This is some information I wish I would have known just starting out. Hope it helps other people as well.
1.) you are going to need to draw nude models. Get over your modesty and draw the human body. I suggest this site
line-of-action.com/practice-to… Or get this paid generator to use your own resources.
cubebrush.co/marketplace?q=ges…3D models are fine, but they don't help you learn how gravity and weight affect the body. So keep this in mind when using them.
Do gesture drawings at least once a week using as few brush strokes as possible to show the energy in the model. The more you do this the fester and the more fluid your art will start to look
Also, do life drawings by painting the nude models after intensifying the lighting so you can see how light forms to the body.
2.) Research the golden ratio in art and photographs. It helps to know how certain layouts are more appealing than others.
(welp, that was fun to see how I used it in my art without realising it lol ) 3.) Research how colour affects mood. It helps to look at Disney Color scripts as well as learning how the colour wheel works.
twitter.com/MatthewLuhn/status…digitalsynopsis.com/design/fil…4.) Understand what makes a strong understandable gesture. Research line of action as well as staging and composition.
floobynooby.blogspot.com/2014/… twitter.com/MatthewLuhn/status…I was fascinated by how you could use line and lighting to choose where you want the audience to look. I already knew the trick with the whole "
The best readable poses are the ones that can be understood if it was a silhouette" But had no idea about the directional rhythm trick.
This one has really turned my art around for the better!
Silhouette test The Silhouette test is a good way to see how readable your gesture is.
Directional Rhythm
Subtle lines used in an image to guide the audience attention where you want.
Tip: Big block shapes act like a frame for the action.
Lightsource used as a guide Use Light and detail to guide your audience to the most interesting parts of the image.
5.) This one is kind of embarrassing to admit but I actually recreate work from other artists to learn how to do certain techniques, the images are never posted of course. But I learn so much by just breaking it down. I also keep a huge folder on my external hard drive full of various artworks to take inspiration from when I hit art blocks.
A good video on how to do this correctly!
[link]
6.) Studying cartoons like Invader Zim and Dexters Lab really helped me push expressions and poses. The characters are very expressive in these shows so its good for someone that has trouble pushing the boundaries of character emotion. It also helps to work with characters that have conflicting personalities to make their attitude stand out more. That's why Dexter was paired with Dee Dee, Zim was paired with Gir, Dipper with Mable and so forth. It also makes better storytelling. (rambling a bit)
7.) Study body langue, understand the slight gestures humans use to communicate universally to strengthen your gestures. cartoons are really good at putting this to good use.
8.) This one is another little embarrassing secret of mine, but I actually make cheat sheets for how I stylize my faces. kinda like what animators use to keep characters on model.
And finally here is another great tutorial to help you break out of stupid mindsets the internet has set up for the n00bie artist.
www.floobynooby.com/comp1.html
Practice, notes and research are what I suggest. Learn what the masters tried to teach us. While art is in the eye of the beholder there is also a mathematical ratio that nature uses to make things beautiful that artist can also harness.
Hope this helps!
