FistHombre: Sleeps-Darkly doodle(there was an attempt) because I feel like there's too little of her
I feel like I keep making legs too far apart, any critique and input is appreciated as I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but either way I'll just keep trying
FistHombre: @Armored-Struggle-Wagon: Thanks! I was trying to keep in mind that Katia is suppoused to be a little malnourished, but I still think something about the legs look really off, just can't quite put my finger on it. And shiiiiiiieeeet I just realized I forgot eyebrows. Oh well.
Armored-Struggle-Wagon: @FistHombre: still looks good, even cuter without the eyebrows! :3 I think her lefs also might be too short, and thin, and those hips are super wide :p otherwise, everything is looking good! :3
AMKitsune: @FistHombre: The fact that you're planning on keeping drawing already means that your on the path to success! With every new picture comes improvement, even if it's at a rate that you can't see it. As far as critique goes, anatomically speaking, you'll want to pay extra close attention to a characters shoulders, hips and overall proportions. I say this because humans are very good at recognising other humanoid forms (as we grow up with them all around us and see them on a near daily basis), but that also means we're very good at noticing when there's something not 'quite right' with one (proportion wise). A bit like when playing with the face settings in any modern game's character creator, there's very little middle ground between what looks 'acceptably human' and what looks strangely 'off'. Especially with things suck as eye distance and torso length when compared to other limbs.
When drawing humanoid characters, it might be worth having a google image search page full of pictures of people open to help you get a better idea of how different poses should look.
Of course, for cartoony characters like this, you've got far more artistic license to play around with the proportions.
Basically, don't worry too much about your drawings not looking as 'good' as other more experienced artists. Most of the 'better' character pictures out there have quite accurate anatomy and with time and practice, that's something that'll become more and more intuitive to you.
Again though, in your picture here, you've done a good job. Just have a look at some pictures of characters from another artist who's work you like and see how they form things like shoulders and hips. The more you see and actively pay attention to these body parts, the easier you should find drawing them.
@Arcsome: The phrase "Juice box" sounds more adorable to me than it probably should (we tend to just call them cartons over here). That combined with the mental image of an adorable Sleeps-Darkly holding a little carton of apple juice or something similar made me squee more than I probably should have XD
FistHombre: @AMKitsune: Thank you! I've always liked cartoony styles, but I feel like it might be a good idea to get a better grip of realism and more accurate anatomy/structure before working more stylized. I totally get when people say that you should just keep drawing and enjoy yourself as opposed to forcing yourself to practice certain aspects, but I don't know, I'm a bit conflicted. I get the feeling that you might end up learning to draw in a 'wrong way'.
A friend of mine who's an experienced artist said ''if you don't learn to draw realistically first there's a chance that ones drawing ends up inbred, it doesn't look quite right''. Anywho thanks for the advice, I'll keep in mind to look at bodies from other perspectives as I'm noticing I have a tendency to draw characters from the same angle.
AMKitsune: @FistHombre: If you draw for your own pleasure, you might very well be better off drawing what you want, when you want and making slow progress than 'forcing' yourself to develop and turning the whole process into a chore. I can't speak about what's important for professional artists, but as a hobbyist, your enjoyment of the process is the most important thing. Not only because your happiness is the most important result of your art, but also because the happier the whole process makes you feel, the more inclined you'll be to do it again and again. Practice makes perfect and practice is so much easier when it's something you enjoy doing.
Again, other people will have different views on the matter and these views all have some degree of value and validity to them.
Basically, just go about it however feels the best to you, and try not to let your expectations of how your preconception of a 'real artist' would do things steer you into uncomfortable territory.
It's true that learning by 'traditional means' is a valid route to 'good' art, but it's by no means the only one.
fanarts of something you like, either in your own style or trying to ape the original, are all well and good, but trying to force it one way or the other is a road to ruin and needless self loathing because it's not coming out perfectly like the way some other person did it. Everyone has their own style which develops fairly organically, outside of some basic practice and theory acquisition.
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I feel like I keep making legs too far apart, any critique and input is appreciated as I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but either way I'll just keep trying
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When drawing humanoid characters, it might be worth having a google image search page full of pictures of people open to help you get a better idea of how different poses should look.
Of course, for cartoony characters like this, you've got far more artistic license to play around with the proportions.
Basically, don't worry too much about your drawings not looking as 'good' as other more experienced artists. Most of the 'better' character pictures out there have quite accurate anatomy and with time and practice, that's something that'll become more and more intuitive to you.
Again though, in your picture here, you've done a good job. Just have a look at some pictures of characters from another artist who's work you like and see how they form things like shoulders and hips. The more you see and actively pay attention to these body parts, the easier you should find drawing them.
@Arcsome: The phrase "Juice box" sounds more adorable to me than it probably should (we tend to just call them cartons over here). That combined with the mental image of an adorable Sleeps-Darkly holding a little carton of apple juice or something similar made me squee more than I probably should have XD
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A friend of mine who's an experienced artist said ''if you don't learn to draw realistically first there's a chance that ones drawing ends up inbred, it doesn't look quite right''. Anywho thanks for the advice, I'll keep in mind to look at bodies from other perspectives as I'm noticing I have a tendency to draw characters from the same angle.
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Again, other people will have different views on the matter and these views all have some degree of value and validity to them.
Basically, just go about it however feels the best to you, and try not to let your expectations of how your preconception of a 'real artist' would do things steer you into uncomfortable territory.
It's true that learning by 'traditional means' is a valid route to 'good' art, but it's by no means the only one.
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fanarts of something you like, either in your own style or trying to ape the original, are all well and good, but trying to force it one way or the other is a road to ruin and needless self loathing because it's not coming out perfectly like the way some other person did it. Everyone has their own style which develops fairly organically, outside of some basic practice and theory acquisition.