Okay, I’ve compiled a list of tutorials and given my own notes below the Read More line, but if you want some general tips:
- Avoid harsh outlines to the injury. This can flatten your image and make it seem “drawn on”.
-Any shading you do will affect the injured site as well.
-Injuries are not always distinct. Lines blur from where healthy, unmarked skin stops and injured skin starts. You may simplify the silhouette of the injury for the sake of, say, a comic or animation where you must draw it consistently, but for a single illustration, take some care into randomizing it a little.
Helpful forward for those who are squeamish but still want to illustrate injuries: You may want to look at medical infographics or illustrations if you are squeamish and do not trust search tools to give you what you want. Also check out VFX makeup, as that’s a good resource without witnessing the suffering of others. Take care of your mental health as you navigate these subjects!
All the pictures I provide are illustrations and not real life images.
With that said, keep reading if you want to see pictures! If not, keep scrolling, and have a good day :P
Here are my own notes: Many injuries appear on lighter skin more prominently because of the contrast in value from pale skin and dark blood. You can see the bruise on the darkest value here is barely visible. You don’t want your injuries to appear to glow because it will destroy the illusion.
Yes! This is one of the hardest angles to get right, imo, because it’s such a rare position to find ourselves in. That, plus the foreshortening needed to get the face just right.
I’d start by doing some studies. Here, I traced over these stock photos to figure out where the contour lines of the jaw go, and the sculptural quality of the neck.
Then, I used the knowledge to draw a head freehand.
Some important notes:
The chin slopes into the neck with a pad of fat, muscle, and skin. Therefore, you shouldn’t follow the contour of the jaw. It shows as a “shelf”, as in you can see the shadow underneath. In people with more prominent fat, there will be less of a change in angle, and you will see less shadow under the jawbone.
Some people have a prominent adam’s apple that you can see on the track of the trachea.
The sternocleidomastoid muscle is important to show. It connects from just behind the ear to the clavicle. It is used in the turning of the head.
First of all, we should always practice life drawing! Your skill in drawing the figure will always be your basis to how you modify and stylize it. Creating this foundation of proportion and gesture will give you a better understanding of how to create figures of different proportions than the “average” figure.
Past this, we’re going to need to learn some anatomy. We need to know the basic, large muscle groups to create believable muscled characters. And, we need to know how fat is distributed (commonly) on the body to create believable fat characters. We need to know the skeletal structure to understand all of this, and particularly how some bones might show in super skinny people (like ribs and hip bones for example.)
Here’s some examples of common traits I’ve seen. By no means is this a comprehensive guide, but it’s a starting point. The best thing to do is to keep searching up guides and learning from real photos - as well as cross referencing!
Some advice for if you’re having trouble drawing hands proportionally, for basic pictures–
Put your own hand on your face, with the heel of your palm on your chin. Pay attention to the overall width, and where your fingertips and knuckles are.
Then draw a rough outline of the hand over the face you’re drawing, and match the proportions to yours. You can adjust up or down a bit from there if you feel the need, but that should be a good base visual.
I finally got around to doing more for this–
Once you’ve got the hands, you’ve got the forearms, and from there you can keep most of the rest of the body in proportion :D
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Trick Question! To know how to draw a nose from the front, you have to understand how the nose works from all angles. Just because I wanted to, here’s a crash-course on the Form and Structure of the nose.
Here’s a handy look at the skeletal Anatomy of the nose. Knowing a bit about the anatomy of the nose will help you place it correctly (i.e. within context) on a figure.
On top of the skeletal structure, the personality of the nose is made of Cartridge! [¾ths view to show curvature]
Now you know a bit about what the nose is, and how it sits on the skull, but you’ll probably not find it very easy to draw a skull and cartilage every time you need to draw a nose. That’s why we have construction (aka figure drawing!)
The nose is usually represented as a somewhat of an odd-ly shaped pyramid, though sometimes the shape is more defined to include the flat width of the bridge. From the construction, you should be able to see that the downward-faces of the pyramid are sill visible from the front, and that the Septum on the lips ends in-front of the Nasion (not directly below).
Manipulating the character of the skeletal structure or cartilage will give you a basis for a large variety of nasular-personality. You can exaggerate widths and distances of all sorts, and this could help bring personality into other parts of the face. For instance, a narrow or long septum could influence the lips, and the wings of the nose could influence fat deposits on the cheeks, and the width/placement of the nasium could influence the personality of the eyes.
How you choose to express the nose you’ve chosen is entirely up to you, though usually a frontal-nose on a cartoon character will outline either the contour of the nose from the side, or the bottom. When you’ve decided the character of your nose, you can represent it with one or two carefully considered contour lines. Remember, though, the best contour to use for a nose on the side might not necessarily be the best contour to use for the front!
You can even determine the cast-shadow of the nose and draw that, instead!
The more you look at noses and try to recognize how the structures and forms influence each-other, the more confident you’ll be on finding a great way to represent it in a drawing!
(With Love from Mod Koikro55)
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You’ve probably heard this before, but the best thing is to practice! I’ll walk you through how I would go about adapting to the style of a cartoon.
So, I want to draw in the style of Rick and Morty. The first thing I’ll do is find assets like the one below. Search for [show name] turnarounds, character line-ups, storyboard guides, art bibles, etc.
Once you’ve compiled a bunch of different assets, it’s time to study them. Look for similarities between characters, and how the style allows characters to differentiate from each other.
As an example, here are the notes I made when looking at the Rick and Morty family lineup. I traced and copied some assets to better understand how the whole character is constructed.
Here’s my attempts at recreating an OC in the R&M style. Usually I draw with a pressure-sensitive brush, but I used a sold hard round brush this time for the lineart.
For fun, I took a screenshot from R&M and drew my character into it!
Here’s another really good example by wachtelspinat, turning The Midnight Crew from Homestuck into the style of the Simpsons:
This is a super interesting question! I tried to think of any instances where I’ve seen rain depicted before, and I found a lot of good references from comics.
For a more simplified approach, look at this Peanuts comic strip. Hatching is used to depict rain, and to avoid it muddying the picture, the lines are very evenly dispersed, creating a uniform gray “haze” across the picture.
In more realistic illustrations, such as these scenes from Batman comics, rain can be simulated by a variety of things. It is commonly shown as lines, still, however there is also the effect of raindrops spattering and hitting the figure, creating a lighter halo around the person - this makes them stand out from the background.
You can also see in the real photo of a hurricane that heavy rain creates a hazy effect in the background. There’s a physics explanation to this involving light and water drops, but that’s unimportant. Just know that it happens.
Here’s a drawing I made using the techniques I found from the comics. I used scattered lines to denote rain, added a misty haze to the background, and created the halo effect on top of the bus stop. Because the figure is so small, I chose to portray them with a single color, only using a different red to make their boots stand out (which may show that the boots are an important part of their character!).
Hello!
I am sorry the pencil sketch is a little hard to see, and the big round things are clouds
I need help on the anatomy of the right arm (on the blade) and painting characters in acrylic (specifically hair and skin in a kinda less realistic way)
Any mod is fine!
Thanks sm ily guys! =D
Submitted by saraahsapphire
Redlined by Mod Future
It’s a bit hard for me to show you how to use acrylics without actually using acrylics, but I will try. First - the redline. I did pay attention to your stylistic anatomy, and I made the head smaller to stay in proportion to the body. Pay attention to how thick the upper and lower arm is, and don’t let it taper towards the wrist - that’s how you end up with small hands.
As for painting with acrylic, acrylics are really easy to use for more graphic styles, such as cartooning, because they are so opaque! You can lay down a flat base for your colors, and then add shadows and highlights - kind of like how some people make digital art!
I would recommend working one color at a time. For example, doing all your skin tones first, so that you don’t have to re-mix paint (because you will never get the same color twice unless you work super hard at it).
Here’s a process video by JacquelineDeLeon that shows how you can use acrylic paint in this way:
I will also suggest that you do not use graphite pencil for your underdrawing! Graphite will smear, and it has a metallic sheen that may show through your painting that you don’t want.
I would suggest using any of the following techniques:
- a thin wash of paint to draw your sketch
-a water-soluble pencil (any color)
-charcoal or conte pencil
Charcoal will work, but you may have to seal it with a spray fixative to avoid it from smearing as well.
Recently we got an inquiry about colleges for animation! This post is going to cover my (Mod Future) knowledge on the subject (which is limited to California oops haha).
Virtually any Art and Design college is going to be looking at your portfolio first. There are also very good universities with animation programs that you may want to look into, as they’re much cheaper and less competitive to get into.
Your best bet for information is to look for “National Portfolio Days” near you, and attend one. Schools from all around will send spokespeople to these conferences, and you can get pamphlets, information, and even portfolio reviews to see where you’re at.
Speaking as a Californian, I only know of California schools, but there are so so so many more options that I encourage you to look into. Also, I encourage you to ask a guidance counselor you trust, or perhaps an art teacher with some experience, on advice for your situation. Guidance and transfer counselors often have more knowledge because they’ve done this for years.
This is a non-comprehensive list of my knowledge about options for post-secondary education in the Digital Media/Animation field. Always do your own research for the best options for you.
UCLA - This school has a good Masters program in animation. Its BFA animation program is part of its Film major.
CSU - San Jose, Long Beach, Fullerton - CSUs are public universities, making them really affordable if you’re a resident of California. These CSUs are known to have pretty good art programs.
California College of the Arts (CCA; not to be confused with CALarts) - Good animation program, located right next to Pixar studios so it has instructors who are also working in the field right next door.
San Francisco Art Institute - Like UCLA, its animation program is tied into its film major.
ArtCenter College of Design - Really intense, competitive program, and for a reason. The instructors and students here are insane. ArtCenter is known for its Product Design and Automotive Design programs, but they recently opened a Character Animation program in their Entertainment Design category.
Otis College of Art and Design - Otis is known for its Toy Design, but also has an animation program.
Some Alternative Educations:
Schoolism - Online classes. Much like the format of SkillShare, except only in the arts, and by some pretty big names too. Useful for building a solid foundation and picking up industry tips for an affordable price.
Animation Mentor - Online course learning 3D animation. It’s an affordable way to learn how to work in the animation pipeline if you know you can handle online courses.
Concept Design Academy - A private design school. Its classes are non-accredited, meaning they won’t be transferable and you won’t get a degree. However, because of this, their classes are purely focused on skill training and portfolio development.
Gnomon School of Visual Effects - A tiny college in Hollywood. They do offer a full 4 year BFA degree program, however more popular are their 2 year certificate programs and 10 week individual courses.
ArtCenter…. At Night! - ArtCenter offers individual courses on the weekends and at night
CalArts Extended Studies - Good for portfolio building, these online courses are provided by CalArts’ very own instructors.*
(*Many art institutes and colleges provide “extended” or “extension” courses open to the public, so if you can’t afford a full ride, taking a select few of these classes to buff your portfolio is also a viable option. Also look into scholarships for these programs!!!)
If you’re still in High School..
Consider searching for Summer Camp/Programs available only to high school students. Not only will these prepare you for what college will actually be like, but you could make some good friends too!
Just Be Smart
Avoid “The Art Institutes” - a private for-profit college that is known for ripping its students off and leaving them in great debt for a worthless degree.
Always do your research - find reviews, visit the school, look at alumni who’ve graduated and what projects they’re working on, find student work, and talk to professors if you can!
So, there was this little 100oc event going on Tuesday on my blog, where you guys could poke in and get yourself some free art. I’ve made a discord where the previews and process/progress will be uploaded. ( you can also just pop in to say hi and spread your art around). Consider it a little hangout.
Its me again, I’ve gotten better this past year at digital art and recently got procreate and its helped my art so so much, but im still v confused and don’t understand how to color dark skin or lighting, this pic is the closest I’ve gotten to it
I tried highlighting and lighting but i just can’t understand it, ive watched videos and looked through advice blogs but it just won’t make sense in my mind
Submitted by pastelpurpleprimadonna
Redlined by Mod Future
Hello again! It’s nice to see you back ^^
To understand how light falls on an object, we first need to understand the planes of the form it is falling on. Where light hits directly, there will be a bright highlight, and where no light hits, there will be the darkest shadow. I recommend you take a look at some art guides or youtube videos about the “planes of the face” to understand this concept in depth!
For this redline, I first looked up photos of models who have similar toned skin, and how light was used in those photos. For the horns, I found a similar material to reference as well.
Then, I blocked out shapes first. I usually cover the form with the midtone, then I block out the BROAD highlights and shadows. Finally, I will add the darkest darks and the lightest lights.
Notice how I also blocked out color that doesn’t fall into highlight or shadow. This is used to give the skin a sense of depth and translucency - to make this person feel like real flesh and blood.
I hope this was helpful to you! Using a hard brush to block out shapes first (before smoothing them out if you want to) will give you better control over how your overall design looks!
I’m closing the OC-submits at midnight tonight ( CET ) so in six hours.
If you want a free drawing of your OC on a fancy little graphic’s card then hurry up and forward your character!
I’ll be on my tablet later while my main workstation renders some frames. And I kinda wanna doodle around a bit.
Put your OC’s ( or any character ) in my inbox and I’ll doodle them up in my style and publish ‘em here :> You don’t gotta be a follower 1,2,3 GO.
A little gift for everyone who’s been so patient as to wait while for content through my thesis ( which draws to a close the 26th ). I can’t wait to get back to this community so here’s a little something for you guys.
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The mods talked a bit back and forth about this, we all have vastly different experiences in regards to how we’re educated artwise, but also how our grades looked when we graduated high school. However, the consensus was that your focus should be on your portfolio rather than grades (if you find yourself in a situation where you have to choose). Knowing what the school your applying for wants from you specifically, and then following those requirements to a tee when forwarding your portfolio is more important than top grades, so if you want to apply - start working on your art fundamentals and start working yesterday. Unless you’ve got failing grades all over the board there are definitely schools out there who want you if you can meet their craft-related criteria. Some of our mods are taking more craft-oriented classes ( classic art, animation, etc ) which require very finely tuned fundamentals skills. While some of us are studying with more theoretical and method-oriented courses (Visual Design). In many cases, there are large differences between Craft-schools and Design schools, both in what they require from their applicants and students, but also in the way the schools teach you. They’re both valid and valuable ways into the industry, but you will be educated into different types of jobs. Always research the school your applying to extensively to find out if this what you’re looking for, and what sort of skills you need to enter. (You can read more about this on our post about portfolios for art-schools https://theredlinestation.tumblr.com/post/178674670521/hi-i-was-wondering-if-any-of-the-mods-have-tips )
Storytime (This is going to be a little long but i swear there’s a point to it.)
The system we adhere to in my country is rather different from yours but roughly converted I only managed to haul in C’s and D’s with only two B’s in my finals for your equivalent of high school, meaning my average was beneath average by the time I graduated.
I’m just not book smart like that. But from what I was told by mentors, teachers and psychiatrists were that I needed to focus my attention on the things that mattered to my continued education, and as with you - that was my portfolio. (and in my case my English grade ). I worked my ass off and whipped out a portfolio two years in a row for the school I’ve dreamt of studying at for nearly a decade. I never got in. While I was working on my portfolios (and had graduated high school with lacklustre grades) I worked a minimum-wage job during the day and spending the evenings and nights practising art. Eventually, I managed to land a spot at a 6-month course that my prefered art-school was hosting on art fundamentals. After 1½ year I joined and got my first tiny diploma in classic art (which I also did really poorly at, but my development was immense since it was the first time I’d received consecutive formal art training outside of 1-2 hours weekly in highschool). After I finished my semester there, I asked myself if I wanted to forward another portfolio, but by the time I felt that I’d been “stuck” applying for this school long enough, and my parents were getting impatient. So I googled around till I found a few other schools. In which the only one really spoke to me, it was a master’s degree though, so I’d have to take a bachelors degree in a broader topic before I could apply for that one. I applied for three schools that summer. I failed two of them for graphics design ( both partially deliberately as I was betting all of my horses on the school and the degree that appealed to me). I was rather depressed at this point, feeling like I might not really go anywhere within the art world in any way I wanted to. But come midsummer I was invited to the final test and interview - which, much to my surprise I aced all the way through.
Now I’m only some months from graduating with my first degree from this school and heading straight for my masters - with plans of taking another bachelors degree in Cinematography and Animation when my finances will allow it. It’s been a long and gnarly road, where I expected my path to be straight forward.
The point I want to make with this little tangent (aside from hearing myself talk), is that sometimes our path is not straight-forward. Far from it. It can be full of twists and turns, you give up dreams to get new ones. I’ve found that even if my current course doesn’t teach me how to draw pretty things, it has taught me other skills and introduced me to a new dream that’s even closer in tune with my ambitions than what they were before. All because I googled around a bit. Stay open to new ideas cause its unlikely that everything is going to go exactly to plan. And remember to just .stay. the. course. Understand that there are times where things will seem impossible, allow yourself to grief when things don’t go right. Make sure that you’re taking care of your life ( hold down a job if you can, keep yourself fed ) - but never stop trying for better. It’s going to take a long time so strap in.
Network! network! network!
While there is already a heap of things that you want to keep track of, there is one more thing. Network. Even if you’re only now applying for art schools, it is worth it to start building your network. Right now, this network will serve as a base of improvement and common interest. Find art friends, maybe even art-students at established schools that can guide you in how to properly apply. They’ll keep you motivated and make practising extensively a little more bearable. On top of that, knowing someone who knows someone can expose you to new opportunities ( new schools, courses, projects) that can broaden your horizon. Learn from your network, sponge up all the knowledge they have. You should also use this network as your source of criticism.
Later you’ll build more on your network, once you graduate and look for a job or even when looking for internships, stakeholders of all kinds are valuable for your network. A stakeholder is a person within a company that can hold valuable opportunities for you ( an HR representative, an artist from a studio, etc ). Start collecting these bad boys like trading cards, they’re going to be important sometime.
Look for courses (if you can afford it)
If you have the means to get any formal training in your craft, absolutely go for it. You can teach yourself a lot of things, but there’s only so much you can do from your own internet browser and art books. With that said, go for courses that has established, skilled artists. No hate on the nice little weekend courses hosted by the librarian down the street, but you’re on a timer and drip-feeding your funds away on courses with no educational value is for a later date. Look up the artists who host the events and determine for yourself whether or not this looks like someone who has something important to say. If you’re like me, and you are really really bad in classroom situations - find courses that suits your kind of learning the best. No matter what you -are- going to it through some theory though, so prepare to stock up on coffee and attune your ears to the teacher’s voice.
There’s a great chance that you won’t be able to simply make do with whatever courses is in your area. You are going to want to take on a bit of learning yourself. You need to be pretty vigilant about this, so find a strategy that works for you ( ex. I’m going to spend the next two months studying anatomy ). I personally don’t have a sponge-brain. For me to retain information I need a lot of time and repetition. I need to write it down a number of times and try it out with my own hands for an extended period, so I need to plan around that. Your way of learning might be quicker, or slower depending on you as a person - so don’t follow other’s suggested plans to a tee, only you know how you learn most effectively. Be honest to yourself about this too, nothing sucks more than rushing through topics and then ending up on the other side of a year feeling like you’ve just wasted your time.
Books
There’s a couple of books I recommend, you can take a look at them and decide if they apply to your needs.
VideosThere are also a couple videos, video-series as well. these are great to have running in the background while you practice, or as fully-fledged classes for you to get immersed in.
