# Some artwork old and new



## Harbinger (Aug 23, 2012)

All these images were done by sketching either photographs or screenshots, does that make them bad or no good? I really really want to get better, my latest images are at the top with my old (think they are a couple of years old which i took like 5 minutes on) at the bottom, have i improved?


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## Taralack (Aug 23, 2012)

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/photographing-paintings.html

Since you're just copying screenshots there's no clear distinction between your old and new work. It does look like you've improved a little (better line values) but try doing some figure studies or life drawings instead of copying screenshots. You won't learn anything just by copying a picture if you don't know what goes where.

That Rinzler one is really weird looking, human legs don't bend apart at a 90 degree angle lol


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## Arshes Nei (Aug 24, 2012)

Harbinger said:


> All these images were done by sketching either photographs or screenshots, does that make them bad or no good? I really really want to get better, my latest images are at the top with my old (think they are a couple of years old which i took like 5 minutes on) at the bottom, have i improved?



If you want to get better stop copying screenshots. You want to be a better artist, not a better Xerox! Start drawing from life. Take your time drawing. Don't spend 5 minutes on each drawing, spend longer.


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## FireFeathers (Aug 26, 2012)

It makes them traces of good artwork. But it doesn't make your artwork good.  You're not learning anything by tracing; you're literally just copying the result and trying to claim that your interpretation bettered it.  This doesn't help you in any way, and if you think you've got that "Well, now i know what grand master chef in halo (or whatever it's called) really looks like, then draw the same image, of the same character, in a slightly different angle without tracing and or looking at the original.


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## Harbinger (Aug 26, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, I still dont like any of my drawings i do including these, took art in GCSE and A level over here in the UK, and all they ever told us to do for was trace which didnt help, at all. I've asked different places a couple of times if drawing from photographs or screen shots helped at all and they all said yes but i never noticed it.

I'll stop all together then and just try to draw fresh stuff then, the only thing is though is whenever i do that my drawings are terrible, they look like a kids drawing and not like they are supposed to. And that was just that couple i spent under an hour on, the rest i took 3 to 4 times that, im an extremely slow and mistake heavy drawer. I cant seem to ever draw shapes at different angles without it going out of proportion and wonky. Actually got an A in GCSE despite that :/

Only posted just those pics because at the time i thought they were better and still counted, but heres a few that i've either not looked at anything at all to reference, or only checked a couple of images to see how big one body part is compared to the other.
















The last one is my latest one, havent finished it thought, i was hoping to go digital with photoshop after the horrors of smudgy crap rubbers and my amazing array for 4 different colours to choose from.
The arm on the right for example looks wierd to me because that was drawn at a wierd angle :/

Thanks for the help anyways, been wanting to draw better for years but i never notice them get better, and hi Firefeathers ^_^

Forgot to say, i want to draw anthro stuff primarily, and sci-fi if i ever good at it, but i dont practice much incase my parents think im drawing them too often and think its something else thats stopping me going out <_<


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## Arshes Nei (Aug 26, 2012)

Well you can't build Rome in a day. 

Basically you need to go back to foundational studies. That means those "drawing basic shapes" Why? Because when you start seeing the basic shape and constructing it, you learn how to deconstruct it and so forth.

If you're just going to work off other people's photos...you're skipping what you need to learn. How do you take something that is 3 dimensional and make it believable in a 2 dimensional format. 

Can you really tell from a photo how let's say a figure looks in 3 dimensions? Not really, you're going from "flat to flat"
You nee to look at objects and construct them to see how depth and perspective works.

If you want some simple exercises. You could go with Betty Edwards - since about any library carries her books and just do the exercises.

You could also enjoy this and do what he says for practice. (He said make 100 of these)

[yt]1EPNYWeEf1U[/yt]


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## Taralack (Aug 26, 2012)

Wait, you don't practice because of parental issues? If that's the case you could always go out and draw. Go to the park, or a coffee shop, sit down and observe people. 

You should only ever look at screenshots if you need references for a specific characters outfit or look, etc. Never to just copy it wholesale. If you don't understand what goes where you'll never be able to make things "look right".


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## Harbinger (Dec 22, 2012)

Didnt realise there had been 2 new posts 
I havent drawn much at all since really. I've tried not to trace anything, just doing my own poses and all but the other day i ended up having to use a reference for nearly every limb of my own pose -_-
I'll take a look at that video but i've tried drawing with shapes a little bit before, couldnt even get them right but then again i didnt try for long with that.

Here's some stuff i have done since then.
These i hardly used any reference for and did the most stuff myself with these, the 2nd one especially. Was kinda happy with that one, there was one screenshot at the time of that zombie ^_^











And this is from the other day, this one i wasnt happy with. Wanted to do my own pose without tracing or anything, but i ended up copying references for the legs, body, and head >_<
Did the arms entirely myself but even then they are too bastard short.


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## Tiamat (Dec 22, 2012)

Have you taken note of anything the previous posters have said to you at all?


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## Harbinger (Dec 22, 2012)

Yeah, i dont trace directly from a whole image any more at all, and i need to practice with drawing shapes more. I just havent been drawing much at all, well those 3 above images are all that i've done minus practicing shapes and such since my last post with gaps in between them.


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