Diana's Sketchbook

[leviktt]

Hello everyone! My name is Diana, I'm 21 years old, and I've been drawing since around 2012. I've completed over 8+ sketchbooks and since stumbling upon this site, I've decided to start posting my works here.

What I use to draw/paint:

• I use a Kamvas 13 for digital art
  
• Programs I use: Photoshop 2021 (I'm new to it), Paint Tool SAI, Paint Tool SAI v.2, GIMP
  
• I still love physically drawing in a sketchbook, so I've been keeping a Fabriano sketchbook with whatever HB pencil/ballpoint pen I can find. I use all kinds of mediums in my sketchbooks as I like them to look a bit more interesting when flipping through them.
  

My current focus is learning how to master drawing the human body. I love comic book illustration and I used to watch a lot of anime and read a lot of manga when I was younger. My dream would be to start my own graphic novel/comic some day, but for now I just want to be able to draw characters and things I like without my proportions being all wonky.

After I feel comfortable drawing people I hope to move on to being able to create environments to be able to place them into. Any feedback or suggestions are welcome, I'm always happy to hear critiques! :)



Here is the first page of this sketchbook I'm working on. I'm currently just doing studies from Anatomy for Sculptors, Understanding the Human Figure by Sandis Kondrats and Uldis Zarins. I really like this book so far and I appreciate how detailed it can be while also sharing ways to simplify the human form as well!

[leviktt]

I definitely did not put much effort into those skulls, unfortunately. I was mostly focusing on learning about the rib cage, clavicles, and scapula form the chest and shoulders + muscles in general at the time.

[leviktt]

Trying to figure out how the chest/shoulders work in relation to each other on this page. All the little notes here are taken directly from Anatomy for Sculptors, Understanding the Human Figure by Sandis Kondrats and Uldis Zarins.

[leviktt]

And now begins the onslaught of song lyrics sprinkled in between every drawing. I treat my sketchbooks like diaries almost. I like to add things that I'm listening to, games I'm playing, things I need to remember for that day.

I'm also not a fan of the girl I drew on the left. I just started doodling a face and then awkwardly added the rest of her around it. It wasn't a planned composition, so I guess I can't be too hard on myself. And some more studies on the side.

[Atceterra]

I think you're getting somewhere in anatomy but I think the very basics like line and form are some pretty good things to build on first if you really wanna make some great anatomy. That's actually what I'm doing right now with trying to get my perspective good to give more depth to my drawings.

Since I myself am still learning and not confident with anatomy, I don't think I'm the best person to tell you what's right or wrong about the anatomy drawings you made so I'll just list down some good resources.

Proko- a highly recommended site if you haven't heard yet. Probably has most of what you need in anatomy. Only pitfall though is that the prices for the courses are pretty steep though that also highly depends also on how much money you can spend.

Krenz Cushart - has 2 sets of videos on how to rotate the body however you may like 

Figure Drawing:Design and Invention- another book that I see always recommended for anatomy. Haven't personally read it but the reviews seem pretty good. Check it out if you'd like

Anyway these are things that I think would help you. You might've already know about these but hopefully you got something out of my reply

[leviktt]

I think you're getting somewhere in anatomy but I think the very basics like line and form are some pretty good things to build on first if you really wanna make some great anatomy. That's actually what I'm doing right now with trying to get my perspective good to give more depth to my drawings.

Since I myself am still learning and not confident with anatomy, I don't think I'm the best person to tell you what's right or wrong about the anatomy drawings you made so I'll just list down some good resources.

Proko- a highly recommended site if you haven't heard yet. Probably has most of what you need in anatomy. Only pitfall though is that the prices for the courses are pretty steep though that also highly depends also on how much money you can spend.

Krenz Cushart - has 2 sets of videos on how to rotate the body however you may like 

Figure Drawing:Design and Invention- another book that I see always recommended for anatomy. Haven't personally read it but the reviews seem pretty good. Check it out if you'd like

Anyway these are things that I think would help you. You might've already know about these but hopefully you got something out of my reply

Thanks so much for those resources, I really appreciate it! I've been looking for more anatomy books but a lot of the ones that I see are usually not as detailed as I'm looking for so I'll definitely check out these links

[leviktt]

A few more studies. I realize I keep jumping around to different parts of the body when I should try and really focus on learning one thing at a time? Not sure about that one. (Also excuse the song lyrics, haha.)

[JyonnyNovice]

Welcome to Crimson Daggers : D

Glad to see more aspiring comic/graphic novel artists on here too ^^

Looks like you're doing the right things with the anatomy! Doing lots of studies like that is the best way to start I think. You need lots of repetition to get familiar with all those muscles. I found learning all the names really helpful to keep it all organised in my head.

I second Proko's content like Atcetera mentioned, you can get plenty from his free videos on youtube I think, plus he gives out assignments at the end of each video so you know exactly what to do next.

Michael Hampton's Design and Invention book mentioned above is great too.

What kind of learner are you? Proko is very technical, getting into the nitty gritty of each muscle, Hampton is more abstract and design based. Another popular anatomy teacher is George Bridgman - some people really love him, personally I struggled with his stuff, but have a look and see if it's for you ^^

[chubby_cat]

Great start to your sketchbook, leviktt. To back off what Atceterra was saying, Proko is an awesome resources for learning anatomy. He breaks things down so well and gives you 'assignments' to complete after each lesson (which helps you put into practice what you've just learnt). Before doing his anatomy lessons, I would recommend doing his Figure Drawing Fundamentals course - it focuses on the 'big picture' and drawing people, as opposed to pulling a part the human body and explaining each muscle and its purpose

While the courses are on the more expensive side, it's well worth dropping the money on them (they are currently having a 20% off sale until end of November, so it's a good time to pick them up if you can)

[leviktt]

Welcome to Crimson Daggers : D

Glad to see more aspiring comic/graphic novel artists on here too ^^

Looks like you're doing the right things with the anatomy! Doing lots of studies like that is the best way to start I think. You need lots of repetition to get familiar with all those muscles. I found learning all the names really helpful to keep it all organised in my head.

I second Proko's content like Atcetera mentioned, you can get plenty from his free videos on youtube I think, plus he gives out assignments at the end of each video so you know exactly what to do next.

Michael Hampton's Design and Invention book mentioned above is great too.

What kind of learner are you? Proko is very technical, getting into the nitty gritty of each muscle, Hampton is more abstract and design based. Another popular anatomy teacher is George Bridgman - some people really love him, personally I struggled with his stuff, but have a look and see if it's for you ^^

I'll definitely check out Proko! I've heard really getting into the nitty gritty of anatomy can be a huge help on understanding how it moves so I'm definitely all for that

[leviktt]

Great start to your sketchbook, leviktt. To back off what Atceterra was saying, Proko is an awesome resources for learning anatomy. He breaks things down so well and gives you 'assignments' to complete after each lesson (which helps you put into practice what you've just learnt). Before doing his anatomy lessons, I would recommend doing his Figure Drawing Fundamentals course - it focuses on the 'big picture' and drawing people, as opposed to pulling a part the human body and explaining each muscle and its purpose

While the courses are on the more expensive side, it's well worth dropping the money on them (they are currently having a 20% off sale until end of November, so it's a good time to pick them up if you can)

I'll definitely check it out! I've been looking online for more structured learning resources as I find that it helps me learn a bit better

[Artloader]

Another comic book enthusiast! There are a good number of us around in these parts - welcome to the forum!

I love how you decorate your studies with song lyrics - cool :).

I can't really add any better advice than you've received already - Proko and Hampton are really good sources to study from - although I've only ever studied Proko's free YouTube videos so can't comment on his premium content.

Good luck and keep going :)

[leviktt]

Here's the rest of what I currently have in my sketchbook.

[mieksta]

You're improving fast, keep it up! One thing that helped me when I was at your stage was experimenting with other media. I know you're getting good results, but one thing about using something like pen, marker, paint, etc is that you'll have to deal with getting across the same shapes and objects but with different constraints and what not. You're on a great track though, keep it up!

[leviktt]

You're improving fast, keep it up! One thing that helped me when I was at your stage was experimenting with other media. I know you're getting good results, but one thing about using something like pen, marker, paint, etc is that you'll have to deal with getting across the same shapes and objects but with different constraints and what not. You're on a great track though, keep it up!

I'll have to switch it up then! I've got a lot of pens I'm eager to start using :)

[leviktt]

As suggested, I started off with Proko's first video on figure drawing. I took these poses from Croquis Cafe on Vimeo. I used to do a lot of (incorrectly guided) figure drawings a while back. I even took a college class on it, though I'm sad to admit I've probably lost the skill I'd developed :(

[Zorrentos]

Nice work! I see a lot of the basic practices being applied here. Continue to study, and be sure to ALWAYS apply your studies to your imaginative work! For now, I think that continuing to spend some time on the basics and finishing prokos courses is the correct approach to take.

[leviktt]

@Zorrentos : Thanks much! I'm definitely trying to incorporate my studies into my imaginative stuff but it might be easier said than done for me, haha







I went ahead and watched the second Proko video on figure drawing. Instead of just watching, I went ahead and did the poses with him. After I'm done with my online classes for today I'll do the assignment. Croquis Cafe has a GREAT library of tons of figure drawing poses and I definitely recommend checking them out. Everything is free and the money they receive from donations goes right back into hiring more models for their videos + library.

[leviktt]

Decided to throw in some digital in there, though I feel like I got more out of it when I did them traditionally. Did some of the gesture drawings that were recommended by Proko.

[leviktt]

Oops, haven't really had much time for art since I started Fallout 4 (a friend really wanted me to play it, I know it's not great, though it is a fun shooter, idk why I'm feeling defensive haha), and decided I should draw something for myself rather than do more studies