Help? I'm just a hobbyist.

[Ieono]

So I tend to have random spurts of creative energy, where I spend several hours doing some random work of art. Today's piece ended up being this...

 

I would love to gain some more drawing/coloring/shading ability, so any critique would be appreciated. How did I do on Anatomy? I'm not very good at shading, so I tend not to shade things, haha. Feel free to point out anything you see that could use some improvement! I don't take things too personally, or get my feelings hurt easily. This picture is a good indicator as to my overall drawing ability.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Ieono

[BerryBubbleBlast]

This looks really good Ieono. Have you ever considered using more shallow or thinner lines when defining features on the body and the clothes? Using (almost) the same thickness everywhere makes them all seem equally defined, which isn't always the best option. What I mean is if you, for example, used some slightly thinner, maybe even subtle, lines for the folds on the pants and the muscles around the stomach, you would be able to fit in even more details and definition without it looking messy. The more you can show, the more your image will be able to tell the viewer what they're seeing, which is usually appreciated more often than not.

If you feel you're struggling with shadows, you could always practice by placing objects in a room with only one defined lightsource. That way you can get a clear understanding for where the shadows go based on the location and the direction of the light. You could take it even further by letting a person stand in said room as well and look at which muscles make what type of shadows. Of course if you don't have anyone close by to borrow for this, you could always take a photograph of yourself in the same situation.

A good initial way to practice shading is to first define it in "three steps." These steps define three different shaded areas, where number 3 is the darkest, number 2 is basically in between, and number 1 is light shading (and also 0 for no shades at all, I guess). After you've defined these areas, you can continue to shade the rest of the object based on how close they are to respective number. That way you can start getting the feeling for how each level of shade should be applied.

 

Hope this will help. If anything is unclear, then say so and I'll try to explain it better.

[Vallium]

I have nothing of note to share except that this is an awesome piece

[Ieono]

On 2/20/2016 at 3:12 PM, BerryBubbleBlast said:

This looks really good Ieono. Have you ever considered using more shallow or thinner lines when defining features on the body and the clothes? Using (almost) the same thickness everywhere makes them all seem equally defined, which isn't always the best option. What I mean is if you, for example, used some slightly thinner, maybe even subtle, lines for the folds on the pants and the muscles around the stomach, you would be able to fit in even more details and definition without it looking messy. The more you can show, the more your image will be able to tell the viewer what they're seeing, which is usually appreciated more often than not.

If you feel you're struggling with shadows, you could always practice by placing objects in a room with only one defined lightsource. That way you can get a clear understanding for where the shadows go based on the location and the direction of the light. You could take it even further by letting a person stand in said room as well and look at which muscles make what type of shadows. Of course if you don't have anyone close by to borrow for this, you could always take a photograph of yourself in the same situation.

A good initial way to practice shading is to first define it in "three steps." These steps define three different shaded areas, where number 3 is the darkest, number 2 is basically in between, and number 1 is light shading (and also 0 for no shades at all, I guess). After you've defined these areas, you can continue to shade the rest of the object based on how close they are to respective number. That way you can start getting the feeling for how each level of shade should be applied.

 

Hope this will help. If anything is unclear, then say so and I'll try to explain it better.

Thank you so much! The three steps advice is so easy to understand, and I'm sure it will be a great help in my next drawing. I've never thought of shading that way before. I think I'm good with the light source and stuff, that seems simple enough to visualize. I'm just not versed in actually materializing that, but hopefully your advice has put me on the right track! 

And yes, I got so lazy with the line thickness.  

On 2/20/2016 at 3:26 PM, WolfNightV4X1 said:

I have nothing of note to share except that this is an awesome piece

Aww, praise is always good too! Thank you!!

[Ieono]

I applied some of those new techniques to this new drawing I did. Any additional tips would be appreciated.

NSFW! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19329912/

I was not sure about the anatomy, but wanted to do something involving squatting, so I tried my best! (Wow I didn't realize how small it was!)