Have you done any basic still lives? Humans are very complex creatures made of many shapes. Boxes jars fruits etc are much simpler and help to teach you how to deconstruct an object into its component shapes and how light interacts with them.
I’ve done a few years of art school but never graduated, did plenty of life drawing classes, all the fundamentals and I actually do practice them once every two weeks. When I had more time in the day I would do 30 mins figure drawing and 30 life drawing a day, I’ve since fallen off of that though.
I actually feel like light and color are my strongest areas, but anatomy and keeping proportion I struggle greatly, and if you mess up the form then no amount of shading is gonna make the piece look right as I have found the hard way
Your figures look flat because you’re drawing what you think it should be rather than what it is.
I would recommend drawing through on the perspective and some practice with making figures out of simple geometric shapes.
Also, I’d consider getting one of those posing mannequins and an anatomy drawing book to give you more examples.
Your poses are somewhat complex from a perspective viewpoint (parts pointing and angles towards different planes). You may want to try some simpler poses like standing with arms down to get the basic proportions right.
So sounds like I need to practice even more, you’re right about the poses, I have been trying to force myself to make more “3d” poses (to practice foreshortening and the like) but I can accept that maybe I need to step down a few levels. Another thing I would like to work on is stepping away from such a cartoon style and actually making things more whimsical looking, but again. I will try to work on proportions more
Perspective can be very hard. But also very awarding when it is right. I would recommend drawing lines to help.
The light source is also very important To create a less flat look and create the mood.
It also talks about the shades needed to make it seem less flat.
I would also recommend using your own body by taking a picture of yourself posing. You will easier see how some parts looks bigger and smaller depending on the perspective. Pinterest is also a good source to find ppl posing. And there is an deviant art account creating a lot of images of their team posing (even action proses with props). Good luck!
How much training have you had?
How familiar are you with the fundamentals?
Have you done any basic still lives? Humans are very complex creatures made of many shapes. Boxes jars fruits etc are much simpler and help to teach you how to deconstruct an object into its component shapes and how light interacts with them.
I’ve done a few years of art school but never graduated, did plenty of life drawing classes, all the fundamentals and I actually do practice them once every two weeks. When I had more time in the day I would do 30 mins figure drawing and 30 life drawing a day, I’ve since fallen off of that though.
I actually feel like light and color are my strongest areas, but anatomy and keeping proportion I struggle greatly, and if you mess up the form then no amount of shading is gonna make the piece look right as I have found the hard way
Your figures look flat because you’re drawing what you think it should be rather than what it is.
I would recommend drawing through on the perspective and some practice with making figures out of simple geometric shapes.
Also, I’d consider getting one of those posing mannequins and an anatomy drawing book to give you more examples.
Your poses are somewhat complex from a perspective viewpoint (parts pointing and angles towards different planes). You may want to try some simpler poses like standing with arms down to get the basic proportions right.
So sounds like I need to practice even more, you’re right about the poses, I have been trying to force myself to make more “3d” poses (to practice foreshortening and the like) but I can accept that maybe I need to step down a few levels. Another thing I would like to work on is stepping away from such a cartoon style and actually making things more whimsical looking, but again. I will try to work on proportions more
Perspective can be very hard. But also very awarding when it is right. I would recommend drawing lines to help. The light source is also very important To create a less flat look and create the mood.
I did a fast googling and this article seems good https://mymodernmet.com/perspective-drawing/
It also talks about the shades needed to make it seem less flat.
I would also recommend using your own body by taking a picture of yourself posing. You will easier see how some parts looks bigger and smaller depending on the perspective. Pinterest is also a good source to find ppl posing. And there is an deviant art account creating a lot of images of their team posing (even action proses with props). Good luck!