Andy126's Sketchbook
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Just wanted to throw up some of my doodles since starting SVS classes (I'm about a month into it). Overall I have seen progress in my overall shapes and lines, however I do think I have a ways to go. Feedback is welcomed. (sorry about the blurry boarders, scanning them didn't quite work out the way I had hoped.)
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Hi, I'm new to SVS too! I love your character design! I would love to see some more development of some of these guys. Do you have any more specific questions? I know these are sketchbook concepts, so they aren't (I assume) super developed yet. Without anything specific to comment on, I'll just throw around a couple thoughts:
Maybe a little more of an active gesture for the first dude (the cowboy). Also, I know your style is awesomely cartoony and not necessarily super anatomical, but there's something about his shoulders that feels a little off, especially the one on his right. Would love to see more of him, maybe in a scene with a pretty saloon babe or in a standoff with another cowboy. Love the detail of the bolo tie!
Other than that, I think the sea creatures are super cool and would love to know what kind of world they live in! I especially want to know the story of the dude at the bottom! His head shape is great, but his hat seems like it's a little precarious.
I hope you develop these guys more and show us! They're such great, interesting characters!
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Gesture is definitely something I need to work on! and While you are correct about these being just some of the more fleshed out drawings in my sketchbook, developing characters is something I do struggle with. Right now I've been focused on some master studies and just drawing from artists and styles I want to incorporate into my own. I'll try and do a little more story telling with these guys though! (and not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty excited about that bolo tie myself lol) But here are a couple of questions I constantly ask myself when sketching:
-How do you find your voice in what you give your drawings context to?
Some people love drawing comics, others it's character design... but I feel all of this is routed into what Jake Parker refers to as "the creative bank account." This is something I've found myself constantly searching for and still trying to discover what I want to say in my drawings, I definitely love the more cartoony styles but find myself with a sense of ADD when it comes to trying to tell a story about them. (maybe I'm just overthinking it lol)-Also, are there certain things anyone does to help remember things they have learned while drawing?
To clarify this a little, I have had moments of "aha! this is how you draw a hand" or "I need to shade like this in my future drawings" but have a hard time committing that to memory, only to find I struggle with the same problems in future sketches. I'm sure these are things only constant practice will alleviate, which admittedly some days are better than others when hitting the sketchbook and that there is no "magic pill" for this sort of thing. I would be curious to get anyone else's input on this whether it's muscle memory, or drawing philosophies or anything else people do to help with this. -
@Andy126 I understand completely what you're talking about when it comes to remembering drawing techniques. For me personally they stick better when I've practiced them several times. Then, later when you've moved on to learning something else and then come back and try that technique again, it may surprise you how you've improved.
There is beauty in life!
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@avfarrar And I love the energy in your eel and blue octopus!
