Anyone draw humans?

Just wondering, because human subjects for me have been ones to be avoided, my my fiance really thinks I should start practicing them. Of course, I know how to break down a face and draw a rather "generic" person, but does anyone have any tips for drawing people that they've picked up over time?

I don't wanna be stuck with drawing emotionless mannequin looking people for the rest of my life, haha.

Cry. That's all.

ngl i was going to suggest the same thing

For arms, I've noticed that drawing soft triangular shapes that taper towards the end for the forearms helps get the feel of the thing down.
Uh, when drawing females vrs. males take into account that females have hips and longer torsos, so they're curvier around the midsection, males are nowhere near as curvy and their torsos are more flatlined. Not as much definition there. Also when drawing female and male faces, a distinction that I've made is that males tend to have stronger, squarer jaws, female's jaws often taper. (This obvs isn't true for everybody but it helps when I'm trying to make a guy look more like a guy and a gal more like a gal ;-;)
As in just general human drawing tips, I honestly don't have many. At some point everything just kind of blurs together and you're just like HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN. WHAT

And then obviously, everybody's heard it a million times, refs. Lots of refs. Looking up and drawing dynamic poses, facial expressions, maybe looking up your favorite cartoon (If you have one eheh) and looking at how they draw faces and different expressions if you're having trouble with emoting.
That's all I got ;-; I hope it helped, if I think up something else I'll let you know xD

I can...kind of...little tiny bit. but when I do..it's mostly anime :|so cant help ya there!

Real talk tho

yes references, also TRACE! TRACE BODIES! TRACE FACES! MUSCLE MEMORY IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, ONCE YOUR BRAIN REMEMBERS HOW TO DRAW IT YOU CAN DO IT FREEHAND

Before you jump right into realism also, try cartoons! most people say do the other way around but if you can get wacky, more free-flowing shapes down it's much easier to try and make it more realistic later, I drew furries before I drew real people

also just

doodle, do simple lines for eyes, be vague

doodle things that arent completely human

don't even try to do hands until you have body shapes down

DON'T TRY TO BE PERFECT AND PRECISE IN ONE GO

and then once you doodle somethin you like.....BAM line it, refine it, define it

try out different lining styles and see what works best for you

if you cant do noses or lips or whatever right, dont do them and say its avante garde

and finally

A lot of my inspiration comes from my friend Yuro's blog, she posts a lot of tips when she answers asks and she draws people AMAZINGLY WELL, i recommend her for refs

just try stuff out, you'll figure it out eventually!

Last edited on 2016-02-26 at 19:06:43 by Zell™

Zell, that's an amazing tip!

I used to trace, but everytime I did, I felt guitly as all hell, even when I told people it was tracing for muscle practice.


Tips for getting passed those mind blocks?

honestly just go be a people watcher somewhere and bring a sketchbook with you and just sketch poses quickly. once you start getting the motion of people down its easier to make them more alive. i read a ton of tutorials all the time i even just google it and it brings up other sites than deviantart. it's easier for me to draw realistically (how i started drawing lol) then in a 'comic' style because i haven't done it very long c:

edit: zell i ♥ your drawings!

Last edited on 2016-02-26 at 19:11:52 by madoka

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SITE TOO, an alternative to irl people watching


And uhhh for the mind blocks, i dunno, make a folder for "Traced" stuff, delete it as soon as you're done? I've never had that issue...I just traced, then kept it to myself.

With traced stuff I always keep it separate from my actual work, and don't really show it to anyone. By keeping it strictly private and for practice then I don't really feel as guilty xP

Just adding to what some other people said ^ madoka is right that people watching is a really good way to get better, as well as any figure drawing you have time for. There is a youtube channel called Croquis Cafe and it's all recorded life drawing sessions with models if you're like me and can't afford to go sit in one.

Tracing isn't necessarily bad but it can be a hindrance for you later, it doesn't teach you that hand/eye coordination and confidence and expression in your lines. In my experience, fast gestures and studies are much more beneficial because while challenging at first you will see rapid improvement in your work. I knew people who had never drawn before who were college level after one year in a life drawing class.

Some of my recent stuff - I don't have older life drawings to show the progress but this was a huge improvement with only 1 class a week

Don't be afraid to mess up! Zell had some great points about not trying to be perfect and precise in one go, always better to start general and then add details (kinda like an essay haha)
Every once in a while draw from memory to see how much you've taken in, you'll probably surprise yourself with how much you learned through your studies :'>

@Zell your art is a dream!