AutumnsStar In reply to LittleRed7 [2010-10-04 21:33:08 +0000 UTC]

I now have the chocobo song stuck in my head and am all the more joyful for it! Thanks for drawing it!

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LittleRed7 In reply to AutumnsStar [2010-10-07 03:47:45 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome and I'm glad

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AutumnsStar In reply to Rendina [2010-06-02 16:47:17 +0000 UTC]

Well, sketching is my specialty, I've never taken a class for it. I've only ever taken a Drawing 1 class and we mostly worked on objects, not people...It's kind of hard to think of tips when it's something that I kind of figured out on my own, but I bet I can think of a few... 1. There are no lines when drawing people - there are only shadows against lighter tones. This is especially useful when working with clothing: dark against light gives the impression of wrinkles. Never give people outlines. 2. The best tools you could possibly use as a sketch artist are sketch pencils (specificially: 4H, 4B, 3H, B, H, 3B, F, 2B, HB, and 2H), woodless graphite (especially great when working with the darker parts and if your figure is set in a natural background), charcoal (wonderful for darker portions of your sketches, especially hair as it is easily smudged and can provide an underlying tone), some kind of fixative or hairspray (if you use charcoal, you'll need this to ensure that your drawing does not smudge), and most important of all YOUR FINGERS. I use my fingers to smudge and blend quite a lot, which is why when I sketch people their skin appears smooth rather than sketchy. 3. This is true of all realistic art, but a good point to keep in mind. When you are trying to capture something or someone realistically, turn off your brain. Oftentimes your brain will interfere by telling you that it KNOWS something is there - but if your eyes can't see it and you draw it anyway, it ruins the picture. Rely only on your eyes. Don't think and don't move and try to keep your subject from moving as much as possible. Draw what you see, not what you know. 4. Know the basics of the human anatomy. For instance, when you draw a hand, make sure that if it was completely flat it would be the same size of their face and that, if they are a woman, their hips are generally as wide as their shoulders - although everyone is unique and there are exceptions to the hip-shoulder rule. 5. Where to start? Well, lots of people will tell you different things, and personally I think it's best that you make your own starting point. When you grow in skill you might diverge from this starting point, but it's great to have when you're still trying to figure out your style. For instance, originally my starting point was always faces. I would draw the outline of the face, the hair, and ears before I did anything else. This kept me from staring at my paper going, "Uh, what should I draw first?" It was really helpful because it honed my abilities in the face-hair-ear area and eventually I became good enough that I could sketch that part really fast and accurately, then move on. Now I generally start with the upper arms, shoulders, neck, and jaw line. As I said earlier, people don't have outlines - but they do have shadows. I do a quick outline of the upper torso (shoulders, neck, and jaw) and do a general shape of their head in very light pencil. I define the areas of the face and I slowly add more definition and detail. But even now I sometimes go back to drawing the face before I do anything else - it's helpful and because it's what I know it gives me something to focus on when working with a daunting subject.

But as always, the most important tip I can give you is this: 6. Enjoy yourself. If your drawings become tedious or not fun or if you find yourself becoming upset or unhappy, put down your pencil. Art was never meant to be something upsetting. You might want to take a break from that piece and come back to it later when you have a fresh eyes, as it were, or you might want to take a new angle on it. You might decide to use different mediums or even deviate from the style completely and do an abstract drawing or a painting or a sculpture. Art has no limits, so don't limit yourself. Have fun and enjoy your art - only then can other people enjoy it.

I hope this was helpful, I'm sorry this is such a long reply. Do your best and have fun!

~Autumnsstar

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Rendina In reply to AutumnsStar [2010-06-02 18:36:08 +0000 UTC]

o0
WOW that's a lot. Thank you!~ so many useful tips.

XD i know about the outline thing though. i dont apply that during realistic, only cartoons. if the habbit comes to realistic, then i turn the outline into the negative space. >w< i just never put realistic up here because i don't have as much experiance with it yet... or have a scanner... .3.

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AutumnsStar In reply to Rendina [2010-06-13 07:22:44 +0000 UTC]

You're quite welcome! And scanners aren't all that expensive if you know where to look, mine's Epson brand and I bought it for only $60.

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AutumnsStar In reply to bloodrose904 [2010-05-24 05:15:49 +0000 UTC]

of course :3 he's so adorable X3 *squee*

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bloodrose904 In reply to AutumnsStar [2010-05-24 05:17:17 +0000 UTC]

*giggling*

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AutumnsStar In reply to SupaSmashSketcher [2010-05-11 18:46:42 +0000 UTC]

Haha those shoes are AWESOME. Definitely wish I had a pair!!

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SupaSmashSketcher In reply to AutumnsStar [2010-05-11 18:47:28 +0000 UTC]

thanks again!

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AutumnsStar In reply to Valentina-Remenar [2010-04-23 15:49:19 +0000 UTC]

you're very welcome :3

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AutumnsStar In reply to devilkate [2010-04-10 05:14:29 +0000 UTC]

you're quite welcome

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AutumnsStar In reply to Lesley-Lycanthropy [2010-04-10 05:14:18 +0000 UTC]

~<3

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AutumnsStar In reply to annvie [2010-04-08 17:43:02 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! -^^-

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