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2D All the way! / Nexar's Drawing Tips (2009 December)

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Nexar
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 10:52


Here's a few tips on how to draw nice looking pictures!

1. When you draw, try to focus on how it should look.
2. Always begin by drawing softly, or else you might not be able to erease.
3. When making heads, always draw an circle with an cross in the middle.
4. Do not use these thin papers, use harder papers when drawing.
5. Don't copy someone elses drawings.
6. Search on the internet for cool pictures that gives you ideas.
7. Do not use short pencils when drawing, use long pencils.
8. Renember that when your drawing shadows, the shadows must be on the same side!
9. Try scanning your art into the computer and open an paint program (i use macromedia) and edit it.

These paint programs is good to use when creating sprites,BG's..etc

Macromedia Flash Pro 8
Photoshop
Blender (the image edit part)

i would be happy to see your art, upload something so i can see what you need to improve.

JLMoondog
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 18:34 Edited at: 20th Dec 2009 18:34
A few rebuttals for your list:
1) 90% of art is spontaneous and done without thought
2) agreed H pencils are what you want to look for, and a good gum eraser
3) this is a little misleading...when drawing heads/faces it's best to start with basic shapes, usually circles and build up from there. the 'cross' is a reference for the artist when placing the face details so they are proportionally correct...i honestly don't use them very much anymore, though i'm weird
4) depends on what medium your working with, most sketch books will tell you on the cover what they are good for
5) copying someone Else's work and claiming it as your own is a nono, but copying to learn their technique, that's cool and is one way how I learned to draw characters was by freehand copying images from comic books
6) libraries are also a good way to look for ideas, or real life in itself can be inspirational
7) hand cramps, agreed, though a short 'soft' pencil is good for fleshing out shadows
8) not sure i understand what you mean, unless your stating that the object the person your drawing has only one lightsource
9) don't forget the FREE programs like gimp and PsP

Honestly your list was very vague and incomplete. I suggest editing and adding more details and some explanations into technique rather then one lined pointers.

Not sure your ready to critique work as well, but that's my opinion.

Good luck.


Nexar
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 18:41
sorry, but it's hard to write in english when i only can 97% english.

JLMoondog
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 18:50
A language barrier is just an excuse. I still back my first post.


Nexar
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 19:04
Quote: "Not sure your ready to critique work as well, but that's my opinion."


Who says not, you just need to know these words "Everyone is different"! like your sig- Very cute, i really like the bg, but you might need to check so your not drawing over the lines.

I have created a style of drawing called XioriX. When i get an scanner i might show you my characters.

JLMoondog
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 19:27
lol...your a character, but that's cool.


Nexar
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 20:30
Can i see one of your drawings?

Quik
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 21:06
Quote: "
Who says not, you just need to know these words "Everyone is different"! like your sig- Very cute, i really like the bg, but you might need to check so your not drawing over the lines.
"


not sure but i think it is supposed to look like that...

i relly do agree with everything josh has said in this thread acually.


[Q]uik, Quiker than most
Nexar
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Posted: 20th Dec 2009 21:32
Im still waiting for someone to be nice and thankful for this. i even spend time drawing the logo just to share my tips with you.

Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 00:30 Edited at: 21st Dec 2009 00:32
Quote: "9. Try scanning your art into the computer and open an paint program (i use macromedia) and edit it."


Quote: "I have created a style of drawing called XioriX. When i get an scanner i might show you my characters."


I am suspicious of this thread really. But anyway, you seem like you are just a beginner trying to teach other beginners. Do you think that you are ready to teach yet?

Nexar
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 07:07
Yes, i think im ready to teach. But thats not the point of this thread actually. It's just tips. And what do you mean with beginner?

JLMoondog
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 14:25
Here's my deviant page. Comment away!


Nexar
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 14:40
One word: Color! it's too much black and white.

Van B
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 15:40
Surely that's only relevant if the art is not deliberately monochrome - If someone sketches something with a pen or pencil, then it's up to them whether it needs colour or not. Personally I like monochrome and line art - especially things like Richard A. Kirk's illustrations which are made from individual dots.

Thanks for posting these tips, but I think the issue is that most people know this stuff, even non-artistic people know this stuff because it's taught in school. Don't be put off by what you might consider 'abrasive' feedback, because they are just giving you similar advise to what was helpful to them. If you want to help other people learn, then you have to learn too - you have to be twice as good as the person you are trying to teach, to be taken seriously.


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Nexar
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Posted: 21st Dec 2009 15:48
Sorry for bieng nice and share some tips. just becouse you feel like that, a million might find this thread useful.

Quik
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Posted: 22nd Dec 2009 10:29
what Van B is saying is TRUE


[Q]uik, Quiker than most
BREED
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Posted: 23rd Dec 2009 18:19
I believe you can teach people how to draw, actually, you should apply for a job at a local elementary school as an art teacher, I bet a million little kids wuld find you very helpful.

I am sorry I just couldn't help myself, it's just that the tips you gave are very basic and in all honesty this is what I remember being taught in elementary school. sorry fo being so "mean" I am a very strait forward person.

I am sorry if I have any mis-spelled words, I am ussually very picky about that, but lately my keyboard is acting up and I have to press VERY hard on certain keys.
nackidno
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Posted: 23rd Dec 2009 20:04 Edited at: 23rd Dec 2009 20:05
As Van B said, you need to be at least twice as experienced as the people you're teaching in order to even start teaching. I'm not saying you're inexperienced but you're certainly not prepared to start teaching things. I did a similar mistake some time ago, I didn't get much better feedback than you have gotten so far, I learned from it though.

Even though you're only giving people advice and tips, those you have are very basic, as said before. Try teaching more "hidden" techniques that most beginners don't know about.

One of my own tips:

1) When sketching something, fatten the parts that appear above something, if you are drawing a box for example, the part of the box that is touching the ground should be fat. This technique add depth to the drawing. Like the picture attached.

That's the most advanced tip I can give though.

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Nexar
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Posted: 24th Dec 2009 09:25
Well, isn't egyptologists supposed to know how to draw?

rolfy
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Posted: 24th Dec 2009 09:58 Edited at: 24th Dec 2009 10:20
A cross in the centre of a circle is too basic to work off when drawing heads, many folks dont see the proportions properly.
Fact is the eyes (pupil centre) are centered on the head, the space between the inside corners of the eyes is exactly te same distance as the width of an eye, the corners of the mouth are directly below the outside corners of the eyes, the bottom of the nose is the same distance from the centre of the eyes as the distance from the bottom of the nose to the base of the chin.
Many folks make the mistake of drawing the forehead too small, the distance from the centre of the eyes to the bottom of the chin is the same as the centre of the eyes to the the top of the head (minus hair)
Just to add, the head is 1/6 of the total height of a figure, the fingertips should reach to about 1/3 of the way down the thigh to get appropriate arms length.
I could go on and on about form, proportion, and perspective and still have to say that art is a never ending learning experience and there are as many ways to do it right as there are ways to bend the rules, one thing I do know from experience, most adults will draw the same things they drew as ten year olds (cartoons usually) as thats when they started to receive criticism from teachers (usually not qualified to teach art in the first place) and it stopped their development, making them think they werent any good.
The fact is art should be enjoyed and any tips can be useful but tips should be just that tips not unqualified one word responses to someone who asks what you think of their work, to be honest you should have asked for contributions to this thread rather than setting it up as a workshop with yourself as the lecturer, no offense, but you can do more damage than good this way, you need better tips. The tips you are giving are the ones dished out by the teachers mentioned above.
Oh! a tip, draw what you see not what you think you see (basic still life tip)
Libervurto
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Posted: 27th Dec 2009 06:14
@Nexar
The only way you're going to get respect is by posting your own work.
If people are impressed by it they'll want to know how you did it.
Then you can teach them

"With games, we create these elaborate worlds in our minds, and the computer is there to do the bookkeeping." - Will Wright
Nexar
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Posted: 27th Dec 2009 10:05
Yeah, i guess your right! but i don't have a scanner yet. and i love drawing on papers.

Quik
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Posted: 27th Dec 2009 12:59
u have a camera? then u can always take a photo:3


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Nexar
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Posted: 27th Dec 2009 18:40
No cameras either. And no mobile phone becouse i hate mobile phones!

Dan Fessler
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Posted: 28th Dec 2009 21:46
I probably shouldn't say this in fear of me looking like an ass - but as a professional 2D artist, I've had a good laugh from this thread.

Phaelax
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Posted: 29th Dec 2009 02:35
Nexar, you against technology or something? No scanner, no digital drawings, no camera, no phone?

Quote: "5. Don't copy someone elses drawings."

I would also have to disagree with this. It's good practice when you're not sure of how certain proportions and depth look from different angles. If you see an image that has what you need, try drawing it. Just don't do a straight copy and say it's yours.

Quote: "Try scanning your art into the computer and open an paint program (i use macromedia) and edit it."

Quote: "When i get an scanner i might show you my characters"


You've contradicted yourself. If you've used macromedia (flash?, fireworks?) before, then you must have something on the computer you can share?


> SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0
> 0 rows returned
David Gervais
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Posted: 3rd Jan 2010 22:36
Just to pass on some of my experience,.. I do almost all my artwork on computer now. But I have fond memories of those old art school/courses adds where they ask you to 'Draw Quigly' a kangaroo head, or the one where they ask you to draw a baby face or a dog.. the whole point of those 'Drawing tests' was to see if you have a good eye for drawing. Allot of art is drawing what you see. the ability to capture the right proportions and scale of an object is very important. There is a classic test, where you are asked to draw your thumb. basically you hold up your thumb and draw it, the test is to see if you can translate what you see onto paper. if you pass that first test, (not hard it just has to look like a thumb) then you get to play with that initial drawing and change the proportions and scale. Here is where the art of 'comic/cartoon' drawing comes into play. Comic style tends to exaggerate proportions or 'highlight' certain aspects of a drawing.

In the case of your thumb, most thumbs are fairly uniform in thickness with the top (thumb) part being ever so slightly bigger. by making the 'thumb' bigger something odd happens, it looks more like a thumb. Try it, it's fun.

One good way for 'beginners' to help learn proportions and how to get faces right is to 'trace' real photos and make pencil sketch version of the face. Basically the tracing is to get the 'placement' and basic shape right, then once traced, you put your tracing side by side with the photo and begin to draw in the details and shading as you see them. you can end up with some very nice drawings that way. I have seen so much 'Fan Art' done this way, you can usually trace what the original photo was used to make the drawing. Still, it's good practice.

The Original post even if it was just a bullet list of the basic points, it still counts as a refresher course for us old school guys who have forgotten more than we currently know.

Just remember, the more you practice the better you will get, and all artists need to learn quickly how to take all criticism as part of the learning process.

Cheers!

BiggAdd
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Posted: 7th Jan 2010 08:08 Edited at: 7th Jan 2010 08:09
Quote: "I do almost all my artwork on computer now."


I'm the same, but I don't think there is nothing like drawing with a pencil or ballpoint pen on a thick pad of paper.

I have an Intuos 3 A4, but its just not the same feeling as traditional media!

Van B
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Posted: 7th Jan 2010 08:39
Yeah, it's amazing what you can do with a Biro... I'm a doodler, and one day hope to open my Post-It gallery . I honestly want to start up a website like Deviant Art but just for post-it note scribbles.


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Libervurto
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Posted: 9th Jan 2010 07:31
I'm also a doodler, I sometimes get into it and draw a nice detailed picture and then realise I've drawn it on a horrible scrap piece of paper with programming notes all over it
I have a sketch pad but I'm scared to use it lol, I don't want to waste it - yes that is stupid.

"With games, we create these elaborate worlds in our minds, and the computer is there to do the bookkeeping." - Will Wright
RUCCUS
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Posted: 9th Jan 2010 16:31 Edited at: 9th Jan 2010 16:33
1. When you draw, try to focus on how it should look.

No... the biggest fault of an artist is one that draws what they think they should be seeing instead of what they actually are seeing. Artists that draw what they think they should see tend to screw up perspective a lot.

3. When making heads, always draw an circle with an cross in the middle.

No... unless you're trying to recreate the most basic of cartoons. Yes, heads and all other body parts of drawings can (and should) be represented as ovoid 3D shapes, but conforming to a circle with a cross is not right at all.

4. Do not use these thin papers, use harder papers when drawing.

Thin papers are extremely useful for onion skinning a character or concept through layers of detail.

5. Don't copy someone elses drawings.

Copying someone elses drawings can teach you new techniques in how they achieved their piece.

6. Search on the internet for cool pictures that gives you ideas.

Ok...

8. Renember that when your drawing shadows, the shadows must be on the same side!

Not true... entirely depends on where the light source is in relation to the object. If there's a lamp in the middle of a room with a bunch of children around it, the shadows of the children will project outwards from the lamp, not all in the same direction.


Please dont try to teach others unless you know what you're talking about .
BlinkOk
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Posted: 10th Jan 2010 02:08 Edited at: 10th Jan 2010 02:09
these are notes from a caricature course that was posted on another board. they are not for drawing in general but i found them very useful for portrait/caricature work.












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Phaelax
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Posted: 10th Jan 2010 17:19
Quote: "No... the biggest fault of an artist is one that draws what they think they should be seeing instead of what they actually are seeing. Artists that draw what they think they should see tend to screw up perspective a lot. "


I can second that! I'm not much of an artist anymore, but when I was a kid I took lessons at the museum. One in particular had us copy an image, but to not look at the image as you normally would. Instead, turn it upside down, so instead of seeing a person or whatever it was, all you could see were shapes with no real thought as to what you were drawing.


"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" ~ Arthur C. Clarke
Master Man Of Justice
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Posted: 13th Jan 2010 19:48
im no artist per say but
A). i agree that the steps are basic
B). im not shunning you down, i think they are helpful in some ways.
C). sorry Van B couldnt help it
Quote: "especially things like Richard A. Kirk's illustrations which are made from individual dots."

you may have known this but i thought i'd point out that that is an art style called stippling

Van B
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Posted: 13th Jan 2010 20:00
Yeah, I remember my art teacher had us do stippling drawings, it's cool but I got fed up with the amount of time it took - so would usually just do stuff with pencil and shading. That was a bit different though, as solid lines were used as well (which I know is not true stippling)... should really post one of his works.




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Master Man Of Justice
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Posted: 14th Jan 2010 02:42
It flows very good but, awkward fantasy in my opinion.

Quik
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Posted: 14th Jan 2010 09:01
Quote: "It flows very good but, awkward fantasy in my opinion."


imho its pretty cool


[Q]uik, Quiker than most

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