I Keep Making the Same mistake..

[WhitersNote]

I decide Im going to post my favorite art samples on Gaia, but before I do I look at some of the other work around and I get intimidated. =_= *sigh* Yeah, I'm going to post it this time, because none of it makes me lose my love of making anime-style art so much as feel depressed I'm not where I picture myself being yet.

I'm self guided, been drawing since middle school when I started creative writing in my free time. It was anime-esque, but it wasn't actually aimed towards anime until my freshman year in high school when I collaborated on a story with two other friends. That's when I developed my passion, and I've been drawing those same characters we created for the story since that year on...it's been six/seven years.

Lately I've taken an interest in anime drawn through a digital medium like tablets, it's gives art such a wonderful feel and there are so many options. Only, as a pre-med student I wonder if it's worth investing in when I'm not interested as a career bases. I'm not well practiced in shading, inking, perspective work and scenery/background, and that's a lot to lack in even given how much I like digital art. I compulsively save well animated pictures into my phone, I have almost 4,000 now and it'd be more if I didn't start saving them to my photobucket to clear room. I'd love to draw as well as the pics I see.

Anywho, I'm posting this because criticism is welcome, as well as advice. It would be fun to take on commissions here in Gaia for some extra gold, and to motivate myself to draw more (I don't draw often, I go months between practice so if I've improved it's truly a miracle.)

Did
I mention
my need
For a
scanner? Lol
I have an
All-in-one printer
but idk if
that means it scans or
Im jut crazy
Or maybe my printer
is a dirty liar. Lol.
That or tech hates me ._.

Pics with orange tags are the ones I drew this week. Blue tags I drew this year, no tag I drew two or more years ago. The skittles picture, I didn't shade, I drew it and my friend shaded.

[Lychee Fruit]

Hm, well, if you were still in high school I would say you're right where I would expect you to be, but if you've been drawing this way for seven years, there should be a bit more personality and higher level of skill in the drawings themselves. I think the root of your problem lies in either a lack of time spent drawing or a lack of time spent drawing with the intent to develop. I think you will grow as an artist if you put attention into these areas:

Light/Shadow - Scroll about halfway through before you start reading. What's going to help you most is the information about highlight, mid-tone, and shadow. Apply that to the way you color. Right now you put shadows and highlights in the characters hair, but the placement is random and doesn't make any sense, which suggests you don't know where they belong or why. You also don't use any shading and highlighting on the characters' clothing and bodies, which makes them look paper-flat under their own hair.

This isn't something I usually suggest, but you might find it easier to learn where to put shadows on your characters if you buy a few figurines of anime characters and draw them - not the character, the figurine - under different kinds of light. Where is there a highlight? Where is there a shadow? Why is it there? How would that change if the light moved? (But draw balls, apples, and bowls as well, because those are the most basic forms and much easier to start with.)

Anatomy - I picked this link because the drawing style is simple, but shows that anatomy is important even in simple drawing styles. Right now your characters' proportions are awkward. The heads are just too big for the bodies, even by anime standards (or the bodies are too long and thin for the heads by chibi standards). Spend some time familiarizing yourself with only the base before decorating it with anime eyes and big hair.

[WhitersNote]

Welp, I know I said I was open to criticism so that's much appreciated. Thanks. Sometimes it's best to be blatant if that person is serious about improving. ^^

But uh...since that still crushed my soul, I'm gonna recede under my rock now...byii. *receeds*
I'll be okay in a bit, but until then.

*EDIT*
Okay I'm back now. I took my grain of salt so I'm sorta better now. That's just real talk so I'll try to take it less personally.

Still, I feel like I should clarify. This was me freshman year. Compared to then I know I've made progress. I always did just draw for fun, so it's true when you observed my drawings seemed like I never drew them for the intent of improvement. Even so I still got better. I never even tried shading until junior year (2011)

To have what I have now, I'm proud of myself nonetheless. It's just through 2012-14 were my least progress was made, as the picks show above, but even then there's still some progress apparent.

[Itchy the Hatter]

Study life.

All "styles" are derived from the artist's interpretation of reality. No good style comes from imitating others or starting by drawing from your head. You can't break the rules of reality through style without first understanding the rules in the first place.

[Beena the Mystery]

Don't get attached to your work. It'll be easier on you when you get critique. It can be hard to do, but it's better in the long run, because you'll also be able to look at your work more objectively and be able to point out the flaws yourself.

[WhitersNote]

Beena the Mystery

Don't get attached to your work. It'll be easier on you when you get critique. It can be hard to do, but it's better in the long run, because you'll also be able to look at your work more objectively and be able to point out the flaws yourself.

Thanks. I think it was due to expectation and the fact that I've had the characters in the drawing for so many years. You start to care about them. :'-D But I'll take your advice to heart. ^^