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Author Topic: Drawing tips.  (Read 3883 times)

ComfortEagle

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Drawing tips.
« on: 06 May 2006, 20:30 »

I like to doodle, and  lately have been taking on the task of people. not realistic, but more comicish.I have been practicing every time I seem to find a spare moment, and have gotten heads and faces down to a pretty good formula, but i seem to have a problem with bodies and hands and what not, pretty much anything below the head. Can anyone suggest some tips or excersises so that my characters dont have extendo arms and dwarf legs?
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Alegis

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #1 on: 07 May 2006, 00:22 »

Been drawing doodles as well recently, and I find hands and proportions tough as well.
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TackyVintage

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #2 on: 07 May 2006, 16:37 »

Ah, Drawing hands can be the devil somwtimes.
                                                         ^just like my spelling...
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Cernunnos

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #3 on: 07 May 2006, 16:46 »

well, if you are looking to stylize, it may just make sense to go with a particular disproportion if it can be done consistently(in which case you'd just keep practicing it until you fall into a good groove), or imitate a bunch of cartoonists you like until you get to the point you want to be at. but if you wanna do stuff that is well- proportioned, and looks realistic, you really need to base your figural studies off of the, well, figure. draw your hands, draw your feet, get someone to model for you, and draw their whole body over and over again. it also helps, in both cases, to find good references(anatomy books, etc.).
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Justin

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #4 on: 08 May 2006, 01:19 »

i'm of the opinion that a foundation in realistic drawing is important no matter what style you're doing. learning proper proportions is important even in cartooning. So draw real people, maybe take some figure drawing classes, or just practice a whole helluva lot. you will improve.
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TheMike

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #5 on: 09 May 2006, 19:36 »

when you draw, are you trying to draw a person with their mouth open showing their teeth? or are you drawing someone screaming for their life? my point is that you are trying to convey a story(most of the time atleast) or an emotion, if you can do it without getting hands perfect, go for it.

people put too much weight in traditional art training and proportions, but for me it is all about making the viewer feel what you want them to feel.

now, if you are just trying to show a person just for the sake of being able to put speech bubbles next to them, then i'd say consistancy is key. you should be able to draw the same character the same twice.
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Keiriku

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #6 on: 08 Jul 2006, 04:42 »

A good way to start is practicing the body proportions by looking at magazine pictures (or even anime pictures, which generally have properly proportioned bodies). You could start practicing bodies by looking at those and drawing them.

One way to better your ability to draw bodies is to start out drawing them without clothes (don't worry, you're not required to draw the naughty parts :)) and then you can figure out how the clothes fit after.

Once you've gained the ability to draw properly proportioned bodies, you'll be able to draw the cartoonish, purposely-improperly proportioned bodies with more ease. I found that I could never draw a chibi (little anime) character right before I learnt to draw a properly proportioned character, so it might work out the same for you. =) Good luck!

-Sherri

PS: Don't give up too easily on the hands.. those damn things are hard to learn!
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Lise

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #7 on: 14 Jul 2006, 21:04 »

I'm just inappropriately lazy. I own SEVERAL books on drawing (Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, How to Draw Manga, etc etc) and haven't gotten past the first chapters on each.

Keiriku, hands are a @@@@ to draw, I agree. I usually just leave hands as an unfinished blob (use your imagination), or draw the person holding their hands behind their back.

Eh, and I don't even have a clue as to how to develop one's own style....

PS: I used to attempt to learn by tracing other artist's characters. Hee, tracing QC girls has made me realized that they ARE in an almost "permanent slouch!"
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Molon_uk

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #8 on: 15 Jul 2006, 07:18 »

Wow, it's good to see so many other people having trouble with hands. I have lots of drawings of people withtheir hands in their pockets or behind their backs.

I also find it hard to draw breasts, they always look lop sided or the shapes don't match well.
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Xyclone

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #9 on: 15 Jul 2006, 08:14 »

I too once had trouble with hands and sometimes it takes for freakin ever to get them right. I found jsut to get used to drawing them start with fists! draw a rough circle with a part of it rather flat or just imagine part of it flat, use that for knucles. then add a lump below it for a thumb knucle sticking out and then just start adding lines for finger and such... .im realizing trying to write this out is pointless, here gimme a few and ill draw an actual step by step up for ya. brb
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Xyclone

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #10 on: 15 Jul 2006, 08:52 »

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b366/adamspn/Hand-tut.jpg">

Try that on for size, it's crude but it gets my point across, start there because then you get used to finger and knuckle placement and use your own hands as models! if all else fails you draw with one, look at the other, unless you draw with both... then i guess you screwed ;-)
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Luke

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Drawing tips.
« Reply #11 on: 15 Jul 2006, 17:36 »

I always look at my own hands if I can't get something right.

For everything else concerning anatomy, I find that a digital camera helps immensely. I used mine when I was having problems drawing a 3/4 view of the back of a person's head.
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