The Artists Help Thread

[Silverhart]

I don't see much wrong about it and I'm sure you can get really amazing with practice? :3
I love how you didn't draw them in the conventional perspective but from a more three dimensional point.
If you want to draw animals more naturally I (as always) suggest drawing from photos! It's the fastest way in my opinion to get used to the anatomy and provide lots of poses that are hard to draw simply from imagination ^^


and here's Arya Stark and Nymeria that I just drew :'D
I chose the weirdest colors for shading...are there ways I can fix my shading or anatomy? They look somewhat awkward.
and all my art turn out very pale and non-vibrant(even my watercolor paintings/fail) I can't seem to make them look clearer.

It's so beautiful! Ah! It looks like an illustration. And the shading looks fantastic!

As for anatomy, the human arm looks a little awkward. It looks very long and flat. (The hand isn't perfect either, but hands are insanely hard to draw, and that's actually better then I can draw a hand, so I'm not going to judge it XP)

As far as I can see the arm needs to be thicker, shorter and more three-dimensional then it is now. The arm doesn't appear to have a top or side. It just looks flat. Keep the planes of things in mind when you're drawing. That's why I tend to draw boxy-people and animals when I first sketch something out now - it helps you figure out those side planes, top planes, and tricky perspectives.

Otherwise, it looks pretty awesome to me.

[Ashenjay]

Thanks for the compliment! Yes I do agree the arm looks weird xD
Maybe I could have used stronger shades instead of the little bit of red.
aaah ;v; my friend thought I needed to improve on hands and actually bought me a book with a bunch of hand and feet references for my birthday gift xDD

[Geinkotsu]

and here's Arya Stark and Nymeria that I just drew :'D
I chose the weirdest colors for shading...are there ways I can fix my shading or anatomy? They look somewhat awkward.
and all my art turn out very pale and non-vibrant(even my watercolor paintings/fail) I can't seem to make them look clearer.

It's so beautiful! Ah! It looks like an illustration. And the shading looks fantastic!

As for anatomy, the human arm looks a little awkward. It looks very long and flat. (The hand isn't perfect either, but hands are insanely hard to draw, and that's actually better then I can draw a hand, so I'm not going to judge it XP)

As far as I can see the arm needs to be thicker, shorter and more three-dimensional then it is now. The arm doesn't appear to have a top or side. It just looks flat. Keep the planes of things in mind when you're drawing. That's why I tend to draw boxy-people and animals when I first sketch something out now - it helps you figure out those side planes, top planes, and tricky perspectives.

Otherwise, it looks pretty awesome to me.

I definitely agree with Silv about the anatomy.
Length and thickness seem to be your overall problem area right now. It's something that comes to you with practice of training your eye to see the forms and shapes of anatomy. All I can suggest is to keep studying your proportions and shapes.

As for coloring.
I see you are using your darker colors, and definitely in great shades.
I love the hues and tones you are using. However, your values are not very strong in your darks. You dont have your 'blacks' where you need them or dark enough. Really dark colors in areas receiving little to no light help to build up your forms and make colors more vibrant. Your 'blacks' don't have to be jet black. I personally like to add color to my blacks so it's not too overwhelming but has enough of that value to kick up the dimensions, colors, and values.

You also seem to have trouble determining
how much light gets to an area and what needs to be shaded. For this it helps to think in planes and shapes
and trying to focus on what risen areas face your light source more or less.

Either way, you are doing a fantastic job!
Keep up the good work and keep practicing, experimenting and having fun with your art! ❤

[Ashenjay]

Thank you so much! :'D
Your advice is really really helpful!
I see how the shading is weak. I hardly used any dark colors for shading xP
I'll be sure to concentrate on those things when I draw from now on. Maybe I'll fix up that drawing as well,
thank you again <33

[Startedraining]

*boops into thread again*

Here is how well I've gotten at painting in the past few years:


Late 2012

Full image

late 2012 to early 2013

Full image

middle to late 2013

Full image

middle of 2014

Full image

I think I'm getting very good!

But I have a couple concerns
Is my anatomy getting better? Shading? All-around painting style?

[Distortionist]

I like your art! C: The anatomy does seem to be getting more natural, which is good. Your previous pictures don't have much shading at all, so it's hard to tell if it improved. The shading on the woman looks slightly off. Unless its very muscular, an arm should be smooth and rounded. Coupled with the fact that the shading doesn't go all the way under the clothing, it looks a little chunky right now. Unless the clothing is very loose and wrinkled (which the tank top doesn't appear to be since it hugs the woman's body), using a few broad, flat strokes would be better for shading instead of lots of thin ones.

Additionally, your stroke edges seem a little inconsistent. At some parts, especially around her waist, the line edges look pixilated. It looks like part of her wrist is pixilated and part of it is smooth, which creates a weird looking effect. On the back collar of the shirt one part looks blurry and mixed with the skin. Clothing has very definitive edges, so it shouldn't be like that.

I'd suggest trying to add more definition to the hand and separating the fingers and keeping the light source in mind when adding highlights and shadows. The light on her side seems to indicate that it's coming from below on her left, but the highlight on her forearm suggests that it's coming from above her on the right. Also consider mixing the original color with a different hue to produce highlights and shadows rather than just plain black and white; it adds interest to the color.

I hope this helped! C: Your art is improving very fast!

[Silverhart]

@Startedraining
Definite improvement in anatomy and shading! ^^ Distortionist has some great points, but I'd like to add one more in regards to shading.

I think the shading needs to be more definite. Take the straight on portrait you have there. Her face should be more defined. There should be cast shadows beneath her nose, lips , and brows, even her eyelids . The little that's there is not defined enough. It makes her face look flat.

For the last one as Distortionist pointed out the light source isn't clear. The image should be divided into dark and light. It's hard to describe, but there should be a terminator edge running her entire length. It can be hard to see sometimes, but it's there. That's true of anything you want to draw - one side will always be in shadow and one side will always be in light. Depending on the object or light source it may be very light and so hard to see exactly, but it's something you definitely want to establish in painting.

Overall it looks like you're definitely improving! The last one has so much energy - I just love it! The others are good, but they lack the flow of the last one. They feel sort of stiff. I also really like the shapes you use. The first and last just have really great poses, although I think the last one is much stronger. From what I see you're definitely getting better. It doesn't look like you did any shading on the first two, so it's good that you're starting to shade, but you can be a bit bolder with the shading. Use it to define shapes and forms, not just light sources, if that makes sense.

[Startedraining]

Thank you guys, I'll work on those things as soon as possible.
♥

thanks for the advice~

[Ashenjay]

I like your style! :'DD
Maybe you can have more fun with colors? Like..experiment with light- yellow light, orange light, really bright light, etc.
then maybe you can make your pictures seem more realistic or three dimensional. And add more depth to the shades? :3

[Startedraining]

I like your style! :'DD
Maybe you can have more fun with colors? Like..experiment with light- yellow light, orange light, really bright light, etc.
then maybe you can make your pictures seem more realistic or three dimensional. And add more depth to the shades? :3

I'll definitely try that!

thank you ♥