The Swift Needs Help

[theswift1127]

ok im not exactly sure if this is the right place to start this thread but if not please don't bite my head off.... i love drawing especially comics but my 2 problems are...

1) No matter how hard i try & practice i cannot draw women they always come out looking absolutely horrible

2) i can only draw something if i look at it.... i have all these great ideas but i cant get them to look right

if theres any group of people that can help, i know its the talented people here...

 

[ollie_jones]

There’s nothing wrong with using real life reference, some of the best artist working today use it. Take photos of yourself or your friends in interesting posses and put them together and modify them according to what you want them wearing etc. You could go to life drawing classes at your local school or collage, you will find that the occasionally run these as a night class for a small fee. I learnt great techniques by going to these types of classes, from capturing a pose in seconds, to drawing while not looking at the page. Or you could try buying a book on anatomy, to show you how the body works, in regards to posture and muscle structure. The more you practice with these techniques the more easily you will find it.

 

[theswift1127]

i'll try getting some books and just keep practicing

 

[Syncos]

another idea, instead of taking pictures. is if you need a pose, think of a sport or something where someone would be doing that, and google image search it. Example, if you're drawing the flash, try marathon runners. Just a tip =)

 

[Mrh7448]

Both Ollie and Syncos have given good suggestions.

I would definitely get into life drawing that is one of the biggest things to do. It's better to know how things work and there is nothing like learning from models.

Some books to consider
The Figure In Motion By Thomas Easley
The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist by Mark Smith
The Human Figure in Motion by Eadward Muybridge
Comic Artist's Photo Reference: People and Poses by Buddy Scalera



All are good photo reference resources and available through Amazon

For Anatomy work try works by Robert Hale

Drawing Lesson from the Great Masters and Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters

In these books he analyses how different Masters dealt with Anatomy, planes etc. They are quite informative.

If you can't afford them I know there are a number of tutorials and online references you can find...I'm sure you would be able to find such things for downloading too, though they may not be as high a quality

 

[Machx72]

ok im not exactly sure if this is the right place to start this thread but if not please don't bite my head off.... i love drawing especially comics but my 2 problems are...

1) No matter how hard i try & practice i cannot draw women they always come out looking absolutely horrible The difference between drawing men and women is kinda like the difference between a bull and a cow, respectively. Each is going to have differences in it that will give it distinction (women have larger breasts, obiviously, softer shape, etc.). Practice solely on women for a while.

2) i can only draw something if i look at it.... i have all these great ideas but i cant get them to look right That's completely normal... I've been drawing for years, and it's the same exact way for me.

if theres any group of people that can help, i know its the talented people here...

What about women exactly is it that you have trouble drawing?

 

[theswift1127]

What about women exactly is it that you have trouble drawing?

everything, there faces dont look right, bodies are unproportional.... its frustrating

 

[Machx72]

Get a book. Online, they're really stingy about going in-depth about proportions, but there are plenty of books out there that can show you.

It's really not that hard of a transition. Once you get the jest of the idea down, women are easier to draw as they have more detail to use (they're pretty curvey and soft), whereas men require greater muscular detail in order to look "manly".

 

[Mrh7448]

Another good trick to try and get used to drawing is to use magazines and draw on top of photographs. Draw in the shapes instead of just tracing, study way the proportion looks as well as the shapes of woman as opposed to shapes used for men.

This was something we were forced to do in the first year of college.

 

[theswift1127]

I went to an art college but we didnt do much life drawings cuz it was a design school

 

[Mrh7448]

Well if you can find a life drawing class, it's definitely worth doing. It will teach you a great deal and with the practice things become easier when you are drawing from the imagination.

 

[theswift1127]

i have a book but its not much help just a bunch of people sitting in different positions