Shimmer's Sketches

[Shimmer Star]

I thought I might as well make a thread of my art

Here's one of my first drawings. I started by sketching it on paper, and then I traced it in photoshop. (Whoa! The cutie mark is totally in the wrong place!)

Here's a slightly newer one, just a unicorn. I might make her into a character, might not. The front leg is kinda weird. (As you might be able to tell by now, I use a mouse, and occasionally a trackpad. No tablet. XD)

And the last one, a hand drawing of my character Crystal Blade. I went over the pencil lines in black pen so my scanner would pick them up better.

Critiques and comments welcome!

[CherryRie]

Oooo nifty! Okay, so far so good. You have the flare and you seem to have gotten a grasp of basic shape and joint movement. I think what you need to focus on now is a skeleton to build these characters from, rather then running straight for the finish line

Here’s the meat. Any object, no matter how complicated it seems, can be broken down into more basic shapes that still represent the finished image. All you need to do is start by braking down a pony into its core shapes. This can actually be kind of tricky as you're probably used to trying to create the finished picture on a first draft, altering and altering until you get something that looks close enough. However, working with simple shapes allows you to then build on a sturdy base. You ‘know’ this posture should look right because rather than relying on your hands doing exactly what you want, you’re letting the brain build up the picture from the simplistic to the complex.

Good example!

Slightly more advanced

Try a simple exercise first; focus only on just the body shape, not details like the mane, eyes, mouth etc. Build lots and LOTS of these stick-fugre esc ponies until you can just randomly doodle one without thinking about it (this'll happen quicker then you think so long as you deliberatly keep it basic). Don't set you're self the goal of 'draw this pony' as then you endup getting disheartened if it dosn't come out right. Just doodle doodle doodle without a care in the world for what the result is. Don't be afraid to go over lines, also don't rub out anything as you can only lern from your mistakes. Try using pen too! Permanacy adds a whole new dimention to doodling and gets you out of the zone where you fear something going wrong. Eventualy you'll endup knowing what the shape feels like and will find yourself adding more substance without worrying about proportions or posture.

Before you know it you'll be churning out sheets like this:

See that image at the top left? Look at how loose the shape are! They're so fluid, just basic guides rather then bluepints. Never be afraid to over draw, just keep going. I've ended up with entire pages in my sketch book full of solid ink circles before, just to get the feel for the motion and how each size of cicle feels.

I think you show potential, but need to refine your work using this burst of inspiration you're experiancing at the moment. Ride the wave!

For more tutorials, have a look at the Tutorialpage on Ponychan

FYI; none of these tutorials are mine and I truely wish I was as good as some of the artists that drew them

[Shimmer Star]

Thanks a lot, Cherry! ;D I'll be sure to work on all that!

[BaconofChaos]

You're definately showing improvement Shimmer. Keep it up!

Don't set you're self the goal of 'draw this pony' as then you endup getting disheartened if it dosn't come out right. Just doodle doodle doodle without a care in the world for what the result is. Don't be afraid to go over lines, also don't rub out anything as you can only lern from your mistakes.

See this right here? Every mistake I've ever made when drawing. I've always been one to jump in at the deep end and try to go for the final result without all that boring "practice" stuff. Also when I go wrong I tend to either rub out the lines or chuck the whole thing and start over. Evidently I have much to learn.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Little kids always draw without a care in the world if it looks exactly like what it is supposed to be. CherryRei is right on the mark, practice practice practice. Exercises are a great way to improve, even if you're just drawing a bunch of circles over and over again.