Looking for Critique: 30 min Class

Hey all!

I've been drawing figures for a month and thought it would be time to get some critique on my work.

For context, I've been using Drawabox on and off for about a year, but I've really wanted to get into human/figure work, and so I started actively reading and drawing for the last month. I've been reading through Michael Hampton's Figure Drawing: Design and Invention the last week or so and have been actively copying the work from the book to get a sense of the flow/gesture and how I should approach figure drawing. Any critique, even harsh, is appreciated. If you also have any resources you would reccomend, please let me know.

My critique on myself is that I still struggle to draw proportionately. I find that my torsos are too long, and the legs also get stretched. I also struggle to do hands/feet and the head, but I am fairly happy with how things are starting to look overall. I also think I need to toss the fineliner as my choice, and use pencils. Drawabox explicitly wants to use a fineliner, so it's what I've been using exclusively for a while. In this class I did, only the last one (marked 10 min) was with a pencil, the rest were a fineliner.

Imgur Link: https://imgur.com/a/critique1-xxyxOsY

Any critique, even harsh, is appreciated. If you also have any resources you would recommend, please let me know.

Thanks,
- J

You should pay attention to the character's head. It seems to be too small.

I agree that you're off to a good start. These figures have nice fluid gesture and would be good bones for making something more finished.
In my opinion the benefit of using pen is that you build confidence in your stroke. The downside is that it makes refining when you're doing longer drawings more difficult. I might try charcoal which will allow you to make bold lines as well as lighter sketches.
If you're looking to improve proportion, I might do a one minute pencil or light charcoal sketch and then take a minute to check the proportions with the length of your pencil. Then make your adjustments before going on to adding more definitive structure and lines for whatever time is left in the sketch. I personally haaate having to check proportion, but it's useful. I usually find something I can improve or change when I do.

Good work!

Hi J,

You must be really commited to stick with draw a box for a year, I know I could do it. I think that it shows in your work though, because you have really confident line work and I do get a nice sense of the pose in your gesture drawings.

I think whether to go with fineliner or pencil is a persona choice depending of what you prefer. I think fineliner or any permenant pen/marker is great for gesture drawings because they should be quick and it removes the ability for you to go back and change your drawing meaning that you will build confidence more quickly over time because that is what looks better. However, that can also be a negative when trying to correct glaring mistakes.Using a pencil can allow you to slow down review your drawing and make changes where you see fit. this can help when trying to get a feeling for a figure in proportion 'feels' like. I would say definitely try out a pencil and see where it take you. Getting the proportions correct is tricky and you are doing really well for only drawing figures for month so dont stress to much about it I think you are doing great just keep practicing. Simplifing the body into its basic shapes can help with getting the proportions. You can check on videos by Proko if you havent already.

All the best !

Hello, Jt, and welcome to LOA (Line of Action). How are you doing today? Say, you're doing a farther than greater job on your gestures and linear boldness and confidence in fineliner pens and pencils of your 30 minute class of figure drawing studies. You know, I think that working in pencil and/or fineliner is just moreso a persona thing. I feel that if you're working in quicker sketches for 1-60 seconds, it would be more appropriate to work in pens with non-erasable ink. So if you're really more than serious with amping up your line fearlessness in gesture drawing, then I might and may suggest going for our interactive drawing tutorial right here.

The logic behind this drawing tutorial is therefore, your lines can and will become even more fierce and toughest in your acting and motions for sketches for 5-30 second drawings, while in the 1-5 min poses, you can and will be able to rough and churn out the forces, then you can and will be able to sculpt out you silhouettes and proportions in your poses and attitudes for the more final touches in a quicker timeframe, depending.

My hat's off to you, even if you're working with the boxes for the more basic relationships of the drawings.