sal-azul Drawings and fan-art (for shiz and giggles)

[sal-azul]

Well my first thread here on the forum. Leaving my art here cause I can

Anyways feedback would be awesome since I'm planning on creating vector art some of my drawings (if I learn to do so properly that is :P). For now, these are my drawings! ^.^ Links due to huge sizes. I'll be editing this post every time I upload any more drawing.

-------------BlazBlue-----------------

Hazama and Terumi(ghost) Chibi versions

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/332/4/c/hazama_and_terumi_by_sal_azul-d33tpy8.jpg

made these a while back, and being the chibi fan that I am, and having nothing to do in class, I drew these out of bordom.

Terumi(ghost) head portrait

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/330/5/0/terumi_yuuki_by_sal_azul-d318o6r.jpg

Took me around three hours to finish, a pain in the ass but well worth it.

-------------Original Art----------------

no title lol

http://th01.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/330/6/0/first_art_by_sal_azul-d2y2xjw.jpg

made this one around three years ago (well I started it three years ago, but never started the body or background until a few weeks ago:rolleyes:). Could have been better but oh well, what's done is done.

Samurai

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/330/8/d/samurai_by_sal_azul-d33omgc.jpg

made this one in my free time, noticed the very small hands when I was erasing leftover pencil marks

[Amadeus46Art]

Learn anatomy. Stop trying to draw anime. Use lighter pencil strokes. Stop smudging to shade. Etc. Etc.

[sal-azul]

actually, my real drawings aren't very dark, since I drew them with H2 pencils. The scanner options made the lines darker. lol. But I'll take your advice and learn more about anatomy. I wasn't trying o draw anime but... ah shoot, I do try to draw anime *adds to list. and I don't smudge to shade either lol. I use a paper pencil for that. (blame the scaner there, since I didn't do shading on any of those >.>) thanks for the feedback! :D

[2nd_God]

I hear your destiny front manning for the DragonBall Kai artistic team calling you~!

(I do like the eye of your samurai chick, however. ...I suggest practicing strictly your eyes for awhile, it will draw the users attention away from the disproportioned parts while your learning anatomy.)

[sal-azul]

Thanks for the motivation 2nd_God! I'll make sure to do that for a while. ^.^

[SolarMisae]

Learn anatomy. Stop trying to draw anime. Use lighter pencil strokes. Stop smudging to shade. Etc. Etc.

This is pretty badly (and rudely) worded advice. Lemme clarify...

A lot of people I know, myself included, started off by drawing in anime style. Eventually you do have to transition away from it and develop your own style though, and yes anatomy is quite important so definitely learn that. Dark pencil strokes aren't always a bad thing, sometimes they compliment the right part of a piece, but should be used sparingly. Dark pencil strokes also don't mean HARD strokes either. They're usually produced by going over an area multiple times with a light touch, or with softer leads which produce darker lines.

"Smudging" (blending is a better term) to shade when it comes to pencils ALSO isn't a bad thing, pros use this technique al the time, but you should never use your finger to do it. The oil your skin produces makes the blending uneven and splotchy. They make special tools to blend graphite, so I'd invest in that. If not, a light touch with a tissue or a cotton swab works wonders and is 100x better then your finger.

Anyways, based on the drawings you've posted...I definitely say take a look at some real life references and practice your anatomy. Learn to sketch. Stuff like this: http://browse.deviantart.com/traditional/#/d34p046 is also really useful. It's good to take time to see how the pros do it. Learning to shade properly is very important for a pencil artist...

Edited December 17, 2010 by SolarMisae

[Amadeus46Art]

Solar basically just went into more detail on what I was talking about. I suppose I should clarify on the "lighter pencil strokes". The way the paper was scanned made it seem like you were pressing down your pencil very hard. Not only does this damage the paper, but it also does other bad things like make it harder to erase.

I'd recommend to use the Posemaniacs 30 Second Pose Viewer to get an idea of how the body works, muscles fall, and etc. You don't have to do 30 seconds at first, try 90 at first and speed it up as you go. Obviously shouldn't be putting lots of effort into these sketches though. For facial features, hands, feet, I'd recommend looking into some of George Bridgman's books. He emphasizes the planes of the body to show the shapes, and it helps render a 2D image to look "full".

Considering your level, I'd also recommend "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." It's a VERY good book for people to learn how to draw, not telling you any step-by-step, but telling you what to look out for in your drawings.

I'd also ask to pardon my rudeness; too many times have I seen people post terrible art in front of me, ask for feedback, then when I attempt to politely critique they promptly shut down and become entirely too defensive. The fact you didn't though is a good thing, keep practicing anatomy and drawing from life and you'll be able to apply that to your own unique "style" and be a good artist.

[sal-azul]

lol, thanks everyone for the tips and advice. I actually was wondering what kind of anatomy to draw, and when I saw Solar's and Armadeous's examples, I realized, "Wait, I did this before!" And I looked over some sketch books and drawings from some time and found some pagers on how to draw anatomy. Fact is, drawing anatomy WAS my strong, I stopped going to art classes since my teacher left to another state, and had to continue on my own. I was very good at it according to my teacher back then, and told me not to be too perfectionist. But after a few weeks, some f**kers got into my mother car and well stole everything in it, including my drawings. After that I simply gave up on drawing.(this was around 2006) But I started last year again, and noticed that my first sketch was heavily influenced by human features. And so began my long journey to relearn how to draw, except I tried drawing anime and manga. And I better stop with this rant, nobody should be interested in it, lol.

I thank you both for your feedback, I appreciate and will follow your tips and advice. I'm so happy that you guys where the ones who gave it. ^.^ I'll start practicing once again. For now, is it okay for me to keep posting old drawings for feedback and advice? ?.?