CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Well, i draw manga...not like a series but pix...and i have learned and gotten better at it more and more, and i've been trying new things..as in like different poses, angles, and i guess styles. I taught myself, so its very hard for me to learn how to make them look great. i also think i need more experience too, to make my pix look really great

but i always think to myself, am i really good, do people really like them, do people really like the talent or do people just say it's good? i know, it shouldn't matter, just as long as i use the gift God gave me...but when ever i want to draw something a certain way it ends up being different and i don't see it the way i wanted it to be but other people say it's good and they see it how i wanted them to but i still feel all upset and i end up not liking my work....is this normal....can you guys relate????? well wait...after i draw i'm very happy about them, it's just they don't come out how i wanted them to be....

i also think i'm trying too hard, sometimes i just need a brake from it lol...but i need some advice....when i draw a character should i start with it's face or body? because when i start drawing i put where i want the head, but then i start putting where i want the body and then i start getting into it and i draw the body first but then when i'm done i start drawing the head and face, but then the face doesn't go with the body....because personality is all in the face and when you start drawing the body it will match the face/personality....but i'm just wondering what i'm doing wrong and what i should start with and what is easier?

O my, i wrote a lot! I type too much LOL!
i'm gonna start with the face now, but i want to see what you guys say.

I am self taught and I am having the same issues. Usually i start w/ the head and base the body off of that. I find it easier.

Start with the whole thing! Personality is as much in the pose as it is the face. If you're still relatively new to art, you want to start at the base of your figure. That means, outline where all of the joints are, where the head is and what the basic shape of the body is. When you're done with that, you'll have a rough image that looks something like those artist's mannequins that you see in art stores, fitted to the pose that you want your character in.

Then put in your guidelines for facial features - the eye line, the brow line, the nose line, the mouth line and the center line. Often, it also helps to have the center line and line of balance for your figure in place as well.

Then draw in the features of the face and body - yes, that means you have to draw a naked body. It can be barbie doll naked if the character is not going to have a lot of skin exposed - but you want the naked body's shape in place before you start drawing clothing, jewelry or costuming.

Once the face and body is in place, draw in the hair and bottom layer of clothes. This doesn't have to be underwear (unless the underwear is for some reason showing) but the first layer of clothes people would see - if someone has a sweater layered over a turtleneck, draw the turtleneck first. If they're wearing a uniform skirt and the socks show, draw the socks first.

Then accessorize the character - shoes, hair ties, uniform bows, jewelry, etc.

Overall, you want to work from the inside out on your character, and continually move over the entire drawing - don't just focus on one area at a time. That will make your drawing look more cohesive and give the character a feeling of being "whole" instead of having one part that's mismatched with another.

O my gosh...thank you guys soo much!

I guess i'm gonna have to learn to be patient....i get so unpatient, i draw something in one day and i don't feel like photoshoping it and making it look really good, i just sometimes leave it as a sketch, or i would shade them with my pencil and shading paper......but yeah....i need to be patient.....right now i'm coloring a drawing someone drew here, it's a pic of a fairie, i'm sure you guys have probably seen it, but anyways, it will help me to relax and slow down a bit.

No problem!

This topic came up on another art gallery I am a member of, so I'm working on a tutorial for it. When I get it done, I'll post the link here.

ooh, awsome...let me know when you are done, so i can check it out...just send a PM saying ur done and give me the link, please..

I've run into a lot of the same problems myself.

As far as any advice i can give I've got pleanty! First off, you are your own worst critic. I never like my own drawings for very long even when i'm sketching them i give up easily. But y'know the secret is to go back to it later on. I will have around 10 images i'm drawing all at once and sometimes i'll finish one other times i'll finish five but over time. and as far as photoshopping goes it gets easier and faster with practice. and I learned that you get a lot more apprecition for images you color than one's you don't. and i never colored for years. finally when i did people were completely shocked because they had no idea what my characters really looked like till they were in color.

so yeah I can relate. Also I draw a circle for the head first.. the line for the spine angle and i work from there.

when i origionally began drawing i didn't use skeletons and such i just tried to draw out the finish product... but using lines and basic shape structures helps sooo soo soo much! once you learn how to use that you can draw anything. ^-^ so hang in there and y'know a little secret...( a painting i had made and totally slacked off in doing someone bought because they loved it) so y'know there will always be an audience for what ever your talent level

ooh, ok thanks....it's hard with the skeletons, do i have to get used to it or something? because i have this book, that said start with a skeleton type thingy first and then etc. but it was hard and my character started looking weird...

but yeah, i would give up too....u would see there are more messed up sketches in my drawing book than completed ones lol. and there are some i just left and some i have gone back to.