I'm worried my drawing skills aren't actually progressing...

[Kalentan]

Wasn't sure how to best phrase the title and what's there is ultimately what I landed on...

So I've loved to draw for a long time, but over time I got frustrated by my lack of progression that I slowly stopped until eventually I'd go over a month without drawing once.

Recently though I did Pentober and while I didn't draw everyday, I did at the very least do 31 drawings in total. It's the most I have drawn in years. And I'm quite happy with how lot of the drawings came out but I also think lying to myself? Basically, I've been using Clip Studio on my tablet which has 3d models you can use, and so I used them to get characters into certain positions and then I would draw over the model (which are blank of any details other than, obviously the body).

This allowed to me finally draw a bunch of characters and focus on other aspects of my art rather than constantly worrying about proportions and such. I still have a long long long way to go but... The second I stopped using the models, my art instantly reverts and I think: "Oh, okay, so I actually do suck at drawing"

Spoiler

No Model drawing I did for Pentober.

Also for Pentober with model:

Now at this point where I'm like: "Okay, when do I stop using these models? Can I even stop using them?"

And then I'm also wondering if I'm actually learning anything, is my art actually improving? Am I expecting results too quickly?

Is it pathetic to have to use models to get a half-way decent looking character?

Ugh, this has been causing a ton of anxiety and I'm worried it's going to cause me stop drawing again.

 

[wenis]

you should move to studying anatomy. You're plateauing at trying to achieve a certain look right now and that's why it doesnt feel like you're progressing. You need better understanding about how the muscles in a body move and flex and change in different poses and then when you come back to drawing in this style you will notice improvement. No one really falls into a style like you'd think. those people are very rare and just have an innate talent to get there without understanding basic human anatomy. everyone else has gotta build a foundation of understanding before the style comes.

(I went to art school and am now a professional artist).

 

[Deleted member 22630]

Seconding Anatomy.

 

[PawPrints]

Draw everyday. Keep a sketchbook and draw from life....draw anything and everything you see. It will help your observation skills. And also def learn your proportions and anatomy and understanding light and value. Regardless whether u are a representational type of artist or a comic or manga artist. Learning basic structure and anatomy is very important.

 

[Tyaren]

Even though you are not using a model, you do probably know about the basic proportions of the human body. Like how many heads go into an adult body (7-8 heads) or to where do the finger tips reach when the arms are hanging relaxed down the sides of the body (to the middle of the upper thigh). Try to get those proportions down. Adhering to them will improve a drawing, like the first you showed here, a lot.
Don't give up! :)

 

[Kalentan]

you should move to studying anatomy. You're plateauing at trying to achieve a certain look right now and that's why it doesnt feel like you're progressing. You need better understanding about how the muscles in a body move and flex and change in different poses and then when you come back to drawing in this style you will notice improvement. No one really falls into a style like you'd think. those people are very rare and just have an innate talent to get there without understanding basic human anatomy. everyone else has gotta build a foundation of understanding before the style comes.

(I went to art school and am now a professional artist).

Click to shrink...

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

 

[Servbot24]

Are you studying, or just repeating the current patterns you're already capable of?

I know it's not fun to study, but getting better isn't free.

 

[Adder7806]

Got to start with the basics. Go to a life drawing class and draw draw draw. You're just using a crutch right now and it's holding you back.

 

[Painguy]

idk how to draw either, but i think one thing that remains true for learning ANYTHING, is to ensure you understand the fundamentals. As a programmer I can't just try to start writing the next unreal engine and expect to get better without first understanding fundamentals.

 

[Jotakori]

Models can be really useful to help layout tricky or dynamic poses, but they can only offer so much and you're not going to actually learn the fundamentals if you use them to bypass that all the time, y'know?

So like Tyaren mentioned, I really recommend learning body proportions in relation to each other as a good kinda starting foundation. Muscles and how the body moves and all that is extremely important of course, but I think that's gonna be a tough step if you don't have the basics of how a body is shaped and proportioned down first. Things like, for example, how an eye should be able to fit between the eyes, hairline to brow = brow to bottom of nose = nose to chin, wrists typically hang level with the crotch, etc etc. There's tons of little measurement tricks/rules like that, and it may seem a lot to remember but it'll get more natural and easier to feel out instinctually as you learn. I draw for a living and I am constantly self-checking these sorts of things to make sure my proportions are accurate.
If we weren't in a pandemic rn I'd recommend taking a figure drawing class, but maybe finding some online resources as substitutes would help? Gesture drawings/quick anatomy sketches were especially useful exercises for me.

 

[wenis]

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

Click to shrink...

then you got an uphill battle. you also dont need to like dedicate an entire day to anatomy and never draw what you want. there are resources out there that you could use, but in like 10 minute chunks. quick blasts of anatomy and you focus on different parts each day. My first anatomy teacher in school told us that if we took the books he recommended to us and sat down each day and redrew each page a day or chunked up through the semester a page every couple days we'd get just as much out of his lessons as we would doing that. and it worked! I took the anatomy book he recommended and spent a day a page going through each one, redrawing all the muscle groups in the forearm or doing exploded versions of the muscles in the thigh. like I said, you dont need to dedicate a whole days worth of work to it. drawing is an "at your own pace" thing. No one is gonna paint their sistine chapel in their first year of drawing. beyond just technique your brain is also figuring out to how translate what you're thinking about or referencing for your drawing and putting it to a 2D surface. Drawing fruit and drapery is also another great way to start figuring how to get the curves of clothing onto bodies if you're working from a mannequin as reference.

you learn these shapes and the way things drape, fold, crumple and hang; people become a whole heck of a lot easier.

 

[Leeness]

OP, thirding anatomy. But specifically (if you want to draw human characters), life drawing. Not something you can really do right now, but it's huge in developing how you draw the human body (and once you know it, you can exaggerate and play with proportions more).

Posemaniacs.com » Random Pose Viewer

It's really not the same as drawing a live nude model, but you should try out 1 minute (or even 30 second!) poses. Another thing is having loose sketches and then building the details on top, and 1 minute poses will help you let go of just trying to draw the details from the get go.

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Take a look at this and what people are posting and how sketchy it is.

I know you said you'd get bored just drawing bodies, but perhaps the time limit will make it more exciting lol. But it's really what is going to help you break through this barrier you're feeling.

Good luck :)

 

[TooFriendly]

Think you might be comparing your drawings that are sort of tracing over the 3D models to your other drawing where it seems like you are just drawing completely from memory/imagination, which is not really being fair to yourself. Just about all artists will look at reference material when drawing something. Usually when drawing from imagination you are just thinking of symbols, rather than true to life forms.

what it has pointed out though is that maybe drawing over the top of the 3D models is not really making you think about and learn the shapes, proportions, and how they fit together. As a half-step I'd suggest looking at your 3D model pose on one screen, and trying to draw it on another blank screen... or just on paper, whatever. Do lots of warm ups, don't spend forever on them, don't treat them like they are going in a museum, just observe what you are looking at, the angles and lengths and draw it out, roughly. You can probably even throw them out afterwards. I think people get hung up on having finished pieces, which are nice, but they are also kind of stressful when you think you have to make a great drawing, which is not helpful when practicing.

I like to get any old basic object, like a salt shaker or something and put it in front of me and do a basic sketch of it. That will teach you observation and proportion. You could also try using a proportional divider. They can be helpful and will surprise you how your sense of scale might be a bit off.

stick with it and you will be having fun and progressing by leaps and bounds. It's all about looking and comparing shapes and lines.

 

[Digital Dinosaur]

One definitely needs to understand the fundamentals before trying to create stylized art. However, the thing about "drawing every day" - it will be boring and it won't help you if you don't have a plan or strategy. That is often overlooked.

You need to pick something specific and focus on it. For example, maybe just understanding body gesture, and practicing only gesture sketches for flow without worrying about anything else. Or, working on just understanding 3D volume and foreshortening shapes. Target something you don't understand and isolate it.

All artists continue to use references no matter their experience level, as others have said. One thought there, is practice being specific, not symbolic and generic. If you put a shirt on a character, don't think "shirt, it has sleeves and buttons". Go find a fashionable picture of a specific and unique shirt and learn how to render that. This teaches you observation.

 

[TooFriendly]

While life drawing and learning anatomy is really useful, I don't really agree with the suggestions to learn anatomy right away. It's kind of jumping in at the deep end.
I think it would be helpful to do the intermediate step of just drawing still life. Or getting an anime figure or amiibo you like and putting it down in front of you and drawing that. That will help connect what you see, to what you are drawing. Tracing doesn't really do that, although tracing can be helpful for learning lineweight and line length and things like that.

I copied the entire book 'Bridgman's complete guide to drawing' to learn anatomy. I'm not sure how much actually sunk in, but it was a worthwhile exercise I think. But really, to draw a person you don't need any of that anatomy knowledge, you just need to be able to draw what you see in front of you. If you want to draw completely from imagination then yeah, you will need to know anatomy.

Here is one of the anatomy drawing videos I did if you want to have a look

 

[Nell]

Continue using the pose tool in clips studio paint, you'll learn a little bit of anatomy that way and you'll get to have finished work to show for it! I personally use tat tool a lot as well. You could also spend 10 minutes a day doing sketches from life to be able to get better at drawing what you see, as the poster above mentions.

 

[Danby]

Hey, I'm not a professional, but I do use Clip Studio a lot so I can try to help here. There are three things that you can focus on right now.

Using reference

I don't use the 3D models in my art (maybe I should try them) but I do still use myself as a model all the time. Get a mirror close to your art space and use it to help you with any gesture you might need. I take pictures of myself in various poses sometimes too. They always look cringey, but that's okay because they're only for the reference. Use a mirror or picture, and that will help. Otherwise, google shit. Woman sitting on blanket. Man holding tuba. Whatever you need is likely online. You should also study body shape as other suggested (this helps with drawing the other gender), but the fastest and easiest model is yourself. Studying anatomy is very important especially if you are drawing a battle style comic, but take time to draw regular bodies as well. People's bodies are very different, and you can tell artists who constantly practice drawing supermodels.

Being bold with poses and evoking emotion

Looking at the top pic, I can see a reluctance on drawing hands. My hands drawings are far from perfect, but you should never go out of your way to hide them. Always show them when they're meant to be shown. Use pictures and reference. Another part of the problem with the top pic is that we don't learn anything about the character. He's sort of just standing there. Sometimes people do just stand there, but that's kind of like drawing a still life of a table with nothing on it. Give him something to do, some emotion to convey. We want to connect with the character, learn about him, not just see him. Look up line of action in drawing, and you'll see just how displaying emotion through a pose starts at the core. Also look up more about character silhouettes and how they are relevant too. Practice drawing poses that are loose and evocative, practice drawing what you want to see, not just what you feel confident in. That's how you get better.

Linework

Linework in digital art is one of the most difficult challenges. You want to a achieve a smooth, effortless line that makes the character really pop. It's better to redraw a line than to try and chop it together with different pieces. Your top pic is okay for a sketch, but you should be drawing over that layer and refining the lines. I still struggle with linework, so I'm not the best in this area. But you should be using the Vector layers for your inking, and I've seen that professionals sometimes draw the bigger curves lines by "moving their arm, not the wrist" so there's a little tip for you. You can also use the "stability" function in your inking pen to make lines smother or more freestyle depending on what you're inking. Look up more tips online. Practice makes perfect here.

Finally, if you want to improve, just start drawing a comic. Post it online, keep a schedule. If you're keeping your ideas "for when you're better," either get over it and start, or just draw a different idea. Maybe draw a different, jokey battle manga that makes you happy. As long as you're working on a schedule, drawing what you want to draw, you will steadily get better.

Don't get overly frustrated. The secret is that most artists only truly excel in a particular niche and you're seeing the best at what they do. Focus on the stuff that gets you to where you want, and go from there. Cheers.

 

[Atom Heart Mother]

I'm very tired, but look up Glenn Vilppu, Proko on Youtube, and Steve Huston. These are the 3 best teachers IMO for drawing. Steve Huston is especially great -- very easy to follow and simple.

 

[dosh]

Seconding anatomy. Also a small trick I always gave my students when I was guest teaching at my old school: if possible, get up and do what you want your character to do.

Let's say your character is simply standing with one hand resting on their hips. Do that. You should be able to feel which foot is taking all the weight, which leg is relaxed and which isn't, which fingers are actually resting on the hips, etc. It may seem trivial but understanding and feeling this kind of small details goes a long way.

Bonus point if you can look at yourself in a mirror. That way you can start noticing basic rules that'll always help. For instance, if you're standing with all your weight on one leg, notice how your shoulders and hips tilt in opposite directions.

 

[boris_feinbrand]

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

Click to shrink...

The only way of getting better in any skill is practice. That's literally all there is to it.

The models in Clip Studio are fine to keep proportions largely consistent. I use them to figure out a pose and perspective, then rasterize the pose and crop out the layer and pull it next to what I draw as a reference image. That way you are forcing yourself to draw what you see, not to trace what's on screen. Again, only way to get better is to put in the hours and be consistent about it. Drawing something every day is key.

 

[Negaduck]

https://superanius.com/collections/sketchbooks/products/stonehouse-anatomy-note

OP it might take a bit for you to get as they will probably keep selling out, but I recently got my copy of stonehouse anatomy and I personally think it is truly one of the best anatomy books i've ever read. Even if you are starting even early on in the book it is breaking down concepts and helping to understand in very real and easy to undestand chunks.

Ive been working my way through it and can't believe such a powerful book exists.

Keep up the good work, practice your fundamentals, proportions and anatomy (youtube channels like Proko are great to help learn this also!). It takes a while but if you put in the practice and work you will be rewarded in amazing ways.

You got this.

 

[Unleash the Flutes]

Study anatomy but also study perspective too, because even if you get anatomy down your figures still won't look quite right if you can't orient the body properly. Also do some gesture drawings to to learn how to make more dynamic figures too.

 

[Mistle]

https://superanius.com/collections/sketchbooks/products/stonehouse-anatomy-note

OP it might take a bit for you to get as they will probably keep selling out, but I recently got my copy of stonehouse anatomy and I personally think it is truly one of the best anatomy books i've ever read. Even if you are starting even early on in the book it is breaking down concepts and helping to understand in very real and easy to undestand chunks.

Ive been working my way through it and can't believe such a powerful book exists.

Keep up the good work, practice your fundamentals, proportions and anatomy (youtube channels like Proko are great to help learn this also!). It takes a while but if you put in the practice and work you will be rewarded in amazing ways.

You got this.

Click to shrink...

I've been wanting this book so bad but it's super expensive to import to Aus and it's not available locally. Looks like the anatomy book I've always wished existed.

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

Click to shrink...

You're first step then should be to work on fixing this mindset and creating a habit because you absolutely won't improve without regimented practise.

 

[XaviConcept]

I see a lot of long, well meaning explanations. Theyre not wrong, but van feel like too much.

Tracing reference will help you create finished art faster but of course it doesnt teach you how to draw better. That should be obvious.

You're not seeing the improvement you seek because you havent drawn for long enough yet and because you're not engaging in methods and habits that build good foundations.

 

[Ashlette]

Is it possible to record your next sketch starting from scratch? Could be a way to show others your drawing process.

 

[Kalentan]

Is it possible to record your next sketch starting from scratch? Could be a way to show others your drawing process.

Click to shrink...

I don't think so. I draw on my iPad.

 

[Caddywompus]

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

Click to shrink...

That's a big hurdle to overcome if you want to draw people but not practice drawing bodies.

I think you would benefit from doing quick gesture drawings in a park. Don't worry about so much the precision but trying to capture the energy of the movement the people jogging or walking their dog have in that 30 seconds to a minute you get to attempt to capture them on paper. One of the biggest lessons I learned early on was thinking in layers and drawing through the 3D objects and not just outlining the muscles or the silhouette of the human form.

 

[XaviConcept]

I don't think so. I draw on my iPad.

Click to shrink...

iPads have a record screen option, look for it in settings

 

[Deleted member 69573]

- Anatomy. Once I properly studied faces and hands and things like that is when I saw the biggest improvements. It's frustrating at times but at some point it will click.
- No shame in drawing from a reference.
- Still life.

Drawing isn't a trick you learn, learning from everything around you makes you better in the area you want to excel in. Becoming competent in still life and landscapes will make you a better character designer.

 

[King Kingo]

The Complete Art Drawing Course: Draw Characters Like a Pro

Learn How to Draw People and Character Designs Professionally, Drawing for Animation, Comics, Cartoons, Games and More!

www.udemy.com

Purchase this course, it's being discounted at 92% and it's helped me out so much. I always look back at it for help because it breaks down the fundamentals of creating a character from start to finish.

 

[Kalentan]

iPads have a record screen option, look for it in settings

Click to shrink...

Alright, I can try that... Like, if I did record something. Would I just draw something without a model I imagine?

 

[XaviConcept]

Alright, I can try that... Like, if I did record something. Would I just draw something without a model I imagine?

Click to shrink...

I mean, I think thats what the other post was talking about. I dont think theres much mystery to your situation, you can either work through the boring fundamentals for a month and see substantial improvement or you can keep tracing 3D models for a month and wonder why you're not getting better.

 

[marimo]

An exercise you can do right away: put your drawings aside for a couple of days then come back and look at them with fresh eyes. Really analyze the drawings and look for areas that don't look right, or things you could improve (flipping the canvas horizontally can help a lot with this). Then re-draw the same image focusing on improving the things you noticed. Don't get too hung up on making this perfect, it's just an exercise and the point is to train your eye, so as long as you've learned something, you've done it successfully.

Also yeah, if you want to draw human bodies in cool action poses, you're going to need to study anatomy. Especially if you want to eventually draw from your imagination without reference.

 

[Kalentan]

The Complete Art Drawing Course: Draw Characters Like a Pro

Learn How to Draw People and Character Designs Professionally, Drawing for Animation, Comics, Cartoons, Games and More!

www.udemy.com

Purchase this course, it's being discounted at 92% and it's helped me out so much. I always look back at it for help because it breaks down the fundamentals of creating a character from start to finish.

Click to shrink...

I did decide to do this and will start watching it once I got some more free time.

I'll also try to do a recording of me doing some art as well.

Thanks for all of the responses!

 

[Lil Peanut Brotha]

Just wanna chime in to say no your not "pathetic" for using models. I worked with some god tier illustrators for years (to me anyways), and they almost ALWAYS had reference and models up to check their work against, in addition to their peers. Some also used 3D to gut check camera FOV and perspective frequently. They are all just tools in your toolbelt.

Keep practicing life figure drawing and work on the parts that give you the most trouble. It takes so much time and hard work, so mad respect for you taking this journey.

Disclaimer: Despite technically being an artist I suck ass at drawing, except for the first year of school when I got ok at it briefly 😅

 

[Futabaisthebest<3]

As an artist, I used to be this same, complex feeling just like everyone else, but just because I'm skipping my drawing skills doesn't mean I don't give it up.

I'm still saving the references/guides arts regularly from Twitter RTs and I can get back on drawing board whenever I feel ready.

 

[King Kingo]

I did decide to do this and will start watching it once I got some more free time.

I'll also try to do a recording of me doing some art as well.

Thanks for all of the responses!

Click to shrink...

I highly recommend you switch over to Procreate and give it a shot as it's arguably the closest experience to drawing on paper.

Intro to Procreate - The Basics for Beginners in 10 Minutes

My Brushes ► https://www.lumallama.com/brushesMy eBook - Growing on Instagram ► https://www.lumallama.com/growing-on-instagramLearn Shading ► https://www.you...

youtu.be

The program also has an in-built record function for all of your strokes on a canvas so it saves the hassle on that front.

 

[Xun]

I suggest going to life drawing classes if you can, or if that's not possible joining online life drawing classes.

Tools like the below are also a good alternative:

Practice Tools for Artists - Line of Action

line-of-action.com

My suggestion is to switch to the class mode and doing an hour (or two hour) class.

 

[BareKnuckle]

You will in time become fascinated with anatomy and the way muscles move and structures. You will begin to see beauty in it. Im a portrait artist and I'm obsessed with photos of old people haha

if not you're shit out of luck, nothing wrong with your drawings though, I think they are cool.

 

[Deleted member 52442]

Not an artist, but one of my friends bought the artbook of Ilya Kushinov recently and I was inspired by his daily drawing methods learned in school

Ilya Kushinov is the guy who draws these characters:

Really distinct and attractive style.

Meeting a Russian artist in Japanese animation (and more) : Ilya Kuvshinov - Culture et Société

Recently the name Ilya Kuvshinov began to rise in popularity. Learn more about this Russian artist and his unusual career path. Bio, review and interview.

www.journaldujapon.com

It was at this point in his career that, in addition to his work, he began studying anatomy every afternoon and learning the notions of perspective. He was determined to maintain a steady working pace and post a fan art on social media every afternoon. According to him, this period was crucial in his career and helped to develop his skills as an illustrator.

Click to shrink...

Alongside, he looks back at his experience in art school where he was constantly required to draw sketches and includes several pages of examples that surround the topic of daily life such as maps or transportation mediums.

Click to shrink...

Every artist has their own journey but I found inspiration from him despite not even being in the field, hope this helps you as well

 

[Jobbs]

I've been an illustrator for years and have illustrated comics/manga and now do video game art and animation.

Just to put in my 2 cents... I'll say there's no wrong way to learn and get better *except* for tracing over. Tracing over is a complete waste of time for the purpose of learning. Get a reference and look at it but don't trace over it.

For my part, a lot of my early learning and advancement came from studying the art I found to be most inspiring and attempting to recreate it by referencing it. So I would suggest identifying what art you find to be most inspiring or most aspirational and use it as reference.

BTW If you work digitally, a general tip that you might find useful is to periodically flip your canvas horizontally, it will help your eye spot errors. When you're starting out and still learning you may find that this practice helps you spot enormous errors that you never would have otherwise.

 

[808s & Villainy]

I think my problem is that I don't think I learn well that way. I rarely ever draw... nothing. I could never sit and just draw bodies. I've tried and I just get bored and disinterested.

Click to shrink...

Well then you're not really going to get better. You aren't going to learn anatomy by drawing anatomically incorrect people over and over. You're just going to learn how to draw whatever you do quicker. Well okay, you might, but it'll be at a significantly slower rate. Focus on what's wrong, learn why, practice that. You want to shortcut to the end and you can't

 

[Gunship]

Don't just draw manga and characters. Draw everyday stuff. Draw what's outside your window or in your fridge. Draw your pet and your shoes.

I learned Zbrush by sculpting and texturing an object from my house every day. You'd be amazed at how challenging objects like toothpaste tubes and houseplants are if you've had zero practice in those kind of subjects. Now I make concept art and style frames for movies and games, but I always refer back to the lessons learned from when I spent two solid years sculpting the objects in my house.

 

[mikhailguy]

I think a lot of young artists tend to put too much value in coming up with ideas without references. If the goal is to learn more -- you should be drawing from life or at the very least a photograph.

 

[Jotakori]

Just to put in my 2 cents... I'll say there's no wrong way to learn and get better *except* for tracing over. Tracing over is a complete waste of time for the purpose of learning. Get a reference and look at it but don't trace over it.

Click to shrink...

I don't think this is entirely true. Tracing can still be beneficial in certain instances, like if used as an exercise to help learn the shapes of things as opposed to being used as a shortcut in artwork. For example, say I'm drawing uniquely shaped leaves -- finding a photo reference and tracing over some to get a feel for them first helps me a ton with accurately depicting them in my final work. I discard my tracings after and don't use them in any way in my actual pieces, of course, but it still helps the process. I've done this to get a feel for clothing wrinkles and muscle shapes before, too.