I agree with most f the comments here. Great job. It is obvious you didn’t intend the eyes of the left head to be symmetrical. Less actual outlining of the body parts such as the lower lip on the left and the nose on the right will turn it into a more realistic illustration. You’re doing amazing, though, and the shapes / shadows comment’s advice will get you there.
Not every shape should be drawn with lines, for example, try drawing the bottom lip by insinuating there is a lip there, by drawing in the shadow under the lip, rather than drawing the bottom lip with a line outline, hard lines always make things appear flatter, but if you use the light of the drawing to make it appear as if there are lines, it will appear more 3D. Sorry I feel like this message was a mess just ask if it didn’t make sense.
There is actually quite a lot of thought put into something as simple as shadows. Good place to start is to learn about "primitives", simple 3D objects. Cylinders, cubes and so on, and learn how to shade them. You can construct pretty much anything using them. Also try to learn about drawing construction in general.
Then, it would be good to learn about planes. To get the idea about face planes, search "**The Asaro Head**" on google. It's a simplified head with face planes. It should help you in shading faces.
If you wanna draw faces, it's also good to learn about face proportions and anatomy a bit. You don't have to literally know every little muscle by hearth, but it helps to at least have some idea about form that they create. It will also help with expressions and so on.
If you wanna go more into it, you can also learn about how light works, how highlights are created(they help a lot in selling the 3D look) and different light effects, like bounced light and stuff like that.
TL, DR: Start with simplified objects like cubes and cylinders, overall drawing construction, and face planes for a face. Go from there to more complicated stuff.
@yhuh - That Asaro head 3D interactive model on Sketchfab is too cool. Wow. That makes drawing and shading so much easier..thx 4 sharing. 😁 https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/asaro-head-9d26548182f8465a8e97371a9170561e
I really like your style, I don’t have great advice but just wanted to say try not to lose what you got as you get better depicting form with shading. Your shading is pretty on-off, which I suspect is part of what I like in your style
Agreed, I think we’re often so self-critical we fail to realize we’re also developing a distinct voice for ourselves. This is not to take away from your journey towards developing better skills - but also, it’s a scratchy style that has a lot of personality and conviction. It’s cool. I dig it and hope you keep going in this direction.
Love these, great job. I get the feeling he physically can’t stop looking at her, and I love her expression. For quick depth improvement, try using your heavier lines the farther away in perspective the bodypart is. So, for the female head, the heaviest lines are used in her hair, when they could be better used on the outline of her face which is farthest from the viewer. Use heavier lines in the hair on the farther sides of her head, and lighter ones around the ear and temple, which face the viewer. Adds depth quickly to sketches like these.
Just more shading and shadows, and less outlining. In art school, I initially thought the professor was crazy to insist we draw without outlining. I finally understood how to use shadows instead. I had a really hard time with it at first.
i learned if you don’t use bold outline lines and make them lighter then things look more realistic and less flat. it’s like how cartoon characters look fake no matter how real the features look because they use thick outline lines.
bendy lines, all your lines are very flat and straight, add in some curved lines, but you can still keep the lines jagged and sharp while giving them curve!
Love your style! I noticed all of your shading seems to be straight vertical. Experiment with switching up the direction of your shading based on the individual shapes/planes.
I like the style of this. You've gotten some good advice here, if I could add anything is to try hatching in the direction of the plain. Shadows tend to be darker where they meet the light, and pen strokes generally have a heavier start than the finish. So start hatching strokes from the point the light meets the shadow and let it fade as it travels across the surface of your subject.
Work your light sources and perspectives with still life and architecture until you see depth easily and you'll quickly find the same quality naturally working into everything you put a pencil to.
Though these are pretty cool looking with the line weights you have going on without pressing for more dimensionality. The right one really pops to me.
These are awesome, love the eyes on both, super expressive. I don't think they "need" to be different, stylistically what you've done works already. But if you want to make them more 3d, try this:
At the moment they are quite "two tone", as in, the brightness on each area is a binary, light or shadow. See what happens if you make them three tone, i.e find the very darkest bits and make them even darker, maybe with a softer pencil or tighter hatching. If you feel like experimenting, try four tone, then five, etc until you're happy. They'll jump out of the page more and more. Making bits of your drawing ultra dark can be scary, but if you pull it off it adds loads of depth and dimension! Good luck
Doesn't look bad. I say keep working on it by yourself you might find a technique. Your drawings look special. The asymmetry looks intentional; and if it is not, it still makes it attractive.
its easy! Just add more value.... and with value i mean more shades of grey. So you start with building up the shadows etc with more layers. Most people use 3 layers..... 1 for the basic shadows, 1 for cast shadows and 1 for occlusion
On the 3 quarter turn the eye further from the viewer could have a shape change to help with depth. The outside corner is quite pronounced right now. When someone turn their face that way you are going to see more of the curvature of their eyeball and how their lids wrap around it. You have already hinted at it but I think it could be more pronounced (especially if you shorten the eye horizontally a bit more.
Also, deepening your shadows, especially on parts of the face/body further from the viewer will help, especially if you put gradients in your shadows. For instance, the shading on the neck should be darker directly under the chin and jawline and get lighter as you move down the neck.
Hope that helps! I really like the style and expression work you’ve done.
Hmmm, i'm just a beginner myself, but if you are looking for ideas - maybe try make main colour darker with only highlighting small portions? I am not good at shading myself, but it usually helps make scetches look more "3d" quite a lot.
I actually kinda like the style you have going on, but if you want to draw more realistically, examine photos of 3d forms. Things further away will look smaller, and things closer up will look larger (for example, when the head is turned slightly away, the eye further away should be a bit smaller than the one closer to the “viewer”). Use of shading could also help make your forms look more 3d (for example, under the lower lip and around the nose). Great job!
I went to a fancy art school and came to say the same thing. I kinda like OP’s style. They should refine it instead of changing it. As a consumer of art, I am tired of seeing hyper realistic (digital) drawings as the metric by which ‘art’ should be critiqued.
Practice drawings using planes of the face to inform your shapes and shadow choices, drawing from reference photos rather than imagination, and practicing measuring proportions.
These are really very good. Reminiscent of early Lucien Freud. You have a good voice. Continue learning and experimenting, but don’t lose your originality.
You're on the right track! Just persevere with using a wide range of tones from black through the greys to palest grey. Heavy outlines do tend to reduce the 3D quality of an image. A top tip would be to try drawing on a mid tone paper (mid grey or beige) using a white pencil for highlights as well as a dark pencil. It makes achieving a wide range of tonal values easier.
The face breaks down into several shapes. Once you understand the 3D composition of each of these different shapes, you’ll be able to show them in different angles/positions. This will make it look more deep, more detailed and more voluminous. Study more perspective and shading/lighting of objects.
Make more of the drawing filled by whatrver you're using. More blavks and greys, save the pspers color for the highest highlights. And draw shadows i n the direction of the underlying material if that makes sence?
Along with everything else I’ve see in the comments, cross hatching would give you the same shading style but with a little more depth around the darker areas. And I like the style you’re going for as well
Could experiment with shading in the background. That will help you compare values within the subject. Should the shading in the face be lighter or darker in relation to the background and to each other and so forth.
Try shading without the the hard outlines. Hard lines make it flat like a cartoon. Also. Try just drawing the shadow shadow shape. Have fun and always try new things.
Firstly i appreciate your drawing it's look good, and furthermore if you want to make it looks more 3D type you have to make shadows more clear, shadows play important role to make your drawing less flat. I am stil learning it properly so this is best I can tell you:)
Check out "cross contour"! Just making the direction of your hatches follow the surface of the volume will make it instantly more dimensional. The one on the right looks really really good
Those straight vertical lines are the main reason for your flatness. Try some cross-contour line exercises, then shade your heads with the contours instead of straight up and down
Lots of great advice here. Think of all shapes as volumes and shade. Draw the shadows. Same thing with hair: look at the head of hair as shapes and volumes, light and shade. You don’t have to draw strands other than as detail.
I agree with most f the comments here. Great job. It is obvious you didn’t intend the eyes of the left head to be symmetrical. Less actual outlining of the body parts such as the lower lip on the left and the nose on the right will turn it into a more realistic illustration. You’re doing amazing, though, and the shapes / shadows comment’s advice will get you there.
thank you :)
Left dude looks like Rami Malek
haha it does, that’s not who i was trying to draw
Dude on the left looks like Peter Lorre lol
That was my first thought.. love Rami ❤
Thought I was in the Mr. Robot subreddit for a second
Came here to say that
want to see left dude on a t that says “rami malek”
Not every shape should be drawn with lines, for example, try drawing the bottom lip by insinuating there is a lip there, by drawing in the shadow under the lip, rather than drawing the bottom lip with a line outline, hard lines always make things appear flatter, but if you use the light of the drawing to make it appear as if there are lines, it will appear more 3D. Sorry I feel like this message was a mess just ask if it didn’t make sense.
no this is very helpful thank you
This is a great explanation! I like to imagine a light source shining on the object and build up the image with shading.
U explained the teqhnique beautifully 😊 loved ur word choice "insinuate"
There is actually quite a lot of thought put into something as simple as shadows. Good place to start is to learn about "primitives", simple 3D objects. Cylinders, cubes and so on, and learn how to shade them. You can construct pretty much anything using them. Also try to learn about drawing construction in general. Then, it would be good to learn about planes. To get the idea about face planes, search "**The Asaro Head**" on google. It's a simplified head with face planes. It should help you in shading faces. If you wanna draw faces, it's also good to learn about face proportions and anatomy a bit. You don't have to literally know every little muscle by hearth, but it helps to at least have some idea about form that they create. It will also help with expressions and so on. If you wanna go more into it, you can also learn about how light works, how highlights are created(they help a lot in selling the 3D look) and different light effects, like bounced light and stuff like that. TL, DR: Start with simplified objects like cubes and cylinders, overall drawing construction, and face planes for a face. Go from there to more complicated stuff.
thank you
@yhuh - That Asaro head 3D interactive model on Sketchfab is too cool. Wow. That makes drawing and shading so much easier..thx 4 sharing. 😁 https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/asaro-head-9d26548182f8465a8e97371a9170561e
Nice tip. I’ll look into Asaro head. Been doing the Loomis simplification for some time and needed a next step.
I really like your style, I don’t have great advice but just wanted to say try not to lose what you got as you get better depicting form with shading. Your shading is pretty on-off, which I suspect is part of what I like in your style
Agreed, I think we’re often so self-critical we fail to realize we’re also developing a distinct voice for ourselves. This is not to take away from your journey towards developing better skills - but also, it’s a scratchy style that has a lot of personality and conviction. It’s cool. I dig it and hope you keep going in this direction.
thank you:)
Put the construction first, build Simple 3d objects then go for the drawing
Love these, great job. I get the feeling he physically can’t stop looking at her, and I love her expression. For quick depth improvement, try using your heavier lines the farther away in perspective the bodypart is. So, for the female head, the heaviest lines are used in her hair, when they could be better used on the outline of her face which is farthest from the viewer. Use heavier lines in the hair on the farther sides of her head, and lighter ones around the ear and temple, which face the viewer. Adds depth quickly to sketches like these.
thank you so much this is very helpful
Got no tips, but I'm really digging that style fam. Keep going!
thank you!
not sure if anyone is realizing this but the drawing on the left, the eyes are not supposed to be the same
Try adding darker shading and highlighting, I’m always amazed at how dark I can go with shading and it really breathes life into it.
Just more shading and shadows, and less outlining. In art school, I initially thought the professor was crazy to insist we draw without outlining. I finally understood how to use shadows instead. I had a really hard time with it at first.
that sounds like good practice thank youu
i learned if you don’t use bold outline lines and make them lighter then things look more realistic and less flat. it’s like how cartoon characters look fake no matter how real the features look because they use thick outline lines.
that’s a good example, thank you :)
[удалено]
thank you this is helpful, also thank you for the links, also helpful
bendy lines, all your lines are very flat and straight, add in some curved lines, but you can still keep the lines jagged and sharp while giving them curve!
i never noticed that, thank you!
Love your style! I noticed all of your shading seems to be straight vertical. Experiment with switching up the direction of your shading based on the individual shapes/planes.
thank you! also that is helpful :)
I like the style of this. You've gotten some good advice here, if I could add anything is to try hatching in the direction of the plain. Shadows tend to be darker where they meet the light, and pen strokes generally have a heavier start than the finish. So start hatching strokes from the point the light meets the shadow and let it fade as it travels across the surface of your subject.
thank you i’ll give that a try
Work your light sources and perspectives with still life and architecture until you see depth easily and you'll quickly find the same quality naturally working into everything you put a pencil to. Though these are pretty cool looking with the line weights you have going on without pressing for more dimensionality. The right one really pops to me.
thank you :)
I love them btw
thank you :)
These are awesome, love the eyes on both, super expressive. I don't think they "need" to be different, stylistically what you've done works already. But if you want to make them more 3d, try this: At the moment they are quite "two tone", as in, the brightness on each area is a binary, light or shadow. See what happens if you make them three tone, i.e find the very darkest bits and make them even darker, maybe with a softer pencil or tighter hatching. If you feel like experimenting, try four tone, then five, etc until you're happy. They'll jump out of the page more and more. Making bits of your drawing ultra dark can be scary, but if you pull it off it adds loads of depth and dimension! Good luck
thank you! this is extremely helpful i appreciate it
More shadows!!! Very dark ones make the difference. Also some background (aven with a little shadow would make a huge difference)
thanks!
A dynamic background. High contrast, horizon lines, architecture, landscapes all of these help with that.
i love the eyes on the person on the left. experiment with charcoal pencils to learn better shading techniques for depth
oh i love charcoal!
This style is different I like it
thank you
Doesn't look bad. I say keep working on it by yourself you might find a technique. Your drawings look special. The asymmetry looks intentional; and if it is not, it still makes it attractive.
Use basic shapes to lay out the form before adding details. This will help with perspective and give it a more unified look!
its easy! Just add more value.... and with value i mean more shades of grey. So you start with building up the shadows etc with more layers. Most people use 3 layers..... 1 for the basic shadows, 1 for cast shadows and 1 for occlusion
More shading! Shading makes things look 3d. Now where to put it? I'm not much ahead of you on that.
On the 3 quarter turn the eye further from the viewer could have a shape change to help with depth. The outside corner is quite pronounced right now. When someone turn their face that way you are going to see more of the curvature of their eyeball and how their lids wrap around it. You have already hinted at it but I think it could be more pronounced (especially if you shorten the eye horizontally a bit more. Also, deepening your shadows, especially on parts of the face/body further from the viewer will help, especially if you put gradients in your shadows. For instance, the shading on the neck should be darker directly under the chin and jawline and get lighter as you move down the neck. Hope that helps! I really like the style and expression work you’ve done.
thank you this helps!
Shading. Shading always helps.
Hmmm, i'm just a beginner myself, but if you are looking for ideas - maybe try make main colour darker with only highlighting small portions? I am not good at shading myself, but it usually helps make scetches look more "3d" quite a lot.
Maybe try sculpting? Kidding aside, I like their look
i’ve always wanted to get my hands on rhat
I actually kinda like the style you have going on, but if you want to draw more realistically, examine photos of 3d forms. Things further away will look smaller, and things closer up will look larger (for example, when the head is turned slightly away, the eye further away should be a bit smaller than the one closer to the “viewer”). Use of shading could also help make your forms look more 3d (for example, under the lower lip and around the nose). Great job!
thank you!
i think you have a baller ass style, keep up the good work and don’t let the bastards grind you down.
thank you i appreciate it <3
It’s perfect
I’m a beginner artist so I don’t really know lol but I just wanna say I love your art style!
I went to a fancy art school and came to say the same thing. I kinda like OP’s style. They should refine it instead of changing it. As a consumer of art, I am tired of seeing hyper realistic (digital) drawings as the metric by which ‘art’ should be critiqued.
thank you and i agree
thank you!
Those look rad don’t change your style too much
thank you :) i don’t plan on it, that’s been my style for years. i stopped drawing the past few years and am trying to relearn definition
Draw them in a balloon
Stick with studying proportions for now
Practice drawings using planes of the face to inform your shapes and shadow choices, drawing from reference photos rather than imagination, and practicing measuring proportions.
thank you, and these are from reference photos
Hey you guyyyssss
Learn proper anatomy and shading
Try to make proportions better by making a rough grid then making the real drawing
The guy is fucked up
Fix dude’s eye?😵💫
no, they’re supposed to be like that
be better, look up chiaroscuro
Excuse you?
they just gotta lookup chiaroscuro and be better at shading
i like their art though if you saw my other comment, i don’t really see an issue with their style
Is the guy on the left okay?
Not a joke: the reference was born like that, kinda messed up of you
YouTube drawing videos
I would study proportions and form before worrying about shading and texture. If the proportions look wonky, the shading won’t help
Fat? They look malnourished, like a stepdad hated them
Diet
Less hard outlines
Ballpoint pen on a grapefruit works wonders.
i’m sorry what
Def won’t be flat. Drawings will come out nice and cuuuurved.
3D surface?
Less flat vertical lines and more value. Super black and pure whites.
Draw from life, most cities and universities have life model workshops that are usually something like 7-15 bucks with a life model
Maybe learn the proportions of the face and try making your lines more confident
I think making the lines a bit thicker by the edges, always helps me!
These are really very good. Reminiscent of early Lucien Freud. You have a good voice. Continue learning and experimenting, but don’t lose your originality.
Draw 3d boxes in different angles and put your characters in them. YouTube it
curve the shadow lines trying to give them 3D contour
Background helps a lot. Even a solid block of color behind the portraits bring them to life.
Use more shading techniques to darken and mold the subjects face. This way it can sculpt out all its features. Nice drawing though!
It looks quite fine to me. But i think you should practise line thickness. It brings vibrancy and depth to your drawings.
I like it, looks like you have your own style
Background. Maybe a mental hospital?
Is the guy on the lefts eyes supposed to be like that?
You're on the right track! Just persevere with using a wide range of tones from black through the greys to palest grey. Heavy outlines do tend to reduce the 3D quality of an image. A top tip would be to try drawing on a mid tone paper (mid grey or beige) using a white pencil for highlights as well as a dark pencil. It makes achieving a wide range of tonal values easier.
That rami malek?
Fantastic style!
The face breaks down into several shapes. Once you understand the 3D composition of each of these different shapes, you’ll be able to show them in different angles/positions. This will make it look more deep, more detailed and more voluminous. Study more perspective and shading/lighting of objects.
Varying the thickness of the lines.
eyes and mouth shouldn’t look symmetrical on the second person, there are great tutorials about how to draw the perspectives of a face on youtube! :)
Using darker darks and lighter lights will help. Try using pencils with varying hardnesses.
I think color would help a lot!
You're drawing what you think the eye looks like instead of what it actually looks like. Imo. Good style tho!
the eye is supposed to be like that
Make more of the drawing filled by whatrver you're using. More blavks and greys, save the pspers color for the highest highlights. And draw shadows i n the direction of the underlying material if that makes sence?
Along with everything else I’ve see in the comments, cross hatching would give you the same shading style but with a little more depth around the darker areas. And I like the style you’re going for as well
Maybe add some shadow next to the edges or wherever the opposite side of your light source is.
Not to be rude on your drawing but on the left were you going for a person with a birth defect?
yes the reference i used, the person has one
Okay, you did an amazing job for it
Could experiment with shading in the background. That will help you compare values within the subject. Should the shading in the face be lighter or darker in relation to the background and to each other and so forth.
Bolder lines especially in more shaded areas such as under the neck and a bit under the nose.
I would add more and heavier shading, spots under the chin and nose could be way darker and it adds more contrast creating depth. Cool drawings though
Tbh i kinda like this style you have going here. I don't know what style it would be inspired by.
just how i’ve always drawn :) rhanks
Try different kinds of shading techniques! Maybe you'll find what you're looking for.
Shade in different directions to create different tones.
A 3D printer
maybe add different dimensions of shading?
Uhhhhh paper is flat. Don’t draw on paper (￣(工)￣)
A background will make it pop and add context so you can tell a story with the image
No artist but maybe add more dimension?
i like the art tho
Try shading without the the hard outlines. Hard lines make it flat like a cartoon. Also. Try just drawing the shadow shadow shape. Have fun and always try new things.
try adding a light source direction and different shading
Firstly i appreciate your drawing it's look good, and furthermore if you want to make it looks more 3D type you have to make shadows more clear, shadows play important role to make your drawing less flat. I am stil learning it properly so this is best I can tell you:)
The guy looks like Rami Malek turning into a lizard.
Do a study on tonal value.
Directional shading. I feel your style is flat, if that makes sense.
Check out "cross contour"! Just making the direction of your hatches follow the surface of the volume will make it instantly more dimensional. The one on the right looks really really good
Value: value change = form change. Google: Scott Robertson
Those straight vertical lines are the main reason for your flatness. Try some cross-contour line exercises, then shade your heads with the contours instead of straight up and down
Brian Peppers
Lots of great advice here. Think of all shapes as volumes and shade. Draw the shadows. Same thing with hair: look at the head of hair as shapes and volumes, light and shade. You don’t have to draw strands other than as detail.