173 réponses à ce sujet

[Cerulione]

A thread to list all useful tips for drawings & other form of arts:

 

1. Flip your canvas regularly (or paper, or lambskin, or whatever it is)

 

Here's a tip for all of you trying to get started: flip your canvas frequently. This will give you a fresh view of your work, and will make it easy to detect errors. If you work digitally, it is easy. If you work in traditional media, use a mirror

 

2. For face symmetry: eggs.

 

This one is from a drawing tutorial book I have at home and it's quite useful. Take an egg from your fridge, then draw parallel lines on it. I made a quick illustration using paint:

 

You can turn it on every direction to see where to position each element. If all parts of the face is within the egg then the symmetry's normally quite good.

[Teshayel]

If you like dabbling in watercolours, you can build up tone and volume by adding many layers of pigment. Make sure to keep the amount of pigment on your brush to a minimum - the more dilute it is, the better. Between applications, use a paper towel to absorb excessive moisture, and apply again. This also helps with blending.

[ACD101]

This video might help with shading. it's a bit long but there are parts in there I'm sure you guys will get

 

[Teshayel]

This video might help with shading. it's a bit long but there are parts in there I'm sure you guys will get

 

*snip*

 

Excellent video Thank you for sharing  

 

When shading, you can start with the darkest tones and then work your way to the lightest, or the other way around. Generally, starting really light is safer, however.

 

Preparing a gradient for yourself in one corner of your drawing can also be very useful. You can choose five tones for instance, and use them as a reference whenever you start shading new areas. This will give you a rough or blocky look, but is ecellent for quick sketches or for those just learning to shade.

[Teshayel]

Whether you work in digital or traditional media, I believe the following tutorials on skin tones and selecting a colour palette can be very helpful:

 

Skin: A Tutorial by Navate

 

Colour Selection Tutorial by Oione

[blauwvis]

I haven't been too active here (yet -- it's been a busy few days), but I'd like to thank you guys for the tips and links. Very, very useful for those of us just starting out!

To add a bit more to this thread (prompted by the mention of facial proportions in the Cullen thread), here's more information about the face that I have found helpful:

Realistic Facial Proportions

Most of the thread is about using DA:I's CC, but the basic tenants are obviously applicable.

[Cerulione]

Distance between eyes

 

If you want a pointer, something to keep in mind is that the average human face's eyes are generally (but not always) roughly one eye space apart. So if you have eyes a certain size, the space between them should be roughly the same size as one of those eyes.

[Teshayel]

Thank you everyone for your awesome tips so far  

 

One of my favourite artists - Xia Taptara - has an awesome YouTube channel with great tutorials here.

 

Tutorial series on how to draw portraits here.

 

 

Tutorial series on how to draw the human body here.

 

[Teshayel]

Another great source of video tutorials: Cubebrush 

[Teshayel]

If you are wondering how to go about blending your colours (both digitally and in natural media), the trick is to use transparent layers of colour. So, no caking on the paint onto your brush

 

For those of you working with a tablet, lower the opacity of your brush to 20-25%, and colour pick A LOT from within your image. Use light brush strokes, and you should be good to go

[sunhair]

I found this tutorial for those who use Photoshop 

How to paint Skin in photoshop

[Teshayel]

To avoid the plastic look in a digital painting, do not use airbushes. Use hard-edged brushes - it will give your painting a much more natural look. 

[Caja]

Not sure if this helpful but I would like to point out a book that was recommended to me by several people. I haven't read it yet but apparently it's a classic. So, if some of you are willing to spend some money on literature, check out Drawing with the right side of the brain by Betty Edwards.

 

Moreover, I have a few magazines with drawing tutorials. I could scan some of them and post them here but I'm not sure if it's allowed. Could this lead to copyright issues? 

[Teshayel]

Not sure if this helpful but I would like to point out a book that was recommended to me by several people. I haven't read it yet but apparently it's a classic. So, if some of you are willing to spend some money on literature, check out Drawing with the right side of the brain by Betty Edwards.

 

Moreover, I have a few magazines with drawing tutorials. I could scan some of them and post them here but I'm not sure if it's allowed. Could this lead to copyright issues? 

 

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

As far as scanning magazines is concerned, I think that would be copyright infringement. However, there are a few digital art sites that post tutorials for free.

 

Imagine FX

 

Imagine FX Video Tutorials

 

3D Total

[onibontan]

Another useful website with video tutorials: http://www.ctrlpaint.com/ In general it's a good idea to draw/paint a lot from life to train your eye.

[Cerulione]

This blog & painter are worth checking: James Gurney

 

A very good video about drawing head from every angle by Proko

 

 

Drawing head from the front

 

 

Drawing head from extreme angles

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgK90TpV5fA&x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534

[ACD101]

Hey guys, a video on colour theory! Very handy, and explained pretty easily

 

[Cerulione]

(Probably) Useful & Interesting Books

 

- Andrew Loomis: These are great classics about Face & Figure Drawing. (Free PDF download link, or with epub). Don't dally too long if you're interested, some are apparently being reprinted & links might get killed).

 

- Harold Speed's "The Practice & Science of Drawing" on project Gutenberg (Legally Free until hell freezes over).

 

-Color & Light (great one) by James Gurney. Great reference & easy to understand. (I'm thumbing one borrowed copy right now )

 

-How Picture Works by Molly Bang. About composition & using this to make each picture tells a story. Apparently good (recommended by a friend but I haven't see it myself)

[Cerulione]

A question for everyone: people told me that I should learn great artists' works & paintings & stuffs, some even adviced me to do a "quick copy" of their work in order to study (composition, colours, etc).

 

Do you guys really think that it's a good way of learning?

 

And if yes, any ideas on how to do these "quick copy"? I have saved many artworks & photos from various artists (not only Cullen fanarts) both professional & fanartists. Should I really try to re-draw line by line, or just do what exactly?

 

What methods are you guys doing to learn to do your arts?

[Teshayel]

@ Ceru

 

Copying great artists has been used as a method of improving drawing skills for hundreds of years. With current copyright laws in place, however, I would recommend against taking your favourite artist on DevArt as a model. Go for the classics. Or, if you like cartooning, then look at Marvel and DC comics (or whatever franchise you prefer).

 

Better yet, look up photos of Greek statues, or sculptures done by Michelangelo and Raffaello. Try to reproduce those. Or, go to your nearest art gallery, set up shop there, and sketch the paintings on display. No need to go into detail, just try and capture the essence - that would be a quick sketch. The idea is to train your hand, so that your pencil/brush strokes become more stable and confident.  

 

Art has always been a hobby for me, but I did receive classical training. It's pretty gruelling, but it gives results very quickly. I started out with drawing only shapes - just lines, no shading, no planes, no nothing. My prof's words: "Do not draw an apple for me, draw this apple for me."

 

Then I went on to division of planes, then finally shading - all of this is still life. For human anatomy, I drew the skeleton as a whole, and in parts, as well as the muscles. Then started with figure drawing and a live model. For portraits, I was asked to draw individual features over and over and over again (eyes, lips, nose front, side, and 3/4 views). Then finally I could attempt a portrait. It took some time. However, I improved in leaps and bounds. In a mere 6 months, I was able to accurately reproduce Greek statues.

 

Oh, and then there was perspective as well... and composition. Those were a lot of fun, actually

 

 

Aaaanyway... Keep it simple, and have fun

[Cerulione]

Yeah, good points. Okay I'll see those. For now on I'm trying to replicate MelissaGT's screenshots (B&W'ed by photoshop) on paper. Thanks!

[onibontan]

@Cerulione: Copying master paintings is a good way to study that painter's approach/style. In the case of "old" masters like Sargent, Caravaggio, Bouguereau and the like you can just go to wikipedia/google image search, download some paintings there and copy them in PS or something. Although it would be a good idea to start with understanding the structure of the human body/head first. Understanding how something is constructed is vital to being able to copy/reproduce it from mind correctly. Have you looked at those Loomis pdfs yet? I believe the planes of the human head are explained in the book on the human head.

[Cerulione]

@Cerulione: Copying master paintings is a good way to study that painter's approach/style. In the case of "old" masters like Sargent, Caravaggio, Bouguereau and the like you can just go to wikipedia/google image search, download some paintings there and copy them in PS or something. Although it would be a good idea to start with understanding the structure of the human body/head first. Understanding how something is constructed is vital to being able to copy/reproduce it from mind correctly. Have you looked at those Loomis pdfs yet? I believe the planes of the human head are explained in the book on the human head.

 

I'm actually doing that exercise, taking Loomis' approach on drawing head (proportions) on every different angles from screenshots or RL photos

Someone suggested learning from other people (old masters) portraits etc too.

 

I also have another questions: is it better to master traditional art first before starting digital art, or is it better to directly start with digital if my aim is to finally do digital? I'm still on the stage when I draw with pencils on used papers, but I'm thinking whether it worth the while to trying mastering traditional art too (pastel or charcoal for example, maybe watercolour) as basic or directly go to what I aim for final?

 

Any opinions & advices are welcome, thanks in advance

[Teshayel]

@ Ceru

 

You do not need to master a traditional medium in order to work well digitally. However, you do need to have strong drawing skills. While you can do all the hand-forming exercises in PS with a tablet, I believe it is much faster and intuitive if you start with paper and pencil.

 

My approach is to do all the doodling, figure drawing, sketching, etc with a pencil, and when I want to paint a more complex piece, go to my tablet.

 

Also, while referencing photos is great practice, there is no substitute for figure drawing with a live model. If you have the opportunity to drop in on figure drawing sessions, I highly recommend doing that. Where I used to live, you could go during weekends to one of the art schools, and they would have several live models working. You'd pay an entry fee ($15-20), and then you could sketch away for hours. There was no instructor, but it was excellent practice. 

 

I am so glad that you are enjoying yourself! For me, drawing is the best way to truly appreciate beauty - whether it is that of another person, or nature, or human craftsmanship

[ajramsey]

I took a figure drawing class a year ago. i still Have some notes on the human figure. I can put it together. Its very helpful especially with getting down forms of the body. My professor also had a very interesting layout for the 7 heads rule. I used it for one of my paintings, ill post the layers next time I have free time and walk through what i did.