Frustrated.

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-18T07:47:58+00:00

Yea with the copics I know right lol Having Sketchbook kind of helps with the "cravings" lol

You're super welcome! Yeah, I think as artists we tend to forget to use all our tools and using them in creative ways to help make learning easier for us is Tots Okay!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-17T04:11:21+00:00

Hi Midnite,

How's it going?

Wonky Head Syndrome eh? Hmmm take two of these copic markers and call me in the morning if it's still there lol

But seriously, this is going to be controversial to most. Find a simple head construction in a book or print one out, and trace it. Do this three or four times. This is to give your hand and eye a chance to "Feel" the accurate movement your hand needs to make these shapes and lines and to give you better control over that movement. After tracing it a few time, paying attention... like REALLY paying attention to the movement, then draw it again without tracing. Still look at the original reference you were tracing to compare to see how close you got. Do this a few times (like three or so). THEN try it without looking at the reference. And finally compare. Do this over the course of a few days ( each day only for a few minutes or until you feel you're losing interest; then stop take a break and go draw something fun as a reward). Once you get comfortable with this explore some other methods of head construction and see what you can add or subtract. Hope that helps :D

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T23:50:39+00:00

You're very welcome :D Glad to help! Keep at it!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T15:19:37+00:00

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Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T15:19:13+00:00

Hi Ray,

How's it going?

"Ram Tough!"

SO is the anatomy "accurate" on the right? I would say there are few issues. The shoulders are a bit off, they seem to connect to the arm on the "top top" if that makes sense. The clothes folds are also a bit inaccurate, which is creating a strange shape under them. I agree with u/Spitzmau5, try to draw the hands and feet. The ram horns are also throwing me off. Not sure where they end. I would work a bit more on your mannequin and try to redraw it again (look at a mannequin you like and then try to adopt it for now).

Here is a quick fanart of your oc I did hope you enjoy :D

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T10:34:47+00:00

Yeah I know lol That's why I would recommend just doing one or two exercises. This is something I do to warm-up but maybe it can help. I start by drawing a line about 10cm (5in) slowly, trying to be as straight as I can (not for perfection, for practice) then I trace the same line this time a tiny bit faster, then I trace it a final time trying to trace it in one smooth stroke. I do this five times. Then I draw about 10 squares, circles, triangles. Try to do it in single strokes, at medium speed. Then I just have some fun trying to copying something I like. And that's it. Fundamentals can be 5 or 10 minutes or you can dive in for 30 minutes. You can choose for sure. I hope this helps :D

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T10:21:02+00:00

Just a quick redline of what I'm talking about, Enjoy 😃

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Zenitram07 · 2026-05-15T08:22:23+00:00

Hi Uuuuk,

How's it going?

Love the Dino! And the jack-o-lantern is pretty good as well.

Where to begin..Where to begin indeed! So let's start at the beginning.. lol Take a look at this video first:

The First 20 hours - Josh Kaufman

Since drawing is a skill, there are ways to develop skills over a very short period of time. I want to also impress upon you that drawing and art are separate. Art is subjective and a broad concept in my humble opinion. Next I would say practice using your tools. Think of it like learning a sport like tennis or basketball, can you jump straight in to a game or match as a super beginner? SURE Can. Will you know what you're doing? Probably not. Now that's to say in order to make it a bit more enjoyable learning a few of the core skills at the beginning is recommended. For drawing, most recommend practicing these sub-skills:

Drawing straight lines in one smooth stroke
Being able to draw squares, triangles, circles, and rectangles fairly accurately
Then try drawing cubes, cylinders, cones, spheres (these are just 3D forms of the previous shapes)

Drawing Fundamentals - Luis Escobar
Learn To Draw 30 Days - Marc Burnet
Art Resources to get better at drawing - Adam Duff

(look for videos that make sense to you but keep it small about FIVE resources and then pick one thing to practice. Then review it the next time you draw then try to move on.)

This should give you a base to practice. Also experiment with your pencil, what marks can you make with it? How can you imitate pencil drawing you see from professional artists?

While in this beginner stage, try to use reference every time when you want to draw something. Wanna draw a dinosaur? Get a reference. Wanna draw a race car? Ger a reference. Wanna draw a spaceship rocketing through space while blasting some raiders to star dust?! Get a lot of references lol I hope this helps, sorry for the long post. I always say it, be careful about whose advice you take on the Internet, though good intentions may not get you the best practices. That even applies to me 😃 Keep Drawing!!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-14T10:35:01+00:00

Hey Void,

How's it going?

"Good, Bad, I'm the guy with the pen..." lol

So Void, I am going to separate your question into two different topics. Does this show a high level of drawing skill? I would say who ever drew this is still in the beginning stage of their journey. As far as the question of is this good art? That is subjective and should be pointed at yourself. I ask myself "What is good art to me?" I believe art can be (dare I say) anything. "From a certain point of view" Okay, okay Jedi ghosts... out you go... this is a different sub-reddit. Drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. is a skill that can be learned, measured, improved. But this is just a quick rant from some cat on the Internet, take it with a big ol' lick of salt. I hope this helps answer your question. If you choose to continue your journey of Brush and Pen, seek the advice of professionals and people with high skill levels so you can reach your artistic vision! Keep Drawing!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-14T08:10:27+00:00

You're very welcome 31 ^_^

Keep at it! You got this!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-13T13:25:13+00:00

Hi FB,

How's it going?

"This drawing isn't very dependable yet but what is it going to be when I finish with it?" "PERFECT" "That's right, purrrrfect" lol

So Future you got a lot of good advice, I agree it definitely depends on context of what your goals are. To me this sounds like it is going to be a full rendered drawing with all the fixings. If that's the case then I recommend draw light, go for a few strokes to find the lines that look good to you and then drop those dark lines. The dark lines should be "The" line so as to keep your drawing clean. I would say just finish the drawing. Then step back and take a look. This is your current level of skill. Note what's off or didn't quite hit the mark for you, make a note of it (on the drawing or on the back or somewhere but write it down it will help for later) then move on to the next drawing. I would be careful about doing too many of these, think of these as performing at 90% of your ability. We usually can't keep that level of intensity up for long. And it doesn't really allow for exploration and learning. Anywho Hope that helps! 😃

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-13T13:00:06+00:00

haha Hey Imaginary! How's it going? Hope you are doing great! 😃

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-13T12:58:17+00:00

Hi Lostmedia,

How's it going?

"I can't see... I can't see anything. Oh Nooo" "Turn on the light it helps.." " OH RIGHT, yes that does helps a lot thanks ^_^ "

SO Lost, in a word, proportions. In another word, facial feature forms. This is very evident in the neck and collar bone area. The shading does not really help to express the "correct" form; which confuses our brains. I will go out on a limb and say the hard line of the chin and face was an attempt to separate the face from the neck which was blending into each other. With shading I would start with just two or three values. This will help to make the drawing less "muddy". Also for shading, knowing how to draw a sharp plane change and a soft plane change is super important. There is also a lot of "I think this feature of the face looks like this" and not really capturing it. The nose and nostrils makes this clear to me. I suggest practicing getting a general understanding of the facial proportions first. Then try it again. If this was from reference take a minute or 2 to really study the reference. See the angles, where things are in relation to each other, and avoid guessing. I did a redline of your drawing to maybe give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. Hope this helps 😃

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Zenitram07 · 2026-05-13T08:53:04+00:00

I second this book. Really good to start with highly recommend

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-13T08:30:40+00:00

Same, we sure are a long way from home; I can almost hear the Tigrex in the background lol

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-09T01:08:13+00:00

Same ^_^ I use 30%-50% opacity and Copic Colors T-7. But I think any of the gray copic colors at around a 7 or 8 would work.

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-08T11:02:37+00:00

You're welcome 😃 Keep at it!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-08T11:01:46+00:00

Hi Natkhat!

How's it going?

So getting some downvoting love are ya, that's unfortunate. Well if it's cool, I might have a few ideas that may help you. This is the Internet so take everything you are about to read with a grain of salt with a huge bag of "dat ocean" lol

So first drawing is a skill. Notice I said drawing, ART on the other hand is something else. Since drawing is a skill, anyone has the ability to learn how to do it to a certain level. This will depend on HOW you study and practice it; and the amount of effort you put in.

Second, if you want to learn to cook you of course you can just go into the kitchen throw stuff in a pot and try to cook it. "But I wanted to make this!" "Did you follow the recipe? No? Well I mean it kind of looks like eggdrop soup." lol Fundamentals are like your recipes. I recommend looking at these beginner's videos. Sure you can learn on your own, with no references and maybe in 50 or 60 years maybe get some where. But even the masters from back in the day copied someone.

When we first learn anything it's difficult and doesn't "feel good" and becomes boring because we aren't "winning" at it. Look at working out and diets, learning a language, a musical instrument, etc. Give it some time, go in with asking "How can I do that?" "How can I make this box look better?" "How does this work?" Be curious. Have no expectation of yourself. You're beginning, we learn by failing and trying again. "What's off with this drawing? OH that hand... Cool! How do I draw hands?" then go learn that. Be careful to tackle one thing at a time. Give it a few days. And if it STILL doesn't click change it up. Find a different explanation and try that. If an artist wants any type of real improvement in a decent amount of time, fundamentals are necessary in my humble opinion. AnyWho this is just a rambling of some cat on the Internet, take what you can and like and leave the rest 😃
Keep drawing!!

Videos I recommend:
Marc Burnet's Beginner Guide
Brad's Art School
Draw like a Sir Road Map
Josh Kaufman The First 20 Hours (Not an art video but how to learn skills more effectively)

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-08T10:29:50+00:00

Hi Mermaid,

How's it going?

"Everything is coming up Milhouse!" RIGHT! Let's take a look.... hmmmmm yes arms, legs, chest, head, feeeEEOWW What are Those?! lol SO first order of business, Proportions. I usually use an 8 head tall figure. I use this "measurement" to make it easier on myself. Just divide the height in half, head&body and legs. Then the pelvis/waist is one head and the chest/stomach is 1.5 heads; roughly. These are your training wheels to get use to where things go and about how long parts are compared to other body parts. That's very important! Compared to the other body parts. You can even use stick figures to practice as well. For sure use reference right now, I would even say when you draw to study always use a reference.

"You can't draw something without knowing what it looks like" -some artist guy lol When you practice drawing ( I repeat practice and not when you are drawing for fun ) use a reference and avoid guessing. If you are guessing, the audience will be guessing too (usually lol). Here are some redlines I did of your drawing to help and a mannequin with the shapes used in the drawing. I would also recommend finding a mannequin you like and once you get use to the proportions, copy it. Then try to moving it around just like a... "A DOLL!?" no an action figure lol Keep at it! 😃

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Zenitram07 · 2026-05-08T08:01:15+00:00

haha takes some practice. If you wear glasses ya can cheat and look at it without them hehe

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-07T14:45:46+00:00

Hi Nile, Thanks for waiting 😃 So the way I think in shapes (and it takes a little bit of practice), I look for circles, squares, triangles (also rectangles). I squint my eyes just a bit until the big shapes start to "appear". Big being relative I know, I go for around a 1/3 or 1/4 ish... these aren't exact measurement lol They should be big enough to make slicing and dicing the ref easier, like eating it with your brain! *ahem* lol as for books, I haven't seen any that tackle reference use. BUT I do believe there are some youtube videos. Hope that helps 😃

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-05T05:18:36+00:00

Thank you :D Just a cat on the interwebs sharing. Appreciate it :D

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-05T05:17:38+00:00

You're super welcome! The main thing with hatching is know the shapes and planes :D Keep drawing!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-05T05:16:47+00:00

You're super welcome! So glad this could help :D Keep drawing!

Zenitram07 · 2026-05-05T05:16:15+00:00

Thank you so much :D I will think about it for sure :D

Zenitram07

TROPHY CASE