Need Help to learn and Improve (Sketch Blog)

[SkittleJuice]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new here. I found this place through a post on a comic artists blog. He said this was a very friendly community that was open to pros and amateurs alike, so it sounded like the sort of place where maybe I could get some help to get my artwork on the right track and start getting better.

I'm sorry to make this too long, but I really need some help. Here's a little background on me: I was self taught and doing pretty decent drawings when I was very young. I made a ton of comics through grade school and high school that I would photo-copy and pass around, so I was pretty set on trying to make that into a career somehow. Then I went to art school, and I was starting to apply some of what I'd learned there to my drawing. But (for whatever reason) I switched my major to game design and all my classes became focused on writing and coding, etc. yadda yadda...

I tried to do something with game design for a very long time (too long) until I finally realized I was miserable doing it and decided to pick up the ol' sketchbook again and take a shot at my long time first love - writing and drawing Comics. I've learned it's all about doing what makes you happy.

BUT - since most of what I'd been drawing the last few years had been diagrams or rough concepts for mechanics - my drawings became really quick sketchy messes, and without fully integrating what I'd learned in school - I feel I've even forgotten what I already knew. Is that possible? I'm getting a little better again (I think) but my mind is a jumble of methods and techniques that aren't blending well or making sense to me. Plus I have a really nasty habit of hating everything I do.

So - in short: I'm having a lot of trouble teaching myself. I'm here to learn, and I will do whatever it takes to do so. I want to make this work more than anything, and I have a lot of catching up to do. So hit me with some hard crit. I need it. I'll learn from it and apply it. My fiance is 100% on board, and I have until next summer to really put a lot of time and effort into improving, so I'm all in. I'll post every single day if I can get some guidance on how to keep improving.


Here's a few things from my current sketchbook:



I absolutely NEVER draw characters that aren't mine, but I've started doing it more because I was told it might help me improve. The pose on the left was referenced from "How to Draw the Marvel Way".

These are exercises from a workbook. The point was to convey information given in the lessons, and I decided to practice color schemes with them too.


Last one: a little comic I did recently. (sorry for the link - it's part of the image)

I really enjoy cartoons, but I also really enjoy realism. My grand goal would be to get better at both, maybe strive to be able to have more control over how "cartoony" or "realistic" my drawings are.

I have a lot more sketchbook stuff, but I'm new so I didn't know how appropriate anatomy studies or gesture drawings would be to post here. Honestly, I think that's where the meat of my problems can be seen the best, but I'll leave at these for now.

Thanks for reading and checking out my sketchbook! I really appreciate it.

[Neon Neuron]

Welcome to PencilJack.
You have some good things going on here.
For some really good critiques and advice, it usually helps if you post one picture at a time.
For something your working on - Works in Progress/Sketches
For a finished piece - Finished Works
There is in fact a lot of friendly helpful and critical people around these parts, so, it should be fun anyway you go.

[SkittleJuice]

Hey, thanks! I'm not really working on any one complete piece, that's why I posted these, but - maybe I should. :-)

[hydekomiksink]

Welcome!
I like a lot of what I see here. I wish I had more solid crits for you, but these pics are kinda all over. You have pretty good timing in the sequentials, and tell a joke well. That's a great start. I'd really focus on the stories and characters you want to work on. The love you have for that will show in your drawings. Sketch like crazy. Post some in the WIP thread. Work on some sequential pages for the book you want to do. Sequentials are KEY! I can't wait to see more.

[shannonh]

Cool man. I like a lot of what I see. If you are looking for crits, it's best to only post one drawing at a time.

I wish I had went to school for gaming. I would give my left foot to know how to write code for the games I have created over the years. Maybe one day I can afford to hire you to help me out!

[spidey976]

These all show a lot of promise, but I have a couple of questions for you
A) which direction do you want to go with your style. If it is more realistic alla HTDTMW then you should be drawing that way a little more. Especially with only a year to hone your direction. Honestly, I know a year sounds like a long time, but it really isn't that much. I only ask because I see you comic/cartoon material creeping into those Spiderman pieces, and while that is totally fine if that is your direction it isn't if you are going for you need to redirect yourself now. It is pretty obvious in the Spidey head sketches that the cartoon aspect of your style is coming through.
B) what types of comics do you want to do? Are we talking Marvel or newspapers.

Ia asking because the answers to those questions could totally change how you shoud approach the next year of study and work.

[SkittleJuice]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I think it's unanimous that I should get more focused on the direction I'm looking to take my work, so I will definitely be giving that some serious thought. I've always felt that my sketchbooks tend to look more like a collaborative jumble than anything from one individual. I feel like my indecisiveness (or lack of confidence) is the culprit in that case. Hopefully getting better in whichever direction I choose will help me get over that and start producing more consistent work. I'll also start working on more complete pieces so I can post one at a time to get crits. I haven't tried to do anything complete in years, so that sounds like a great idea.

@Spidey976: You brought up some great points that I hadn't realized. Thank you! I think I fall back on cartooning when I start to lose confidence in my ability to do realism. It's a nasty habit because at one point I was doing pretty well with realism, and I'm sure, with a lot more effort and (as you pointed out) immediate redirection, I could get better at it. My bad habits are so ingrained at this stage that sometimes I can't seem to stop drawing exaggerated curvy lines. Most of my faces look puffy because of it, and my bodies tend to look kinda squishy too. haha. It's like the two styles compete with each other.

So... to answer your questions:

A) Realism through and through. In the end - even if I wanted to get better at cartooning I'd still need a solid foundation in realistic drawing. I think my natural tendency to want to cartoon will come through no matter what, but if I focus on realism hopefully I can learn to train that compulsion into a style some day. Also, the sort of stories I write tend to be dark and gritty, or at least rooted in a pseudo-reality. Cartooning would never give them the raw impact they need to invoke emotion, mood, and atmosphere. "The StickMan" (see the drawings above) is a vile and horrific character in one of my most dark and twisted tales, but at the stage I'm at now - even he comes off a bit cartoony. I think it has a lot to do with his static pose though, too.

B) Definitely Comics / (the controversially named - "Graphic Novels")... I'm a story teller, and I have a whole cabinet of material waiting to be brought to life in comics form. Strips and One-Panels are the bi-product of my goofy mind. I can't help drawing cartoons every once in a while, but it's not something I want to commit all my time to. I write a lot of emotionally charged material, so cartoons have always been there to keep me balanced. Also, like I said above, I think I'm naturally drawn to cartooning so that part of my art is bound to improve along side my other studies. I wouldn't mind setting it aside while I get my work on track though.

So, in summary: My focus is on Realism & Comics

Thanks for feedback

[stoat]

Just to say welcome to penciljack.looking forward to seeing your development.if sequentials are your thing dont be afraid to post works in progress.the Advice you get here is invaluable. Im saying that as a fellow newbie.
Keep as busy as you can

[SkittleJuice]

Alright, I took the advice I received to only post one thing at a time, so here it is...

I drew this little lady while having my morning coffee (about 20 minutes on her). I think I'll call her "Hazardess" hehehe... anyway - this is a basic sketch using just about everything I got under my belt at the moment. Any critiques and advice I get on this will help me improve upon her for the next draft.



I can see that there are definitely some things wrong going on here, but I'm not sure how to approach fixing it to make it more correct. Also, she's only supposed to be about early twenties (tops), but I think she could use a little more "sexy" what do you all think?

[robozo]

its only geometrie bro, thats all!!