Agro is Learning How to Draw: The Blog

[Agro]

Agro is Learning How to Draw

Take My Hand and Come With Me on This Adventure

*Not updated daily; No update schedule; Most likely to update M T W.

 

 
Most Recent Post #18 (7/24/16)

 

[spoiler=Post 1 (10/12/15)]

 

I started taking animation classes recently, and I figured after a few weeks, I might as well share at least one thing I've worked on

 

I'm not all that good at it, and this is the first thing I've made using the techniques they've taught us (albeit I feel like I'm using them poorly)

 

Wanted to share anyway, since I kinda like it.

 

 
It's actually just a lot of stamp tool and clipping masks. I'm probably most proud of those rocks in the foreground.
 
I made the mistake of making the structure a 3-vanish point object halfway through outlining it as a 2-vanish point object. Honestly, though, I think it can be easily rectified simply by shrinking the angle that the floor on the 1st level takes at the corners. 
 
May also mess with blur for added perspective while I'm at it.

 

 

[spoiler=Post 2 (10/13/15)]

 

So one of the classes I'm taking is a character development class, and the only way to get an A or B in the class is by submitting multiple versions of an assignment except with your own characters and ideas instead of whatever the original assignment prompts called for.

 

The projects we've done range from initial design ideas for a character, layout sheets, and expression sheets.

 

Honestly, this is my favorite class. I just really enjoy designing characters.

 

[spoiler=Character A aka a Lab Tech]

This is what I turned in for my expression sheet.

 

Character concepting is a long process that takes a lot of trial and error and just basically ends up with a sheet of images you can use to pitch the character to someone else. Im not exactly there yet with this next guy, but you can tell where I want to go with his clothing, and his face has greatly improved (from the top right through the bottom right.) And yes, for those wondering, this character is where one of my older and classic avi's came from. For now, he is simply known as "Wraith".

 

[spoiler=Character B aka Wraith]

YES I KNOW THAT HIS EYES ARE UNEVEN ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT.

 
But once I started working on giving characters expressions, I realized that giving a character an expression makes it easier for me to design them. It helped when I started doing it with the above dude, but it especially worked with the following guy, who is my son.

 

[spoiler=Character C aka The MC]

Notice how the worst versions of him are definitely the 2nd and 3rd and that neither of them really show an expression? Me too.

 

Not coincidentally, the order these were created in goes 2, 3, 4, 5, 1.

 

TALK TO ME. I need feedback, suggestions, and comments.

 

Anything to make me think in different ways throughout the process.

 

I'll be back tomorrow with more drawings.

 

 

[spoiler=Post 3 (10/14/15)]

Wednesday is my class on Life Drawing, which simply involves sketching a model in different poses to understand anatomy and form. It's probably my least favorite class, but that is only because it is work meant to get that rammed into us, which I understand completely.

[spoiler=I went through about 4 pages of these, but this is the last one I worked on. (Which is usually the best one each week.)]

 

 

I don't have TOO much new to add to this blog otherwise, today, but I did do some updates on one of the characters that I posted yesterday.

[spoiler=I m really liking how this kid is turning out after the first two drawings of him being less than stellar imo']
Added:

• Shading
• 6th Expression
• Edited the "Activated" version of his sunglasses in the second image so the metal runs down his nose. I think it looks way better.
• His hair in the "Activated" version now runs over the metal crown of the glasses
• Drew the body, clothes and armor on the second head as a first sketch to see what it looked like and try to figure out how I want it to look moving forward. It's cropped because I didn't like how the full design looked, but the general idea of the clothing should be obvious from what is there

 

Also, here's the same image, but I've removed every layer except the line work for the face and hair, and the blocking for the hair.

 

So right now, I guess I'm just trying to be more consistent on the eye, including shape and location. I ignored the nose on the far left, which was a dumb mistake since eyes and noses are arguably the most significant part of differentiating one person from another.

 

The hardest part might just be consistently getting the chin and cheek the correct shape in the 3/4 position.

 

 

 

That's probably it for this week, folks.

 

Post 4 (10/19/15)
Post 5 (10/20/15)
Post 6 (10/21/15)
Post 7 (10/23/15)
Post 8 (10/26/15)
Post 9 (10/27/15)
Post 10 (10/28/15)
Post 11 (11/3/15)
Post 12 (11/4/15)
Post 13 (11/5/15)
Post 14 (11/9/15)
Post 15 (11/10/15)
Post 16 (11/11/15)
Post 17 (11/18/15)

[Agro]

So I didn't get much time in to work today since I didn't spend 2-3 hours in the lab working. We animated a bouncing ball. Woo. Frankly, I think I'm more into concepting and storyboarding than actually animating. Which I assume means I won't be finishing this major. But I will keep drawing. That's for sure. Currently, I'm just trying to consider my options for getting maybe a Wacom or cheaper alternative to draw on at home, since all I have is that $80 Wacom tablet that doesn't feel intuitive at all.

 

Anyway, All I got for you all today is just an update on the MC. I've included the 3 best images from my last post, ordered from left to right in how much I like them. The goal today was to draw a 3/4 perspective while making the character look as old as they were intended to be– since previously, as you can tell, the best versions were definitely the straight-on images. Just to get a full 180, I ended up doing a side shot, as well as a 3/4 from behind. I think I found a head shape I like, so we'll see if I can maintain it moving forward. Like last week, I've included one with and without shading and the sunglasses.

 

 

If you couldn't tell, something's still off. Part of it is the eye placement, which I still am having trouble with, but is especially apparent with the far right one. I moved the right eye (our right) several times, but none of them really worked like I wanted. At least I didn't catch it this time until now. Of the right set of images, I'd say the best right now are 1 and 3. 2 actually feels good, it just needs some touching up. Might be the eyes again.

 

I managed to get the character to look older by diminishing the curves of the face, which is something I guess I should have learned already. Will keep it in mind anyway. I'm wondering if something about the shape of the face is still off besides the eye on the far right image, but I can't quite put my finger on what it would be. His hair's supposed to be fairly messy. Does it look fine, or should I go messier?

 

As always, still working on facial structures and anatomy. Thanks for commenting last time, everyone.

[Agro]

Another update!
 
Today I was back to my character development class, but since we're just going through an animation program again, I thought I'd just share the bouncing ball that I mentioned yesterday. This gif was made in photoshop on twos (two frames per image), but I did make it in ones on the other program. Just didn't care enough to share it. Plus I know PS better.
 

Pretty simple stuff really.
 
Next up are 3 drawings I worked on after class ended. Just more of the mc I'm developing. The first two are from yesterday. I moved around their eyes a bit, and it did wonders for the second one. First one seems off still, but it may be due to having it offset with the second image so all his facial features look like they're lower than they actually are. I was feeling really good about the first image in the second set, as I drew basically all of it much faster than I had previously, but once again, I felt iffy on the eyes, cheeks and chin, so I spent an exorbitant amount of time editing that. Still don't think the chin is right.

 

 

The straight-on image is still the best, by far, like every time. If I could just figure out the facial structure as it relates to the 3/4 shot, I may finally get what I want, consistently. As for now, I'm stuck with the fourth image being the only one making me think that the mc is adorable.

 

Last image is fem!mc, that I made a bit earlier than I really was going to because Kate asked. Don't ask why, shush.

[Aix]

These minor adjustments should make your art a lot better.

1. Your iris/pupil needs to be bigger. Those things will always be touching the top and/or bottom of like the eye area thing unless you're surprised.
2. Your ears need to be lower.
3. Although it's not prominent in real life, you need to draw in the jawbone thing in anime.
4. Your chin shouldn't come to a point, at least give it a little bit of roundedness.

[Agro]

 

D: whensomeonedrawsyourocbetterthanyousoyoufeellikequitting

 

These minor adjustments should make your art a lot better.

1. Your iris/pupil needs to be bigger. Those things will always be touching the top and/or bottom of like the eye area thing unless you're surprised. Yeah, I'm constantly looking at the eyes and drawing them larger so that makes sense.
2. Your ears need to be lower. Oki
3. Although it's not prominent in real life, you need to draw in the jawbone thing in anime. Doki
4. Your chin shouldn't come to a point, at least give it a little bit of roundedness. Different styles of character design can allow for a pointed chin. Butyourslooksbetterthanminesoimnotreallyinanyposition to judge

*cries in corner*

[Toffee.]

Is it bad that I get very 2006-2008 Newgrounds vibe from your art style? Or at least the way it is now, at the time of this post. Not saying that it's a bad thing, but like... It reminds me of a lot of goofy flash animations I haven't seen in ages and/or Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

....

And I like that.

 

'Course, you would want it to look more exact/perfect/etc, but still.

[Aix]

While you'd find completely pointed chins in less realistic art styles, the pointedness of the chin is kind of out of place in your art style because yours is more realistic.

[Agro]

While you'd find completely pointed chins in less realistic art styles, the pointedness of the chin is kind of out of place in your art style because yours is more realistic.

Mine's more realistic? If you say so.

 

 

I had been shooting for Drrr's character design a la Masaomi but that hasn't been going all to well so I'll try le new things

 

SPEAKING OF WHICH, THIS IS NOW AN UPDATE POST:

 

Today was my life drawing class. I was off my game today, so everything was shite and I'm not sharing any of it. I blame Aix </3

 

Actually, after you posted, I was fairly disheartened (if my response and last few statuses didn't make that clear). Compounding this was the fact that I do not have a good drawing tablet or monitor at home to use and distract myself/practice, meaning I was essentially forced to wallow for several hours before and after bed before finally being able to make use of my cintiq. At that point, me being me, I remembered that I don't like feeling inferior to others in things I like doing, so– as noted in a recent status with cow– I did the reasonable thing and began practicing to improve. 

 

I tried drawing some new looks using Aix's tips and they looked like they were working out, but something was still off. Due to that, I actually just took the best image I'd drawn, the straight-on from yesterday, and lined it up to attempt drawing a side-shot (1). After, I went back and edited the straight-on one I used as reference to better match the updated look gained from using Aix's criticism (4). Both looked great, so I moved on to draw a 3/4 perspective that would be in between (2). This is something I'd been trying to do for a while now, since I've had a hard time actually getting the character to actually look like the character from different perspectives. Doing this should make it easier to create a turn-around sheet, and thereby, making any future drawings of the mc a breeze.

 

That being said, there are still a few changes I wanted to make with the mc. I ended up editing the best 3/4 shot from my last update using Aix criticism, as well as the information gained through the edited side and front shots. Tbh, I think it ended up looking better than the one I had just drawn (3). The main reason for this might be the way the cheeks and chin are shaped– albeit, being something that may have more to do with how the mc's head is tilted. In either case, I'll be using #3 as reference when drawing the cheek from a 3/4 shot in the future. I also still need more consistency with the eyes and nose– the latter of which I was going back and forth through each image, editing to try to make look like the same nose. You can be the judge as to how well that worked.

 

 

Other notes:

• The two drawings I referenced being unhappy with were not included, as after drawing these 4, they looked preeeeeeetty baaaaad.
• I changed the opacity level of the hair color blocking layer to better show the lines that I used to determine the hair shape. Straight black all around just wasn't appealing this time around– this isn't a manga... yet.
• I'm only slightly worried at how much #2 reminds me of the other character I was developing, aka "wraith". I'll definitely have to look over both of them and differentiate them further as I work on them more. I haven't worked on "wraith" in a while and should be getting back to him soon, so I'll start again likely next week.
• I also actually looked up shadows to do the shading of the facial structure this time. I'm dumb for avoiding doing it before even though I've known it was a good idea.
• If all else fails and I'm still jealous of how much better other artists are than me, at least I can take solace in the idea of hiring them at a studio where I can tell them to draw my sheet. AYYYYY

 

All in all, Aix's criticism was extremely helpful and I'd say that these new images have shown significant improvement. So thanks for that, and if you or anyone has more thoughts, advice, or criticism to share, please let me know.

[mitchermitcher]

You can really see that increased attention in drawing the jawline. Shading game's alright too.

 

The ears look rather detailed in comparison to the rest of the face but that could be just me.

 

You mentioned Kida so I'll mention the DRRR character designer being Suzuhito Yasuda. Quite a fan of his art myself, might be decent time spent to go look at his other artsy stuff.

[Aix]

Sorry, I didn't realize the effect would be that bad. Art can be a long and difficult path, but it should be walked with your eyes constantly on improving yourself and looking forwards to what you'll be able to draw while you simultaneously just go enjoy yourself in the act of drawing. Also art is considerably harder when you don't have someone show you where you're going wrong, because it is really damn hard to see exactly where you're going wrong by yourself, especially when you're attempting your own art style (which actually isn't meant to be attempted until you get a firm grasp of realistic art and anatomy first in textbook cases). That's why I stepped in here. Also, yeah, I just had to come show you who's boss.

 

I want to know how you are laying the groundwork for your art, like do you use shapes to plan out your drawing?

[Agro]

You can really see that increased attention in drawing the jawline. Shading game's alright too.

I like it for now, but it could still use work. I used a reference for the far left one. The other 3 were a mixture of memory from paying attention to shading in recent anime I'd watched as well as feeling up my face for the duration of shading it.

 

The ears look rather detailed in comparison to the rest of the face but that could be just me.

I spent about 10 minutes running my fingers through every crevice of my ear without remembering that they style I'd been working in was minimalist in facial features. There's a go-to simple ear line that I normally go with, I suppose that I was just looking for a different way to draw it. I like how the 3rd one turned out, even if it's over-detailed compared to the rest. First one is just funking garbage.

 

You mentioned Kida so I'll mention the DRRR character designer being Suzuhito Yasuda. Quite a fan of his art myself, might be decent time spent to go look at his other artsy stuff.

I'll look into his other work more, eventually. I was mainly trying to emulate him since I felt Masaomi was a very attractive-looking character.

 

 

Sorry, I didn't realize the effect would be that bad. Art can be a long and difficult path, but it should be walked with your eyes constantly on improving yourself and looking forwards to what you'll be able to draw while you simultaneously just go enjoy yourself in the act of drawing.

Eh, it wasn't that bad. I was mainly just frustrated that I couldn't actively edit the drawings, since I don't have a drawing monitor of my own to use so I have to use the ones in the lab of the technical college that I'm taking animation courses at. Once I finally got back to work I was peachy. Even though I consider myself a writer first and foremost, I have a harder time getting into writing and losing myself in it than I do by just drawing. Once I start, everything else can just fall away. Besides, I kinda like a few of the ones I came up with more than the one you drew :>~

 

Also art is considerably harder when you don't have someone show you where you're going wrong, because it is really damn hard to see exactly where you're going wrong by yourself, especially when you're attempting your own art style (which actually isn't meant to be attempted until you get a firm grasp of realistic art and anatomy first in textbook cases). That's why I stepped in here.

I do have that in my classes right now. Specifically, the life-drawing instructor, who formerly worked at Pixar and has been around the animation industry. The other two classes, it doesn't happen as much, as getting the drawings to look right isn't really the focus compared to learning the process of creating an animation in the industry. The life-drawing class has been good, though, since it's entirely focused on the form of the human body. Though I assume you already know that.

 

I should note that this isn't my first rodeo, too. I had the K-12 art classes, obviously (though I guess, less obvious more and more these days), but I also took several classes focusing on realistic art and anatomy through high school and college. I did disappoint my instructor a little bit in high school, specifically when she lamented that I only started taking art classes near the end of my tenure there, haha. (My crowning achievement of High School can be found here.) And now I've got these animation classes after graduating university. So it's not my first rodeo, it's just that I've never gotten a firm enough grip on the bull.

 

Also funk waiting :'D Let's just follow the hypothesis that coming up with something new is easier when you've yet to be really molded by other styles.

 

Also, yeah, I just had to come show you who's boss.

It's okay, Aix. We both know that I'd dominate you in bed anyway.

 

Also in Smash Bros. Since that's my outlet and thereby how I got my mind off not being able to draw last night, creating a weird connection in my mind that led to me thinking "I bet I could beat Aix in a money match."

 

I'm a dork. Sleep with me.

 

I want to know how you are laying the groundwork for your art, like do you use shapes to plan out your drawing?

I was going to say go take a look at the life drawing from the 3rd post, but then I realized that it didn't really show what I was doing all that well.

 

For these face drawings, I've been doing 2 things. First was just using a circle and drawing out the rest of the head shape from that. (and the usual facial volume lines) Once I used that to draw a first image, I just drew reference lines to mark where the height of each of the facial features was at. I use a circle to mark the volume of the head on each of the following head drawings.

 

For full body, I usually just do what I do on the life drawings. Circle for the head, get the shape of the head. From there, an s-curve for the body and a flower-sack that follows it. I usually draw in a tush-line to get a basis for where the weight of the lower body is going to go and then draw in straight lines for the legs, a line crossing it to mark where the joint is, angled to direct where the lower half of the leg is going to go. Arms basically do the same thing. Sometimes I'll draw circles at the joints instead. Sketch the actual character over that. (Alternatively, once in a while, I'll draw a stick figure, then do the prior to delineate volume over that, then sketch the character.)

 

So I sort of use shapes. Not to a great enough extent that I can fully map out a whole character with just shapes alone. Sort of. I mean, you get the picture.

 

For these images, though, it's mainly just the reference lines from the first drawing (which are still useful even with the changes I've made to the way the facial features look) and a circle.

 

Though, just to mention for shits, if I had an object or an image in front of me that I'm drawing, a lot of the time, I'll go freehand. Example: the Snow Leopard I linked to previously.

[Agro]

SURPRISE WEDNESDAY UPDATE

 

Aix wanted to know process so here is process:

 

Though I should note that I do the hair and the rest of the face on different layers so that I can work on editing one without ruining the other. Because layers are good. Use lots of layers.

 

Didn't spent that much time in the lab today since I was also trying to write, so I went back on the drawings from the past two days and, after suggestions from Aix and Bae, fixed up the hair, jaw, and cheeks to a pretty good extent. Only late did I realize I was being dumb and not lining up the jawline with the mouth. That was silly. 3rd image still has issues with the angle of the bangs. 

Had to actually draw the hair blocking differently due to how I was drawing the hair. Couldn't just fill in the blank anymore. At least, not as well as I could when everything was more rigid.

Will get back to this on Monday, though it's possible I do another weekend update if I start sketching with actual pencil.

[.Rai]

Aix is right about chins. I think that's the main point to take away stylistically. If you took away the features of the face, and just looked at the face itself: Does it look well-proportioned, stylistically appropriate?

 

The progress is super visible though. Dope.

[Agro]

Update thyme.

 

So at first, I got some criticism about how blocky my hair was, to follow that up, I did manage to make loose-looking hair, but made it in a way that comes off as a bit too realistic to the more minimalist style that I'd been using. So today I went back at the four busts I've been editing the last few updates and tried to get the middle ground. It turned out alright, though there's a few issues in balancing that I need to figure out that I didn't see until after I had left the lab.

I also edited the noses, eyes, and ears a bit more to try to make them all match.

 

Next time I draw, I'll definitely do more busts, since I need to practice getting this character right from scratch, quickly. Plus some of these angles don't fit into an actual look of a turnaround, so I need to get that right.

 

Sorry that's all I have today. I had to duck out a bit earlier than usual because there's a scene I've been writing that I really need to have finished before I work most of the night. I'll have more tomorrow. In the meantime, take this barely comedic gif of an animated video I drew today based off the bouncing ball thing from before:

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I don't say much but I do want to point out something in the animation. The landing felt off because it seemed to pause a bit before rolling and it looks like you're trying for a "hits the ground and drags across the dirt" instead of a "lands and then rolls down something.

[Agro]

it looks like you're trying for a "hits the ground and drags across the dirt" instead of a "lands and then rolls down something.

good

[Agro]

Update... Mini I Guess? Sorta? idk

 

 

First off, the hair sucked yesterday so I (mostly) fixed the most glaring issue (the heads were ginormous):

Next up, now that I've got this character looking like a person and not a blob of a head, I started drawing more busts like I said I would. I used the far right bust above as the basis, since I liked the form of the cheeks and chin in that one the most. The problem I'm running into at this point is that the character is starting to resemble more of what I figured I wanted a different character to look like so I may have to mix it up. Right now I'm really just trying to figure out which direction to go, which may be most notable with how the hair is different every few busts– though the right patch of hair coming too far down on the right bust below was just entirely my mistake. 

 

Since I first drew it, I've been trying to replicate the look of the character in the straight-on shot above but from a different angle, and it's pretty clear I'm just getting it straight up wrong. For starters, I'd say the head is just too tall to match it. I'm using the same heights but that doesn't matter when the straight-on bust is definitely with the character's head tilted down (not to mention the mouth is open). I may also need to deemphasize the chin further. What I may end up doing is doing bust after bust that slowly turns the head 90 degrees in any given direction until I know I have it perfect and can see the form differences between what I've been doing and what I should have done. I think doing that would be the most beneficial, as it would help me deal with characters I will certainly try to draw in the future. I'll probably pull out my sketchbook and work on that at home since I won't have much lab time to get into it, really.

I just need you all to understand that ^THIS LOOK^ gives me so much life. Look at those eyes. Look at that grin. Be still my heart. That's some Netflix and Chill sheet right there.

 

I'll stop now.

[Agro]

Update Realzies

 

Wednesday means Life Drawing class, and for the first time in weeks, I felt like I actually drew the model consistently well for all 4 hours of class. You know what that means? That means I'll actually share it this time:

 

Meanwhile, in character development land, I did a teensy bit of editing on the two busts I had made yesterday before spending about an hour and a half trying to make a straight-on bust that at least mildly resembled the 3/4 view look of the character that I had been drawing. It's not perfect, per say, but it's a lot damn closer than I was expecting to get. Took a lot of redrawing and figuring out what I had been doing wrong, previously. After getting that, I redid all 3 with a different expression just so I could play with the eyebrows, eyes and mouth to find out how they'd work. Eyebrows and eyes were pretty easy to figure out, and mouth isn't exactly hard– the issue will just be whether I'll need to work with the jaw and cheeks when I move the mouth, even in a more simplistic stye.

So with this now, I'm thinking that neither the 3/4 nor the straight-on are exactly where I want them to be, but the spot I want is somewhere in the middle. I'm especially looking at the straight-on jaw bone right now because it definitely seems off still. Probably didn't need to curve it in the way I did.

 

So now that I have a new straight-on shot, what do I do with the one that I had been using that I really liked? As I stated yesterday, I wanted to slowly draw turn-arounds of that bust until I knew exactly what it would look like in 3/4 or on the side. Those are going to be my two goals, and hopefully by the end I'll have two designs that I really like– which hopefully means two characters as well.

 

I'll keep working on it.

[Agro]

Okay so I spent most of the day in class making a water drip animation and it turned out whatever and I apologize because when I turned it into a gif, I didn't set it to cycle infinitely, so if you missed it, you'll have to reload it cuz it'll only go once.

 

 

In other news, I finally got around to trying to turn that one front-facing bust that I really liked previously but could never replicated in 3/4 or side view. I had previously (check last few posts) tried to go in another direction and ended up with the look of a character that I will keep developing into the second character, which will likely end up being "Wraith" that showed up in my second post.

 

Anyway, like I said, instead of continuing to develop from where I was at last post, I went back to that front-facing view and tried again to turn it to a side and 3/4 view. In my first attempt, I got the bust on the far left from the 2nd bust in Post #4. As you can tell, something is off about it. Eyes feel off to me, maybe a little too small, and a little too low on the face. After I made that I went back to the bust that I had used and opened up the eyes more so that I could get the eyes lined up well no matter how far they were open, which is where the 2nd bust here comes from. After that I went to the side view and then the 3/4 view. Honestly these are all a lot closer to what I wanted than the previous days' work, but something is definitely still off about them. I think the eyes are off still, and that might have to do with how large I made the pupils, as well as actually trying out putting in eyelashes. 

Additionally, the head is either too tall or too thin, especially in the 3/4. Either way it looks bad but I've been unable to make myself think it looks good anyway so I guess I'll just have to keep deforming and reshaping it until it gets to wear I want to be. I seem to keep forgetting that the 2nd bust definitely shows the character with its head tilted down (even if it's not apparent in this image, the other facial expressions make it obvious), therefore making the chin more pointed than it would be otherwise. Even with that in mind, I've still used it as a basis for heads where the character is looking straight on, so it looks weird when I transfer it. Next time I draw the character, I'll need to figure that sheet out.

 

I'll keep working on it.

[Sethera]

Okay, sooo...first-time blog reader here, mainly because as an artist myself, I have the tendency to go into a lot of detail when I critique. It's something that's ingrained in me by now. However, having not slept in over twenty-four hours (yay) I decided to read through this blog cuz maybe I won't be tempted to spend an hour commenting on stuff.

 

So, it's good that you have a background in this stuff already. Makes things a lot easier when I don't have to tell you to go read up basic anatomy, though you still have a long ways to go there. Which is okay, since we all started out with stick figures, even da Vinci probably. What I recommend is looking up references. References galore. You can find them online and even simplified since with real life it can be hard to discern anatomy especially with things like clothing, hair, etc. Also practice, like what you've been doing. Draw yourself. Get a mirror (or take a picture, but I recommend mirror for a more organic drawing) and draw yourself and that'll help a lot with expressions, which I noticed is a thing you're trying to focus on.

 

Also TUTORIALS. They rock. Seriously. Go look them up. Something like, "anatomy tutorial" either in google search or deviantART. I recommend deviantART as it's filled with some pretty awesome artists. In fact I'll send you a few links.

 

http://heysawbones.deviantart.com/art/UNDERSTANDING-YOUR-STYLE-1-169660607

http://heysawbones.deviantart.com/art/UNDERSTANDING-YOUR-STYLE-2-169660702

 

The above is less anatomy specifically and more tackling a problem a lot of people face. I think it'd be super useful for you, since it looks like anime/manga was one of your big inspirations, which makes sense, considering most of us here read/watch that stuff.

 

For anatomy I recommend the series below:

 

http://foervraengd.deviantart.com/art/UNDERSTANDING-ANATOMY-part-I-220251993

 

If the above is a bit too much right now, here are a couple good tutorials:

 

http://majnouna.deviantart.com/art/Big-Guide-to-Drawing-the-Body-15014442

http://akimiya.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Drawing-the-Body-Part-1-Proportion-345362791

 

Also make sure to check the author comments cuz they'll have continuations or useful links there.

The below is specifically for heads since I noticed you're focusing on that:

 

http://timflanagan.deviantart.com/art/Basic-Head-Tutorial-Layout-18002862

 

There are a TON of other tutorials I could link, like aging, or gaining weight, anime style, poses, expressions, foreshortening, etc. But I think this post has gotten long enough without adding all that stuff in. And I think that the above is something you should focus on before you get to that other stuff so yeah.

 

Oh god I still ended up spending almost an hour on this post whyyy?! D:

[Agro]

Oh god I still ended up spending almost an hour on this post whyyy?! D:

IS OKAY SETH NOW YOU GET HUGS AND THE OFFER OF BUTTSEXING *hugs*

[Tourmaline]

I can see your improvement. If you remain diligent and confident you will continue improving indefinitely.

[Agro]

Small bit of an update.

 

First off, let me say that I had just tried out the black blocking again to see if it looked any better, and that I had intended just to include it here alongside the non-blocked and grey-blocked versions of these busts but blanked when I was putting this together and only included the black busts. My bad, most of these look worse because of it. I'll post the other two versions tomorrow, but for an idea of what it would look like, check out the #3 and #5 busts, which are the first 3/4 busts that I'm actually really adoring.

 

 

#3 and #5 are bae.

 

So the first three are from yesterday, and I've gone in and edited them a small bit. Unfortuantely, you can't really see it with 2 since the black out kinda covers the brush of the hair across the head. Anyway, I didn't really clean up #1, but wanted to keep it as reference for this since that straight-on was the basis for the rest of the busts and I ended up trying to make a new straight-on later.

 

I widened #3's face and that was all the difference. It looks really good now and is very near what I had in mind when creating this character. From that and #2 came the flipped side in #5 and #6, since I wanted to finally get a look from all angles. Once I had #3 and #5, I then went to work using both to try to make a good front view, but with #4, I'm definitely left wanting. It's too thin, like what #3 was previously. I'll have to go back and go through the links Seth posted as well as just look at myself and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any suggestions would help unless you're Aix and are gonna redraw my character again whereas don't touch my baby, i'll keel u.

 

Again really angry about only including the full-black hair blocking because it sincerely makes each of them look worse :\

 

I think I may finally need to pull out the old drawing notepads and put effort on getting that front-view outside of class. Because it's really frustrating me that I've gone from having a front-on I like with no good 3/4, to having a 3/4 I adore and zero front-ons I like.

 

I'll keep working on it.

[Sethera]

tbh getting the head angles and stuff right is one of the harder things when you're learning to draw, so I don't blame you for struggling. Really, again, all I can say is to look up references like real-life heads or drawn heads. Try tracing over if you're really struggling, as it can be a good tool to learn.

 

Here are a couple more links:

 

http://rockinrobin.deviantart.com/art/tutorial-head-angles-perspective-311746543

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Anime-Head-Angles-Perspective-298031888

 

Unless you're doing manga or cartoon style, it's generally not recommended to color things in purely black, for many reasons, one of which you've discovered--it making details hard to make out. Even in manga though, artists sometimes draw strands in lighter colors, or give it shine, both of which help give it contour.

 

 

Of course people can still add in silhouette detail for pitch black hair if they want. It all depends on style and what type of hair you're drawing. Also a lot of artists give close-up shots more detail, which makes sense.

 

 

One thing I remember hearing when I was learning to color hair, is not to scribble away like I was doing, but to draw out the strands individually. Of course that takes a long time, but it's a good way to get the idea of "hair = string" inside your mind. Once you have that in your head, you kind of automatically start drawing it that way, and it looks tons better. Though as you've noticed in manga, hair tends to clump together. Try not to make them uniform though, as that looks super unnatural. Make some clumps thicker, some thinner, some longer, some shorter, etc. They're generally not perfect triangles either. Even for spiky hair, there's a bit of a curve.

 

Try to keep in mind gravity while you draw it too, as unless it's hairsprayed, it'll definitely show its effect. And yeah then there's if it's wet or greasy or not, etc, but I'd focus on learning more about that after you get the basics down. I'll give you another tutorial too cuz yeah I like tutorials.

 

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Tutorial-Hair-145807555

 

Ahhh, this ended up being long again. XP

[Agro]

Ahhh, this ended up being long again. XP

i will forgive you if you call #3 and #5 "bae".