopping to think, just keep going until you're out of time.)
- Detailed Observation (Very very specifically describe an object, so "Blue gatorade bottle" becomes "plastic clear bottle with a wrapper holding a sugary blue substance..etc"
Hope this helps some, just pulled them from my notes.

>>1529596
>I want to improve my ability to draw from imagination as well. What do you include in a study session?
Different anon here. If you want to improve your drawings from imagination, you need to figure out what your worst at (and what you're doing wrong in general). Do you have troubles drawing specific things from imagination, or trouble drawing /anything/ from imagination?

If it's specific things, then your studies would focus on learning the proportions of that object, how to break it down into its most basic simple forms, what its contour looks like from key vantage points (front, bottom, side, top), etc. After you have that down, focus on it's range of movement/distortion (applies for animals, some machines, etc). Next, study its surface qualities (smaller key forms and plane changes, finer details, surface qualities, etc).

If you're having trouble drawing anything from imagination, then you need to focus on fundamental skills. Line quality, basic forms from any vantage point in perspective, complex forms from basic forms, etc. Can you imagine and draw a moderately complex form? Can you imagine rotating it along every axis? Can you draw it from any vantage point if you know what its front, side, and top look like? If not, learn perspective, then start practicing that. Still lifes are extremely useful here. Go out and draw buildings, cars, trees, people - anything really. Learn how things exist in three dimensions, and how to depict that on paper.

Here I'm speaking about drawing problems, but similar approaches work for other areas. Recognize if your problem is specific or general, and tailor your studies to accommodate.

>>1529620
Thank you so much. Noted everything for future references. I guess I should start to look at things more closely to see how they are constructed.

>>1529621
Thanks to you as well. Also very handy tips.

>>1529596
One very simple, yet crucial aspect that a lot of aspiring artists disregard is to directly apply their studies. So after you have finished a study, don't just call it a day, but instead, close the ref image and try to recreate the study again completely from memory. You can change things up obviously, it doesn't have to be the exact same as the ref you just studied, but try to recreate the core things you wanted to learn from it as accurately as possible.

What would be the "necessary skills" for (simple) animating?

I understand that animation is probably one of the hardest and most time consuming things you could do, and you need to have a good understanding of pretty much everything, but I'm not aiming for a career, but more just a hobby.

I like to think that my understanding of animation itself is quite good (for someone who hasn't done animation before) and what I'm actually lacking is the drawing skills, especially when it comes to drawing people.

I think that prioritizing form and perspective would be the most important things and would help me the most in the beginning, but I'm obviously not an expert so would any one like to give their opinion on the matter?

Does superior talent exist? I mean the kind that will always put someone above others?

>>1529661
as an clarification I'm not looking into becoming a stereotypical youtube animator with typical "stationary camera on an eye level and bunch of still images with lip syncing style"

I just want to be capable of doing short few seconds long dynamic scenes

>>1529665
Get so tired of this question, why the fuck does it matter? If you want to get better at drawing then god dammit find a means. Everyone else doesn't matter.

>>1529665
Yeah, without a doubt, it definitely exists.
Different people have different attributes and dispositions.

That being said, EVERYONE can learn the craft with practice, no matter wether you have a good disposition for it or not. And having a talent for something doesn't necessary mean you will make it far either.
That's because a high level of skill can only be reached through hard work, and that's the same for everyone.
Just work with what you're given.

Any book recommendations for learning animal anatomy?

>>1521614
>>1521624
man, reading these two posts is like a mirror of what i did this summer and where i'm at right now.

i tried doing figure drawing for a month or so but decided to go back to basics cause my construction drawings looked ten times worse than my drawings from observation `-`

>>1529661
>>1529667
>What would be the "necessary skills" for (simple) animating?

besides good drawing:

-visual consistency (no wobbly lines like in >>1529661 if that's a ball then it needs to look and feel like a ball)
-visual storytelling/composition/camera angles
-understanding of acting/reasoning behind your character's actions
-good sense of timing for the animation itself as well timing for the scene as a whole
-clear posing for your characters

good luck fellow animationbro

>>1528398
Thanks, Guy.

>>1529933
thanks!

yeah I can't draw a straight line with flash to save my life, I have a terribly small tablet (not to mention the brushes are just weird in flash, but I could just trace over the wibblywobbly lines with pencil tool afterwards).

I'm thinking of trying out traditional.

would traditional pen & paper animation work with regular printer paper or would it have to be something a bit more transparent?

>>1529535
wrong place possibly, but my torrent client just crashes when i try to download from there. any other links possibly?

When I'm drawing stuff from an image I always fuck up and draw some way too big in proportions than what is shown.

Is there a way to prevent this more from happening?

>>1530053
What torrent client do you use?

Can I Vilppu without a live model? I want to draw gud.

>>1530300

use mirrur u faggit

>>1530315
True enough.

>>1530300
be da good boy and use photo ref (psst mang u can axe a family member or friend to pose for u )

>>1530300
of course. It's not as hard as you think. Just keep grinding, keep memorizing and you'll be gud

>>1530059
Measure. Not with a ruler, but with some arbitrary unit on the picture (head length, chest width, etc). Use those to plant your landmarks, and let those landmarks guide your construction.

>>1529587
Nice pun.

im thinking about learning to draw. Is it possible to shade with regular pencils or is necessary to buy hb, 2eb, etc. type pencils.

>>1530531
That's not a major problem, especially if you're just practicing.
Just make sure you're not drawing only with a very hard or a very soft pencil. Normal ones are HB or F which should be fine.

What kind of paper is best for drawing on?
For both sketches and final pen and ink drawings?
For a while, I've been using card stock. But I find that this canvas/paper hybrid feels nicer for some reason. It's expensive though.
Is card stock pleb of me?

Bump.

new thread:
>>1530795