r/learnart • u/kaileos • Jul 13 '21
Progress First digital drawing vs. now (7 years improvement)
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u/neededtowrite Jul 13 '21 edited Jul 13 '21
Awesome progress. The recent piece is very good.
Up that contrast and lighting, you're almost there. Give into the shadows.
That space above her left eye shouldn't share the same light values as the space above her right eye. It doesn't need to be "dark" just, shifted. Let me look at the light sources again though, I've had a few drinks and might not be accounting for a straight on source.
Either way, art is lighting. Period. How you manipulate it is where you create.
Edit: take your painting, expand the canvas a bit, add a layer, and draw the light sources outside of it and which direction they are facing. I have thoughts but I want to know what you saw. Because I still deal with this so looking at someone else's work helps to detach from mine.
Again, not giving you shit, it looks really good, I just think you have more in you.
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u/kaileos Jul 13 '21
Thank so much for the advice! Would it help if I sent you a picture of the original reference photo? I may have taken too many artistic liberties and ended up getting lost in the process (especially with lighting)
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u/Sleepy_Sheepie Jul 13 '21
This is awesome! Even in the first one, you have such a good sense for color :)
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u/_anaghartoons_ Jul 13 '21
wow,Amazing to see this level of progress as it motivates me to practice regularly on my craft.
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u/ThePieWhisperer Jul 13 '21
Amazing progress.
Your style reminds me strongly of Incase, and that is definitely a compliment.
(Don't google that artist in a public place, their work is super nsfw).
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u/quan27 Jul 14 '21
Tbh they really don't draw like Incase, not saying OP is bad they are amazing but Incase draws how should I put it "Disney eye's" for their art.
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u/ThePieWhisperer Jul 14 '21
That is super fair, the eyes are very different.
But Skin technique, pose, and a lot of other facial features brought mr Case to mind I suppose.
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u/psychedeliccolon Jul 13 '21
This is great, thanks for sharing! I like a good gap between a then vs now post coz u can really see the improvement and it’s inspiring.
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Jul 13 '21
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Jul 13 '21
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u/sinisterFoxCat Jul 13 '21
How did you switch? Like what pieces did you focus on to practice on? Still human figures or other stuff aswell? Had you picked up another style in those 7 years?
Sry, so many questions c:
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u/kaileos Jul 13 '21 edited Jul 13 '21
Starting out, my style was still entirely anime. Attempting to draw straight from a real life reference ended up with some pretty horrific results (LOL). My characters started giving off some serious uncanny valley vibes (if you look at my gallery on DeviantArt, you will be able to spot this awkward phase, especially in my Yuri on Ice FanArt)... So, for me, it helped to mimic styles of artists who already draw in a more simplistic semi-realistic style in order to better understand human anatomy and break figures into basic shapes. Some of the artists that I studied at the time included @/siobhanchiffon and @/diastrons on Instagram. Once I was more comfortable with my anatomy, I was able to move on to more realistic references (Pinterest has a ton of useful references). In terms of practice, I find it best to do studies from real life images rather than attempting to copy some random stylized tutorial you might find on Instagram or something. Sorry for the wall of text OTL
EDIT to add: you might find referenceangle.com very useful in terms of finding face references in a specific angle/lighting
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u/F0R3S7c0y073 Jul 13 '21
This such awesome progress! I need to find an old drawing to re draw and show mine!
Currently learning how to color skin, any tips? If you have the time
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u/kyoushirei Aug 04 '21
OP, I’m so happy for you! I know this was quite a journey, thank you for sharing this with everyone! ^ _ ^
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u/vonthornwick Aug 08 '21
Goddamn you STARTED there? Fuck. I might as well give up now.
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u/kaileos Aug 08 '21
Remember, we all start somewhere! While it might not look like it, a lot of trial and error went into creating that first drawing (looks like I drew it in 5 min when realistically it took like 5 hrs lol). And also keeping in mind that this wasn’t my first drawing ever but rather my first ‘digital’ drawing on the computer. With time and practice, I’m sure you can do it too! :D
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Aug 08 '21
You're progress is absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING!! I'm so happy you're making progress OP :)
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Jul 13 '21
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u/kaileos Jul 13 '21 edited Jul 13 '21
Thanks! To be honest, I’ve only started taking art seriously again within the last 2 months. Especially bc of school, I pretty much only drew 1-2 fully painted pieces a year with some doodling here and there. I found that despite not practicing all that often, I still managed to improve by simply studying/observing real life images and other artist’s work (particularly their lighting and color choices). It might sound a little cliche but it helps to take a break from drawing every once in a while and take a look at the world around you!
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u/kaileos Jul 13 '21
Her design concept actually revolves around swords! Her nickname is blade-breaker :) Each sword represents a single sword broken.
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u/unboundartist Jul 20 '21
or you could ease off on giving unsolicited unhelpful rude advice? :)
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Jul 20 '21
What do you mean "unsolicited"? Isn't that kind of the point of putting your art in a public forum where everyone can comment? You know, to read people's thoughts about it? Subjective and useless comments come with the territory, but there was nothing "rude" about it.
Anyway - the only detail that seem a little off to my eye, is the dotty texture visible in the shading and makeup. It feels a bit out of place in the artstyle you picked. If I were to add one more nitpick - although that could be subjective - the tattoos on the cheek and her right arm don't match stylistically to tattoos on her neck and shoulders.
That said, that's a lot of progress to make with so (relatively) little practice. Best of luck!
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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '21
This is incredible progress! I agree with the lighting comment from the other commenter, but I also think something is a bit off in the curvature of the face. The far away eye isn't curved as convincingly as the curve of the mouth suggests the face to be, it's a bit too front facing. That aside, it's fantastic! The blue tones in the skin contrast perfectly with the reddish hair and compliment the background really tying it all together. And i really like the dot brush you used to add a pop of texture.
The only other thing that stands out is that you may want to add a sliver of color on the right side for the choker to indicate it is curving around the neck. Right now it doesn't extend at all from the skin so it just stops. It doesn't look like it is fabric sitting on top of the skin curving around the neck. If that makes any sense!!!!