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FabledFerns β Animal Practice
Published: 2015-05-21 02:07:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 492; Favourites: 15; Downloads: 0
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Description
Practiced drawing various animal headshots to de-stress a bit ;o;most of these i draw in like 5 minutes and look like trash lmao
but i kinda liked a few so
I would really appreciate any critiques/advice/tips on any of these drawings!
OH I used this website for ref images for all of these btw-Β artists.pixelovely.com/
It's a really nice website to practice drawing different things and I love it a lot
To , I'd just like help with over-all anatomy. A few of these animals I've never really drawn before, and I'm going for a semi-realism look, so any anatomy help would be much appreciated!!
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Comments: 11
wowow you've become a literal pRO w/ rats and mice!!
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aa tysm!! :'0
I'm glad you think so! <33
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First of all, the anatomy on these are amazing and it's so inspirational to others that you're willing to try and draw animals that you might be unfamiliar with! You can really see the differences and the accuracy, and unlike most artists you can make all animals look like their animals, not just cats/dogs! That's a great skill to have ;D
I agree with all of the lovely and friendly points above; additional to the the circle head base, try to get used to the basic shapes that make up the faces as well - Β and it makes things a lot easier that way 
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Thanks so much!! <33 I'm so glad you think so! :'D
Yeah, I've recently noticed that I've been using cat-like anatomy for drawing most things, since that's what I'm most familiar with. So I decided it'd probably be a good idea to use some refs to start to get used to the anatomy of other animals. I'm glad they look like the animals they're supposed to be haha
Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea ;v; that's one of those things that I've never really thought about, so trying that out will be interesting, and probably a big help as well. Thank you!! <3
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Great diverse collection here! Any advice huh? Hm...
Advice I can offer is to alway use references. It seems some people on DA brag that they used no refs on images, and this really isn't a healthy thing to teach others. Don't know if you did, but I'm just warning you about those who might make you feel it's "cheating," when it's the very way to improve.
The other tip is to try using multiple shapes to build the heads and bodies. Study the forms and see where you could use hard-angle or soft-angle shapes instead of just a circle. Horses and other hooved animals might look more their form if you use odd-shaped boxes or cones. See this:Β kimberlyjoyceillustration.com/β¦ Even though there's a lot of work to be done from there, a base sketch gives you basic form and motion to build from, like a sculpture's wireframe.
AND never be afraid to get messy with that sketch! It's the life and energy of your finished image. When you start light, you can go back over it darker and darker as you build toward your finished image. I often start with a blue pencil (digital or not) and go back over it later in black or another color for more finished stages.
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Thank you so much for the advice!!
Yep, I used reference images for all of these images. I totally agree with you that it really helps to use them, I already feel like I've learned a bit about drawing all of these different animals. I usually draw cats, so this took me out of my comfort zone and helped my improve and learn a lot!
That's a really good tip! I guess I've never thought about what other shapes I could really use, so that'll be interesting and probably very useful to experiment with.
I do go over sketches with something darker sometimes, but only if my sketches get really messy haha. But you're right, and it probably is a really good idea to that that since I'm trying to refine my anatomy.
Thank a ton!
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No problem! Ask an honest request, get an honest answer. Now the hard part for you that'll REALLY take you out of your comfort zone: building an environment for those animals! ; )
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Oh gosh, that'll be hard haha. Maybe I'll try that out someday soon.
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Wow, your advice is both friendly and so true! I'm impressed -u-
I really agree with your top point though, people are like 'no refs!!1111 look how amazing I am1111!!11A++'
- and then some people think it's 'cheating' which is bullshit, or that if you use a ref then it's 'not really your picture'. I really don't see the problem with it all; I use ref photos on practically everything XD
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When I hear people honestly asking for advice, I break out an old teacher's points who was a huge influence on me way back when. It's the basics that really build you forward. And yeah, those folks might have memorized everything, but everyone in the industry works differently. Even my best teacher tried to stick his students in his own personal artist box way of thinking, beyond the customary "I'll show you how I do things, and you build from there." It was more "Doing it this way is the only way to be a true arteest and be respected as one." Snobbery will get you nowhere. Tracing is where the whole "cheating" mentality should end.
lol, more essay! Man I love typing long replies. O_O
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Β "Doing it this way is the only way to be a true arteest and be respected as one."Β - Art teachers in a nutshell
Exactly, tracing is cheating, reffing is nowhere near cheating. But sadly, I guess the snobbery and conceit will never end here ;_;
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