edit 21.02.2016: I realized most of images in this thread disappeared due to ImageShack kicking out free users. Uploading all of them again would be too time-consuming. They're showing up sporadically on pages 1-8 and start to show up consistently again on page 9. Sorry!

Hello,

I'm Idan, seventeen (since 05.12.13), dreaming about being an artist in the future. I have a long way to go, since I decided to make a living from art in April (before that decision drawing was just one of my hobbies). I really need to improve, I know my works are amateurish, but I swear I'll keep practicing. Your help would be much appreciated.

My dA: http://idanei.deviantart.com/.

And some newest things just to make the thread visually appealing ;).

Nice portraits

You've got a very interesting style. I like the roughness of some of your portraits.

I definitely want to see more from you

I quite like your style! And I see you've come a long way... keep up the good work :3

Heh ! I see myself in your story, I'm 18 and I decided to take art as a career in february (I was 17 then) ... except I wasn't drawing before that

anyways, welcome ... but those portraits are from reference right ? I think you didn't draw those from imagination, the lighting is just too good for your level (from what I can quickly see on your da) ... if so it's always better to precise that you used a reference, it's confusing for us because it's deceiving about your level, and it might get you some trouble.

Anyways, as you're doing a lot of portraits, here's my advice : study Loomis' books

Thank you all!
@AlphaPetra: If you're talking about the portraits I posted in the thread, then yes, I used a reference, I should probably have said that - sorry. About the Loomis' books - actually I started studying them yesterday, as somebody on conceptart.org advised me to do so .

Some blurry photos from my sketchbook - just to show you my non-digital things. I usually sketch in school, when I'm easily distracted and I don't have any references (only pages "titled" "Sycra" and "so much christmas in the air" include some reference work). And yes, I sometimes write to myself. Often in English.
[link no longer worked, so I removed it]

Aweful thing, but I like the soft technique and the nose.


Work in progress, I need to work on that flat face.


Environment practice, meant to be for The Concept Corner, but it turned out not "Persish" enough.


Breast drawn while watching Sycra's new video.


Updated version of the portrait I posted before.

Finished. Not super-satisfied with the result, but it will get better as I keep working, right?


Some more studies of Sycra's techniques (but I think I found out that his figure'drawing methods and measurements are not working for me):
Any advice on the knees?

My advice would be to draw them outside of the knee.. uhm.. like.. being to the left of the left knee and to the right of the right knee.. then had that muscle protrude a bit but come out from behind. Hope this little description helps you

I'm not sure if i'm wrong or not but i think the nose of the girl in the portrait is a bit long. Nice sketchbook so far!

I'm not sure if i'm wrong or not but i think the nose of the girl in the portrait is a bit long. Nice sketchbook so far!

I can kind of approve of what he says.. to fix it I'd select the eyes, copy, paste and move them a tad to the bottom right corner! In response you would also have to shorten the forehead a bit.. and move it- together with the hair but not the eardown and to the right. Just copy, paste.. and erase at the corners and you'll get something that looks quite good already and it will be easy to fixate the stuff in place again. Not sure if my instructions are spot on.. but you can just do that copy paste thing and move it around till it looks better to you!

@Nysta: thank you! I think I need to study muscles a bit, but I found this wonderful tutorial, so it shouldn't be too hard.
@wartynewt: yes, it is. I realised it after I finished... Thanks :3

I altered her face a bit (very roughly, because I usually don't touch works I think I finished... just a weird habit). It looks way better. Thank you again.




Some legs studies from the tutorial I mentioned above. Just copying, so I'm not sure if I learned anything, but later I'll try to draw something from imagination based on these.

[Ambiguity]

The most important thing in my experience to remember about the knee is that it curves in on the outside, and curves out on the inside because all the ligaments fused to the inside.

I sketched a few legs in my traditional notebook (I'll post some good quality photos someday) and I think I discovered how to draw these "in and out" curves. Thank you, Ambiguity.
I've never used thumbnailing technique before so I thought I'll give it a try. I'm also aiming for a more painty style compared to the last portrait. What do you think?



Oh my God, she's my friend and she's turning out like a prostitute. Anyway, fine flat marker tool is my new love. I hope I won't overdo this painting as usual.


I ruined the nose somehow :c

I liked the WIPs more... But anyway, finished:

How to practice making people similar to themselves? D:

yes, I used a reference, I should probably have said that - sorry

Don't apologize ^^' was just noticing :p

Studying anatomy is the right path and the edges in your portraits are really nice. I agree with you, I prefer the WIPs too ^^

How to practice making people similar to themselves?

That's hard, make sure to first measure and place every feature at the right place and get the size right, then go into details.

Drawing from life is way better than from photo to improve, here's an exercise I sometimes do with some drawing buddies : sit on a table facing your friend, and draw your friend while he draws you, (try not to move) 15 mins / drawing. It's better to have a few mates so you have different faces to draw

You're so helpful, AlphaPetra.
I will study anatomy. In fact, I've already started, but school is making me rush every drawing, so drawing during weekdays is a bad idea (or maybe the idea is good... just the drawings made during this time are bad). But Christmas break is coming and I'm not travelling anywhere this year, so I'm looking forward to making some great studies and a great improvement :3
I always wonder how is drawing from life different than drawing from the photos. Could you explain it to me?
Unfortunately I have only one drawing mate I'm seeing regularly, so this exercise might be hard to do. But it sounds like fun, so I'll try to persuade her to do it some time .

There's always a good time for a pet study:



And some skull fails from today:

No problem ^^

I always wonder how is drawing from life different than drawing from the photos. Could you explain it to me?

Of course ; when drawing from life, you have to retranscribe an object in 3D space on your sheet of paper. Which means your eye interprets a volume.
When drawing from a photo, everything is already 2D shapes, and we naturally just measure those shapes and copy them, and you aren't making your eye interpret a volume.
That's why drawing from life is better (and harder)

At FZD school for example, when you study and draw from reference, they make you do a "drawthrough" (you draw the other side of the object through it, as if it was transparent) or draw it from a different angle. (they also do drawthroughs when constructing).
Some examples, by FZD students : http://fzdschool.com/images_gallery/gal ... pg4_56.jpg
http://fzdschool.com/images_gallery/gal ... pg4_65.jpg
http://fzdschool.com/images_gallery/gal ... pg4_55.jpg
http://fzdschool.com/images_gallery/gal ... pg1_80.jpg

And in general, what I try to do is to always see objects in 3D space. When drawing, think of boxes and planes, never of 2d shapes :p

I see. Thank you for explanation, now I feel tempted to practice drawing from life more frequently, because I rarely do that.
Some (a lot, actually) pages from my sketchbook, as I haven't drawn much digitally during last days.

Spoiler: show

(the pony is not mine)

One digital I made:


You know what? Tomorrow my winter break starts. I can't wait to draw the whole day and improve! :F

A thumbnail of my next painting, mainly a light exercise.

I had an artblock today, probably the first one in my life. Terrible thing, I must say. I had a lot of free time, but I had to force myself to draw - and everything I managed to produce was aweful and weak. But thanks to some nice ConceptArt.org sketchbooks and my decision to study Loomis, I think (I hope!) it's over now.

From yesterday (already received a lot of wonderful crits on this one):


This is what happens when I do no sketch and I don't know what am I drawing:


Only digital I did today:

Skulls with flesh based on some photos (open in a new tab to see them all).



I'm trying to repaint the previous face. Still working on it.







BOOM! Suddenly everything went ugly.

Okay, I give up on this one.

Hey Idan, cool stuff you're doing here, you're showing some real commitment to improving

In some of your heads and faces you're putting a little too much top of the head, but it doesn't seem to be consistent, but, just something to be wary of. The finished skull in the series of 4 images looks great, but the final head has this issue. The top of the skull is a lot flatter than the rest of it.
Cool stuff though, you're doing really good practices.

@LuisEC Yes, I really want to improve and become a professional. Thank you for pointing out this issue with the forehead/top of the skull. When you mentioned it, I realized that actually I often make this mistake when drawing faces and then I either correct it during the process or leave it as it is which leads to a bad-looking drawing .

Some traditional from yeasterday and today. Sorry for the checked notebook paper, I just wanted to get rid of all these unused pieces of paper in my drawer.
Studied Loomis (proportions), Proko (gesture drawing) and Sycra (many things) today.
Yes, I write to myself while drawing, often in English, just to practice the language.