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[Cathar]

I was about to answer, but Parsely did a wonderful job already. I have little to add, so I made a quick tuto, some stuff to keep in mind while drawing children or cute female characters



You're on the path of victory, Dwarfy, keep that up

[KittyTac]

Hey, I'm learning to do ASCII art, is this OK?



Specifically, I want feedback on the buildings and if they are detailed/proportioned right.

[Cathar]

I have no idea how to do ascii art, but as a general advice, you should begin with perspective study while dealing with anything landscape. Perspective with square shapes like buildings are easy and straightforward.

I also have the feeling that starting with ascii art is like... trying to learn additions from a book on quantum physics, you're pulling the cart before the horses

I see you are using a vanish point on the road on the bottom, which is good, but then you forget to use it on your two main buildings.

Also keep in mind : your vanishing point is always on your horizon line. The horizon line is where the earth meets the sky. On your picture, the faraway buildings are far below the horizon line so they are...burried under the ground, sort of.

You don't need to draw in perspective for very faraway details but you always need to keep your vanishing point(s) and horizon line consistant.

Have a very quick correction so you see what I mean

[KittyTac]

I drew some art on paper before, so I know some basic techniques, but thanks for the tips. I'll try and improve the picture later.

[TD1]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I watched a video saying how to draw a face. I replicated their suggested method on the left. The one on the right is the one I'd been using up til now. Both use the same cranial mass of roughly three centimetres radius, but they're still rather different.

Given that a well proportioned head isn't meant to be wholly relative, is one method incorrect? I've seen the one on the right used a few times, but the one on the left appeals to me more.

Also, apologies: measurements may not be exact, I just did a quick example to show here.

[Cathar]

Proportions is not the most important thing (art students please don't shout at me). The most important thing is to understand how a skull "works", how features interact with each others, this kind of thing. After a time of practicing it becomes natural ; you'll know instinctively that there's one eye worth of space between the eyes, that the nose interacts in some fashion with the mouth, which in turn defines the position of the chin, this kind of thing.

At this point in your study, there's not much to say. A bit of exercise if you want : try to draw old people, from photos. Wrinckles serve as markers for artists and can help you improve faster, by teaching you how the face works

[Parsely]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I watched a video saying how to draw a face. I replicated their suggested method on the left. The one on the right is the one I'd been using up til now. Both use the same cranial mass of roughly three centimetres radius, but they're still rather different.

Given that a well proportioned head isn't meant to be wholly relative, is one method incorrect? I've seen the one on the right used a few times, but the one on the left appeals to me more.

Also, apologies: measurements may not be exact, I just did a quick example to show here.

I took a real human face, squashed and stretched it so that the outline matched either head, then drew lines to show how the proportions of the drawing lined up with the real features of a human face.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

So I would say that the method you're using, as labeled, is wrong. Definitely try a new technique and see how it feels.

[TD1]

Well gosh darn it.
I blame draw a box.

Many thanks, Parsley. That was enligtening.

[Parsely]

Many thanks, Parsley. That was enligtening.

No problem!

Anyone have some tips for how to construct hands? You can sort of see what I was going for with the right hand but I couldn't really get it right. I need help breaking down hands and drawing them in perspective, especially fingers which I find especially difficult.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Shook]

Ah yes, hands. I'm by no means an expert myself, but i'm starting to have a few things that work for me, so here's how i usually go about it:

Spoiler: because size (click to show/hide)

I start with a circle to indicate the wrist joint, then a trapezoid block for the palm of the hand (since it's pretty rigid compared to fingers).



Then, an arc or two to trace the position of the fingertips and optionally the joint(s) of the fingers. Make sure the arc is farthest from the hand at the middle finger, since it's the longest.



Then you can connect the arcs to form a neat fan that can be divided up into fingers. At this point i usually also blob out the fingertips with some ovals, which is especially helpful when the fingers are spread apart.



And finally i just kind of bullshit my way towards something vaguely hand-like.

This does work with fingers pointing more or less towards the viewer too, though it may be helpful to extend the lines of the trapezoid so you have a better idea of where to place the arcs. If you need to be REALLY precise, you can also circle out every single finger joint and connect them that way, since fingers are basically a bunch of spherical cylinders stuck together. Also, secondary note when drawing a palm view: The "bases" of the fingers (where the gap between them ends) aren't in perfect line, it's an arc too.

Dunno if this helps at all, but there's my take on it. :v

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Honestly hands are just weird. I too am no expert, but hopefully this helps:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In your particular case, the problem seems to be that the actual "palm" area of the hand is also facing downwards. IDK if you can bend the palm your hand over 90 degrees inwards, but I sure can't (my hands are what I used as reference.)

Also, when the you bend your palm forward, the natural motion seems to be to rotate to the inside outside--I looked in the mirror to visualize it and the only way for your knuckles to be facing downwards flatly is for your arm to be bent in at about 30-45 degrees.

There's no real easy way to plot 'em out methinks, you just have to memorize a their unique shapes at a couple of different angles. Luckily you can you usually cheat it a bit.

As for breaking down hands, def always start with the shapes. Possibly with a defining line like the outside arch of the hand or the wrist lines.

Then sketch the palm/back of the hand. Which is like a rectangle with a notch in one corner.

I'd then also move to the "shape" of the fingers, I.E. sketching the entire volume of the space they occupy--worry about individual fingers separately.

Then the thumb, which is always weird for me. Think of it as a stick jutting out from the base of the rectangular palm which moves the flappy skin between thumb and forefinger, kind of like a wing. (some extra bulk/muscle on the outside of the thumb).

Finally, to fill out the fingers, the knuckles are the best guides if you have visual sight of them, otherwise they are admittedly tough, BUT if you reckon that the the pinky always occupies the notched part of the top of the palm, you can pretty easily eyeball the three larger fingers.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A sample page for my big comic idea!

After stumbling upon and researching some comic layout and design stuff, I decided to take a crack at a full page to kind of benchmark things and see where I need to improve.

On one hand, this looks WAY closer to how I pictured it in my head then previous attempts at comic work/generation. So, yay: progress.

On the other hand, there's still a lot of work to be done. Obviously a draft, but I wish I been able to "finish" it better. So, a couple of questions for the artists around here:

1.) I think that some of the messiness comes from the fact that I tend to work smaller than I should, when you guys detail your work/draw stuff in, how much do you blow up the picture while drawing? If you're a digital artist, how do you keep yourselves precise/become more precise?

2.) There are some perspective problems. A bit with the gentleman's hand in the first panel, and a general avoidance of more intricate city planning (leading to this actually-somewhat-pretty) cutout style. Does anyone have any suggestions on how you might set up a useful perspective grid over an image? Or maybe just a place to find something to dl and lay over images?

I have formerly found it very enjoyable to draw in better perspective--and for that to have an obvious effect on the results, but working digitally makes it a bit harder, as manually drawing the grid becomes a chore.

3.)Any tips on figure construction that make it a bit easier to really nail faces and partial bodies at close distance?

4.)Criticism? Advice? Pointing things out? (I would really appreciate it! As a note, the only thing missing from the image is the boat that appears in panel three--it should be located near the dock in the full page cave.)

[eerr]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1.)Andrew Hussie practices his detail work at normal zoom. But if he truly wants to detail something finely, only then does he zoom in. The products of this fine control stirs the hearts of mortal men.
It looks like you already know varying line thickness (and inking isn't necessarily the same thing), but maybe this will help: https://artanecdotally.tumblr.com/post/30485826218/andrew-hussie-inking-tutorial
All my art experience comes from an era where I drew by hand.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

2). It's been a long time since I dealt with hands. I always started with a straight line from the wrist to the fingertips, or whereabouts. and of course one for the arm. With the direction decided I found it much easier to fill in the details.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Perspective is just a tool to be used. I think people tend learn, to imagine the grid/get used to drawing in perspective. Try reducing the grid to what it means, a few angles which bend everything you draw. You should already have a grasp of depth, as that isn't grid-specific.
If you can do it to a face, you can do it to anything.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

3.)I never really got into drawing people. But, I learned all the best artists give distinct profiles to how people look. Check out the outline of the character filled in with solid color. Make that distinct for every character and the other details don't matter as much.(but are still good) This makes your character perfectly recognizable, and also cool.
I think you could apply the 'profile' to the crowd as well, leaving them in reduced detail and distinctness.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

4). It might look otherwise because it's just a draft, but you've stabilized the directions and depth in the scenes pretty well.
The eyes are a good artistic take on eyes.
The rope in scene three looks like it has no bend or depth to it, which is something you should add in a draft normally.
Even though it is a draft, the shields should have as many parallel edges as possible, or at least one matching line for each of them.
I never see that arrangement without perfectly aligned shields.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There is other stuff, that you will probably cover, but I will say it anyway.
The nose has no indication of bend in the closeup, but does in the shot before it
The giant pillar cover(Near the exposed part) seems to bend/lack a uniform thickness.
The giant pillar exposed looks like rebar, but isn't drawn as such. For it's scale, the rebar should have ridges shown. Similar to how the details of the mountain come out.
The mouth of course, shouldn't be round in one shot and flat in another.
The guy with the crown is very interesting, but is both cut off and not shown in the next panel.
The combination of depth and heads in the crowd looks unnatural. As if broad-shouldered dwarves can't stand that close together.

[Cathar]

1.) I think that some of the messiness comes from the fact that I tend to work smaller than I should, when you guys detail your work/draw stuff in, how much do you blow up the picture while drawing? If you're a digital artist, how do you keep yourselves precise/become more precise?

Easy : work on bigger canvas. Simple as that. You're dead on, on the fact that small canvas produces more sketchiness. However more precise drawing also require more time, so there is a tradoff here. If you are not running after time, I advise you to work on a big canvas, then, if you need to, resize it when you're done.

2.) There are some perspective problems. A bit with the gentleman's hand in the first panel, and a general avoidance of more intricate city planning (leading to this actually-somewhat-pretty) cutout style. Does anyone have any suggestions on how you might set up a useful perspective grid over an image? Or maybe just a place to find something to dl and lay over images?

I have formerly found it very enjoyable to draw in better perspective--and for that to have an obvious effect on the results, but working digitally makes it a bit harder, as manually drawing the grid becomes a chore.

Perspective doesn't strike me as wrong, but clearly not "built". It is acceptable as it, but I strongly encourage you to go the extra mile and learn how 1point and 2 point perspective work. It will be an additional tool in your shed, and not only it will increase the quality of your work, but it will also give you a lot of good insights on how to improve further. Worked for me

3.)Any tips on figure construction that make it a bit easier to really nail faces and partial bodies at close distance?

Resist the temptation of adding more details, draw bigger outer lines, and in general avoid close shots unless they are necessary. Close shots are not necessarily a bad idea when you want to emphasize a strong emotion, but a lot of artists overdo them. Close shots tend to confuse the readers as they don't have a clear picture of what is happening.

So... when using close shots, emphasize the emotion you're depicting as they are here for that.

4.)Criticism? Advice? Pointing things out? (I would really appreciate it! As a note, the only thing missing from the image is the boat that appears in panel three--it should be located near the dock in the full page cave.)

The big advice : drawing a comic is not a sprint, it's a marathon. The most important thing is to draw at a steady pace. Once you found a pace that fits you (two pages a week for me), stick to it like you're hanging from a cliff. This is the only, real, golden rule, and all the rest is details

[Parsely]

Honestly hands are just weird. I too am no expert, but hopefully this helps:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In your particular case, the problem seems to be that the actual "palm" area of the hand is also facing downwards. IDK if you can bend the palm your hand over 90 degrees inwards, but I sure can't (my hands are what I used as reference.)

Also, when the you bend your palm forward, the natural motion seems to be to rotate to the inside outside--I looked in the mirror to visualize it and the only way for your knuckles to be facing downwards flatly is for your arm to be bent in at about 30-45 degrees.

There's no real easy way to plot 'em out methinks, you just have to memorize a their unique shapes at a couple of different angles. Luckily you can you usually cheat it a bit.

As for breaking down hands, def always start with the shapes. Possibly with a defining line like the outside arch of the hand or the wrist lines.

Then sketch the palm/back of the hand. Which is like a rectangle with a notch in one corner.

I'd then also move to the "shape" of the fingers, I.E. sketching the entire volume of the space they occupy--worry about individual fingers separately.

Then the thumb, which is always weird for me. Think of it as a stick jutting out from the base of the rectangular palm which moves the flappy skin between thumb and forefinger, kind of like a wing. (some extra bulk/muscle on the outside of the thumb).

Finally, to fill out the fingers, the knuckles are the best guides if you have visual sight of them, otherwise they are admittedly tough, BUT if you reckon that the the pinky always occupies the notched part of the top of the palm, you can pretty easily eyeball the three larger fingers.

I've been meaning to do some practice using these tips and show it off because I found them really useful but I just haven't had the time, which is why I haven't responded straightaway. I'll respond to this in more detail once I have time to analyze it!

Ah yes, hands. I'm by no means an expert myself, but i'm starting to have a few things that work for me, so here's how i usually go about it:

Spoiler: because size (click to show/hide)

I start with a circle to indicate the wrist joint, then a trapezoid block for the palm of the hand (since it's pretty rigid compared to fingers).



Then, an arc or two to trace the position of the fingertips and optionally the joint(s) of the fingers. Make sure the arc is farthest from the hand at the middle finger, since it's the longest.



Then you can connect the arcs to form a neat fan that can be divided up into fingers. At this point i usually also blob out the fingertips with some ovals, which is especially helpful when the fingers are spread apart.



And finally i just kind of bullshit my way towards something vaguely hand-like.

This does work with fingers pointing more or less towards the viewer too, though it may be helpful to extend the lines of the trapezoid so you have a better idea of where to place the arcs. If you need to be REALLY precise, you can also circle out every single finger joint and connect them that way, since fingers are basically a bunch of spherical cylinders stuck together. Also, secondary note when drawing a palm view: The "bases" of the fingers (where the gap between them ends) aren't in perfect line, it's an arc too.

Dunno if this helps at all, but there's my take on it. :v

Shook you're fired, the fingers in your demo aren't in perspective! Your explanations are on point though, thanks!