Cuthalion (tries to) make a daily drawing.

[Cuthalion]

Well, I strongly recommend that you start using a large range of pencils as you already have them. I didn't learn how to use them properly until I went to the traditional drawing course my upper secondary school offered. I think the main rule is "the softer, the darker". Of course softer pencils can be used for light tones as well, but the effect is different.

Going to start going darker in 5...4...3...2...1...

[Cuthalion]

Back down to three days behind.

Spoiler: Day Fourteen

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...wow I have no idea what you're saying there

This is why I usually just mention how the art makes me feel, not throw around advice. I'm decidedly not an artist like Finn here

I think it looks nifty. The hair is done really well, I think.

I really appreciate your coming here and saying something, if only that. Especially since there aren't many who do come... Please continue to be here.

[LaZodiac]

Back down to three days behind.

Spoiler: Day Fourteen

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I really appreciate your coming here and saying something, if only that. Especially since there aren't many who do come... Please continue to be here.

Oh, this one looks neat. Reminds me of someone I knew from High School.

Trust me, I feel the same about my stuff

[TaiLiu]

Back down to three days behind.

Spoiler: Day Fourteen

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I really appreciate your coming here and saying something, if only that. Especially since there aren't many who do come... Please continue to be here.

Don't worry, there are plenty of lurkers.

[LaZodiac]

Don't worry, there are plenty of lurkers.

Don't lurk, post. For god sakes post, yo have no idea how frustrating it is seeing nothing, after a full days work of stuff is posted and then no one says anything for days.

[Domochevsky]

True, only about 10% actually ever comment... which is why I prefer interactive comic stuff for what I do. Much easier to get some feedback out of people.

(I have nothing to add about the stuff you already posted, beyond "go go, make things happen!")

[Cuthalion]

Don't lurk, post. For god sakes post, yo have no idea how frustrating it is seeing nothing, after a full days work of stuff is posted and then no one says anything for days.

This. While I appreciate that you check it, if it weren't for Zodi and SometimesFinn I'd probably discontinue the thread. I'm here for motivation, and if I don't get any feedback of any sort, even "I hate that" or "I like that", I have no reason to post. But I would love it if you would post.

True, only about 10% actually ever comment... which is why I prefer interactive comic stuff for what I do. Much easier to get some feedback out of people.

(I have nothing to add about the stuff you already posted, beyond "go go, make things happen!")

I'm still working on making humans look like humans.

[Rain Dragon]

Ah, I always chicken out of posting feedback.

Though your peoples' faces are becoming better as time goes by. Also, your most recent picture has better contrast (probably thanks to using different pencils) than the others. I have a bad habit of shading everything in 2B then not finding a pen that works and just outlining everything in heavy pencil instead... (I draw cartoon style things)

EDIT - Typo

[Cuthalion]

11. Thou shalt post here.

Spoiler

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[LaZodiac]

This. While I appreciate that you check it, if it weren't for Zodi and SometimesFinn I'd probably discontinue the thread. I'm here for motivation, and if I don't get any feedback of any sort, even "I hate that" or "I like that", I have no reason to post. But I would love it if you would post.

I'm still working on making humans look like humans.

I 100% know the feels, Cuth, I really do.

Understandable. You do a good job of it. Better then me anyway

Ah, I always chicken out of posting feedback.

Feed it to a lion, groawrall.

[Cuthalion]

Just practice. That's all you can do, really.

Had quite a bit more free time than usual today, as you might have noticed. Here's another uncle.

Spoiler: Day Fifteen

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[LaZodiac]

Just practice. That's all you can do, really.

Had quite a bit more free time than usual today, as you might have noticed. Here's another uncle.

Spoiler: Day Fifteen

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Yup!

Noticed

"we can't stop here this is bat country". Tell your uncle he looks like Hunter S Thompson. Or your drawing does, at least

[Domochevsky]

If it helps... you can look at the view counter for your thread and see it steadily climb. It's a indicator of people lurking.

(Personal tip: Flip the image to see if you messed the perspective up without noticing! Paper drawings can be held against a light from the other side for the same effect.)

[Plerumque]

I will stop lurking because I do not wish to be devoured by the scary bird. However, I do not know much about arts and so I do not know if my input will be helpful. I like your uncle's sunglasses, though.

[Cuthalion]

I will stop lurking because I do not wish to be devoured by the scary bird. However, I do not know much about arts and so I do not know if my input will be helpful. I like your uncle's sunglasses, though.

Good, good. I don't mind as long as you don't disappear. Point out if anything strikes you good or bad.

Spoiler: Day Sixteen

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[LaZodiac]

Good, good. I don't mind as long as you don't disappear. Point out if anything strikes you good or bad.

Spoiler: Day Sixteen

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It's Nanny McPhee! Cuth, all your relatives look like famous people!

[Cuthalion]

It's Nanny McPhee! Cuth, all your relatives look like famous people!

I see this one. Not so sure about your last comparison...

[LaZodiac]

I see this one. Not so sure about your last comparison...

Well maybe a touch more wrinkly, and with stubble. I think it might be the hat that does it for me.

[FinnLassie]

Okay, one thing that I see you doing is that you seem to smudge the pencil that you've just used to create shadow. Try to avoid doing this, as it really looks just like smudge. Use the different pencils to create shadows. I think the best way to learn to use pencils is to look at a lot of references. I suggest having a quick stroll in DeviantArt and look at some of the best pencil works there are. Just examine how they've used their pencils, if you see any kind of pattern in certain texture areas, etc.

[Plerumque]

I like how you drew her hair. What's that in the background/on the brim of the hat?

[Cuthalion]

Okay, one thing that I see you doing is that you seem to smudge the pencil that you've just used to create shadow. Try to avoid doing this, as it really looks just like smudge. Use the different pencils to create shadows. I think the best way to learn to use pencils is to look at a lot of references. I suggest having a quick stroll in DeviantArt and look at some of the best pencil works there are. Just examine how they've used their pencils, if you see any kind of pattern in certain texture areas, etc.

I'll try that

I like how you drew her hair. What's that in the background/on the brim of the hat?

A sunflower.

[Plerumque]

Oh. Sunflowers, right, people put those on hats. I thought it was a hedgehog clutching a shiny rock. It does look a little precarious in it's position, though.

[Rain Dragon]

The chicken compels me to state the mouth seems to the right too much.

Ah, but I don't want to be negative, I think you did very well! She looks quite shocked at something to me.

Blasted intense chickens...!

[Cuthalion]

The chicken compels me to state the mouth seems to the right too much.

Ah, but I don't want to be negative, I think you did very well! She looks quite shocked at something to me.

Blasted intense chickens...!

Seriously. Say. It. Next. Time.

[Plerumque]

They're even scary when they're small and fuzzy...!

[Cuthalion]

Spoiler: Day Seventeen

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One more to be fully caught up.

The back two look nothing like that, for the record.

[LaZodiac]

Spoiler: Day Seventeen

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One more to be fully caught up.

The back two look nothing like that, for the record.

Oh, I like how you do the ruffles on the jeans, and make them look different from the dress. And they don't look alike at all, so good job

[Paisley]

Been browsing through your drawings, and my favorites so far are the gorilla and the ink tree.

As for the most recent one, several things look a bit off to me. First, the perspective seems kind of...odd. For example, the man at the right is noticeably behind the man at the left, yet the two have almost exactly the same size and proportion. The illusion of distance is lost. Contrast that with the girl in the dress, which you did a much better job with. Although she's roughly the same size as either man, she still looks younger and properly proportioned because she's "closer" to the front.

In general, I'd say the only one who's really messing with the perspective is the man on the left. Here's a rough sketch to give you an idea of what of I'm saying:



There are also a few very minor details I noticed about the man on the right. Regarding the small triangular shape jutting out from beneath the girl's outstretched arm—is that his hand? If it is, then his right arm is significantly longer than his left. (If it is not, in fact, his hand...then disregard everything I'm saying. )

In addition, his whole body seems to be slanting oddly to the left. Drawing a line bisecting his figure gives something like the picture below, on the right.



As for the man on the left, I notice that his neck is a little off-center with the rest of his head. To my eye, it's a bit too far to the left. Now, I'm no expert on anatomy, so please don't take my word for it—but I think the back of the head should be more smoothly connected to the top of the neck. So something like the bottom right image? (While shifting the head more to the left, of course.)



...Sorry for rambling on for so long about minor things. I've been told I'm too obsessive over details. ^^;;

[Remmirath]

You seem to be making progress and trying new things, and that's always good. In general, I think your animals are better than your humans -- but that could partly be a less critical eye on my part, as I tend to find animals more difficult to draw myself, and inaccuracies in humans are very easily noticed by humans. I do like how you've handled the fur edges on several of the animals (particularly the wolf and the ape from the first page), and I think overall you've got the proportions better on them than on the humans.

Okay, one thing that I see you doing is that you seem to smudge the pencil that you've just used to create shadow. Try to avoid doing this, as it really looks just like smudge.

Yes, I noticed this as well. Blending the pencil for shadows can be a valid technique, but if you are going to do that, laying down a nice even layer of the varying shades before blending is recommended (and it tends to work better if you blend with a tissue or some such, as fingers smudge overly much).

I also recommend experimenting with varying the amount you press with the pencil or using different pencils (or both, at different times) and denoting shadow that way, and with lines and crosshatching. See what you end up liking best.

The chicken compels me to state the mouth seems to the right too much.

I would say that the problem is that the eyes-and-nose group doesn't match up with the rest of the head, and that it should be more towards the right.

For your humans, I'm going to recommend trying some things that are not from photographs. See if you can sketch somebody in person, or yourself in the mirror. Failing that, try and draw from memory, keeping proportions in mind. Photographs can be inspiring and quite useful as reference once you know what you're about, but also tend to be a bit confusing to get accurate proportions from. You might want to look around for some books or tutorials on anatomy and proportions (both for faces and the whole body), and looking at human skulls might help as well, especially for those in-between angles.

Anyhow, good luck, and keep up the good work!

[TheCountAlucard]

I definitely think you're improving.