Curse

Charlie Dayman · Mar 25, 2011, 03:47 PM // 15:47

No prob.

It's always good having references if you're unfamiliar with a subject. And don't be ashamed to gather or use photos when designing stuff. Even the best artists do research and have info on hand - Kekai, the Anet art staff, Disney, etc.

But as far as using those references, it doesn't mean copy directly. Analyze what makes your references stand out to you - shapes, colors, designs, etc. Really try to break it down to its fundamental essence and begin incorporating it into your work.

Ravenhawk · Mar 25, 2011, 03:52 PM // 15:52

Absolutely. Funny cos that's exactly what I did in coming up with costume designs for my (and my friends' characters). I had to look at a ton of fantasy pics before I even came up with my own.

Charlie Dayman · Mar 25, 2011, 03:57 PM // 15:57

Heh, yeah that'll happen.

It wasn't really until this semester that I really started to get into the habit of stocking up on resource images. I kept a decently big connection on hand, but now I'm really getting into the habit of hording things, lol.

I have my Char Design teacher to thank for that. He's done a lot of work for major animation studios, and even got to play a major role in designing the final Chuck Jones character before he passed away a few years back.

He's got a library of reference pictures, it's ridiculous.

Qing Guang · Mar 25, 2011, 04:48 PM // 16:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie Dayman

In terms of drawing humans, I highly suggest learning how to draw anatomy first. And not just proportion ratios, but also skeletal structure/function and how muscles overly that structure. This is probably one of the most important foundations you'll need if you want to start drawing figures from non-references.

Find books to research on and do lots of studying. Also draw a lot from life whenever you get the chance. I have a good anatomy book somewhere in my closet that I'll dig up later on.

As for clothing and armor designs, it comes down to one thing. References. Lots and lots of references. Try to decide what style, era or genre of clothing/armor you're going for, and just do a ton of research related to your subject matter. References are a huge asset for artists. It's very rare that artists can make up successful costume designs completely off the top of their head with absolutely no prior reference or practice.

It's better to have reference on hand rather than assume you already know how something looks and draw blindly. Practice a genre enough, and you can get to a point where you can actually free-hand the subject matter.

As for personality, that comes later. Being able to express proper emotion or personality comes a lot through gesture or posing of a character. For my Character Design class, this is a lot easier since we're working more in an animated style and therefore don't have to follow the rules of anatomy. However, for realistic figure drawing, you'll have to have an intermediate understanding of anatomy since it's the exact opposite of breaking down characters into exaggerated shapes and forms to express their traits.

This, 100%. Reference and understanding of the form are everything.

Actually, just yesterday in my Drawing class my teacher commented on how my sighting was so good when I draw people despite how much I struggle with sighting objects. I chalk it up to having taken Human Anatomy and Physiology in high school (understanding skeletons and muscles = really really helpful) and that my art teacher in high school forced us right off the bat to learn the canon of the human head. Knowing how everything in the body goes together makes everything much easier to understand. You get to the point where, if something is off, you'll notice it, because it will just look wrong.

Aside from learning all that, try doing some gesture drawings. They're great for learning how the body moves and bends, and then you have a handy base if you ever want to draw someone in that position. Note that you should only be spending maybe 30 seconds to a minute on these. It's a good thing to do to amuse yourself while you're bored (I used to do them all the time in my Islamic Civ class), and it'll be useful too. Gesture drawings are also a good way to start an image - just spend a minute or two working out the overall shape of the pose, and then flesh it over. I always start with a gesture.

And references are amazing. Start a collection. I made my parents lug my entire collection of National Geographic magazines halfway across the country so I could have them here at college, because they're full of great references for pretty much everything (those DK Eyewitness books are great too, especially the ones on animals where they show the skeletons). I also remember being struck when I read John Howe's book Forging Dragons, in which he talks about his references - he keeps entire files of "lizards" or "trees" or "gargoyles". References are your best friend.

If you can't find a reference of a pose, of course, just get someone to do it for you. My suitemates have gotten used to my asking them to model for them (I also keep several pieces of PVC pipe of varying lengths around for them to use as props when I'm doing a fantasy picture). Try curling your hand into the shape of the one you're drawing, seeing how the muscles move.

Oh, and even though references are your best buddy and you should use them all the time, try to draw from life whenever possible. At the very least, do some surreptitious sketches of people (a friend reading or working, somebody a few tables over in a restaurant, the person next to you in a lecture class) so you get a feel for the three-dimensionality of the body. And always always always try to draw portraits from life only. Photos tend to flatten out the features and distort things in odd ways.

Death By An Arrow · Mar 25, 2011, 07:53 PM // 19:53

So much awesome help so far ^^

So its quite obvious I'm going to need to start building some collection of refrences. I think I might have a system in mind similar to what I do with animal refrences I try and collect at the zoo.

It also sounds like I get to do a little biology (hooray

) and get to know the human body at a deeper level.

Essentially all the drawing we ever did in 9th/10th grade art was draw from life, so I do have some experience with that. I agree that it's a lot easier to determine values and lighting, as well as general composition, when you're able to look at a subject from more than one angle.

So I think what I want to do (with this helpful information :3) is start to better understand human anatomy so that I can atleast draw people without them looking deformed. As the human body contains several hundreds of parts, it's hard to tackle them all at the same time.

Where would you suggest I begin with? I think it might be best to either start somewhere simple, whether its a joint between two body parts or how some muscles fold to create the shapes, or something that is of key importance when you look at the body as a whole.

The one that comes to mind is the torso as all of the limbs sort of branch from there, but I would really like to hear some suggestions as I quite honestly cant say i would know whats best.

Death By An Arrow · Apr 01, 2011, 03:29 AM // 03:29

Ugh, so i some kind-of bad news. Not so much bad as much as it is dissapointing/frustrating for me.

I havent had time much of this week to work on the torso studying I wish to do. Ive had two essays and a presentation thrown at me at the beginning of the week which have really taken a lot of my time. On top of this, I have three/four projects all due within the next week and a half which I also need to complete. Though, the biggest reason I have many things to do so soon is that our school band is going to boston and get back the day before many things are due; so everything needs to be finished before i go.

Im genuinely hoping I can finish up some of the bigger assignments I have in the next few days so that I will atleast be able to have time for drawing. And if not, I will atleast spend time gathering some resources so that while I'm away I can do some drawing during down times.

So unless I can finish a large portion of a project on/for saturday, I likely wont be able to do any torso studying this week :/ *heres hoping for a lucky break*

Death By An Arrow · Apr 03, 2011, 11:43 PM // 23:43

No drawings, unfortunatly, to update with; but i do have some photography

Went to the zoo today with some friends because one of them had been dying to go, so weve had it planned for about a month. Took my new camera with me and actually got two, really surprisingly-good shots

Can't remember if its a bearded dragon or a water dragon, but he looks like he's pondering life at its core. Or derping really hard.

A tree frog (dont remember which specific species), very tiny species. I really like how clear the dots are on his skin. I call him jellybeans

(because of the pebbles near him :3)

Just thought I'd share something art related here with you guys. Its been almost a month since ive been able to create anything; even sketches >.<

Gathering refrences for the torso though; after this friday my project load dies down slightly (though i feel like im saying that everyweek...)

Edit: Also, this:

Figured I had to since the Toronto Zoo prides itself in having one of the most succesful Western Lowland gorilla populations in captivity and all around have a great care program for them. Too great a pose to ignore ^^
This is the only one editted content-wise. It originally had this large blue glare, so I corrected some of the colour.

Charlie Dayman · Apr 04, 2011, 12:47 AM // 00:47

Wow, those are some pretty great pics. The expression on the lizard makes me lol. That little tree frog is pretty awesome too.

Death By An Arrow · Apr 04, 2011, 01:19 AM // 01:19

It really is a powerful camera. Though, most have my images have camera shake because im so jittery >.>

I took about 250+ photos, kept 49. About a handful were of this quality though. Hopefully when I can better understand all of my cameras features and settings I'll be able to get some more consistent pictures. That and a light tripod

Verene · Apr 04, 2011, 02:17 AM // 02:17

Bearded dragon! My best friend has one and he is epically awesome. They are awesome lizards in general. He's probably wondering if he can mind-control someone into giving him some raspberries.

And I love the little teeny frog <3

What kind of camera do you have? And yeah, that's common with photography - I usually go out taking pictures and keep about 10% of the ones I took (I'm extremely fussy). Tripods are awesome, I have three of them XD I want a little mini one, though, because the ones I have are full-sized and too large to really carry around with me.

Death By An Arrow · Apr 04, 2011, 02:48 AM // 02:48

My friend has a bearded dragon too

I'm pretty sure she accidently made her dragon's third eye blind (woah, band name.). Theyve got a light sensing 'eye' on the top of their heads, which is sensitive to touch, but she totally forgot for like.. 5 years and just always pet it there. Though, he never seemed to mind it.

I got a Canon Rebel T2i over the march break; the T3i came out (its the T2i but with more fps video shooting) so the T2i got cheaper. then it went on sale, so i figured it had to be then

I got a monopod to start with because it seemed portable (which it is) and could be used less as a sure-fire stabalizer, but as an aide to keep my hands from shaking as much. Which it does, so next I need to find a lightweight tripod I can carry around the zoo with me.

Verene · Apr 04, 2011, 03:30 AM // 03:30

Feh! I'm jealous. I have a Rebel XS, which is still awesome, but want

A note on mini tripods - they have little ones they sell at the dollar store. Don't waste your time with them. My mom got one and I stuck my camera on it and it promptly fell over, it was too flimsy to hold it up. Thankfully I have really damn quick reflexes when it comes to my camera.

Ravenhawk · Apr 04, 2011, 01:56 PM // 13:56

Those are gorgeous pics DBA. Love the first two. Really nice and crisp

Morag D · Apr 04, 2011, 04:08 PM // 16:08

lovely shots

great stuff getting yourself a decent camera, and (speaking from experience), the one BIG thing that will improve your photography is GOIN OUT THERE AND DOIN IT

I have myself recently gone through a massive photographic learning process, so if you value some constructive feedback, read on [if not, ignore paragraph]:
The dragon one is lovely, nice colours and it's sharp, which is good. I like the shallow depth of field (aka low f stop), which focuses on the main subject well. If you wanted to take it the one step further, try figuring out whether/how your camera lets you control the focus point, and then always focus on the eyes - right now the focus is on the lower jaw, but it's not a major issue (just sayin..

. Also like the frog one, the greens are balanced nicely by the orange, and again, it's sharp. Both photos could profit from a more exciting composition - at the moment your main content is all dead center. This is a practice thing, and if you really wanted to get new ideas on composition, I recommend Freeman's The Photographer's Eye, it's really good. The gorilla one is so cute, and good job getting rid of the blue glare. You might want to adjust the levels a bit, darken the shadows so they look properly black or at least dark grey

Hope that helps, if not, sorry for meddling xD

Eastern Magik · Apr 04, 2011, 04:36 PM // 16:36

daaaaaaaaaw, that little frog is so cute :33333

Death By An Arrow · Apr 04, 2011, 07:40 PM // 19:40

@Verene;
Yeah, the T2i really is quite awesome. If you ever intend to look for a new camera, I would deffinatly suggest it. Ive never owned an SLR before, yet I'm not finding it too-challanging to figure out... so far

I plan on saving up for a tripod made of strong materials as opposed to a cheaper one. A little more expensive, but well worth it in the long run.

@Mina Hehe, thanks ^^ I wish the third one was as crisp, but the glass was all smudged and I kept getting focus on the glass and not the gorillas >.<

@Morag I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism! How else am I suppose to improve myself

As I stated above, I've only gotten to use my camera twice so far and I've never owned an SLR before (i've used them once or twice, but never had my own). These shots were just sort of lucky gets to be honest; I wasn't trying to set up composition and such (like I would if I was really trying to get something good). Pretty much just saw awesome things and point-click. ;p

I actually think I know the feature you're talking about for the dragon; the first time I tried my camera I thought it was a zoom feature until I realized... it didnt zoom in

I actually took the picture to capture the openjaw/expression so it was kind of onpurpose (but still coincidental

). Though I know what you mean about focusing on the eye.
Also, the colours on the gorilla's could be more vibrant but to be honest they aren't that far off from what they actually look like. The glare and the colour adjusting might have been a little extra dulling :x

I agree with the compositions as well, it is something I atleast try to do when I'm thinking about it. These were sort of like, "quick get the photo before they move D:" kinds of pictures

Ill keep the composition photography book suggestion in mind; im sure it will come in hand with both drawing and photography. Ill see if I can find it in Canada, or atleast something similar.

@Magik I totally agree. The blue-green colour sort of makes it more awesome in my opinion.. the colour is just really nice

Verene · Apr 04, 2011, 08:09 PM // 20:09

Honestly, the best thing to do is just put it on manual focus and take a ton of shots, adjusting things slightly. It can be hard to tell if something's fully in focus through the viewfinder; when I'm taking photos I usually take several of the same thing, adjusting the focus a tiny bit between each one. Usually at least one or two turns out as I want it to.

Plus doing that is helping me learn all of the different functions better than reading tutorials has.

Also, shoot in RAW format if possible. The file sizes will be much larger, but also higher quality and you have more control over editing things when you import it into Photoshop.

Death By An Arrow · Apr 25, 2011, 10:59 PM // 22:59

Ok, so i know it's been quite a while since I've updated this or anything. School is (surprise surprise) still a little busy and such. However I have to put everything on hold momentarily as I've got something prominent I really need to do.

So i got into a car accident today (BUT its ok, everyone is fine). Pulled into an interesection without double checking my right side and pulled infront of another car. Stupidest mistake ever. So i feel really bad because the other guy was around 70 (but not frail 70, the extent of his injuries was high blood pressure [its an car accident, im assuming thats normal] and as far as I know everything is fine but they took him to a hospital JUST incase) so I want to atleast want to try and make it up in some way for totally inconvening his life.

So my solution is I want to draw or paint him something (preferably draw, but itll depend on the subject matter). Itll be watercolour if it's paint. I have no idea what the subject should be though; i was thinking something generally warm and upbringing (i.e. adorable animals) but I really dont have any idea. I also know nothing about him, so that doesn't help me either.

I could really use some suggestions, as I've got a super busy week and really think this is something I should finish as soon as possible. I really dont think I should deliver it to him explicitly (because... really, he doesnt want to see me. Nor does his family) so I think I might mail it. So size would also be a factor potentially.

InfestedHydralisk · Apr 26, 2011, 12:46 AM // 00:46

How about a flower field, with some farm buildings in the background and for example a bee on top of a flower thats close?

Death By An Arrow · Apr 26, 2011, 01:14 AM // 01:14

That actually sounds quite nice. I did a little thumnail sketch of it, and if other people spout ideas out I'll do them too and post them tomorrow then go from there.