Beginning artist really needs your opinion. Please help!?

Question

Hello, everyone. I am 26 and just discovering art for the first time. I did this drawing for my little boys tonight. Do you guys think it is good? I have only done a few drawings and have no experience in a formal sense. I have painted a couple things for my kids and this is my third pencil drawing. I would greatly appreciate any feedback from everyone. You don't have to know anything about art....just do you like it? My sons love monsters and I hope they will like this one. Any imput from experienced people also would be of great help...tips, flaws, etc. Thank you all and god bless.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2264/beastdrawinggm6.jpg

it is a bad picture, i know. there are also claws on his left hand, but are hard to see. the bottom teeth are also kinda hard to see. just asking for general imput. ; )

Yes, the creature was drawn from a photo in a book. I wish I had thought of him myself... : ) Thank you fat Iggy for you wonderful compliments. I really want to learn art in the worst way. I truly have only been drawing anything for under a year. This is the 3 pencil drawing of mine.

Dennis: It is funny that you mention that draw 50 series...this is where I got the creature from. I love the teacher. I have learned a lot from the books! It is so neat that you mention that...lol.

Answer 1

wow, I'm impressed. you have talent

whatever you may call it, amateurish, beginner's work etc. I'd say you have potential for better artwork.

these are the things i noticed:

you have a good sense of contrast and it shows from the depth you made inside the monsters mouth, the shadowing on the spikes in his back and the shadow detail on both feet

you also demonstrate good proportioning, but can still improve; the right foot is drawn somehow awkwardly

the image you scanned is a little blurred so i can't comment about your pencil stroke but in general i think you pay good attention to detail, that shows patience in an artist and that is a good trait

what strikes me also is your attempt to render facial expression, the monster appears to frighten and look funny at the same time, you achieved this quality simply by crossing the eyes, do you know that facial expressions are being taught at art schools? especially comic art?

i have been drawing since i was 8 so here are some tips based on experience:

look into some comic books and see how lines become factors of depth, contrast, texture and light
some of my fave are ALAN & MARC SILVESTRI, ERIK LARSEN & DALE KEOWN (these people are really cutting edge in pointed pen sketches)

experiment by trying to copy japanese anime style drawings, these gives you a new perspective in proportions and overall appearance

if you have been practicing with monsters, you might wanna try doing some 'angelic' figures, i mean beautiful creatures or beautiful faces, if you fail the first time - you fail permanently if you give up

when you are to the point of giving background to your object sketch, you may need some skill in technical drawing, see what "perspective view" means

and lastly, overall effect of your sketches should show balance, this maybe a bit novice for you but i will not be surprised if you discover it by yourself

i would call you 'a natural', there's a lot out there who would love to have you as a 'protegee'

your kids are fortunate to have good artisitc genes

as a note i would like to give you conficius:
"learning without thoughts is a waste of time, thoughts without learning is intellectual death"

simply put, neglecting a talent is like killing a brain cell. it is 'intellectual death'

god bless !!!

Answer 2

Congratulations on finding something you enjoy doing. Knowing that you have copied that image from a book, I have to say that it's a nice copy, but copying is not the same as drawing. This does not mean that you don't have talent, but a copy of someone else's work doesn't really show it. However, it is a great way to practice. I spent years copying super-heroes from comic books and actually learned anatomy and perspective. My favorite art book to this day is How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. I learned more from that one book when I was 12 than any other single source including my studies in art school.

Keep practicing. Learn anatomy (really, it helps with everything) and how to draw in perspective. There are tons of resources online and off on learning how to draw, paint, sculpt, etc. Take a course if you can. A beginner's class of life drawing can be extremely helpful. Remember, everyone has a great imagination... some just need to learn to tap it. You have obviously tapped it. Now just leave the spigot wide open and let it flow.

Answer 3

good...is that the type of art you want to go further into...comic art? I would research different types of art i.e: surrealism, realism....and try things out. Try drawing a person's face or painting a landscape. I think drawing from a picture (not tracing, just for reference) this helps see the image as flat, since it already is, rather than a 3D object on a table. Take notice of shading, this helps bring the image into the second demension. It is called contrast. Or if surrealism is your thing, look at different works and see if you can come up with your own.
It seems you prefer appealing to a fun younger audience rather than something adult and more complicated.
Good luck and God bless you also.

Answer 4

Hell yeah! keep going! Copying things is a great way to start. Ed Roth did a how to draw monsters video and book I think you can check out his website at edroth.com.

You don't have to have a formal education to enjoy doing this. There are plenty of books and videos to help you out. Just pick out those that you think will help you out and enjoy.

Here's the cool thing. It can get them interested in it too.

When I was a kid my mom used to do the same for me accept it was cars. She did really well at it and I think i still have them somewhere at my mom's place. After a while I wanted to do it for myself so I started on my own.

Just keep it fun, that's the best thing when it's fun.

I can't tell you what kind of "how to draw" things will help you because I never used them much myself but the cool thing about monsters is that they can't be wrong! They can have really long arms. huge heads, tiny legs, whatever!

Good luck, and keep up the good work!

Answer 5

I like your drawing.

But the key here is that you like it (and I can tell you do), and that your kids will like it.

I drew all of my life, but called it "doodling" or "scratching," never "drawing" or "art." When I was 30, I had a 1-1/2 hour train commute between Princeton and Manhattan (3 hours travel time per day). I decided to use the time wisely - I wrote, read management books, taught myself shorthand, then decided that I was going to learn to draw, for real.

Rather than go to the "adult" section, I went to the kids' section of the bookstore and picked up Mark Kistler's Draw Squad. Yes, I learned to draw, but also discovered that I had been drawing all along, that I have talent, but just hadn't admitted it to myself.

The secret, the crux, is that _everyone_ can draw. It comes as natural as breathing to us. Pick up a pencil and you can create art. Now, you may want to learn techniques and develop your own style, but that's just practice. The art is already there.

You might also like working with books by Lee Ames (a friend of mine) and his Draw 50 series (www.draw50.com).

I like your drawing, and if you can draw something that well, you can draw pretty much anything you set your mind to if you take the time to do it.

It's important that you admit to yourself that you can draw, and model that behavior for your kids. Encourage them now. When they draw something, tell them you like it (you can _like_ any drawing). If you can't tell what the drawing is, don't guess, just say you like it and ask your kid to tell you about the picture. That support will give your kids the confidence to become artists for life. The ability to draw is a useful skill throughout school, and is an asset to any career you can name - plumbers draw schematics, doctors illustrate papers, accountants draw charts, etc. etc.

Oscar Wilde said, "the art of writing requires the application of a pair of pants to a chair." The art of drawing simply requires the application of a pencil to a piece of paper - you move it around until you see a picture you like.

Keep up the good work.

Answer 6

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Realistic Pencil Portrait Mastery is an ideal allied to really make the perfect draw.

Answer 7

If this is without experience, then I'd say you have it. You always did, but didn't excercise it.

I'm not a professional myself. I took techncal design as a field and and although I was a prodigy, I've only been drawing hard core for about 10 of my 35 years.

What it looks like to me is that you copied somebody else's image, but did a damn good job of it. If you've invented the character yourself, I'd tell you right away to pursue this, because it's definitely your calling.

I'm affiliated with professional artists via internet who can't even draw like that with 20 years of experience.

Answer 8

beginning artist opinion

Answer 9

for monsters it is just fine. once you work in color and shading to get shape and depth you will really have fun, but i suggest working on this and thinking about a story to go with the monster, you might have a future in kids stories, after all look at what mourice sendak did with where the wild things are.

Answer 10

heck you could e-mail me it is free and i do not need money-he sounds like such a creep be glad you seen him for what he really was before any harm was done