TIPS ON DRAWING

• The most important thing is to understand what you're drawing - anatomy, no matter if animal or human body. At least you should learn the basic skeleton (bones / joints) and how it works.





• Using photos / pictures as reference is useful, however by only looking at static photos you may not fully understand how a body moves. So I recommend "draw from life" (watching / studying live animals, e.g. in a zoo).


• "Skill comes with practice"
  Before you start getting lost in details, practice the simple basic forms of a body (even a hard-work detailed and full-colored picture may look crappy if the anatomy sucks). This can be only a line for the spine and some circles for the head and body. The more you practice, the more you will understand the anatomy and get a feeling for it. Then you can continue working on the details.


• Get yourself some good books - to learn about anatomy, perspectives, proportions, light/shadows, digital drawing techniques, etc. Some useful links and book recommendations you can find here.


• Check out Tutorials. There are a lot of nice tutorials by artists on galleries like for example DeviantART. Not all of them are good, but a lot are, so it's worth looking for them. I also have some tutorials here on my website. Also looking at Works in Progress (WIP) is something that I always consider helpful and inspiring, to see in which steps an artist created a picture.





• Collect and use reference photos (in different positions). But remember not to copy other people's artwork without permission.


• The Mirror - Check anatomy, proportions and perspective of your sketch by looking at it in a mirror, or turning the page on a light table or against a window. The mirror-inverted look will make it much easier to recognize mistakes.


• Understand the differences between breeds - a cheetah's anatomy looks way different to a tiger's for example. A snow leopard is not just a regular leopard with grey fur. Canine paws do not look the same like feline paws. Depending on what style you want to draw (toony or realistic), this is a very important point.


• For facial expressions (to express the right emotions) - look at yourself in a mirror. There is no better model than watching the different expressions of yourself in the mirror. Try different sketches to find out what is important for different emotions (like the size/form of the eyes, the form of the mouth, etc.).
  
  



• Keep your old pictures, sketches and works in progress. It is always great to see your improvements over the time when looking at them later.


• Don't try to copy other (maybe popular) artists and imitate their "styles". Of course it's nice to get inspired and learn from others' artwork (like analyzing how somebody drew a picture is all great). But if you just copy blindly, you won't find your own style, people will recognize that you copied, and you will also copy potential mistakes in a picture. Try to understand what you're doing.


• Ask for feedback. Show your sketch to other artists, let them give you critique and advice. Nothing is more frustrating when you put much work into coloring and then everybody says "... but the anatomy looks terrible!"

• Don't compare yourself with other artists! It is great to have idols who inspire you, but comparing your art with that of other, maybe better artists may easily end up in frustration (like the feeling you will never be able to draw like that). You should concentrate on what you can do, and not let you down because other people have a different level than you.


• Draw what you want! Don't let others "force" you what to draw by telling a topic would be boring or something else would be "trend". If people don't like the themes you're drawing - they don't have to look at it.


• A lot of artists feel motivated and inspired by listening to music while drawing.
  Find out what makes a nice creative atmosphere for you.


• "Art Block" - Every artist had it at some point. When you feel like you're not able to draw anymore and get blocked by frustration. Don't worry, it will go away again. There's not "the one cure", everybody will have to find out what works best for him. Some ideas would be:
  
  
  • Take a break, don't put too much pressure on yourself.
    Get some rest, and then try again when you feel better.
  • Draw something for yourself! No pressure, just something
    for you that you personally like.
  • Look at artwork you drew that you like - it will show you
    that you ARE able to create awesome art.
  • Look at pictures (artwork or photos) that give you
    motivation and inspiration.
  • Try something new. Some people also regain motivation
    by taking / mastering a new challenge.


• You've already got drawing experience - but somehow you're drawing the same thing or poses again and again? Dare to experience something new, something you haven't drawn before, even if it's hard at the beginning. Everybody needs challenges, otherwise it might get boring.


• Be patient and keep on practising! :) Many good artists are already drawing for years. There is no "secret" - practice and understanding is the key.


• Be respectful with copyrights and art permissions to avoid problems with
  other artists or their fans.

• "Human body"
  For constructing a human (or anthro) body, there is a simple rule to get the right proportions: You can divide the body into 8 segments, starting with the head, down to the feet (some people also use only 7 segments, but the one with 8 works better for me). Of course not all bodies have exactly the same proportions, but it's a rough, helpful guide.
  
  
  1. Head (until chin)
  2. Shoulders/Chest (until nipples)
  3. Belly/Stomach (until navel)
  4. Hips (until crotch)
  5. Upper thighs
  6. Lower thighs (including knees)
  7. Lower legs
  8. Lower legs + feet


• "Animal body"
  As most animals have quite a different body construction (the skeleton is of course the same, but not the proportions of the bones), you need to know and understand the proportion of the species you want to draw. Like a cow has a longer body/torso and shorter legs than a horse.


• "Fantasy creatures"
  Fantasy creatures, like anthropomorphic animals (animals walking upright / on 2 legs), often have a similar (or the same) body construction like a human, but not neccessarily. Depending on how you combine the human and animal body, it can look more human or animalistic (especially the legs).
  
  There are endless ways of interpreting what an "Anthro" might look like - some prefer the more human versions (plain feet, same proportions like a human body), others prefer the more animalistic style (paws instead of hands, digitigraded legs). But no matter which way you prefer, the anatomy should be "working" (correct).

• Better use a bigger paper than you think you may need - doing a nice sketch and then realizing that you've got to cut off the feet because the paper ends is really frustrating.


• Don't use printed paper (lines or grids)! This will make your drawing look ugly no matter how good it turns out (and it's usually very hard or impossible to remove when scanning). Use white, blank paper. It's worth it.


• Choose the right drawing material. For example - if you want to ink a picture and then color it with water colors - use good waterproof ink for the outlines! Normal black markers might smudge with the water.


• If you want to draw a picture with traditional media (e.g. colored pencils), I suggest using good quality pencils, like Polychromos by Faber Castell. They're more expensive but much brighter and more colorful than cheap pencils. For just sketching and testing, cheaper pencils are fine though.


• Highlights are a nice effect and make your art more vivid, for both traditional and digital artwork. For traditional artwork, try to use a thin white ink pen for the highlights (for example eyes, shining surfaces, fur highlights, etc.).


• Dare to try out different media (digital, watercolors, pencils, etc.). Not everybody has the same skills with every media. Try what works best for you and what you like best.


• If you decide to draw/color digitally, think about getting a graphic tablet. The best brand I recommend is Wacom. They have all kind of tablets, from smaller (more affordable) ones up to very professional tablets. Coloring by mouse is a pain in the ass. ;)


• For inking or tracing art, a light table is always helpful and recommended (for inking sketches on a new paper, for analyzing mistakes, etc.)


• Scanner - when I am working on digital artwork (or simply want a scan of a pencil sketch), I am using my Canon Scanner. I also have a little scanning tutorial here on my website.