So you want to get proportions right without resorting to tracing?
If youāre interested in the process Iām using, Iām actually adapting what my life drawing instructor taught me. And one of the things she drilled into us again and again isĀ āuse references, use references, and use referencesā
Iām a long ways from being actually good, but I can at least share some stuff that may be helpful to others trying to level up.
In this case I am working from a whole reference pose, as if I were drawing a live model... just one who can stay perfectly still for days.
Ultimately, it is good to be ABLE to pull something totally out of your head, but there is a reason even good artists tend to do a lot of drawing of actual models, at least as a base for something they will expand on.
http://posereference.tumblr.com/post/180090650622/pose-female-kneeling-i-draw-on-a-wacom-cintiq
http://posereference.tumblr.comĀ is a good starting place to find a lot of reference drawings, with good clean lines, but there are a lot of others.
Then you try to break up the pose into its basic geometry, andĀ āplumb linesā to make sure various elements will be aligned correctly.
If youāre working from a live model, you have to do this in your head, holding out a pencil or straightedge to check plumb lines and relative distances, and then sketch it out on your paper. Since Iām working digitally from a static reference, I can cheat slightly and just take my guide lines and dump them in a new file.
Now you have a guide for making your skeleton. From here on out, most of the time I had the original reference up on another monitor for, well... reference.
Here is the stage where if you want to you can make changes to yours heartās content, but keep it relatively easy to keep proportions as they should be.
Then you can start sketching. For me I find it useful to keep doing new passes, refining each time. Hot damn, I wish I could have done this with physical media, but by the time youāve applied charcoal and erased it a few times, your paper is done with cooperating with you.
I didnāt like how her right hand was positioned in the reference, but I had a hell of a time getting the fingers right in the position I wanted. Hands are hard. Eventually I just took a picture of my own hand in that position, and used that as a reference, and finally got it right.
Learn to love layers. I wish I could get rid of under-sketches this easily with physical media.
When it came to the shading, I used a zillion references, comparing back and forth. Obviously none of them will be anything you could (or should) just copy, but itās good to have guides to remind you where all of the lumps and bumps of a body are, and how the light hits them in different ways.
Obviously with the internet, you can find endless pictures showing EVERY part of the human body, in all sorts of positions and lighting. Plus, it will be totally truthful when you sayĀ āItās not porn, itās RESEARCH.ā Some porn/cheesecake is actually quite well photographed. I donāt know if tumblr will have a problem with me linking here, but searching forĀ āmetartā may get you started if you are looking for females. I donāt off of the top of my head have a single specific reference for male bodies, but Iām sure you can find one.
After I was done, I really disliked how the thickness of my lines varied FAR too much, so thatās a fail. I did another version with the linework redone, dimmed, and tinted. That is posted here:
https://stellaratorponies.tumblr.com/post/180319224340/my-charcoal-drawing-classes-are-serving-me-well
Obviously there is still a lot wrong with this and itās far from a masterpiece, but I think at least the general process is sound, so seeing it laid out might be useful to someone.