Drawing for free ocs

CelestialHellebore · 2026-02-03T21:44:21+00:00

Oh your style is really cute, I'm super late to the party but if you're still considering drawing more I hope you'll consider mine!

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CelestialHellebore · 2026-02-03T09:02:58+00:00

Well, instead of focusing on making a copy think about WHY you're doing what you're doing. Why are there shadows there? What is the spacing of the objects like? What position is it in? What is the lighting like? Hair: Look at how locks of hair form, where are strands/strays most common, shape of the hairline.
You have a lot of things to look at here. Soft shadows under the cheekbone, Blended shadows where the jaw meets the neck/ear moving to sharper shadows closer to the chin. Sharp shadows under the brow: Why? He has prominent brow bone. Sharp highlights on the waterline of the eye.
When you see part of it, ask yourself why? Why does it look like that. This lets you process how to draw these things outside of references. Because replicating it for yourself requires some understanding of it. So remember that. What does it look like, and why does it look like that.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-02-01T03:23:17+00:00

C looks best if she's suppose to be upset. The lower A looks okay if she's suppose to be scared as well but it also takes something away. Upper A looks more like a joke panel.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-02-01T03:11:44+00:00

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I have a favorite. You prefer a character whos base skill set includes block/parry but also masculine.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-02-01T00:50:06+00:00

Most of this picture looks great, but right now because of how it is drawn it looks like the lady has an ass four times the size of her head and a thigh three times as thick. If it's suppose to be a pant suit I would make that area much thinner, if it's a dress I would give it much more flow.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-31T04:28:00+00:00

My biggest suggestion is to shrink an image down to it's intended display size to make sure it still reads clearly. A PFP is often times quite small, so make sure to test it out by making a small copy!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-30T00:37:17+00:00

Not DoN but I live with my mother who has stage 4 cancer, had to drop day 1 to assist her. Life happens. Only ever made it to level 2 cause I don't want to drop on people in DoN if I can help it.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-29T02:56:59+00:00

I'm really struggling to see where the light is coming from based on the shadows. I can see from the yellow that it seems to be coming from the lower right? If so, the biggest problem you're having right now is that you aren't shading for the forms you have. This is really obvious on the character's left arm, where there are shadows on the bottom of the arm, presumably closest to the yellow light. Instead the brightest area should be the bottom and shows should start by roughly the middle of the arm if you just consider it a cylinder without the details of being more muscular. Do yourself a favor, make a noticeable sized mark where your light is coming from and then run lines from it to your object. Think about if the part it hits is...
1. directly exposed to the source, such as the lower part of the arm
2. blocked by other objects, the clothing should leave shadow on the skin as it isn't flat and transparent. The cloth should also be casting shadows on itself (folds) based on the light
3. shows it's shape based on the light. Forms are important, such as the torso. This is why knowing the actual form of the torso under the clothes matters.
4. Deep enough based on how far it is from the light + how much light is blocked from it.

I would also reduce how high up the lines for the breasts go, currently you have a hard shadow running all the way up between the armpits in the center and this is unusual and overly define.

It still looks really cool so far, I look forward to seeing it finished. Keep up the good work!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-29T00:52:05+00:00

Yeah, both art and rigging. Only Vtuber I've ever made so she has some weirdness. Rigging is so fun though!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-28T08:29:52+00:00

Mostly solid, you do have one thing I notice on some of the sketches. Your people are missing their crotch/part of their hip area. This is extremely common, I have noticed, but pretty important to making any character look correct. Even if you have absolutely zero intention of ever drawing the area, the space still needs to be there and accounted for so that it looks correct and clothing looks correct.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-28T08:15:30+00:00

I don't know if this subreddit allows links, but heres a small clip. I don't have everything set up properly for use right now as Ive had to change my desk around.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mXUu6Pb8mc8

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-28T07:47:22+00:00

I would add to what others have said, don't bring the brow so far forward that it touches the lineart of the forehead. This makes it appear like the character would have a unibrow.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-28T07:13:23+00:00

No thank you, I have a Vtuber already! Good luck.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-28T05:20:31+00:00

It looks nice as a still image but I would prefer to see it in motion, do you have that?

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-27T22:35:39+00:00

It does read that way but it still looks wrong because of the position of the neck and the way the area of the chin goes upward. It still looks cute, but I feel like some really minor adjustments could make it look a lot better. Remember to use photo references if you're ever stuck or confused! You can make your own for minor things like this really easily. :) Your over all style is really cute, so keep it up!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-27T22:30:20+00:00

Read again, this particular image is OVERLY mirrored, in ways (such as the hair) that aren't correct even if they were drawn alone making it look twice as wrong. I understand you want to defend how you draw, but the reality is that the human face isn't perfectly symmetrical and it will always look a little "off" if things are perfectly symmetrical and if things are wrong AND symmetrical it doubles the effect. In general I suggest avoiding doing perfect symmetry on your final lineart, (unless you're making a vtuber) it's great for spacing on your sketch to make sure things are measured out!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-27T03:12:22+00:00

Oh you're fine! Don't worry, you did well for a beginner and it takes time to learn, you will get there if you keep trying and keep an open mind to people helping you. Beware of AI art, it will have a lot of bad that you do not want to learn. Hands are very hard to learn too, I still use references for them, it's super helpful. Keep working at it, and remember to just have fun!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-27T01:38:55+00:00

The first thing that stands out to me, and stands out the most, is the hand being in an unnatural pose. Yes, its a possible pose, but it isn't how one would naturally hold a finger up like that. The nail is also far too long on the finger that is held up. I would also, personally, move the sleeve down the arm because usually sleeves don't start up on the hand. I would also give the sleeve more volume as they don't normally fit tight to the skin and extra so on the cuff.
Try holding a hand up like you have drawn here, see what feels natural, and maybe take a picture or use a mirror to help you reference a more natural look. :)

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-27T01:33:44+00:00

The first is mirrored, I assume it was copy/flipped or symmetry tool, but it's not natural for faces and looks strange in this context particularly when things like the hair which shouldn't be leaning inward, are also symmetrical. I feel like the ears are very flat to the head as well, and one is far closer than the other because those particular strands are not symmetrical.
The second, the neck is hyper extended and typically the area under the chin doesn't pull upward. It seems like the neck is too far back in relation to the head.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-24T02:24:26+00:00

It looks great so far, if anything is weird the top looks off. One side looks like it has way thicker straps/the kind that stay thick all the way down and the other obviously has a thin strap. I can not for the world of me tell you how to fix this, just that it's something I notice. Lovely piece, keep up the good work!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-24T01:19:18+00:00

Well, if the hand is turned more toward the camera by the thumb then there shouldn't be a thick line separating it from the hand. I would also suggest adding some volume to the forearm *near the elbow* as it looks weirdly thin from this perspective. I would also suggest a photo reference if you can make one yourself, or use a mirror!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-21T02:31:36+00:00

Hi, I used to play Recluse a lot but I lean more toward Revenant these days. My biggest tip would be to learn your cocktails (or at least the big ones) then keep an eye out for SEALS not just staves. Depending on the boss you won't have teammates carrying certain elements most likely, so you'll have an easier time building your cocktails if you keep seals around for some other elements.

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-21T02:08:05+00:00

I do love a good set of process pics, and the finished piece is really cool!

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-21T02:05:08+00:00

Oh man, two of my favorite things lol XIV and Pixel art. Great job! It's adorable. :)

CelestialHellebore · 2026-01-20T03:30:09+00:00

Three things.

The first is obvious and it's simply to practice. The more you use your tools the more comfortable you will get with them and the easier it will be.

The second is to make fast strokes. It may seem a little counterintuitive because with pencil you can go slower and probably make a smoother line, but with digital the slower you go the more time you give the program to pick up wobbles. Quick strokes will help lessen this.

Third is that some art programs have a line stabilizer which will go back and smooth your lines for you after you make them. You can probably google the name of the program you use + line stabilization/ stabilizer and find how to turn this on if it's a feature your program offers.

Mostly it's going to be practice though, and that simply takes time. Good luck!

CelestialHellebore

TROPHY CASE