It came from the deep...

[DeepSeaMonster]

Hi there. I'm a person who works primarily with ink and wants to get better at what they do, even if I only draw as a hobby. Here's a few pieces below, hopefully someone can give me some pointers on improvement?







Thanks for looking.

[DeepSeaMonster]

I haven't done some proper life drawing for a while, so I decided to a study of a human skull replica I have. 



I don't really like this one very much. I think I may have gone a bit too strong on the darker areas. I'm not really sure.

[beau]

I haven't done some proper life drawing for a while, so I decided to a study of a human skull replica I have. 



I don't really like this one very much. I think I may have gone a bit too strong on the darker areas. I'm not really sure.

Hey DeeapSeaMonster, thanks for commenting on my thread! I want to ask, what's your goal as an artist? Both short term and long term- how much do you want to improve, what careers you might be thinking about in this, and who your favorite artists are? That last one might seem pointless, but I ask because it can be important in developing skill, to measure yourself against people you admire.

[DeepSeaMonster]

Hey DeeapSeaMonster, thanks for commenting on my thread! I want to ask, what's your goal as an artist? Both short term and long term- how much do you want to improve, what careers you might be thinking about in this, and who your favorite artists are? That last one might seem pointless, but I ask because it can be important in developing skill, to measure yourself against people you admire.

Hi there, thanks for your response. My goal is to hopefully produce some comics and maybe even eventually in the distant future, get a graphic novel published. That said, I don't think I particularly want to take on drawing as a career, it's more a side thing I'd like to do, or at least just a hobby anyway. I guess I want to improve my capabilities for comic stories and illustrations I'd like to produce.

In regards to your last question, I'd say some of my more prominent influences/favourite artists include Jim Woodring, Tove Jansson and Shigeru Mizuki. I've included some images below by each of these artists to show the sort of thing I'm aiming to eventually produce.
 
Jim Woodring

Tove Jansson 

Shigeru Mizuki

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish as an artist. Thanks again for your reply.

[DeepSeaMonster]

A drawing from my new sketchbook, it's something of preliminary concept work I'm doing for a comic story I would like to do. 

Again, is there anything you could suggest for improvement looking at my work here? I really want to get better at what I do, so your feedback will be appreciated.

[beau]

Hey DeeapSeaMonster, thanks for commenting on my thread! I want to ask, what's your goal as an artist? Both short term and long term- how much do you want to improve, what careers you might be thinking about in this, and who your favorite artists are? That last one might seem pointless, but I ask because it can be important in developing skill, to measure yourself against people you admire.

Hi there, thanks for your response. My goal is to hopefully produce some comics and maybe even eventually in the distant future, get a graphic novel published. That said, I don't think I particularly want to take on drawing as a career, it's more a side thing I'd like to do, or at least just a hobby anyway. I guess I want to improve my capabilities for comic stories and illustrations I'd like to produce.

In regards to your last question, I'd say some of my more prominent influences/favourite artists include Jim Woodring, Tove Jansson and Shigeru Mizuki. I've included some images below by each of these artists to show the sort of thing I'm aiming to eventually produce.
img
Jim Woodring
img
Tove Jansson 
img
Shigeru Mizuki

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish as an artist. Thanks again for your reply.

Graphic novels take a lot of time, especially if you'd like to include so much detail. if art is more of a side thing, you could still do it, it's just going to take a lot longer. There's nothing wrong with that, or keeping it as a hobby, but you most likely will reach a point where you stop improving without giving it your 100% commitment.  Not to deincentivize  you, you can certainly get better without making this your life.

If I could recommend something, I think the best thing for what you want to do is get fast enough to where making comics or very detailed illustrations doesn't take you a lot of time, and the best way to get faster is to study, and draw a lot. The more time you put in now, the less time you spend making beautiful art later.

I can see that your influences reflect heavily on your work, though I can tell you like to show form and roundness in your drawings. I'd like to recommend that you study form, and how light wraps around objects. Studying simple 3D forms (like if you set up an apple and a lamp on your desk and draw that, simple things can help a ton) will make you better at making your forms feel round and real.

[DeepSeaMonster]

Graphic novels take a lot of time, especially if you'd like to include so much detail. if art is more of a side thing, you could still do it, it's just going to take a lot longer. There's nothing wrong with that, or keeping it as a hobby, but you most likely will reach a point where you stop improving without giving it your 100% commitment.  Not to deincentivize  you, you can certainly get better without making this your life.

If I could recommend something, I think the best thing for what you want to do is get fast enough to where making comics or very detailed illustrations doesn't take you a lot of time, and the best way to get faster is to study, and draw a lot. The more time you put in now, the less time you spend making beautiful art later.

I can see that your influences reflect heavily on your work, though I can tell you like to show form and roundness in your drawings. I'd like to recommend that you study form, and how light wraps around objects. Studying simple 3D forms (like if you set up an apple and a lamp on your desk and draw that, simple things can help a ton) will make you better at making your forms feel round and real.

Hi Beau, thanks for the reply once again. I'll certainly try what you've suggested in regards to studying form. If you don't mind me asking, could you elaborate a bit on how I could work a bit faster? I'm just curious if you or anyone else have anything to suggest about getting a faster output.

Anyway, thank you again, I'll post some studies in the vein of what you suggested when I get the chance. :)

[DeepSeaMonster]

I forgot about posting here. I've produced quite a bit since I last posted, so I'll post those bits. I've attempted to keep stuff like form in mind when doing these, but I probably haven't done too well with it. Oh well. 







Thanks again for looking.