I've found that using another picture (a screencap from your favorite anime, for example) as a reference, and trying to recreate that image on your own (but
not tracing) is a great way to learn.
This, I did by taking a screenshot of a scene from Vandread and drawing it. It's not 100% accurate, but very close:
Meia GisbornNow, I'm great at mimicking faces and stuff, but trying from scratch for me usually results in a horrid mess. Although I can sometimes do a convincing job with hair, facial features remain a problem.
And as for drawing hands, try sketching your own hand in various poses. Remember that a hand has a curve or arc to it, and keep that in mind as you draw it.
Me experimenting with hands...not quite human, thoughOverall, the human figure ranks high among the hardest things to draw, beyond any shadow of a doubt. I've only recently started trying to sketch them, but I've had plenty of experience with inanimate objects (starships, fighters, some mecha, etc..), and what I learned from that proves to be really useful.
As is said before, you just have to keep hammering away at this to improve.
Now, as for your rate of updating...I usually make small sketches in my spare time that aren't anything to brag about, but every now and again I just start drawing, without any structure lines or external references, and wind up with an impressive final result (or results, as the case may be
) Examples:
Side of an EvaCloseup of said Eva's headSo, I'd say that when you think you've made some progress or a breakthrough, post a scan and we'll give more constructive criticism.
And as for all those links I've provided, no I'm not trying to brag, just showcasing what is possible, and you might do well to try what I suggested at the beginning of this post, about using screenshots and other pictures as references, and trying to replicate them. Mimicry can be an effective learning technique.
And listen to Turnsky there.
No two people have the same approach to doing an image. It sounds like Turn would be one to do a rough layout with stick figures and structure lines to set up the scene, then put all the filler in; I'm one to already have the picture set in my mind and just dive right into the final product. Others sometimes find a happy balance in between the extremes. Just do what's easiest for you.
And the pictures you're posting are giving me the
X... hrmm...downfire.com isn't coming up...for FTP I use a free account from Portland Communications (
www.portland.co.uk), might try them if you want a more permanent display. Might have problems with running out of bandwidth and/or webspace if you post a lot of images, which also is a bit of incentive to have gaps in between updates...and clean out the ftp folder every once in a while.
