#my first tutorial

[eshbaal]

Character Sketching Basics (for total beginners)

I've never really made art tutorials, but I do actually semi-routinely teach digital art classes to local kids in my area. As a result of this, I have also now signed up for a volunteer character sketching workshop for such kids that I am hosting tomorrow.

I figured that since I will have 15 kids there and I can't possibly introduce them to the base concepts one by one, I should make some easy to understand slides that try and teach them the basic thoughts that go behind a good character sketch. Aaaand I figured I would share them here. They are in danish, but I will translate underneath each pic. And before any other of the amazing artists on here start pointing out that this is possibly a bit too simplsitic to be a "proper" tutorial - the workshop is for the 11-14 crowd that may have never heard these things before. That's why it's kept as completely simple as possible. Anyway, here we go:

When we draw characters, we usually talk about three pimary stages - Sketch, Inking and Colors/Shading. That's a lot of stuff to learn, but we'll focus on sketching for today, alright?

A good way to learn how to draw characters is by learning to understand two great tools - the STICK FIGURE and the BASIC SHAPES.

The Stick Figure helps you understand what a body looks like and how it fits together (anatomy), and makes it easier to portray a body in motion. (This also goes for nonhuman creatures - consider the stick figure their "skeleton")

Once you have your skeleton, you can use basic shapes (triangles, squares and circles of all kinds) to build the rest of the body. Your choice of shapes and their sizes can make a massive difference! Notice, how blocky Superman looks compared to the skinny Anne here, even though their skeletons are built basically the same way.

You can also use basic shapes to create some really unique characters, and maybe even tell us something about their personality at the same time. This is called "shape language". Take a look at how some famous characters use very simple shapes. The always friendly and happy Mickey Mouse is round and friendly-looking. With just three circles, he became famous worldwide. The skinny, refined Pearl's body consists primarilly of triangles and long circles - this works really well for a dancer, who is also a bit of a perfectionist. She even carries a spear, which is a pointy weapon that really needs the one wielding it to be precise! Almost every character in "Phineas and Ferb" consists of simple shapes that make them easy to recognize. Phineas and Ferbs' heads consist of just a big triangle and two squares respectively. And with Isabelle and Candace, you can even spot a couple of half-circles!

If you learn how to see these shapes and where they are hiding, you can learn to draw almost any character you can imagine - even the ones that look super difficult and complicated. Shredder here looks almost impossible to draw, but even he has a lot of squares and triangles you can find if you look close enough - and if you drew a solid enough skeleton to start with, so you can tell where certain things are supposed to go on his body. You also use these techniques to draw harder parts of the body, such as hands. It's really difficult, but it'll come to you with practice.

Okay - let's use what we've learned! Pick a character or make something up yourself. Figure out the characters' skeleton. Go ahead and draw them in a different pose, if you want and if you feel you can. Find and add the characters' basic shapes and add them on top of the skeleton to make a body. Add details and start erasing the lines you no longer need.

A FEW LAST PIECES OF ADVICE - Draw softly and loosely. It's hard to erase your lines if you pressed down hard on your paper. - Try not to choose a character that's too complicated to start with. We all gotta start somewhere. - Don't worry about your sketch looking a little messy. After all, it's just a sketch. All it needs to be is a good starting point for when you ink it later. - Your sketch does NOT need to look 100% like the original. The important part is that you can spot how their bodies are constructed, and find all their most important traits. - If there's a part you are having a hard time drawing, take a break and work on something else. Sometimes your brain just needs a little break. - Ask for help! That's why I'm here! - Remember to take breaks now and then. It's good for your hands and for your backs. ----

Soooo yeah. That's my tutorial for ABSOLUTE beginner kids. I hope this will land well tomorrow.

[journey-to-the-attic]

"karasu search how 2 cheer human up"

"karasu search difference between sad human and zoning out human"

"karasu search how long is it safe for humans to zone out for?"

(+ a longer look at each scene:)

[wikiangela]

God, I'm jumping in the deep end It's more fun to swim in Heard the risk is drownin', but I'm gonna take it I'm gonna take it 💕

[stunfiskz]

brain rotting about how fucked it is to be a darkner again lately. how do you care about being abandoned by your gods if they never seemed to care that much about you in the first place

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Trynna make a proper ref sheet for this fella (maybe for artfight??) but he’s actually boring as hell to make a ref sheet of because she is an entirely joke character so 1) she can switch clothes depending on the bit he wants to commit to, 2) can also switch genders depending on the joke, and 3) doesn’t have any colours unless the joke calls for it. My ref sheet is gonna be empty af, how are you supposed to make a reference for a character whose appearance changes all the time??

[drmellking]

+bonus

This Barbie is... Evan Buckley

[noir-ish-bee]

some more professors and laytons

[chalkrub]

more svanhildr - trying new things, like a brave boy

[off-mozzarella]

Si aún estás tomando requests, ¿qué tal una reacción de Legend a lo chiquito que era Time cuando empezó su primer aventura? Puede ser algo chistoso o angsty... no sé...

Hola, gracias por el ask! Traté de pensar en una interacción pero no se me ocurrió cómo podría ser, así que espero que esto satisfaga tu request xD

[machabre]

hmmm been thinking about stylizing ear shapes to draw super quick and brainless ears. Uploading it on the slim possibility it helps someone other than myself

disclaimer: not a teacher, not a pro artist or anything.

[astravis]

Hey look it's my first manga animation. Digging these out from 2020 for @marshmallowgoop!

Fun fact I made the top gif as part of my first semester learning after effects. Immediately decided against making an MMV for my 30 second final. Just the prep work is so time consuming.

[nouveaumoon]

💧✨based off of this illustration by @passionpeachy!✨💧

video compression muted the colors, so here are a few stills under the cut

tiny bonus: happy pride!

[7origamisheep]

How you make your art?? Its sososososo Pretty<3

Pls tutorial?

the long awaited tutorial honestly do you guys hate me be serious

plus bonus speedpaint because i have NO REAL PROCESS and feel i did not properly illustrate how I draw. truly… i just black out and then suddenly there is a drawing in front of me. i dont even remember making this tutorial. anyway ,speedpaint

[monimolimnion]

cure zukyoon & cure kiss' debut (キミとアイドルプリキュア♪ (You and Idol Precure ♪) E17)

[5a-alf]

I finally colored the sketch i posted some time ago, enjoy!

[077891st]

Congratulations GemPearl for winning the trafficblr shipping poll!

this is compensation for missing the vote entirely please forgive

year of yuri off to a roar of a start!