Frank-A-Lanka on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/frank-a-lanka/art/Hints-I-guess-341741137Frank-A-Lanka

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Hints, I guess

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Well, I've had a few questions on how I draw stuff "realistically" so I'm just going to wing it.

All right, I'm going to put my comments here corresponding to the picture XDD

1) Guys faces. I've learned that you can make things more masculine with more ANGLES. Lets face it, guys have more sharp edges than girls. So, I have the forehead being less curved and the bridge of the nose be really angled. The lips will also be less full, unless the guy is Channing Tatum or something like that XD Eyes are also not a big as girls'.

Same applies to the jaw. More angles usually give it the more masculine look, really depends on the character though. For example, Germany will have more angles than Italy from Hetalia; depends on the body type. The neck is usually thicker. Again, that usually depends on the guy. I didn't draw it here, but I usually have a line on the neck. It represents the muscle that allows us to turn and tilt our heads. Only put that line there if you need to show that the muscle is being used, if you put it there, it looks out of place or strange. I usually only put lines to show that something is anatomically being used. I shade to show everything else.

2) Girls faces. More gentle curves and slopes. The eyes are bigger with more lash outline. The lips will be more full. Female characters are usually more aesthetically appealing. To make things feminine, just think curves. Do not use as many angles. Even if the character is super strong, use the curves to your advantage. The perfect character for this example is Korra from The Legend of Korra. She's a strong fighter, but she's still very feminine. Bryke did an amazing job showing that.

Another thing for faces in general, the ears will usually line up with the eye or the bridge of the nose.

3) Face placement. I usually make a layer underneath the one I'm going to draw on and draw a circle. Then I draw the jawline and neck based off of that. The line down the middle helps with symmetry and the bottom portion of the circle usually tells me where the bottom part of the eye is going to be. The nose is going to be halfway between the line for the eye and the bottom of the face. The lips will be halfway between the nose and the bottom on the face.

4) For guys, I usually don't outline the eyelashes as much. Some guys do have more, but I like to make it obvious that the eye is masculine. You can do what ever floats your boat though. I usually have the iris help what emotion is being displayed. I would say this one is affectionate or relaxed. For girls, I really outline the eye. I love drawing girls' eyes. I also have them be bigger than the guys' eyes.

5) For shading on the eye, I usually take a darker color and do some quick circular strokes to show the pupil. I think I've gotten good results with that so far.

6) For mouths, shading really helps with smiles. In reality, when we smile, we don't have a sharp angle where the corner of our mouth is. We have shadows and soft angles. Shading the corner of the mouth helps with that. I do the shoujo(?) style way of outlining the lips. I like it because it really helps with shading and it really makes the outline of the lips more obvious. Again, for girls, I make the lips for fuller than the guys. I also don't make a big line for the teeth. I find that really garish and unappealing. Little lines toward the corner of the mouth give an impression of teeth pretty well.

7) COLLAR BONES. Okay, feel your collar bones. Where are they compared to your shoulder? That's usually what I do when I draw those bad boys. It also helps that I took Anatomy in high school. Remember that muscle I talked about for the neck? That connects to the collar bone. So, if you want to show a dramatic angle, keep that in mind. I also don't try to make the collar bones obvious. If the character has a tinier body type, they might jut out more, but an average person's collar bones are not that obvious. Shading and a simple line usually help show them too. I drew them heavily here to prove my point about the placement.

8) See this guy? The stick figure really helps with poses. I use references, but I usually just draw this guy over the photo and then take the photo out and go from there. See the two lines I drew beside it? I looked at advice from professional and amateur artists and I've heard one thing in common from all of them when it comes to poses. The angle of the shoulder and the hips will always eventually meet. I usually keep that in mind when I'm not drawing from a reference. The pose I used here is called a Contraposto pose. It's used a lot by many artists and it's usually referred to as the 'Human' pose.

9) Noses. I usually draw the shape the lower part of the nose will make. The line above them is used to show the tip of the nose. I always think art without that line looks Voldemort-like. Sure, it works for the style, but I don't like it for my style. I usually emphasis nostrils in the front perspective if I really think it's needed. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. From the profile view, I draw that shading to show the start of the tip of the nose. It's more to help me than anything too. It helps me know where to shade the curve of the nostril and good stuff like that. Have fun with the shape of the nose too. Depends on the character.

10) Muscle Shading. DO NOT USE A CRAP TON OF LINES. Like I said for the neck muscle, I usually use lines to show that a muscle is being used. Muscle definition does not need a ton of lines to show muscles are there. I usually use the airbrush tool to show that. I showed what I do before I barely blur those bad boys. Muscle definition is when the muscles are just there, not really being used; so use shading. If the muscles are in action, use lines for dramatics or emphasis.

11) A) Curly hair. I usually just let loose with curly or wavy hair. I try to draw the basic shape of the hair altogether and then use shading and lines to show how the hair is flowing.
B) Straight hair. I try to be more controlled. But, remember; the hair might be 'straight' but it's never perfectly straight. Natural hair flows and is not perfectly straight. Maybe that's why I like drawing hair so much =p
C) For guys, I try to not have the hair go over the ears too much. I also don't go too crazy with it. If you look at a guy's hair in real life, their hair usually isn't longer than that. But, if a guy's hair is longer, go for it! Depends on the character.
D) Ignore this. I just had an urge to draw Arthur Kirkland's hair =p
E) Okay, this applies to all hair. The one with the X through it shows what it looks like when you have the hair flush with the circle you draw for the face. Run your fingers through your hair. Is there space between your scalp and the top layer of your hair? Yes! So, don't draw hair flush with the scalp. Hair has body. Even if it's flat. If I drew Severus Snape from Harry Potter, I would still have at least a little bit of space in-between the hair and the scalp. It's the natural part of hair.

That's all I got! I drew a picture of little ol' me too ^^

Another thing, this is just how I draw. This is not THE way to draw. Just do what floats your boat. If you like some of the stuff I say or do, use it. If not, you don't have to use it ^^
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© 2012 - 2024 Frank-A-Lanka
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sarpndo's avatar
I will keep this in mind. :)