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I think the hand looks great, and so do the details on the pants. I'd personally have the seam go along the shape of the leg, though.
A useful tip I learned from one of Kupocake's posts:

I think it's too late to change that here, but it's a useful thing to keep in mind, though I think more cartoony styles are an exception (such as One Piece or... cartoons). The upper half of your picture just looks a bit bigger than the lower half.

Anyhow, I'm noticing improvements (other than what I specifically mentioned).

Honestly, I think Zantetsken is right on the money for this one. Even by going with the her right leg-argument, she still doesn't have the right proportions. The proportion measurement ends at the bottom of the sole, not the tip of the toe. Imagine her foot foreshortened toward the viewer. With that in mind, her torso is undoubtedly too long.

I say "crotch" because it's easier to remember, rather than "bottom of the pelvic bone." Not everybody knows the ins-and-outs of anatomy, especially skeletal anatomy (hell, I'm still trying to figure it out). The "crotch" proportion-rule applies to most normal body shapes, so I sling that around more instead. The difference, especially at that scale, is barely readable anyway.

Personally, I feel that her left leg is perfectly straight. The little variances in her pants makes it feel like she has muscle, which is quite nice and gives it a good rhythm. Because her right foot isn't firmly cemented on the ground, her left leg is definitely the support leg in this picture. With that in mind, her hips should be slanted the other direction, "/" instead of the other way.

Try it yourself, the leg that you're putting all your weight on is the one that raises up your hip at an angle.

Just don't put all your eggs in one basket. Different artists have different ways of approaching things, I'm merely telling you what I've learned as an artist, from books and from professors.

Hell, my professors had different ideas of how to approach drawing the human body. Simple shapes versus race to the finish line? "Feeling" of the pose versus cold-calculated accuracy?

If you think something is wrong with any given piece of critique, challenge it. Look up several books or ask other artists. If someone tells you "the legs look wrong," ask other people, "do these legs look off to you?" And don't just ask your buddies on your favorite website, expand to other websites, like ConceptArt.org or even the Picture Post here on Gaia. The more opinions you have on your art, the more well-rounded your feedback will be.

I've measured myself and many, many models. Yes, there are variances, and not everyone's midpoint is smack at the crotch, but the variable difference is barely enough for mention.

Your character's legs need to be longer by almost an entire head-length. She looks to be around 6-6.5 heads tall, just eyeballing it. That means her midway point on your drawing is almost at her belly-button, which is way off.

Wooh, I got a Blue Gift Box by posting here.
Looks like quite a bit of discussion occurred...


I certainly didn't consider that the leg on our right could be appear shorter due to it being more towards the background. Now I'm not even sure about that one...

I think the colouring on the hair is a bit too "flat" (?)... I see that you have finer strands of hair visible there rather than making it all one solid colour. Perhaps those could be coming from/going to the uh... I forgot what it's called... the spot on the back of the head where the hair centers about. The strands are currently looking pretty vertical; curving them towards that spot could help. I would also shade the hair to give it more depth (with that darker colour you used on the hair behind her), even if it would make some of those strands not noticeable.
I'm not sure how to comment on the sweater's colouring... something about it looks nice, but something about it seems off... but I can't put my finger on it. Same for the pants...
The skin could use some shading.

Anyhow, back to the matters at hand... You're entirely free to do as you please, and I don't mean that in a "Hmph! I give up, do whatever you want" sort of way. I notice some topics around here only get one comment if they're lucky, and it can be hard to improve if you can't get critique from other artists or whatever.

Anyhow, these are the sorts of proportions I try to use. 3D meat model is copyright www.posemaniacs.com

His neck seems to be stretched out here, so it's a little off. I drew a blue head shape/face where I think it would normally be. On to my methods (these are just my observations and things I've collected from others and might not hold true in all cases or be accurate at all):
-The pecks end around the half point of the upper arm
-The elbow reaches around the thinnest part of the waist
-The wrist reaches to around the bottom of the crotch
-The extended fingers reach to around the middle of the thigh

In your Marriko breakdown, the wrists aren't reaching as far as I'd like. If you put them there, then the hands would reach down too low... unless the legs were longer, then it would work out.

I'm a bit unclear on the intended pose with the leg to our left. Coincidentally, I think it's the same problem I had when I drew this: http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f25/cloudflashgaia/daily_gaia/daily21.jpg
... That being that it just doesn't seem to naturally fit in. Anyhow, the way you have her foot, it appears to be in front of her body, not behind it. However, its perceived size is more like it's behind her body. I dunno, I don't think I'm entirely making sense anymore...

On the figure to the left, the heel on the foot to our left is higher than the other heel. However, this leg is closer to us and we should see it as being more "in front of" her, so this isn't making sense.
In the second figure, I made her legs a bit longer again, but this time I made sure the leg to our left is appearing more like how it should. Then I just drew a box around it and copy+pasted it to show that it's consistent with that "crotch-midpoint" guideline... I'm not sure if that should be based on the rear leg or not, though, in which case the legs would be a bit longer than this.

Maybe her neck could be shorter if she's meant to be a shorter person.


I know it can be a bit frustrating, especially when people just say it looks weird without saying anything about how to fix it. Even if they do, you might not be too happy about someone saying your latest piece is a failure... I know I sure wasn't when I drew and coloured a character on poster sized paper when I was in grade 12. My friend said the arms looked too short, and he was absolutely right, but it took a few weeks before I was ready to admit it and continue to improve. Not that I'm trying to say "Geez, this guy's just being stubborn". Sometimes it's just harder to believe something until you come to that conclusion yourself.

Anyhow, if you feel like quitting art, try to remember why you started and why you continue.
I started doodling 'cause I found it fun, then I had some short-lived dream of possibly becoming an animator or something, and I'd come up with really crappy stories. I draw today for various reasons, and sometimes I find myself drawing something very unnatural to me, and it's not fun and I hate the outcome. No matter what kind of art or design you're doing, I think it's important to remember that you enjoy it and that you express your soul. What is it that you want to show to the world? Whatever it is, no matter what style, you have to draw it well enough to convey your message.


I can't help but use the cheesy line "listen to your heart". Use reference pictures and such when you can to see if things match up right...
Well, I personally don't like doing that, and art isn't natural enough for me to be able to draw a nice picture out of nowhere. What I do is try to memorize as many little tips about body proportions as I can... Not the extremely general stuff like "the human head fits into the body 6-8 times"... that might set you up for the right height, but it doesn't help tell you where the elbows, knees, belly button, etc. should be.
Anyhow, here's a list of tips I've gathered or come up with (pictures and better organization to come some day): http://cloudflash.net/arttips.php
I find that's easier, anyways, and using various limbs to measure various other limbs can help keep things in check when they're webbed together.

Using these tips, asking others, finding your own answers... whatever you do, good luck.