Comment on REALLY need some direction... by DeltaVega
Hello, this is my first thread I've ever posted and it's for good reason. I am really stuck in deciding which way I want to go with my art. I am almost never satisfied with the things I come up with and it is so hard not to look at my favorite artists' work.
My main problem though is I can't decide to take on comic book style or realism? I feel that I'm a little better at realism, but feel more passion/satisfaction towards comic book style. It's so much harder though.
I can never figure out what it is exactly that makes my drawings not look as good as others. I don't know any artists personally, so I can't talk to them. I need help :/
My main problem though is I can't decide to take on comic book style or realism? I feel that I'm a little better at realism, but feel more passion/satisfaction towards comic book style. It's so much harder though.
I can never figure out what it is exactly that makes my drawings not look as good as others. I don't know any artists personally, so I can't talk to them. I need help :/
Check out Moebius AKA Jean Giraud, especially his Blueberry strip. Even his very far out fantasy sci-fi work is done in a relatively realistic style.
The beauty of art & comics is while there may be styles/trends...there are no absolutes. There's always a point where people start to want something different. Whatever happened to Travis Charest? I loved his stuff, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the (art) world.
The beauty of art & comics is while there may be styles/trends...there are no absolutes. There's always a point where people start to want something different. Whatever happened to Travis Charest? I loved his stuff, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the (art) world.
There is no standard "comic book style". I don't see the problem here. Draw whatever you want, learn from everything you like and let things congeal into how YOU want to draw.
If you can't decide, don't. Just do whatever seems best at the time. Cross training is good, different approaches teach you different skills. Eventually one or the other will seem superior and that's what you'll spend most of your time on. Or you'll decide you like both. Or you will discover a third thing you go totally nuts over. That's why it's best to not worry too much -- these things sort themselves out.
"I am almost never satisfied with the things I come up with"
Good Lord, that's practically a basic requirement for being an artist. If you were satisfied with the things you came up with you would soon become bored and go off to play the guitar or something. Artists run on dissatisfaction. It keeps us moving forward, looking for better ways to do stuff.
"I am almost never satisfied with the things I come up with"
Good Lord, that's practically a basic requirement for being an artist. If you were satisfied with the things you came up with you would soon become bored and go off to play the guitar or something. Artists run on dissatisfaction. It keeps us moving forward, looking for better ways to do stuff.
Haha I'm beginning to notice the dissatisfaction trend. I just want that confidence, I know it won't come easy. It just seems like it'll never come sometimes. I also hate when you do really good and then you can't suddenly argh! It's not even consistent! But thanks, I'm gonna stay on it and try to draw everyday even if only a little a day. Before this thread, I had no desire to draw and now I do! It's much appreciated, you guys are awesome.
why not combine both styles together?
I've thought of this, you can see in my other reply my issues with it. Also, I find it really hard to know where to draw the line between the two. For example how much realism and how much comic book to apply? Take noses for instance, it starts to look really funky if the nose is too detailed, you know?
that is true with nose's, have you looked at some of the marvel comics, they are realistic yet and still very stylized
Yes! That's pretty much what I'm aiming for...a Jim Lee type of thing, but I don't want to copy verbatim as people say that's bad to do when developing as an artist. But how do you break away from what you want? Lol It's kind of hard. I'm not a fan of styles that have extremely unnatural anatomy at all, I don't like cartoony. So I stick to what I like, but I don't want my work to be based off someone elses...ugh
i feel you. I would just experiment with different style that you have see and then as you study those you can take what you have learned and create what feels right for you
Bear in mind that you don't have to stick to just one style. Even though it does make more sense to focus your time and effort, if you're a versatile artist and able to do many different styles you will see some benefits from that. As for not being satisfied, I know what you mean; I'm my own worst critic. It's best to expect a little bit of that because that's how you improve, it happens to everyone. Just try to learn something from each new drawing and remember no drawing is ever pointless. It's all practise.
Finding your own style is difficult. I personally would advise you to work with the method you find the most fun; the more fun you have, the more art you will do and your enjoyment will shine through to your work. Have you though of experimenting in a middle distance between realism and comic book style as a compromise?
Finding your own style is difficult. I personally would advise you to work with the method you find the most fun; the more fun you have, the more art you will do and your enjoyment will shine through to your work. Have you though of experimenting in a middle distance between realism and comic book style as a compromise?
Thank you for the reply! I have thought of meeting somewhere in the middle with the styles, but I don't feel like I'm good enough at either one to really start combining them, you know? Like, I can draw a human's face, no problem...but when it comes to adding my own spin and angles and all that is where I start to lose it. I also do NOT understand how people draw an actual person like say a celebrity with a custom angle. I can only draw a person from that one angle that I'm looking at if I want them to even look remotely like the person I'm drawing. Those are my realism issues.
As far as comic style issue, it has to do with flatness. Whenever I draw in that style it feels very cartoonish and flat without emotion. I've tried adding me lines, but that doesn't seem to matter as other artists will have LESS lines and still pull of a more dynamic look. This is my greatest struggle with comic book style, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to fix it.
I can't draw straight either lol
As far as comic style issue, it has to do with flatness. Whenever I draw in that style it feels very cartoonish and flat without emotion. I've tried adding me lines, but that doesn't seem to matter as other artists will have LESS lines and still pull of a more dynamic look. This is my greatest struggle with comic book style, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to fix it.
I can't draw straight either lol
It's no problem
I understand what you mean. I think the key in keeping people look like the same person from a different angle is all in the detail - the shape of the hairline, the stubble on the chin... perspective can be very difficult to draw. If you have enough space on your pc, I'd recommend Poser (I'm not sure if you're familiar with the software, but it's a 3D modelling program with pre-loaded models in it, with artist reference in mind). You can view things from different angles on it
Looking through your gallery, I think your strength comes from your shading and that is what lends shape and depth to your drawings ('this is my card' is a good example of that). I think if you add this shading to your cartoon style, it may perhaps add that extra something more you're looking for?
I understand what you mean. I think the key in keeping people look like the same person from a different angle is all in the detail - the shape of the hairline, the stubble on the chin... perspective can be very difficult to draw. If you have enough space on your pc, I'd recommend Poser (I'm not sure if you're familiar with the software, but it's a 3D modelling program with pre-loaded models in it, with artist reference in mind). You can view things from different angles on it
Looking through your gallery, I think your strength comes from your shading and that is what lends shape and depth to your drawings ('this is my card' is a good example of that). I think if you add this shading to your cartoon style, it may perhaps add that extra something more you're looking for?
Yea, I'm not too familiar with computer programs as most of my work is traditional. The closest I've came to digital work was on my iPad I had a while back.
Thanks for the compliment, and yes I think I have a good grasp on values and shading. It's just the lines themselves. I really don't know what I'm doing wrong lol. I look at work from Jim Lee or Frank Miller and I can't distinguish what I'm missing that makes mine so flat looking. They'll have the same amount of lines, it's just where they are on the paper I guess I don't know lol.
Thanks for the compliment, and yes I think I have a good grasp on values and shading. It's just the lines themselves. I really don't know what I'm doing wrong lol. I look at work from Jim Lee or Frank Miller and I can't distinguish what I'm missing that makes mine so flat looking. They'll have the same amount of lines, it's just where they are on the paper I guess I don't know lol.
You're welcome Hmm looking through your gallery, the only thing I can see that would perhaps produce a flatter effect sometimes is not with the amount of lines, but with line thickness. For example, your piece 'Ken-Fire' looks really great. The lines are varied thickness where they should be (the closer to the viewer, the thicker the line) etc.
The only other thing I can think of is just adding some foreshortening to make the poses a bit more dynamic; for example on your piece 'mercenary' the pose is looking at the reader face-on and would benefit from a little tweaking away from the camera. It is very rare that you will ever see a person head or in profile, they're usually at a slight angle so that might help too
Hmm looking through your gallery, the only thing I can see that would perhaps produce a flatter effect sometimes is not with the amount of lines, but with line thickness. For example, your piece 'Ken-Fire' looks really great. The lines are varied thickness where they should be (the closer to the viewer, the thicker the line) etc. The only other thing I can think of is just adding some foreshortening to make the poses a bit more dynamic; for example on your piece 'mercenary' the pose is looking at the reader face-on and would benefit from a little tweaking away from the camera. It is very rare that you will ever see a person head or in profile, they're usually at a slight angle so that might help too
Thanks, I'll take all of that into consideration. Your art is very unique and I hope that I can find myself the way you did!
Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me 
it took me a loooong time to find something I was comfortable with, so kind words like that are priceless for me 
your artwork is also very good, I'm sure you will find what you're looking for soon! If you need anything, even if it's just an opinion or whatever, just drop me a note or a comment I'm happy to help any way I can.
it took me a loooong time to find something I was comfortable with, so kind words like that are priceless for me your artwork is also very good, I'm sure you will find what you're looking for soon! If you need anything, even if it's just an opinion or whatever, just drop me a note or a comment I'm happy to help any way I can.View all replies