My Anime-ish drawing

Eric · 05-08-2010, 10:20 PM

It looked pretty good, but then I went over it with pen and f**ked it up.

It looks okay, but I feel like it's amatuerish. It's missing something.

Can anyone help?

**Valigarmander** · 05-08-2010, 11:30 PM

Just keep going at it.

Practice makes perfect.

Eric · 05-08-2010, 11:36 PM

I've been drawing anime for about a half a year. It's apparent that's not enough time to learn how to draw masterpieces. Sorry for the crappy quality. I take photos with my camera. I also messed it up when I tried to darken it with pen.

***Ace Mercury*** · 05-09-2010, 01:30 PM

Key is practice. Like, real diligent practice.

Do you know the origin of the term "masterpiece"? Apprentices in a trade have to produce a piece of work of suitable quality before becoming a registered tradesman. To be a master craftsman, you'd have to prove it by making a masterpiece. You're still a journeyman (just like most of us.)

Eric · 05-09-2010, 02:03 PM

*sigh* I know it takes A LOT of time to be good at this stuff.

It sucks that I have an impatient personality. Everyone says "practice makes perfect." But it gets me aggravated that I practice but I don't know how much practice makes perfect...

Eric · 05-09-2010, 10:35 PM

Any advice to make it better? I can't help but feel it's missing something...

Antisocial · 05-10-2010, 12:48 AM

Looks a hell of a lot better than my primary endeavors into drawing such. You just have to work on the symmetry of the head when it comes to drawing these characters from the front, as in make sure the left and right sides mirror each other fairly well (unless of course, this is not your intent). I still have problems with this myself, namely because symmetry is not a natural thing to do in drawing freehand, since you're basically drawing from one side of your body. In other words, your drawing hand will act in ways you don't want it to unless you train yourself to go against this.

Other than that, it looks great. Believe me, I understand your frustration when it comes to drawing things and wondering what the hell you're doing wrong.

***Cosmonautical*** · 05-10-2010, 01:59 AM

This covers most of your basic stuff:

How To Draw Faces

The rest is mostly just time and repetition. Keep in mind that doing something over and over again isn't what improves your technique, it's gaining experience and applying it. You can improve your artistic technique just by thinking about it.

I'd love to show you some things that will improve your lines, etc, but I'm a very physical person when it comes to teaching so I don't think I'd give you good instructions via the interdude.

***Ace Mercury*** · 05-10-2010, 07:06 AM

I agree; critical comments are great for learning. I don't mean "critical" in the negative sense, but in the most literal sense -- a critique of your work. It's great if you can critique yourself, though it's best to get another human to look at it. Other people are great for ruining your drawing.

A neat trick is to flip your drawing horizontally; when you do that, you can get a fresh look at your drawing. Do it. All of these obvious errors just become obvious. I'm not sure, but I don't think you should do it too often or too early, because you only get one flip before your eye gets used to the flipped version, and you're stuck with artist blindness again.

Also, start saving reference files. If you're on the interwebs and you see an image which looks good, save it. (Same if you're watching an anime/mango thing, take a screencap.) Keep a healthy folder of reference shots so you can ~~copy~~be inspired by them. I advise against wholesale copying (unless you want to work on line quality), but it's great having references for how to draw eyes, hands, clothing folds, colours, etc.

Also, construction lines. Can't really tell from your picture, but it's really helpful to have a general outline to work from before you do the inks, e.g. a circle/ellipse for the head, a spine pencilled in, etc.

Eric · 05-10-2010, 02:31 PM

Thanks for the advice. I am taking every last word into consideration. I see everyone making these nice sleek anime drawings, making it look easy. Then I try, and it's not nearly as good. And I never think about them starting out being in the same position I am. Unfortunantly for me, I have a very negative additude. I always look at the screwups and think I spent all that time in vain. But now I have a different point of view.

***Ace Mercury*** · 05-10-2010, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric

point of few

-.-()

Eric · 05-10-2010, 07:53 PM

C'mon! That was a touching inspirational speech and you have to ruin it by pointing out a typo...

05-08-2010, 10:20 PM	#1
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	My Anime-ish drawing It looked pretty good, but then I went over it with pen and f**ked it up. It looks okay, but I feel like it's amatuerish. It's missing something. Can anyone help?

05-08-2010, 11:36 PM	#3
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	I've been drawing anime for about a half a year. It's apparent that's not enough time to learn how to draw masterpieces. Sorry for the crappy quality. I take photos with my camera. I also messed it up when I tried to darken it with pen. Last edited by Eric; 05-09-2010 at 09:22 AM. Reason: Typos FTW

05-10-2010, 12:48 AM	#7
Antisocial Janitor Join Date: May 2000 Gender: Posts: 11,471 Thanks: 14 Thanked 1,296 Times in 536 Posts	Results without effort? Yeah, that'd be awesome. Looks a hell of a lot better than my primary endeavors into drawing such. You just have to work on the symmetry of the head when it comes to drawing these characters from the front, as in make sure the left and right sides mirror each other fairly well (unless of course, this is not your intent). I still have problems with this myself, namely because symmetry is not a natural thing to do in drawing freehand, since you're basically drawing from one side of your body. In other words, your drawing hand will act in ways you don't want it to unless you train yourself to go against this. Other than that, it looks great. Believe me, I understand your frustration when it comes to drawing things and wondering what the hell you're doing wrong.

05-10-2010, 07:06 AM	#9
*Ace Mercury* Marshmallow Knight ☆ Supermod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Southern Ontario Gender: Posts: 23,274 Thanks: 568 Thanked 3,297 Times in 1,582 Posts Blog Entries: 1	There is no longer any unethical treatment of elephants. I agree; critical comments are great for learning. I don't mean "critical" in the negative sense, but in the most literal sense -- a critique of your work. It's great if you can critique yourself, though it's best to get another human to look at it. Other people are great for ruining your drawing. A neat trick is to flip your drawing horizontally; when you do that, you can get a fresh look at your drawing. Do it. All of these obvious errors just become obvious. I'm not sure, but I don't think you should do it too often or too early, because you only get one flip before your eye gets used to the flipped version, and you're stuck with artist blindness again. Also, start saving reference files. If you're on the interwebs and you see an image which looks good, save it. (Same if you're watching an anime/mango thing, take a screencap.) Keep a healthy folder of reference shots so you can ~~copy~~be inspired by them. I advise against wholesale copying (unless you want to work on line quality), but it's great having references for how to draw eyes, hands, clothing folds, colours, etc. Also, construction lines. Can't really tell from your picture, but it's really helpful to have a general outline to work from before you do the inks, e.g. a circle/ellipse for the head, a spine pencilled in, etc.

05-10-2010, 02:31 PM	#10
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	Thanks for the advice. I am taking every last word into consideration. I see everyone making these nice sleek anime drawings, making it look easy. Then I try, and it's not nearly as good. And I never think about them starting out being in the same position I am. Unfortunantly for me, I have a very negative additude. I always look at the screwups and think I spent all that time in vain. But now I have a different point of view. Last edited by Eric; 05-10-2010 at 07:46 PM. Reason: What are you, Ace? My writing teacher?

05-08-2010, 11:30 PM	#2
Valigarmander The Bee's Knees Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: The land of rain and trees (Oregon) Gender: Posts: 29,755 Thanks: 1,649 Thanked 5,700 Times in 2,580 Posts Blog Entries: 20	Just keep going at it. Practice makes perfect.

05-09-2010, 01:30 PM	#4
*Ace Mercury* Marshmallow Knight ☆ Supermod Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Southern Ontario Gender: Posts: 23,274 Thanks: 568 Thanked 3,297 Times in 1,582 Posts Blog Entries: 1	Key is practice. Like, real diligent practice. Do you know the origin of the term "masterpiece"? Apprentices in a trade have to produce a piece of work of suitable quality before becoming a registered tradesman. To be a master craftsman, you'd have to prove it by making a masterpiece. You're still a journeyman (just like most of us.)

05-09-2010, 02:03 PM	#5
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	sigh I know it takes A LOT of time to be good at this stuff. It sucks that I have an impatient personality. Everyone says "practice makes perfect." But it gets me aggravated that I practice but I don't know how much practice makes perfect...

05-09-2010, 10:35 PM	#6
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	Any advice to make it better? I can't help but feel it's missing something...

05-10-2010, 01:59 AM	#8
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	This covers most of your basic stuff: How To Draw Faces The rest is mostly just time and repetition. Keep in mind that doing something over and over again isn't what improves your technique, it's gaining experience and applying it. You can improve your artistic technique just by thinking about it. I'd love to show you some things that will improve your lines, etc, but I'm a very physical person when it comes to teaching so I don't think I'd give you good instructions via the interdude.

05-10-2010, 07:53 PM	#12
Eric Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Up your arse and around the corner. Gender: Posts: 1,343 Thanks: 236 Thanked 65 Times in 51 Posts	C'mon! That was a touching inspirational speech and you have to ruin it by pointing out a typo...