In honor of one of my latest projects, I hereby present a slew of beautiful jackalopes!![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |

| Don't overuse your eraser, ESPECIALLY when sketching. I hardly use them at all during a sketch, unless I'm refining things or I made a serious mistake. You'll spend less time erasing and more time sketching, and you'll learn how to convert your mistakes into something else. It makes for good practice and it gives your sketch more flow to it (I find, anyway). And kinda to go along with the eraser part, use light, flowing lines when sketching. Light is easier to mask than dark, and flowing lines are more enjoyable.~*Kodriak I use the above tip more than ever these days since I mostly only draw via ballpoint pen. I have to agree, it really helps you learn to be more careful and get an eye for beauty among messiness. ...Drawing an animal(or human) that you've never drawn before.(like me drawing big cats, or canines) DON'T draw from a cartoon, draw from a photo. Its perfectly alright if you spend an hour looking over dA or the internet, and don't get discouraged, looking for a reference photo is part of the drawing process. Once you find a photo you like make sure that you have the artist's permission to reference it, respect the artist's wishes if they say no! When you have the photo begin blocking in the animal(or person) with simple shapes, if its frustrating find more photos to reference from and practice drawing that creature. The best advice I can offer from that point is don't give up, even if you think your end result looks horrible, stick with it!~~HorseCookies Try mirroring your drawing to see mistakes you didn't notice before. If it's a real life drawing, put it in front of a mirror and look at the reflection. Or, if the paper is thin enough, you can also turn it around and hold it in a way that the light shines through and you can see it from behind... you'll then see a mirrored result too. ~*JWiesner One thing that has really helped me out is asking friends and family to look at a drawing. I've often found that a different set of eyes can pick out mistakes you didn't notice for one reason or another, something that applies to both art and writing. ~*Inkwerk Thumbnail something before you draw it. This is definitely something I tell myself again and again. I'm one of those people who start with a face and then work the composition from there. Which, while effective, can sort of affect the final outcome. Like writing, drawing can be planned ahead. For big pieces, I draw a small box to represent the piece of paper I'll be drawing on (the actual size of the box depends on what you like, i make mine about a 4th of a page) and sketching in the basic idea. Your subject would be standing here, his background would be so, etc. ~~thewintercynic Try facing your characters a different way than you would normally comfortably draw them in. If you always draw facing to the right, try drawing to the left a few times. It is really excellent to be comfortable with both and cuts down a ton of stress when referencing.~`ShePaintsWithBlood Each of us have unique structure. We're all have different heights, weights, and ways we carry ourselves. As artists this can be a challenge when it comes to portraying our characters. If you can turn them into black silhouetted shapes and others can still tell them apart easily you have succeeded. It shouldn't be because of hairstyle or the outlines of their clothes but rather who they are. This way your characters can be as diverse and dimensional as those in the real world. ~~FlameShuken |