Cel's sketchbook

[Cel]

So, over the past month I've been learning some anatomy. Just finished watching The Structure of Man yesterday. Figured it's about time I learn this stuff.
It been almost 2 years since I drew anything, which is kinda sad, considering I like drawing much better than my current job.
Here's one (the only digital one, anyway) of the things I sketched today. The DVDs don't teach you much about female figures, clearly.

I do have a small request to the experts here. You see, I'm really trying to get better at this and get into art school next year. If you got the time, could you show me where I screwed up with the figures? It would really speed up the learning process.

[Twin-Dragon88]

I am by no means an expert but I'll tell you what I think and hope it helps you out. Starting from the top the head can be broken down into a cube so it's easy to see front, sides, back top and bottom. The brow line and nose line matches up with the ear. Also box out the forearm to see the top, bottom and sides. The ulna end, wrist bump, is a good landmark on the body. The hand was a little mushy, that is also easy to fix by boxing out to make it look solid. (Can you tell I like boxes?). The deltroid, shoulder muscle has three parts. The collar bone has more of a "S" curve to it. The neck muscles which are most noticeable, sterno mastoid or something start from behind the ear and go to the centre of the collar bone. The other arm doesn't seem like it can be in that position. The upper arm is facing forward but the forearm is facin backwards. The knee is fairly bulky because it's where two bones meet and where plenty of tendons attach. Another thing to keep in mind is that the inner ankle is always higher than the outside one. On the other thigh I'd put it the sartorious, I'm pretty sure that's how it's spelt, which gives the inner thigh muscle, vastus medialis, it's teardrop shape.  For the girl, calves go into the knees and you can sometimes see the bulges from the femur or tiba/fibia. I'm not sure which one. Overall I'd say you hit that line too hard. It's very "hairy" and almost the same consistency. Try being lighter where a light source would be and darker where the shadows would be, JUST on the out line. Another way to play with line is by putting extra "weight" underneath to give it a feeling of gravity. The other stuff is just me having fun.

I hope I'm not completely out of line here. Hope I helped. Look forward to more stuffs!!

[Cel]

Thank you for your help!

With that stuff in mind, I sketched up a few more. (With less mistakes, I hope)
Feedback is more than welcome!

[Rvd]

woohoo cel can sketch!  the second set of sketches look a bit nicer to me than the first i think its cause they're more gesture like and  probably cause you used less lines this time.  your muscle anatomy seems to be pretty good. when you sketch more try using more solid lines than broken hatchy lines will give the shapes a bit more movement i think.  these are an awesome start tho. do more!

[Pieter]

Good start!
Try practicing the proportions a bit.

I like using the cranial system, much easier then heads imo.


http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2256799

Easy way of getting them: Draw the length of the head and torso with a line of action. Divide it in three evenly spaced sections. (You can read these of the chart)
Divide each section in half (cranium lenght). Middle of the smallest bottom section should be crotch. Crotch = 1/2 figure. Divide the bottom half in two. Knees should be at the bottom of the upper half.

[Cel]

This is actually pretty handy :O
Thanks!

I posted my entry for the WDA here. My first rendered pic ever, I must say.
I have 0 technique when it comes to coloring and shading, so I hope you guys could give me some pointers on that as well.

[Loathsome]

A lot better anatomy than I'd be able to pull off.
Damn anatomy is hard stuff to learn.

Keep it up! I'd love to see even more :]

[Cel]

Been compulsively drawing all week at work (0 productivity this week, Haha). I seem to be having trouble with the tablet. It's a lot harder than drawing on paper and I can't point out the why.

So, I photoshoped this thing here and I wanna get it right. Tear it apart, guys!

[Cel]

Some progress, with a little help from CA.
Any advice would be appreciated. I didn't start shading the character cause I'd like to get the anatomy right first. Any crits in that area could be very helpful!
Also, this is my first piece with actual background.. What do you think? Colors? Contrast? Is the balance alright? I tried not to have too full or empty areas, hoping that's what does the trick 

[the Deuce]

Looks really awsome man! All the details on the character are great. The one thing I would fix is the machete. The perspective looks off to me.

[Cel]

Now that you mention it, it does seem kinda off.
Thanks!

[the Deuce]

Glad I could help 

[Pieter]

Hmmm, can't find anything wrong with it.
Perhaps the waist is a bit thin for someone with such a build. But it's a drawing so it's fine to exagerate I guess.

*edit* Looking at it again I think the upper legs are too long.

[Cel]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It's been very helpful!

Alright, so I fixed the machete, and tried fixing the legs. Made them a few inches shorter, seems to be better now
Now, I got a question about lighting. I did some highlights and shadows on the character, which is how she'll be lit once I start coloring and get rid of the outlines.
Does it look ok? I can't really tell if the angle of the shadows is consistent everywhere. I am aware of bounced lights and all that, but I didn't go that far yet. Figured I'd leave it for when I put some color on her.

Same goes for the plants. I did what I could, but I have no experience with this what so ever. Sorry I keep bugging you guys about the same image over and over, but I want to get it right and not have a half broken drawing.

[TheEYE]

Overall, I really like the design. There is something bugging me about the torso and breastesses though, but I can't figure out what it is..... 
I'm trying to imagine her naked to see what's up, and I think that maybe the torso is a bit too elongated perhaps? Anyone else see that or is just my lack of sleep??

The leaves on the bottom are bloody great Cel, I'm looking forward to seeing this one developed more! Great job!