Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how to draw mail armor; never had luck with it before, just comes out as a bunch of squiggly lines or overlapping circles. Really ugly.
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Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how to draw mail armor; never had luck with it before, just comes out as a bunch of squiggly lines or overlapping circles. Really ugly.
If I were you, I'd start collecting a bunch of reference photos, and don't diverge too much from them. Figurines and miniatures are great resources if you want 'action' poses. As for other references, Google-fu is your friend.
Maybe post some of your previous art? Or current work? And we can look at what you have.
http://flameofloki.deviantart.com/ar...-lol-674176797
There's this character; he's the one I'm trying to draw armor for. (And yes, I'm doing practice with anatomical stuff too, more realistic eyes for example.)
I'm a bit out of practice, since I don't get many opportunities to draw.
What type of armor are you trying to draw?
Leather armor? Ringmail? Chainmail? Platemail?
How you draw it depends on the type of armor, but really it isn't any harder than drawing clothing.
Admittedly, chain and ring take more detailed type work, but don't think about the individual rings or chains, just think of it as a texture.
I admit, whenever I've drawn a character that's wearing maille, I'll usually have them wearing a tunic or surcoat over it. Mainly because I like cartoonier character designs and maille looks too busy in my opinion. I'll sometimes throw some pauldrons or some greaves onto that character so I can say, "No, they're totally wearing armor! See?"
When I have to, I've indicated the links by drawing repeated "S" shapes though.
Have you tried just doing a grey shirt and adding a scale pattern in a slightly darker grey? In more cartoon-ish styles, it works.