UESP Forums

OK, I've mentioned this already, and as I said before, you're free to disregard this advice. But I was doing a pencil study to help prepare for my next painting, and I thought I could maybe illustrate my point about the importance of paying attention to photographing and scanning. Same picture, two times, only the first time is done in poor lighting with bad exposure, and the second time, shot in better lighting. See the difference in legibility?




An even better idea would be to go over it in ink and scan it properly, but you get the idea! Even if you're just uploading a given piece for practice and critique, a little attention to scanning can go a long way.


As for what TopHatKat said, yeah, shading is good. I think you're progressing alright with the way you're going for now, but you know, it never hurts to start shading! I don't agree with his admonishment against bold lines, but his ball is quite good, and if you feel ready to dive into the realm of shadows and highlights, then go for it! Foldy cloth, like your cloaks (which are looking very good), tend to be very shady, so maybe that would be a good place to start? Drawing more cloaks and working on adding more subtle gradients to the folds?

I actually have been wanting to start shading but I can't buy the graphite so yeah.

You don't need anything fancy for shading! Real swag shading is best done with stuff like charcoal or nonstandard density graphite, but as long as you've got a pencil that can make lines, you can shade! At the absolute worst, like if all you've got on hand is an ink pen that won't allow you to vary your pressure, then you can STILL shade, using techniques like crosshatching or pointillism.

Although the picture I used had no lines, bold lines do very much held for contrast in dark areas. Kinda like how you look at someone's face and around the nose are little shadow areas. A bold line would look good there. Think of what I'm saying as if it were on a slider from no lines to only lines. Finding the balance between the two makes, in my opinion, the most realistic drawings. And remember, most importantly of all, be patient and careful when drawing. I'll take a few more hours, but you will immediately see improvements. When I took a drawing class some time ago at my college for some credit, an 18x24 usually took me about 8-15 hours a piece which, compared to some, is quick but for me that was almost a century. A VERY helpful strategy is to spread out your work. Hauling through a work doesn't always bring the best out of one's creativity. Draw some, come back, and be all, "Hey! Why didn't I think of that!" Or at least, that mentality helps me a lot. I'm am an extremely slow drawer/artist. My hands are too shaky to draw fast. Seriously... am I nervous about something? You'd have to pump me full of alcohol to suppress my shakiness. Anyway, hope my advice helps. You make me want to start drawing more often. Fun stuff.

Edit: btw @doros that's not my ball. Google images ftw. I need to buy a camera or something. My phone doesn't want to upload pics to computer, so that sucks. Might upgrade soon. I'll think about it.

Same here, TopHatKat. I'm no whizz at drawing, but Thuro makes me want to start it up again. Dunno what it is, but the dude bleeds inspiration.

I see you vary your style here and there. I like the way your getting so many people involved here.
Continue to post, and yes your pictures are very recognizable and I enjoyed them.

Thank you for sharing them.

Not done drawing. Just this last image is so complex its taking me a few days.

Holy utility belt Batman


Made this goofing around in GIMP

the second negative one is really effective, i think you may have something there

Yeah it works perfectly as a desktop. I never realized what GIMP could be used to do.

Hey man, where'd you go!? The world's waiting to see some more of your productions. You had a good thing going here.

Aetha


Aquis


Primal


Tomb Raider


Scree


A Darkness Forged in Fire


Undine (Watercolor)


Will to Survive (Watercolor)


Djinn


Primal 2


Will to Survive (Pencils)


I'm too sexy for my barcode


Wraith (Watercolor)


Ferai


Lara Croft


Tomb Raider Legend


Amanda and Fluffy


Tokyo Dress


Underworld Swimsuit


The Lady


Lonely Road


The Survivor


So in some of these I've experimented with Pastels; lets just say I won't be using them a lot. Everything looks cartoony when you use them (proof, Aetha and Undine are the same picture. I erased the color and redid it with pencils).


Thanks man. If you hadn't of posted I wouldn't have been able to keep the thread open due to necro factor.

Actually I quit watercolor. Least til I can buy proper paper.

I'm open to suggestions for stuff to draw. Suggest and I may do. I do get so very very bored.

Can you draw Quelaag from Dark Souls?

I'd rather not. I hate spiders. Like a lot.

How about Capra demon?

Capra Demon riding a sheep?

Night Mother and Nocturnal (Joshthenerd)


Anime Girl (NocteCanticum)


So I'm at fast internet so I uploaded them. Enjoy.

Drake VS Griffin (Shadow)

I know you wanted it in color but I suck with pastels so I made it in black and white instead.

Xayiou

From Tekken 4

On a side note I've started using a better camera. Its not as good as a scanner but its pretty good.

Greetings from yesteryear(s). I have returned once again, to share and/or torment the world with my art.

Not much to say, so I will let an image speak a thousand words.

Jump!


Assorted Anatomy Practice


More Assorted Anatomy Practice


Portrait (KyoAni Style)


Portrait (My style)


(I need a better name than anatomical practice)


All of the above images are made from reference models. Additionally all images have been downscaled to save bandwidth for users.