Rough Pass:
I sometimes put two thicker sheets of paper underneath the page
that I will be drawing on, so I wont leave an impression on the
next page (if you are using a pad). I quickly rough out my drawing
with the light blue pencil, using my thumbnail as a guide. I focus
on the big shapes first. Once I get most of the big important
shapes down, I go straight for the face. Usually I like getting
in close to work on the detail.
The eyes of the character are the most important part of your
drawing, unless you are doing a drawing where you don't even see
the face. However, when you are doing a drawing with facial expressions,
the eyes all always the main focus. They must look solid and well
placed on your figure's head. They are in essence, the "window
to their souls". I also like starting with the head because
I tend to have the most trouble there. I sometimes cant decide
if I want her eyes closed or open, if I want her to be looking
this way or that way. Or if I want to make her sad or happy. By
this indecision, I tend to erase allot. Which makes the paper
wear out and bubble. Sometimes I simply cant get the eyes placed
right. Sometimes I do my drawing and I feel that something isn't
right, like it’s skewed or something. When this happens,
I take my drawing over to the mirror and look at it backwards
(if you have a light table you can turn your drawing over and
look at it with the light on.). I know it sounds funny, but it
works! It allows you to see your drawing in a whole new perspective.
I have the problem of skewing my drawings to one side, I don't
know why I do this, but I do. So I take and look at my drawing
through a mirror, and it helps me correct my mistakes and make
my drawing more solid. This is one advice I definitely recommend
to any artist out there, in what ever you do. I believe that if
your drawing works in reverse form, then you are successful in
creating perfect form.
Now only imagine if you were to draw out the entire body of your
character first, and it was beautiful! but you screwed it up when
you got to the head. Lets say it took you several tries to get
the face right, by this time I imagine your paper being all warped.
You could probably still use the drawing, but it is going to cause
you allot of problems down the line. For instance, when you try
to scan in your drawing, the scanner is not going to read some
of the lines on your drawing because the paper is so warped, that
you literately have to take an iron and straighten out your drawing.
Now I don't really recommend using an iron, but your welcome to
try it. You will probably end up burning your drawing, believe
me, I've done it myself. Yet through trial and error, I've learned
how not to do things.
Proportions:
So I have given you reasons why starting with the head is important.
Another reason is proportions in your drawing (i.e. Judy is 3
3/4 heads high). I know that in some of drawings I have done of
Judy, she seems allot taller than 3 3/4 head high. Which in fact
she is. I suppose I wasn't really consciencelessly thinking about
proportions then, but I look at my drawing now and I think "My
God, what was I thinking? Look at the space between her rib cage
and pelvis!" Those are my mistakes for not checking with
the proportions ( always look at your reference). I know that
some of you don't really care if she is a head taller or not,
but I see it, and so may other artist who are better than me.
So make sure you keep your proportions right. I sometimes had
to make the whole drawing over because I was drawing Judy's head
too big compared to George's. Most of the time, I would just erase
and redraw, but after a while of doing that, your paper wears
out. Hence the scanning problem again.
On-Model:
Make sure you constantly look at your reference to keep your characters
on-model. Unless you've created your own character and have mastered
drawing it, you have no need of reference. Constantly look at
how the character is drawn in order to create a drawing that wont
suck, to put it bluntly. Nothing is worse than seeing a drawing
that is trying be erotic, but ends up being funny because the
character is so badly drawn. I don't want any of you sending out
drawings that suck, so look at your reference. If you can’t
get the character down right, then you are trying too hard, or
just aiming too high. I believe if you have the basic drawing
skills down, you can duplicate anything. However, it takes years
of practice to be able to create a unique and appealing drawings,
unless you have the natural talent and have no need of art schools,
and can whip out a perfect drawing all the time. Which I doubt
very much. A true artist is an artist who will dedicate his or
her entire life to learn how to draw, paint, sculp, act, or just
interpret what we see into a unique form. I once replied to a
fan about drawing certain characters, and I have adopted that
reply as my manifesto. It goes likes this "I guess what
I'm trying to say is that my drawings are geared more to create
an unexpected situation where the main characters are in the act
of doing something you could never imagine them doing simply because
it is not in their nature." Now that is a mouthful, but
I believe that as being an intractable part of my drawings being
successful.
Don't just copy what they did in the reference you have. Study
it and understand the shapes and volumes. Know that if you decide
to stretch some part of your character, it will be consistent
and true to the volumes it possesses.
Appeal:
Probably the most important part of your drawing will be the appeal.
Appeal sometimes blends in with the design of the drawing. However,
if your drawing is overall appealing, regardless of the design
or proportions, even not putting it properly on-model, I guarantee
that is will be a successful drawing. I think for any artist,
it should be their number one priority. Sure, proportion and design
are also important, but it takes an appealing drawing for a viewer
to say "hey, this is pretty good". Now I can’t
tell you what makes a drawing appealing. I just draw what I would
like to see. If people like it, hey! That’s even better.
There is all sorts of people out there. Some of them might consider
my drawings horrible and appalling. I am not aiming to please
those people, but as an artist, you do have to think who you want
to reach. Look at all those Joe Camel billboards that they had
such a fuss over. The reason was that they were aiming at the
younger generation. Kids would look at that billboard and think
that it is cool to smoke. I suppose it really appealed to that
type of audience. Through subtle manipulation, the Tobacco company
was able to lure millions on young smokers. (You can read more
about apeal in a book titled “Sex Appeal: The Art of Allure
in Graphic and Advertising Design” by Steven Heller.) Now
as artist, you possess the same power to manipulate your audience
to either feel angry, happy, horny, or just shocked. You can orchestrate
a composition that will transport your audience into a world that
you have chosen. Once you have accomplished that, it is up to
your drawing to give an emotional statement. You want your audience
to actually feel what you felt when you drew it. So if you can’t
feel it, then your audience won’t either. I think that is
probably one of the parts that makes a drawing appealing, having
the ability to feel something from it. One way to know if your
drawing is apealing, is to just simply ask someone "do you
like it?" it usually gets a response.
Next -> Step 4: Clean-Up
