Character idea

[My3blka]

Still learning with this wacom I got. I've never practiced drawing people, so this is a learning experience, as is working with shading and colors at the same time. Tell me if anything looks incredibly off, or needs to be adjusted, I've been staring at it so long I can't tell.

http://www.x09designs.com/propaganda/tprpdoodle.jpg

[Zafio]

The light sources aren't clear enough imho. Looks like there is a soft light above him (but there are only some parts affected by that light) and another one just in front of his face. I would suggest you to move the light "on the face" to the left and polish the top one. For faces I would suggest you to practice drawing from life™, (as other persons would suggest you here) it helps a lot.

[My3blka]

Yeah the face is just there as a guide to keep the proportions looking ok. Thanks for the lighting tip. For the face I'll definitely be using a reference because I suck at drawing faces.

[Doc]

1) Drawing on the computer, without any thumbnails and/or referance(s), is a waste of time because you will never get it right. If you did do a few thumbnails, make sure you look very closely at what you are drawing. Try to use more referances. Make sure you try a lot of ideas.

2) Drawing people involves 3 things: Mass, porportion, and balance. This picture has none of these things.

3) Your person is as stiff as a brick

4) the following anatomy is incorrect:
-Cranium is too large
-Mandible is too long
-There is no supersiliary arch
-No Zygomatic arch
-Eyes are too big
-Strenoclido-mastoid (2 largest neck muscles) doesn't look like a tree.
- There is no indication of a strenum or clavicals.
-No trapizius
-arms and fore arms are perfect cyclinders.
- the phlanges of the hand don't line up in an arch
- arm is too lone

5) Work on line quaility.

6) there is nothing dynamic to your person's pose. It looks strange and awkward

7) The color looks okay.

8) remember to draw in perspective.

-other than that all good

-Doc

[My3blka]

Thanks for spending so much time on that response. However I have no formal training in anatomy or figure drawing so a lot of those terms mean little, if anything, to me. If you could give suggestions in simplified terms it would be appreciated. As this is my first time attempting to draw a person in any medium, it's bound to have flaws, I don't expect it to turn out perfect.

Just ignore the face/neck, like I said its just a placeholder.

[Doc]

Yeah sure, not a problem. I think point one is clear but I'll try to verify all the others.

On point 2

- all forms in 3d space have mass. Your arm (Not the one in the picture) for example, has a definant shape compared to your leg. There are different muscles, bones, and tendons that weight down or change the apperance of the limb or part. Because of that, certain parts of the body have to look a certain way in order to look belivible or credible. The problem is that your arms, torso, and head and neck are built around cyclenders. Generally that is good for preliminary construction, but all parts have depressions and prominances and different changes of direction.

-Porportion is basically keeping things the same size, relative to others. For example, the head is always placed a third of it's length up the neck. Your arms are to long. hands are too small, and shoulders are to wide.

-Balance is best defined as... well, a human has his center of gravity between his feet when standing. If a person is leaning then his cg shifts. A person leaning to far and yet is still standing will appear wrong and viewers will consintrate on that. To tell you the truth I think you have a good point of balance, so my bad.

On point 3

- Try this: try to phyiscally pose as your person is in your drawing and think of how easy that is to do. It might be hard to do, but bury this in your mind, Is this pose natural for the person in this situation? Think more dynamic about the poses.

On point 4

-Cranium= top of skull
-Mandible=jaw
-Supersiliary arch=the top obrit of the eye sokects
-Zygomatic arch= the check bone from the mid point of the side of the nose to the lower temperal area.
-Strenocildo-mastoid= muscles on both sides of your neck that attach to the strenum (the bone at the bottom of the pit of your neck), the lower third of the clavical (collar bone) and attaches to the mastoid process behind your ear.
-trapizius=the mucles in youe upper back
-Phlanges=the bones in your fingers

On point 5

-Try to incorperate more line thickness, weight, value or basic varation in your line quality, rather than leave it the same similar value. It makes for a better quality piece of art.

And on point 8

-flat objects appear to have no dimension. When you look at a person they don't appear flat. Some limbs, like the feet you can see the tops of while the chest you only see one side: the front. Even thought you have place the chest and arms in there place, it is another thing wrong to have the body part not obey perspective.

one other thing. if you consider the head and neck to be just a place holder than think about how that might negitively affect the drawing. People usaully connect better to a picture if there is a face.

overall, I think you should start over. Buy a lot of anatomy books too.
I have to go so don't hesitate to reply

[Simplistics]

Hey My3.
It's Aetherize from SL.

I agree on what Doc has been saying. I think that you've really got some skills for just getting your tablet.

I would really urge you to go out and buy some anatomy books, not nessacerily (sp?) the "porno books" that just show naked people and put little notes out on the sides about it.
But actual relations to let's say... your eyes.
I've bought around 150-200 dollars worth of books to help me. And I've come a long way. Practically all of my anatomy knowledge is self taugh. I've taken art classes, but that focused on the concept of drawing, it wasn't a figure study course.
I'm really still learning. But I am keeping an eye out and looking at (real) people's faces and bodies a lot differently now.
I would also suggest just looking at magazines, it doesn't matter what it is, but just sketch people and pay careful attention to what you're drawing.
I'm trying to sketch or draw everyday. And I can see some improvements coming along.
Just keep it up, we learn from the mistakes that we make....... hopefully :)

[Doc]

Just remember one thing: Magizines make people impossible beautiful, try to avoid drawing from those types of mags, it is very hard to do.

I don't understand what this quote means tho:

"I've taken art classes, but that focused on the concept of drawing, it wasn't a figure study course."

-explain that if you can, I just need some clarifiation

-Doc