Sekator's... art?

[Sekator]

Wasn't expecting so much answers to be honest...

Well, I can say I already tried out many things you people suggested. When I was still suffering after my failures and bashing I got at the picture I posted for critique somewhere else and couldn't take pencil for a long time, the thing I did the most was lurking around tutorials, so I can say I've had enough of them... pretty much.

Watching other people's work... yeah, that one too. I read some webcomics, and also look for tricks to learn in advanced pictures around this site, but I also like to wander around the net and look at the pictures worse than mine. Great way to pump up self-esteem. A bit selfish way, but hey!

I must humbly disagree and stand by what I said earlier. While you can be unhappy or happy with your result, if you don't distance yourself from your work you won't be able to accept criticism properly. If you do so then you shouldn't ever feel like a failure as an artist just because one piece doesn't work.

Yeah, but it's kind of a different story when you repeatedly fail several projects instead of breaking one picture. When I suffer this, a phrase inevitably echoes in my head "You fail at drawing".

It seems to me that considering this is your 5th drawing, you've made progress (as far as I know). the only things that seem to catch my eye are the folds and those straight lines.

Cloth folds are my biggest pain in drawing. Even hands and feet are something I can deal with, but folds... I can't understand how to lay them for the heck - here I was laying them blindly. And don't even get me started about the tutorials please... I've read a LOT of them about folds, and still can't get it no matter what.

As for the straight lines, I was aware limbs are not supposed to be like this... but any attempts to fix that have ended with failure. I've erased and redrawn them several times, trying to curve these lines realistically, but all my efforts to do so resulted in whole thing looking like garbage, so I've given up and left it as it is. Seems fixing it was too much for me this time.

For instance, you might want to watch out of the arms, as one is longer than the other here. The lower legs are too long compared to the length of the thighs, and I would suggest wider shoulders.

I usually don't make such mistakes as the one with arms but... check the picture - you see that bulky thing on her left (right in the picture) wrist? I think that's the reason I messed it up. I was thinking about it all the time while drawing arms. As for the shoulders, I can't see what's wrong with them. Seems right to me.

Well... the problem is I actually don't know how to practice. Everywhere I ask, I hear "draw systematically". Draw what?! Other people's pictures? My own characters? Other people's characters in different poses? Unanimate objects? Portraits? Specific sections of characters? Items? Real life objects?

Oh, and speaking of which... I can do imo very good sketches of objects from real life (didn't try whole sceneries) but I absolutely despise it - that's not how I like drawing. The whole magic in this art for me is the possibility to CREATE, not RECREATE - to put into existence something from imagination. Recreating objects from my sight is just plain boring, stupid and I hate it... not to mention it doesn't have anything in common with my target style.

The style I'm attempting to achieve is as "clean" as possible without too much detail. That's how much I know at the moment.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up. I gotta say mangatutorials is far more friendly than the forum I visited earlier... which kinda puts my country to a shame :/ Here at least I got some suggestions with the critique, whereas the first time the only thing I heard was in short "This sucks, that sucks, everything is crap. I'm not telling this to offend you, it's pure truth. You got your critique. Happy?"

[Celestial-Fox]

You don't know how to practice? Well! That's the easy part. If you can copy things well, just try to find as many references as possible. Then you can take certain parts of those references and put them into a new picture which is entirely your own. To get good practice on drawing from imagination, try doing a life drawing, then looking at that life drawing try to draw it again in your own style (not realism). The things that you are concerned about will usually resolve themselves if you keep drawing--and it doesn't matter what kind of drawing you do to get to that point.

Also, if you're ever stumped, Posemaniacs.com has a ton of great references to use.

[The_shaman]

Please understand you don’t cross the learning curve over night. It takes both study and practice; there are people who actually make money off their work and still climbing the learning curve. Everyone on this site is simply at different levels of the learning and it actually takes years to overcome it.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up. I gotta say mangatutorials is far more friendly than the forum I visited earlier... which kinda puts my country to a shame :/ Here at least I got some suggestions with the critique, whereas the first time the only thing I heard was in short "This sucks, that sucks, everything is crap. I'm not telling this to offend you, it's pure truth. You got your critique. Happy?"

Where was this site, the people here are more open with others art, a lot of other sites are not. Depending where you were, the mindset of the people or artist there are completely different from what you were expecting. Also I would like to see some of your still life and life drawing.

I usually don't make such mistakes as the one with arms but... check the picture - you see that bulky thing on her left (right in the picture) wrist? I think that's the reason I messed it up. I was thinking about it all the time while drawing arms. As for the shoulders, I can't see what's wrong with them. Seems right to me.

Well... the problem is I actually don't know how to practice. Everywhere I ask, I hear "draw systematically". Draw what?! Other people's pictures? My own characters? Other people's characters in different poses? Unanimate objects? Portraits? Specific sections of characters? Items? Real life objects?

The questions you ask are things that usually aren’t answered in most critics here. How you practice actually understands how to see. The human figure in generally is a organic shape, our muscles wrap around our skeleton, bend and twist into each other. In Italia artist draw “In the round recreating what our body do.
Bridgemen’s work
http://pwlawrence.com/wordpress/wp-c...man_figure.jpg
http://onajii.com/a_sketches/bridgeman_14.jpg

Can’t find any of normal Rockwell figures right now. So here’s donivan howard
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...d/800x1085.jpg

Vilppu
http://thecafeteria.net/wp-content/u...2011/01/58.jpg

my point is, it is these people works I suggest you study, to improve, but understand where I am coming from and the direction I will have you take leads to a different world than where others on this site would go. And before anyone yells it is, this is no insult to anyone here or anyone who tries to help you, it’s just reality.

[Distorted_Dirk]

are people arguing? lol
the drawing is pretty good. keep up the good work and practice, practice, practice.

[doghateburger]

What CF said, practice in art is similar to practice in about everything else, repetition, repetition, and repetition. Find a good reference, from real life preferably, and constantly draw it, until its stuck in your head.

If you don't know what practice looks like, heres one of mine own personal practice scrap xD
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ractice199.jpg

If you need any books, I suggest BRIDGMANS - Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. Check it out, its good ;D

[CypressDahlia]

Visit the Groupboard sometime and I (or one of our other regular artists) can point you in the right direction as far as proportions go.

Also, don't listen to the_shaman. He is a protoplasm of drawing skill and you don't want to follow "in his direction", lest you be stuck in a quagmire of sub-mediocrity for the next three years. Just being 'real' here.