[kasperl]

ok, i'm trying to sketch, buti never tried anygthing like this in my life, and i get 5 out of 10 points for every drawing i do for school, and that's just because the teacher doesn't want to give me a failing grade.

now, i'vemade a sketch like thing of a faceless man standing with a coat on.

here's the scan:



i know, this is nothing, but now, how do i continue?

i'd like to add some color, and just try some technique's.

any comments, constructive critisism, bashing?

i can take bashing, because i know this is very, very awfull.

[Turnsky]

it's easy to see that you didn't start with character construction..
start by drawing a basic 'stick' figure.... and go from there.. that's how all of my sketches start.. i Never go freehand any more... (click 'art' avatar to see why)
here's a couple of tutorials to get you started...
http://www.polykarbon.com
http://www.bakaneko.com
and there's tutorial on Machall that got me started with the coloring process...
and remember a pencil is your best friend and so is an eraser (particularly the kneadable variety)

[kasperl]

i'll see what i can make out of those tutorials, i don't have the time to read them right now.
thanks for the advice anyway, i'll try it all in half an hour.

[Turnsky]

and the old saying really does apply 'Practice makes perfect'

[kasperl]

Originally posted by Turnsky
and the old saying really does apply 'Practice makes perfect'

i know, i tried some of the tut's, but i can't work with those technique's, i end up with a very wierd picture. so i used some of it, and did some of the stuff freehand, and made this:



and colored it:



the coloring isn't much, niether is the pic itself, but the scan makes it worse, any tips to scan in a sketch and clean it up?

(the pics are uplaoding, wait a minute or two)

[Odyssey]

As for scanning sketches and clearing them up, I'm guessing that what you're doing is setting your scanner to pure B+W, nowt else. That works alright for lines and printed text, but for drawing it makes pencil especially look miserable - as you've realised. What I do when scanning stuff is to scan it in as greyscale, then play around with levels. In Photoshop, that involves Image-Adjust-Levels, then moving the little triangles to effectively cut off the largest area of the levels graph. That get rids of the main colour, which happens to be the grey paper, leaving just your pencil markings. It's what I did with this image (not perfectly lined-up because of pencil smudgings, but that's my fault, not the fault of the background-removal technique ^_^)
http://ambience.i8.com/kimiko.jpg (copy paste link)

If you need any more help on the technical side of stuff, don't hesitate to ask. As for drawing, the best I can do on a good day is that link I just showed you, so... Bleh. Can't help much there.

[Slasher]

Your teacher gave you 5 out of 10 points for an honest effort?  Sheesh...

It's good to see that didn't stop you.  One of the reasons a lot of people can't draw is because they stopped young when a teacher/parent/older sibling told them their artwork "didn't look good".  Totally destroys their confidence.

[Amon_Re]

Kasperl, you might try the scanning tips & tutorial on http://www.merekatcreations.com/ , some great artwork there to btw

Cheers,

[pyro-manic]

Good start!

I find it helps to think in shapes. If I'm drawing, say, a man in a trenchcoat, then I'd start with the shape of the coat (a triangle with the top cut off, and curved sides. Then put in the shapes of the feet and arms, giving the pose. Then you can work out a natural head position, and add the details onto that shape.  
You could also try concentrating on one part of a figure, e.g. just the head and shoulders, and work on that until it looks good.  I find this helps with getting proportions right, as well, e.g. a hand holding something. I started off with  a hideous claw-thingy, but after about five goes, it came out pretty good.

I dunno, I'm no artist, but If I draw something, then this is how I'd do it. Just find a method ad style you like, and go from there.

[Turnsky]

kasperl have you been learning art per se? i.e taking ACTUAL art lessions...

[kasperl]

no, not really, i got an drawing class at school, but that's worth about zilch, becasue we 2 hours in a week, and since those hours are not connected we spend more time getting and cleaning up equipment then anything else. and asfor drawing persons, one class in my life, wich i half missed.

if i scan these images, i use greyscale, and then start working in PSP wqith contrast/brightness and the eraser and magic wand, mess around for 10 minutes, makes all the reamining lines black and start coloring and editing out things i missed.

thanks for all the advice people, i'll try some stuff.

[Turnsky]

i didn't have any...

[Unknown Target]

The way you draw those lines...you could have a very good style going. But, the problem is, your pictures don't have depth. The hands, for instance. They are totally flat. To draw a hand from the side view, it takes lots of skill (hell, I can't do it), but you could try simply drawing a very flat V-shape. Also, round the sides of the coat.

[kasperl]

Originally posted by Unknown Target
The way you draw those lines...you could have a very good style going. But, the problem is, your pictures don't have depth. The hands, for instance. They are totally flat. To draw a hand from the side view, it takes lots of skill (hell, I can't do it), but you could try simply drawing a very flat V-shape. Also, round the sides of the coat.

thanks for the compliment, but the depth part is kinda hard, i'll trysomething with the color, lightening or darkening it in the edges, but that will be kinda hard, are there any other ways to get some depth in this?

[kasperl]

i just scanned in yet another sketch, here it is:


that leg is supposed to be on a crate, but i still need to draw that.



guys, if you think i'm spamming the forums here, just tell me, i'll stop.

edit:

colored this one partially, i tyried to give it some depth using the "smudge" tool, doesn't look very good, but better then all opaque.



the picture is currently uplaoding, will be done in a minute

[Unknown Target]

Here's the golden rule: things get bigger the closer they are to the viewer (you).



Comments on the picture:

The foot: too square, it need to slope off to the sides. Also, the leg, it's coming off to the side: Don't do that! Make the leg come towards the viewer, either by adding a half circle above  the bottom part of the leg, to signify the rest of the leg is there, or rotate the body so thaat the leg is able to do that.

[Sheepy]

forshortening (drawing object/limbs coming towards you) is also one of the hardest things to do when drawing, its a ***** and i hate it

[kasperl]

Originally posted by Sheepy
forshortening (drawing object/limbs coming towards you) is also one of the hardest things to do when drawing, its a ***** and i hate it

agreed

and as for that foot, i had to do it with my trackball as my scanner fubared it up.

the leg, i'll try.

edit:

here it is:



once again, the pic is uploading, it'll be there in a minute

[kasperl]

bump

geuss i should have made a new post with that latest sketch, and not an edit.


or i perhaps i shouldstop spamming the forums, tell me if you agree here.

[pyro-manic]

Nonono! When you've got something you think is worth showing, then post it.  Just take your time, that's all.