Am I improving? ;u;

[DraconicSweetheart]

Hello!

I've posted a thread here some time ago and it's been a month, but I'm starting to worry that I'm not actually improving, but instead my art style is getting worse. I really don't want it to end up being a really ugly art style, so I would really appreciate tips on how to keep up a good looking art style.

Recent Art

I would really love to hear all sorts of critique. Please be totally honest, does my art look horrible, or does it look like it could be decent with enough practice?

Also I would like some tips on shading and colouring, as I feel as if I am absolutely terrible at it. Here's another example of my shading:



I would also like to know what kind of brushes I can use that will help me improve too. I use Photoshop CS6, and I have a mac so I can't download SAI. (I've tried firealpaca, but I don't like the feel of it)

Any and all critique is more than welcome. Also, if you wish to look at my older art and then tell me if I have improved or not, please take a look here.


Thank you for reading.

[Velveteen Rogue]

Don't focus to much on "style", most people end up being able to draw in any style they want, you're probably sick of hearing it, but just keep going back to basics of anatomy, and that doesn't even mean you need to study, just keep some things in mind, like remember to always draw an outline of what you want to draw.


I actually drew that centaur a little while back for someone on flight rising, i wonder if that was you?

Anyways. I'm not great at explaining things in words so heres a diagram



when I looked at this picture I thought things should align on the blue lines, so his back would meet his torso at a 90 degree angle. Of course this isn't natural anatomy so theres always room for error, no one can say the "correct" way to draw a centaur, but if things look right, people won't question it. his left, or the arm on the right also looks rather uncomfortable, if you have trouble thinking how an arm should look remember you can always look at yourself in the mirror and pose to see how it should look, and then the red lines are the corrections I would have made based on how things should looks based on the blue lines. I think my explanation is a bit confusing! Sorry!

The most important advice though, is just KEEP drawing. It's easy to get discouraged and stop, but over time you will improve! You struggle with hands (who doesn't!) and you try to draw them as small as possible, but don't worry if they look weird, try draw hands to scale with everything else, at first you might think it looks bad, but when you stop avoiding them you can only improve. I hope I don't sound too high and mighty, I really just do art as a hobby, but I've still been trying very hard to improve. Try not to be too hard on yourself, and remember that its something you do for FUN. I hope I helped even a little, and good luck with all your art in the future!

[DraconicSweetheart]

TaraAteYourInterwebz

Don't focus to much on "style", most people end up being able to draw in any style they want, you're probably sick of hearing it, but just keep going back to basics of anatomy, and that doesn't even mean you need to study, just keep some things in mind, like remember to always draw an outline of what you want to draw.


I actually drew that centaur a little while back for someone on flight rising, i wonder if that was you?

Anyways. I'm not great at explaining things in words so heres a diagram



when I looked at this picture I thought things should align on the blue lines, so his back would meet his torso at a 90 degree angle. Of course this isn't natural anatomy so theres always room for error, no one can say the "correct" way to draw a centaur, but if things look right, people won't question it. his left, or the arm on the right also looks rather uncomfortable, if you have trouble thinking how an arm should look remember you can always look at yourself in the mirror and pose to see how it should look, and then the red lines are the corrections I would have made based on how things should looks based on the blue lines. I think my explanation is a bit confusing! Sorry!

The most important advice though, is just KEEP drawing. It's easy to get discouraged and stop, but over time you will improve! You struggle with hands (who doesn't!) and you try to draw them as small as possible, but don't worry if they look weird, try draw hands to scale with everything else, at first you might think it looks bad, but when you stop avoiding them you can only improve. I hope I don't sound too high and mighty, I really just do art as a hobby, but I've still been trying very hard to improve. Try not to be too hard on yourself, and remember that its something you do for FUN. I hope I helped even a little, and good luck with all your art in the future!

Thank you for your response, I found your explainatiob really helpful. c: I will try to practice anatomy more often, but I'm just worried about developing an art style I loathe ;u;

But you're absolutely right about art being fun, I am enjoying how to paint and learning colour theory and such. I was just feeling a little discouraged today I guess, heh.

Maybe I'll have a go at drawing my centaur again along with your guide. uvu

Also that character is the only centaur I have, and I don't remember commissioning anyone to draw him on FR omg c: but hey it's nice to see im not the only FR player on here biggrin

[Approximation]

You know, anytime you try something new, you'll get worse. Because you've never done it before. You take some sliding steps backwards as you figure it out and then you get better at it as long as you keep working.
Remember, effort will ALWAYS be more valuable than talent.

Style is about learning the rules and then breaking them in your way. Coming up with your own shortcuts to define anatomy. And if you don't like how people really work, idealizing them in your own way. Figure out anatomy and other basics first, and style will come.

[Little Dead Soldier]

I have one of those wooden artist manniquin dolls. Whenever Im curious on how some human poses look in 3D, I pick up my doll and twist it around. It has helped me so much on getting my human anatomy down.
As for shading, Im the kind of person that needs visual samples first to help me understand. I usually will take my doll and adjust a small lamp or flashlight and shine it in all directions to figure out which shade I want to take.
Also, youtube has great videos to learn from!
Draw with Jazza has a video called "How to draw the human figure - body construction tutorial" and has been the best video that Ive come across, I also love his other videos too! And its a digial art tutorial!
I hope this helped!! ^^

[paramecium99]

You are definitely improving. Improvement as you get better just gets slower. You will draw the same sort of stuff for a while and all of a sudden be a bit better. The improvements happen rapidly when you first start out so it may feel like you aren't improving enough but that is not the case.

[DraconicSweetheart]

Thank you for the advice! uvu it has been very helpful!

Meanwhile I have been practicing front views, but I am not all that keen on them... can I get a few tips on how to improve on these?

it's mostly the second one I'm feeling off about. It just doesn't look right to me...

[Raspberl]

A general rule of proportion is that the distance between the eyes tend to be one eyes length. Or, stated another way, you should be able to fit one eye neatly between the other two. I think this rule would work well with your portraits, as the eyes on both pictures seem to be a little far apart.

You also tend to put the eyes a little too far up on the forehead. Eyes are about halfway down from the top of the head to chin.

As for the second portrait specifically, his eyes are crossed. You may have seen crossed eyes used in animation as shorthand for a character looking at the camera, but in a still drawing it looks silly.

You do have a good eye for color though and your characters are adorable. Anyways, I hope these small tips help. And as always, these are just general rules and don't need to be strictly adhered to, but knowing them helps.

[DraconicSweetheart]

ooh thank you for these tips! they sound super helpful uvu

I have actually went ahead and finished the second portrait now, and to me it looks a little better. Still, critique/thoughts would be very well appreciated! (as a note: this is my friend's OC, not mine)




and also a few other doodles if you wish to see them

[DraconicSweetheart]

Soooo i haven't posted here in a while

figured I'd give an update. uvu

recent draws









I need help with keeping a consistent shading style, as well as help with getting rid of same face syndrome still I guess. ;u;

[itschoo]

i don't think you should worry too much about your art getting worse, it's not bad as it is. if you keep drawing consistently you'll continue to improve, but it may be helpful to look at your artwork (or style i guess) as a whole and consider what it is you're trying to achieve?

i would recommend not worrying too much about style yet though. don't settle too early! try out lots of different things, and then integrate the things you think work really well into your current style. experimentation is the best way to improve! also, i find it super helpful to go back a year or two years in my files every now and then, to see how i've improved/what differences there are in my work. sometimes it can be hard to see your improvement day to day, but it's encouraging to see your work from a year ago compared to your work now.

a couple things i would say you should try:

try do studies of faces at different angles, not just 3/4 and face on. it can help you better understand the form of a face and it'll make it much easier for you to draw from different angles in the future.

also! perhaps practice more dynamic or expressive poses? at the moment things are looking a little bit stiff in my opinion.

[DarylofATG]

Focus on the technical aspects like anatomy, line, and shading and your style will develop by itself! The best styles come naturally, most great artists don't sit around and make a checklist of what they want in their style, haha.