themostepotente | Another plea to the artists of the fandom

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Another plea to the artists of the fandom

Oh, now this is hysterical.

I'm sitting at the computer, sketchbook in hand, TRYING *coughs* to draw and meeting with little success.

But...

I REFUSE TO THROW IN THE TOWEL, DAMMIT!

What advice would the lovely artists of the fandom have to give to a girl that should probably quit while she's ahead?

*just LAUGHS at the cock she's drawn*

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um photo references, those are usually a godsend when I'm stuck on something. If I'm really stuck, I'll find something similar to what I want and trace it until I feel comfortable drawing it on my own.

You can trace something by taping paper to the monitor, the light is usually enough to see the image through the paper.

That and sometimes I just have to put it down for a while, and when I come back I can see what the problem is. That or hold the picture upside down, or hold it up to a light and look through the paper and sometimes you can see things you couldn't see when you're looking directly at the picture.

Hmm, never thought about doing that. Thanks for the advice! How's the new account going?

No problem. It took me until last year to realize how much photos can help.

And the account is fun. Thank you so much. I can do so many things now ^___^
I need to make myself a slash icon amoung others. It's neat to be able to have random icons.

*giggles* oooh, cock? You're braver than me. :D

ani_bester said pretty much everything you need to know. I say you start with tracing from photo refs until you feel comfortable. That's how I started. And use a mirror! Position yourself in front of a mirror (if you're doing pictures of a whole person and not just a cock :P) and copy. *nods*

I've seen you draw cocks! Are you forgetting my Snucius picture? And, Leezard, my love, the way you draw Snape's nose. Well, lets just say I squee for days when you draw Snape. I'd love to see his cock in action on your sketchpad!

Oh, but I'm still too shy to draw a cockhead. O_O Maybe one day... *cough*

I'd love to see his cock in action on your sketchpad!

HAHAHAHAHAHA! This calls for some animation....

To add another little tidbit, don't let yourself get stuck on one part. If it's a whole person you're drawing and you get stuck on the cock, skip to drawing something else, like the nose or the hands. Then, if the cock *or any other part* is still being bitchy, turn the page and draw lots of cocks, not super-detailed ones, just quick sketches. Then flip back to the drawing and apply wht your hand has figured out.

And when looking for photo references, don't necessarily just focus on actual photos. Look at how other people draw cocks. I find that more helpful if I'm having trouble figuring out how to draw something. I think it's because a photo is a 2D representation of something 3D, and drawing always were 2D.

I do 'try' and look at other artists' work, but I'd love to develop my own style, and I feel I might inadvertently 'copy'. Does this happen often?

I don't actually know how often inadvertent copying of other artists' work occurs. But I've found that copying someone's personal style is incredibly difficult to do. I've tried to copy a few styles, just for a lark and to see if I could, and have met with practically no success. I could be totally and completely wrong, but I would think that unless you spend a lot of time tracing one artist's work, it'd be hard to end up copying every element of his or her style. And if the style that you develop happens to share an element here and there with others' styles I don't think it's a big deal. That's bound to happen anyway. There are only so many ways to draw a schnoz after all. ;)

And as far as actual development of personal style goes, I've no clue how it really happens. I can only speak from personal experience, but I've drawn basically the same way since I was in middle school. The only difference is that in recent years I've tried to improve my skill.

I guess what I mean to say is don't be afraid to use others' work as anatomical reference. If you find that you are starting to imitate someone else's style then you'll know that it's not a viable resource. But I don't think that will happen. ;)

Practise, I've been led to believe, is the key. Which might accunt for my 'never give up, never say die' attitide. I appreciate all of the help muchly, RI :-)

Erm...I'm going to be a baddie here and say "no" to tracing over anything ^_^;; Tracing, IMHO, very rarely teaches a person anything and makes him or her dependent on other people's photographs or artwork. Study anatomy, I would even suggest taking an entire course just for that, though you'd get very far from independent study ^_^

I highly recommend getting Andrew Loomis's Figure Drawing: For All It's Worth. He's practically a staple for professionals in the field of visual arts. It's out of print, but you can download the whole thing over at http://www.saveloomis.org or http://www.fineart.sk

As previously mentioned, learning _how_ other artists draw things can both help in terms and technique and inspire you to continue drawing ^___^

And practice, practice, practice! ^____^ If you're frustrated while drawing something, you might want to not look at your drawing for a day (though I'd recommend a week if you're just starting, that's how long it took me before). When you look at it again after a long period of time, the mistakes will practically jump out at you and you'll find it easier to work on it. The longer you work on a piece, the harder it is to distinguish errors, so letting the artwork 'jell' in your head for a while is often safe practice.

Erm...hope this helps :]

Whoopsie, hehe, I meant "you'd get very far _with_ independent study" and "help in terms _of_ technique" ^_^;;; St00peed grammer thungie.

No problem. Try typing on a laptop with keys labelled in Chinese! My cable modem is out dammit, and I'm at the mercy of this thing. Yeesh!

Hey there! I wanna say thanks for the link to the art book. I just downloaded it. It's gonna take a while to get through, but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again. =D

Whee you're welcome! (hugs!) ^_______^ Enjoy! (hearts Loomis!)

It did! And thank you for the link. I have it bookmarked!

Hrm, a whole lot of "what they said" coming your way:

1. Photo references are good. You can find pose books at some art stores, these are (from what I've seen) generally Japanese Manga reference books showing people doing anything and everything. 'Cept sex, those jerks. Getting someone you know and trusts you (if there's nakedness involved) to pose for you is good too.

2. Start with a rough sketch, work lightly with pencil. Go back over the lines you want to keep, erasing the ones you don't.

3. If you're really serious, you might want to try a life drawing class at your local community college. Generally not too expensive, and tons of fun. Plus? Nudity.

4. Lots of practice, and lots of looking at other people's work. Not just other fanart, either. Go to the library and research interesting artists, and develop your style from there. Keep an actual sketchbook, not just pieces of paper lying around so your work doesn't get screwed up (or looked at by unwanted people).

5. If you work with pencils, buy a set of good drawing pencils. They don't generally cost more than 8 bucks a set, and they're completely worth it. I reccomend the Derwent brand. Or buy a small range of whatever medium you want to work with.

6. Keep at it. Most people think they suck when they start out, and quit just as they're beginning to make progress (or really *are* doing well). Your I REFUSE TO THROW IN THE TOWEL, DAMMIT! is a *very* good attitude to have.

Damn, I feel really pretentious. Hope it helps, anyways.

Please don't feel pretentious! Your advice is priceless.

I have a decent set of pencils, several erasers, and two good sketchpads. I think that's a good start just in case I chicken out and quit.

And yeah, you have to have a 'Never Say Die' attitude if you ever want to improve. I may never get there, but dammit, I'm not quitting without a fight!

Copy comic books. :>

(I'm serious!)

Also, post your drawings to

artbeta. Glock, Sherant, Fiendling, and LOTS of other lovelies are wonderful at giving advice at all levels.

OMG, they would LAUGH at me for asking admittance, dear! LOL

I have several books and tutorials. Comics really aren't my bag, baby.

And Lunu hon? I LOVE THE MEN SPOONING sketch you did! God, SO HOT!

Like the others said - use photos. I knew my gay porn folder would come in useful eventually... *giggle*

LOL! Noted!

Hello!

Noticed you friended me oh wonderful

andropotterist co-mod, so I promptly friended back. :DD

And now you have the oppurtunity of a lifetime to go pimp something over at my pimp post (http://www.livejournal.com/users/pinkwafer/29004.html) which I will read and review when I have the time. Think carefully though, you may only pimp once. ;)

Welcome to my journal! I bookmarked the link and will check it out once I am back on my own little machine.

Glad you are enjoying

andropotterist!

Hehe, how can I not enjoy a community whose sole purpose is dressing pretty boys up in pretty clothes? ;)

Hard to resist, is it not? *grins*

Resist? We're supposed to resist now?

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Another plea to the artists of the fandom

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Completely irrelevant ;)

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