Why would you want to make a book about this? No offense, but this isn't really the proper way to teach anyone how to draw Sonic characters, let alone any characters. You're basically giving people what you do without any insight on WHY you do it or HOW. When making a tutorial, it's good to show the thought-process behind it because there's more than just "Hey Sonic has a round head if I draw it square-shaped I must be doing it wrong"
How did you do that angle of Sonic walking? Why does Tails' face look the way it does? There's so many undiscovered areas that would really aid a person trying to get the hang of Sonic. Some people have trouble drawing Sonic's head proportional to his body ala Sonic style, for example. These are the kinds of hints that would help them. With this, you're basically saying "copy me! That's the way to go!"
Imitation is a great way to learn, but if you're consciously trying to help the "budding artist", you aren't helping by not explaining the methods that you do it. What are people gonna get out of this? Just how to draw Tails standing? This doesn't engage or push towards any creative means. It's like those little art books you have at seven years old where you just mimic how to draw a horse and when you're done.. that's the only position of the horse you'll ever know. You know know its angle in profile, why the legs are how they are, why the face is shaped how they are, what basically makes the horse a horse.
That being said, what's with Sonic's foot on the ground? It looks like he's floating and there's no implication of his weight resting against the ground. The feet appear limp and as if Sonic's feet consist of shoes rather than feet inside of shoes. Also his belt buckle on the left shoe (our right) is in the wrong area.
You're basically giving people what you do without any insight on WHY you do it or HOW.
Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. This is just an idea that popped out of my head. I want a book that is aimed for kids, something simple to enjoy and do in minutes (you know the ones you buy off the shelf in the kid's book section at Target or something like that). If I were to make a more detailed tutorial on 'how to draw' Sonic the Hedgehog - detailing examples online of other people's style - then I CAN.
How did you do that angle of Sonic walking? ........ With this, you're basically saying "copy me! That's the way to go!"
Tsk, tsk, going off on another one. Jumping to conclusions again way too quickly without taking the consideration of what I can really do. I can go either way but just to remind you I want to make a very simplified how to draw book aimed for kids (not for floofing serious artists like yourself). If you are so stuck up with that kind of style you should search elsewhere.
Imitation is a great way to learn, but if you're consciously trying to help the "budding artist",...... why the face is shaped how they are, what basically makes the horse a horse.
Drama queen with a capital Q. Yup imitation has always been a part of my style fundamentally. Again criticise me when I have a finished product.
That being said....... etc etc. etc.... is in the wrong area.
Same old, same old. Look I'd hate to repeat but I don't need lectures like these coming from you Veronica. Especially when you jump to conclusions in a sophisticated manner. If you weren't then that's just my opinion, no need for another essay on who's right and wrong. Though I doubt there's going to a short reply to this.
If this were a "Draw like Darkspeeds" book, things would be vastly different. However, your stated intentions are to take on the responsibility of portraying a copyrighted, pre-existing character. This implies a level of mastery and objectiveness in your portrayal of Sonic, and a high standard to live up to. To expect no form of critique/criticism, that people will just let you do as you please because "I Can" is very foolish and will not help you reach your goals.
Though you would be foolish to be the decider on how the book is best published, that is up to SEGA and the distributors who will be putting the book together to best serve the intended audience I was aiming for - kids who don't need years of training to draw something they want for fun.
You say 'good point,' while missing my point entirely.
Nowhere in my comment did I critique your methods or tell you how to go about publishing the book. I only warned you that being unreceptive of criticisms will not help you in your goals. This has nothing to do with myself or Veronica, its just a fact. You will not get far with Sega with that attitude. As it is, obtaining the rights to publish a book with their copyrighted characters would be an uphill struggle. The chances are incredibly slim that they'll even consider the project, and being a poor-sport would definately ruin those odds. The company reps. will run you through the ringer, harshly scrutinize your work and likely give numerous criticisms, because they aren't going to invest in a project that they don't have faith in -- this is often why companies and parties wanting to us a copyrighted character have to *buy* the rights to use them, almost like a safety deposit.
However, I will offer actual critique based on what I've stated above: Your mastery of the 'Sonic Adventure' style is not as solid as you think it is, and the Sega reps. -- should the project even make it to their desks -- are going to have a hard time buying into the idea. So, like I said before, you can't use the 'I can</> rationalization, because the reality is you'll have to compromise your style, pander to Sega and pitch the project in a way that reassures them that its a worthwhile endeavor. You can't just do whatever you want, and this has nothing to do with what I or Veronica or anyone else thinks or says. This is reality.
If I were to make a more detailed tutorial on 'how to draw' Sonic the Hedgehog - detailing examples online of other people's style - then I CAN. Well, I'm glad you got something out of my post! Clearly, this is what you should do (though I don't think it's necessary to document other peoples' styles.) You should understand that the method shown in what you posted is more or less useless unless you want to provide tracing material, for kids or adults. Teaching children to imitate a drawing requires many steps in sequence, not just "here's a circle, now a line, now just add all the bits that look like Sonic does and you're done!" Teaching adults how to actually draw their own images with their own poses requires specific information on how to proportion body parts, adapt limbs, draw faces, eyes, hair, any number of things you can elaborate on in detail. The method you're using to teach is pointless to either of these groups.
One of my friends even cites that your steps are inconsistent. "For example, one of Knuckle's fists disapears after being mapped out in the sketches, with no explanation. How is someone using his tutorial supposed to interpret that? Draw circle for hand, detail said hand, now erase for no reason. Shade."
You are going to confuse children this way. And you're calling it a "simple how to draw book." Children need a specific, step-by-step process. When do you draw the ears? When do you draw the feet? When do you draw the eyes? Why do you draw a line on the circle? What's that supposed to mean? You just mash it all together in the middle image before you clean it up on the third. Children do not grasp this concept that easily. I should know, I've been freaken learning to teach children in school.
Drama queen? I am giving you suggestions on how you can make a proper tutorial. Your finished product probably wouldn't change because at this very moment, you're getting nothing but positive feedback that will make you think you don't really need to change much. I am giving a different perspective, and I at least have a bit of experience to back it up when it comes to teaching children. Ignore my suggestions if you like, but don't get peeved by them. I'm only trying to help, unlike everybody else who's commented so far.
Also yeah, if you're going to teach Sonic, I think something like his belt buckle is a sufficient crit ":-[" Sonic Team will be displeased, Darkspeedschan.
Quit the '-chan' talk if you want to be serious with me.
But at least you're doing better this time without the CAPTILISATION of WORDS used for emphasis. If you want to emphasis your point put it in bold or in italics, don't be lazy. I dislike it when you're TELLING your POINT in this fashion - sounds like you're shouting at me - yeah it sounds stupid but that's how I see it.
Drama queen because you just love to stir in a good heated discussion of a person's wrongdoing. Something that you may dislike from that person and have this urge to get attention. Again I'm not used to it when it's coming from you.
But if I'm totally wrong on this then ignore it.
Your feedback here is better I have to admit since it clears things up a little.
Anyway back to the discussion.
What you've seen is only a mock of portion of what the tutorial may look like - it is defintely not the end product. Judge me when I show a proper page.
This piece here is comission art that I've spent close to an hour on each character. Obviously more time will be spent on the proper page of the real book - providing I had the time to work on it in future.
Oh you are not the only one whom been teaching kids. Though I didn't do it in a formal setting, I did it while I was touring. People gave me feedback on those exact pages I took to SoS event and they found it most useful. How's that for my perspective?
They weren't confused on where and when to draw certain body parts - they were clever enough to figure how to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In fact that was more of an enjoyable experience because they find it fun to do so. The challenge is to discover the best way to draw something - what is said on the page isn't 100% the answer. The learner get's a 110% answer when they found the most comfortable way of doing it. Geez the kids you were teaching were pretty lacking in the practical department if they can't figure that one out (and kids as in beyond the kindergarden and primary school levels in Australia).
I've shown it to adults out of random while I was on transit to London city, and they found it alright (heck they weren't even fans but at least they knew of the hedgehog).
During my world tour 2007 I've also presented my 'How to Draw' sketches (I don't have them anymore) to passbyers who had the guts to ask whether they can look at my portfolio. They liked what they saw and recommended I should do a tutorial book using the same method of sketches for kids.
So formal experience with the children doesn't dictate a true answer. I told you, criticise properly when the book is out.
The final product is much more different than just a few lines and pieces to a finished drawing.
How did you do that angle of Sonic walking? Why does Tails' face look the way it does? There's so many undiscovered areas that would really aid a person trying to get the hang of Sonic. Some people have trouble drawing Sonic's head proportional to his body ala Sonic style, for example. These are the kinds of hints that would help them. With this, you're basically saying "copy me! That's the way to go!"
Imitation is a great way to learn, but if you're consciously trying to help the "budding artist", you aren't helping by not explaining the methods that you do it. What are people gonna get out of this? Just how to draw Tails standing? This doesn't engage or push towards any creative means. It's like those little art books you have at seven years old where you just mimic how to draw a horse and when you're done.. that's the only position of the horse you'll ever know. You know know its angle in profile, why the legs are how they are, why the face is shaped how they are, what basically makes the horse a horse.
That being said, what's with Sonic's foot on the ground? It looks like he's floating and there's no implication of his weight resting against the ground. The feet appear limp and as if Sonic's feet consist of shoes rather than feet inside of shoes. Also his belt buckle on the left shoe (our right) is in the wrong area.
Devious Comments
Because I'd love to and it's just a suggestion.
You're basically giving people what you do without any insight on WHY you do it or HOW.
Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. This is just an idea that popped out of my head. I want a book that is aimed for kids, something simple to enjoy and do in minutes (you know the ones you buy off the shelf in the kid's book section at Target or something like that). If I were to make a more detailed tutorial on 'how to draw' Sonic the Hedgehog - detailing examples online of other people's style - then I CAN.
How did you do that angle of Sonic walking? ........ With this, you're basically saying "copy me! That's the way to go!"
Tsk, tsk, going off on another one. Jumping to conclusions again way too quickly without taking the consideration of what I can really do. I can go either way but just to remind you I want to make a very simplified how to draw book aimed for kids (not for floofing serious artists like yourself). If you are so stuck up with that kind of style you should search elsewhere.
Imitation is a great way to learn, but if you're consciously trying to help the "budding artist",...... why the face is shaped how they are, what basically makes the horse a horse.
Drama queen with a capital Q. Yup imitation has always been a part of my style fundamentally. Again criticise me when I have a finished product.
That being said....... etc etc. etc.... is in the wrong area.
Same old, same old. Look I'd hate to repeat but I don't need lectures like these coming from you Veronica. Especially when you jump to conclusions in a sophisticated manner. If you weren't then that's just my opinion, no need for another essay on who's right and wrong. Though I doubt there's going to a short reply to this.
If this were a "Draw like Darkspeeds" book, things would be vastly different. However, your stated intentions are to take on the responsibility of portraying a copyrighted, pre-existing character. This implies a level of mastery and objectiveness in your portrayal of Sonic, and a high standard to live up to. To expect no form of critique/criticism, that people will just let you do as you please because "I Can" is very foolish and will not help you reach your goals.
Though you would be foolish to be the decider on how the book is best published, that is up to SEGA and the distributors who will be putting the book together to best serve the intended audience I was aiming for - kids who don't need years of training to draw something they want for fun.
Nowhere in my comment did I critique your methods or tell you how to go about publishing the book. I only warned you that being unreceptive of criticisms will not help you in your goals. This has nothing to do with myself or Veronica, its just a fact. You will not get far with Sega with that attitude. As it is, obtaining the rights to publish a book with their copyrighted characters would be an uphill struggle. The chances are incredibly slim that they'll even consider the project, and being a poor-sport would definately ruin those odds. The company reps. will run you through the ringer, harshly scrutinize your work and likely give numerous criticisms, because they aren't going to invest in a project that they don't have faith in -- this is often why companies and parties wanting to us a copyrighted character have to *buy* the rights to use them, almost like a safety deposit.
However, I will offer actual critique based on what I've stated above: Your mastery of the 'Sonic Adventure' style is not as solid as you think it is, and the Sega reps. -- should the project even make it to their desks -- are going to have a hard time buying into the idea. So, like I said before, you can't use the 'I can</> rationalization, because the reality is you'll have to compromise your style, pander to Sega and pitch the project in a way that reassures them that its a worthwhile endeavor. You can't just do whatever you want, and this has nothing to do with what I or Veronica or anyone else thinks or says. This is reality.
oohhhhhhh
your brain..
IT'S SO SMART ";____;" *Snuggles it*
even when you screw up the bold, lol.
Well, I'm glad you got something out of my post! Clearly, this is what you should do (though I don't think it's necessary to document other peoples' styles.) You should understand that the method shown in what you posted is more or less useless unless you want to provide tracing material, for kids or adults. Teaching children to imitate a drawing requires many steps in sequence, not just "here's a circle, now a line, now just add all the bits that look like Sonic does and you're done!" Teaching adults how to actually draw their own images with their own poses requires specific information on how to proportion body parts, adapt limbs, draw faces, eyes, hair, any number of things you can elaborate on in detail. The method you're using to teach is pointless to either of these groups.
One of my friends even cites that your steps are inconsistent. "For example, one of Knuckle's fists disapears after being mapped out in the sketches, with no explanation. How is someone using his tutorial supposed to interpret that? Draw circle for hand, detail said hand, now erase for no reason. Shade."
You are going to confuse children this way. And you're calling it a "simple how to draw book." Children need a specific, step-by-step process. When do you draw the ears? When do you draw the feet? When do you draw the eyes? Why do you draw a line on the circle? What's that supposed to mean? You just mash it all together in the middle image before you clean it up on the third. Children do not grasp this concept that easily. I should know, I've been freaken learning to teach children in school.
Drama queen? I am giving you suggestions on how you can make a proper tutorial. Your finished product probably wouldn't change because at this very moment, you're getting nothing but positive feedback that will make you think you don't really need to change much. I am giving a different perspective, and I at least have a bit of experience to back it up when it comes to teaching children. Ignore my suggestions if you like, but don't get peeved by them. I'm only trying to help, unlike everybody else who's commented so far.
Also yeah, if you're going to teach Sonic, I think something like his belt buckle is a sufficient crit ":-[" Sonic Team will be displeased, Darkspeedschan.
But at least you're doing better this time without the CAPTILISATION of WORDS used for emphasis. If you want to emphasis your point put it in bold or in italics, don't be lazy. I dislike it when you're TELLING your POINT in this fashion - sounds like you're shouting at me - yeah it sounds stupid but that's how I see it.
Drama queen because you just love to stir in a good heated discussion of a person's wrongdoing. Something that you may dislike from that person and have this urge to get attention. Again I'm not used to it when it's coming from you.
But if I'm totally wrong on this then ignore it.
Your feedback here is better I have to admit since it clears things up a little.
Anyway back to the discussion.
What you've seen is only a mock of portion of what the tutorial may look like - it is defintely not the end product. Judge me when I show a proper page.
This piece here is comission art that I've spent close to an hour on each character. Obviously more time will be spent on the proper page of the real book - providing I had the time to work on it in future.
Oh you are not the only one whom been teaching kids. Though I didn't do it in a formal setting, I did it while I was touring. People gave me feedback on those exact pages I took to SoS event and they found it most useful. How's that for my perspective?
They weren't confused on where and when to draw certain body parts - they were clever enough to figure how to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In fact that was more of an enjoyable experience because they find it fun to do so. The challenge is to discover the best way to draw something - what is said on the page isn't 100% the answer. The learner get's a 110% answer when they found the most comfortable way of doing it. Geez the kids you were teaching were pretty lacking in the practical department if they can't figure that one out (and kids as in beyond the kindergarden and primary school levels in Australia).
I've shown it to adults out of random while I was on transit to London city, and they found it alright (heck they weren't even fans but at least they knew of the hedgehog).
During my world tour 2007 I've also presented my 'How to Draw' sketches (I don't have them anymore) to passbyers who had the guts to ask whether they can look at my portfolio. They liked what they saw and recommended I should do a tutorial book using the same method of sketches for kids.
So formal experience with the children doesn't dictate a true answer. I told you, criticise properly when the book is out.
The final product is much more different than just a few lines and pieces to a finished drawing.