273 replies to this topic

[Gmr Leon]

We all have to start somewhere, right? So I thought it would be a cool idea for those who aren't the best artists to post their experiments, practice work, and so forth, here. We can each share our little criticisms, advice, and encouragement on pieces or works-in-progress unrelated to GW artwork and hopefully help each other improve.

I know I for one am not a great artist, but I do sketch a bit to try and get the hang of the basic human form. Here's one of my more recent attempts:


My cursive is a bit rusty, as may be apparent. Anyway, this little sketch was inspired by an astonishingly tall cashier at a GameStop I went to the other day. However, tall people's proportions are...Weird. To me, anyway. I usually go for a general average height when I do go for realism, so this was a bit of a leap for me.

This aside, I've put my work out here for you to see, so please, share your own! (No jokes or insults towards posters, though. That never helps people improve.)

[actionjack]

Well.. you can try to draw more ghosts... they don't have feet  :)

All kidding aside, a good way to train is to sketch models (perferably the super-kind, and nude).  Or just sktch whats in the magazine.  

But I feel you.  My people drawing  still look flat too.  (and I don't mean boobie)

[Amannelle]

Ooo yay! :) Ok, I'm terrible at art, so I was practicing just some silhouettes, and, well... this is the result.... :qq:





practicing different ratios between hips and chest. I tried to have some of "sylvari-ish" silhouettes have larger hips, like that of a fairy, sort of.

[Gmr Leon]

Actionjack said:

Well.. you can try to draw more ghosts... they don't have feet  :)

All kidding aside, a good way to train is to sketch models (perferably the super-kind, and nude).  Or just sktch whats in the magazine.  

But I feel you.  My people drawing  still look flat too.  (and I don't mean boobie)

Ha, yeah. Most of the time I just draw above the waistline and don't bother with legs or feet (I'm lacking in both those areas). But yeah, I generally sketch little outline models for practice. What do you mean when you say "super-kind" though?

Also, Amannelle, those don't look that bad at all. Are you working by mouse (it doesn't look like it) or tablet? You seem to have a better feel for body shape (in the direction you're aiming with it, of course) than I do. I think in terms of breast placement, on the second sketch, they may fit better a little lower.

[Amannelle]

Gmr Leon said:

Also, Amannelle, those don't look that bad at all. Are you working by mouse (it doesn't look like it) or tablet? You seem to have a better feel for body shape (in the direction you're aiming with it, of course) than I do. I think in terms of breast placement, on the second sketch, they may fit better a little lower.

Oh, I use a tablet (which accounts for 90% of the "skill" that goes into my mediocre pictures. :zip: ). For the lower image, their breasts are very small due to them being Sylvari (and because I accidentally made them that small... so I'm gonna hide behind that excuse Lol). :)

[Gmr Leon]

Ah, ok. I wasn't sure if they were intended to be small or just higher up the torso. Also, tablets are absolutely splendid, albeit I can also sketch fairly well with pen/pencil and paper, I don't like to as I erase so much. (It becomes so ugly eventually! D=) Plus I can't get the pressures for shading down as well with analog materials.

[Ambitious]

Here's a Djiin I drew for a thread a while back. It doesn't have legs because I couldn't think of what to draw for them and I was using pen. I did re-touch it some with photoshop, but only small bits, like taking one foot and reversing it to make it look like the other. :D


And here's a quick, dirty one just for Leon. (Ugh, it's just big enough so you can see my sloppiness in high definition) I need a drawing tablet... 'Manelle, what do you use?

Edited by Ambitious, 18 October 2010 - 03:38 AM.

[Archaes]

Just some lighting practice. On top there's Quinn Hughes, a GW friend's main character, and just below is Lady Allana, another GW friend's main character.
At the bottom are two characters from a friend's comic on dA.

Practice makes better. ;)

[Gmr Leon]

Ambitious:
Do you normally work with pen? It can be a real pain at times, but it looks so much cleaner when you get it done...Depending on the pen, that is, as some smear very easily. The djinn you drew definitely fits with GW's flowy style, if that's what you were aiming for. Also, I don't know why, but I really enjoy the genie/"Arabian" style feet/shoes it has. I think it may tie in with Aladdin being one of my only favoured Disney movies. Other than some detail and shading, it doesn't look bad at all. (I know you can't exactly shade with pen.)

As to the second picture, chibi style! It's really fun to use for notes or on little exposition areas. :D

Archaes:
Those actually look rather good! Even the hair, which isn't too detailed, works (and is probably a style I would go with as well). I'm trying to determine what looks off though...I think I'm just not used to your style, is all. I'm more accustomed to webcomic/anime-esque styles, where jaws aren't as defined.

I enjoy the little suns defining the light sources, it kind of makes me think of how amusing it would be for a character to be in pitch black with a random light source beside him at all times.

[Di-Dorval]

I drew that in French class one year ago.



And that in another French class..



shoeless feets are annoying I must agree with OP.

Thanks for your help all showing me websites to post my images =D.

Edited by Di-Dorval, 16 January 2011 - 10:59 PM.

[grey_foxx082]

I don't think this one is GW themed so I'll post it here...

A friend asked me to make a pirate themed sketch that he can use as tattoo idea:

agree with OP, feet are annoying to do. avoiding to draw them, though, doesn't make one better at doing it, so as annoying as it is, it's really good if you at least try and practice on it :P

Also, you can try to draw tough areas in a separate scratch paper. Even a simplified 'barbie feet' style feet would help at the start. :p

ADD:
full body version of pirate girl:

Edited by grey_foxx082, 27 October 2010 - 03:17 AM.

[Amannelle]

Ambitious said:

'Manelle, what do you use?

Wacom tablets are the only ones for me. I personally use Wacom Bamboo (LOVE it). It takes a little getting used to at first, but is a WONDERFUL tool that is sure to make drawing on the computer a whole lot easier! :)

[Evlin Heron]

Grey Foxx, I just have to say that the expression on her face is priceless, your work always seems to have such emotion in it. Bravo :)

[Meowhead]

I drew this a few years back, in ballpoint pen.  Because that's the way I roll.  Pencils are my mortal enemy.

http://fav.me/d1wb35x

[grey_foxx082]

Evlin Heron said:

Grey Foxx, I just have to say that the expression on her face is priceless, your work always seems to have such emotion in it. Bravo :)

Hey thanks!

For those practicing, I just want to say the eyes convey a great part of the emotion in a person's face more than anything else. It's good if one's able to pick up the subtle changes in the eye depending on emotion, and be able to translate it into the sketch. I'm still practicing on those aspects of sketching, as well as shading and lighting.

@Meowhead
very nice! funny I have a character concept that looks exactly like her, same hair, facial structure, freckles, and all hahaha...

Edited by grey_foxx082, 26 October 2010 - 08:38 PM.

[elixabeth]

I can't draw for beans, maybe I'll try...

[Meowhead]

grey_foxx082 said:

@Meowhead
very nice! funny I have a character concept that looks exactly like her, same hair, facial structure, freckles, and all hahaha...

Awww, thanks!  That's weird.  ... I'm sure your hair is much better drawn though, I'm so bad at hair. XD

[Eragon Zarroc]

oooo, some of these are cool :D  like the pirate girl ;)  Di-dorval's sketches are neat :)

[Guest Nick]

heh nice ,i'll try to post my sketches tomorrow :)

[Gmr Leon]

Hurrah! It's moving! I've been trying to pull away from this so others will join in, and it's working. I didn't want this dissolving into a back-and-forth between myself and a few others (not that I don't enjoy those others). :D

Also, I have to agree with Amannelle, Wacom tablets are brilliant. (I use the Bamboo model as well!)

[Milennin]

Lol, nice thread.=p Made me remember an old drawing I did of my Guild Wars character a few years ago. I'm not great at drawing feet, but I got a lot better at them. And yes I know the axe doesn't look right.T__T Drawn with mouse in MS Paint.

[Di-Dorval]

You draw this on paint? ahah awsome!

[Silivrenwen]

So I was practicing a bit of realism the other night, and what came of it turned out to look a little like a Prophecies elementalist, in my opinion. I must be paying way too much attention to character creation...lol

[Infamous]

I did a doodle in class lately...  I'll scan it....

I did it in Aero Structures class.

I didn't think I was going to be so bored that day, but as you can see, I got really bored.  It all started with the eagle.

[Ambitious]

My computer had to be worked on the last few weeks, so I haven't been able to post anything here. But I'll try not to let this die, so I'll work on some stuff.

[Di-Dorval]

ok my images stopped working cause I removed them from the website they were on. How can I post images from my folders ?

[actionjack]

milennin said:

lol, nice thread.=p made me remember an old drawing i did of my guild wars character a few years ago. I'm not great at drawing feet, but i got a lot better at them. And yes i know the axe doesn't look right.t__t drawn with mouse in ms paint.

now that is hardcore

[Gmr Leon]

I tend to do more experimenting than practice. This is a recent sketch where I was trying to figure out if starting with a stick framework would help me get body and limb shapes down. Eventually I just started having fun with trying to draw a wrap around grid on the limbs, though. I wasn't very concerned with the shading on this, so it's just a rough kind of, I wonder what this would look like with a light gray over the grids, thing.

Di-Dorval said:

ok my images stopped working cause I removed them from the website they were on. How can I post images from my folders ?

Di, you could reupload them to the site and replace the old links.

[Di-Dorval]

I don't want to I had just put them on facebook for 2 sec to put them on. I'm too lazy to make a devient art account...

And sometimes theres just funny stuff I want to post but that I don't necessarly want to be on the rest of the net... arg

[Gmr Leon]

Imageshack doesn't require you to have an account, so you could try uploading them there and posting the link.