trans-fanatic wrote:Hi. I'm new to posting, but I've lurked as a guest for years! I consider myself a pretty good artist, but i can't draw Beast 'Formers or Humans. Please give me some tips
I'm not a professional artist(yet) but what I've learned so far from my teachers is that the sooner you realize that objects be they organic, technological, living organisms or lifeless object, they are all the same in that they are forms made up of shapes. Once you understand that, you can approach depicting any type of subject matter with much more ease. Don't fall into the trap of seeing things as "How do I draw things the "realistic" way?" or the "manga/anime" way, Disney/cartoonish way, and whatever "way" you have out there. These are styles but the foundation of good artwork is an understanding of forms and how to manipulate them for your needs.
There are numerous ways to approach understanding forms such as the human body. Many artists use systems such as the 7 to 8 head height ideal for the human body. Another system is "basic shapes" such as constructing a body from a sphere and wedge for the head, cylinders and blocks for the rest of the body. If you have ever looked at digital artwork using polygon frames, you can see a progression from large simple shapes at the drafting stage to more complex forms as the work is refined.
You mentioned that you need help with beast/animalistic Transformers and humans. Basically subject matter with organic forms(dominated by curved shapes rather than angular). As already suggested by other forum members, a great plan of attack for improvement is studying organic subject matter. If you want to practice drawing beasts, go to the zoo. For humans, observe people. If possible, attend life drawing sessions. If you have art schools or post secondary schools locally that offer art programs, they should have life drawing classes available. Bear in mind that the models are often nude so you do need to be of a certain age to attend.
Whether you want to draw fictional Transformers or a real life friend's portrait, please remember that an understanding in the fundamentals of art is vital for good artwork. Use of light and shadow, colour theory, composition of imagery, and two and three dimensional design are all important. Even in abstract art, which is often misunderstood(as random execution rather than carefully thought out work that takes away literal meaning in order to try to invoke emotional response), composition and design are important. Good artwork should be easily "read". By that, I mean people should know exactly what they're looking at when they look at your work. Even complex designs shouldn't cause an observer to be dumbfounded upon first inspection of a drawing or painting or sculpture or whatever.
Now I'm assuming that since you are posting on a Transformers forum and that you mention Beast 'Formers, you are aiming towards a more animated/cartoon/comic book/illustrative style. As I mentioned earlier, regardless of style there are certain fundamentals that will help you. For Beast 'Formers, humans, robots, and anything else you want to give life to on a page, consider the use of gesture. A gesture is basically the underlying line(s) of action/movement/pose of a subject. A typical biped like a human normally stands with its weight distributed in a certain way. They will not be standing at attention in a natural/normal circumstance. Usually the human will stand with its weight mainly on one leg, causing the hip to tilt. At the same time its shoulders will tilt in opposition to the orientation of its hips. A common aspect of organic forms is that there is a series of opposition. Mechanically speaking, if you look at the muscles of the human body, you'll see opposing muscles. When you flex your bicep, your tricep will relax. When you flex your tricep, your bicep will relax.
It takes time but when you study forms and then move onto complex systems of forms like a human or animal body or even mechanical systems like a vehicle engine, you'll see relationships throughout that form. By understanding the "inner workings" of forms, you'll be able to approach drawing something as a whole and be able to control your work. Otherwise when you focus on the details and work your way out, you tend to lose perspective and may end up with a human figure that is lopsided or posed un-naturally.
Another important area of study is perspective. Again, regardless of style of art, perspective is another fundamental area of art that can only benefit and enhance your artwork. Additionally, depicting subject matter that is largely mechanical in structure like Transformers, perspective is important. It's much easier to "fake" perspective with organic forms but mechanical or industrial forms are very precise. Even faking perspective of organic forms is difficult because the human eye and brain is educated and conditioned by everyday exposure to organic forms(fellow humans and animals). Often people will look at a drawing or painting and say something is "off" but can't pinpoint immediately where the issue is. Their conscious awareness doesn't spot the "error" in the artwork but their brain has already picked up on it.
Actually, I'll end my suggestions here. You've only asked for tips and I've rambled on quite a bit. I apologize for posting a short story, hehe.
If you really want to pursue development as an artist, I really suggest you seek out more suitable environments. There's nothing wrong with asking for advice at our forum here but understand that if you want to get a lot of good art advice, you could definitely check out online art communities. There are several that I frequent that have thousands of artists all together who collaborate and share knowledge and experience. I don't mean to plug a site but conceptart.org is a great art resource as it is run by industry professionals in conceptual art. Often professional concept artists will post their own work, normally they have to wait for permission to post concept work so you may not get their concept work until after a film or cartoon or video game has been announced or nearly published.
But thanks for the tips. I'll try to remember them.
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