In response to that relevant thing, and even though it's been said hundreds of times already, use Posemaniacs! I promise it'll help. It isn't really fun if you completely stop drawing stuff from your imagination, though, so I usually end up swapping between the two so I can get practice in. Or you could set up a system where you draw one referenced pose for every one or two sketches you do on your own, something like that.
I also like it since the site lets you rotate the pose...it's helpful for seeing how foreshortening works as the body turns toward/away from your view.
Tumblr here.I don't use photo references too much even though I REALLY should *puts it on list*. >.> Anyway, I don't know if you've seen it already but this starry Lackasaisy tut
has helped me a bunch with foreshortening. Thinking of body parts as 3d shapes and all that jazz. If you do the construction thing and use the posemaniacs references you'll be a pro in no time.
All right, thank you. I don't mean to sound selfish, but is there anything specific about the picture?
I mean, general advice is nice, but I'd like to also know some of the more immediate problems as well.
Read my stories!- Overall it looks really stiff and sharp and blocky. Don't be afraid to be bolder and looser. I'm not saying you have to change your style, just give your lines some life!
- I'm not sure why the dude's boots are a shade of purple.
- You told me a while ago to make my noses more varied. Your characters' noses are both small and pointy and their chins are the same shape as well.
- The dude's pants are alright but the girl's are pretty much just a giant chunk of color. They're really big and loose so they should have more folds.
- He's gonna fall over.
- The foreshortening looks really superficial...like, you just made their hands really big and didn't change anything else. That's why I suggested the construction tut. This is really hard to explain in words, but um, for example, the dude's sleeve? It's a straight line across the bottom. If his arm was outstretched then the sleeve would be...curved upwards...agh this isn't making sense is it? Uh, maybe this
helps more? No? I'm really bad at explaining things.
edited 30th Oct '11 2:58:56 PM by piearty
Yeah, I have a chart
for this, but I forgot what Tyler and Nia's nose looked like. I think I might actually edit that.
Anyone wanna critique this
blurry mess?! I was trying to practice skin tone. If anyone says anything— her pupils are squarish on purpose.
edited 6th Nov '11 12:12:14 AM by piearty
The shading looks okay, but I can't really tell well with the blurriness. The freckles look fine, I think, but the nose looks a bit cat-like (unless that's what you were going for, then ignore that comment).
Did my arts education pay off? (link removed because it no longer applies)
edited 16th Feb '12 6:08:59 PM by NomadicLurker
Nothing to see here.![]()
The eyes don't look as if they're looking in the same direction. By the way, are the rectangular pupils a reference to sheep or something like that?
The mouth also looks a little off-centred, although it's difficult to be sure with the blurriness. The skin looks fine, though.
I'm really not sure what to say about any of those. I don't have an arts education, myself
So, this
is my latest picture, drawn in a few hours today. I'd like comments on the anatomy, proportions, stuff like that.
Yeah, the square pupil thing is because she's a faun. Didn't draw her horns though. Idk, pretend they shedded for the season or something. Oh wait...that's deer. Oh well. And yeah, coulda defined her nose better so it didn't look so flat...coulda defined everything better really. I's got issues with that.
![]()
First thought.
I like how you colored her skirt. I don't think it'd have ruffles so evenly spaced in the back though. The cloth would kind of ruffle and uh, bunch in the middle. I think. It's also kind of weird how her right hand (on the wall) is completely in profile. Yes yes, it does make it easy to draw, but it doesn't look very natural. I do find it amusing that her feet are turned out for some reason.
edited 19th Nov '11 6:01:48 PM by piearty
Thanks
The scanner actually didn't replicate the colours of the original perfectly, though - the pink is actually a bit brighter. It's enough to make me want to go totally digital.
Well, the wall is in profile too... which I guess is just me shrinking away from perspective. Her feet are turned out because... I'm not very good at drawing feet that don't look like shapeless blobs.
Be not afraid...It's...interesting. The pictures don't really stand by themselves without the captions/explanations though. Some of them convey about 40% of the meaning but some...like that elephant+prostitute picture are confusing alone and spoiled by the explanation pretty much spelling very single thing out. Maybe the explanations are part and parcel of each of your pieces; personally I don't like that very much. But idk.
Yeah, helpful rule: unless you're severely emaciated, your torso is not thinner than the width of your head. And even then your ribs and hips are wider.
'Nother rule: unless it's for a very subtle effect, don't use gradients. They look awful.
Also notice in the pen drawing that you use what I call the dot-and-stick method of making the skeleton. Personally I like the way I learned from Lackadaisy Cats where you think of joints as actual 3D shapes. (if you haven't noticed, I love Lackadaisy). It really does give everything shape and form. Helps you draw clothes too. It looks like you drew the pants straight on without sketching the legs under the pants. They are giant shapeless stiff blocks.
![]()
Hoxle is a girl. Hence, boobs.
Yeah, I was trying to make a reflection effect.
Also, sometimes I sketch the legs, sometimes I don't forget if I did or not X_x
Work on hips. Got it.
edited 20th Nov '11 7:53:56 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!My faces are naturally masculine.
It's cause I emphasize their jaws too much.
And muscles on females are not common in fiction, and I made them slightly too exaggerated, realistically.
edited 20th Nov '11 7:55:41 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!

The villain piece is good, but the coloring is all of a similar shade, there is no focal point, nothing that really grabs me, so it kind comes off as a slight pile of mush. But I know very little about coloring, so I could be wrong. It's crisp, but not entirely appealing to look at. Unless that's the style you're going for.
The concept art is also good, although you can see a slight tilt to a lot of the buildings. Especially the one with the spikes.
The crack in the building with the tiny windows, some of them seem painted on, without any real effect around them, I mean, there is a crack that goes through glass, but the rest of the glass is solid!
Good use of negative space, though.
New pikshur
.
Yeah, I know, I'm still putting off learning about color theory >_>
oh, and relevant
◊ ;_;
edited 29th Oct '11 12:38:48 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!