04-09-2010, 06:30 AM
Hoo-boy.
Where to start.
I'll give you some general tips for drawing.
First: sketch first. Don't just freehand. Seriously. Good construction is probably one of the most important things in drawing.
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/05/a...ction.html
Read this. It's a bit long but it is very important that you read it and understand it. No cheating!
And, I'm afraid, to understand how to construct a character, you're going to have to draw from life. posemaniacs.com is a pretty good place to start if you can't attend art classes.
Second: Sharpen your pencils. Seriously.
Third: don't press so hard! Let's say, when you're pressing the hardest, you've got your dial turned up to 11. You probably never ever have to draw this hard. When you're sketching, keep it at around a 1 or 2; really light, so you can easily erase it if you mess up. As you start to refine your drawing, press harder. But again we're only talking about a 4 or 5; you need to draw hard enough that it's separate from your sketch, but not so hard that you can't erase it if you make a mistake.
Basically, you need a process.
If you were building a desk, you wouldn't start putting it together until you'd planned out the measurements, and actually measured and cut the wood, right?
The same principle applies to drawing.
You plan with a sketch (or several!) first, keeping construction in mind. Then you work on fixing up the lines. Then and ONLY THEN do you think about adding colour.
Where to start.
I'll give you some general tips for drawing.
First: sketch first. Don't just freehand. Seriously. Good construction is probably one of the most important things in drawing.
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/05/a...ction.html
Read this. It's a bit long but it is very important that you read it and understand it. No cheating!
And, I'm afraid, to understand how to construct a character, you're going to have to draw from life. posemaniacs.com is a pretty good place to start if you can't attend art classes.
Second: Sharpen your pencils. Seriously.
Third: don't press so hard! Let's say, when you're pressing the hardest, you've got your dial turned up to 11. You probably never ever have to draw this hard. When you're sketching, keep it at around a 1 or 2; really light, so you can easily erase it if you mess up. As you start to refine your drawing, press harder. But again we're only talking about a 4 or 5; you need to draw hard enough that it's separate from your sketch, but not so hard that you can't erase it if you make a mistake.
Basically, you need a process.
If you were building a desk, you wouldn't start putting it together until you'd planned out the measurements, and actually measured and cut the wood, right?
The same principle applies to drawing.
You plan with a sketch (or several!) first, keeping construction in mind. Then you work on fixing up the lines. Then and ONLY THEN do you think about adding colour.