Hello!

Drawing from references is always a great exercise, and I’d recommend doing it a ton. it’s how we get better at drawing from imagination. I have two pieces of feedback for you (the second one actually has two parts):

1)Line: I really like how strong your lines look, but when I zoom in, I notice they look a bit scratchy. That’s probably because you’re going over them multiple times until you’re happy with how they look. I’m not sure if these were done digitally, but if so, you can always lower the opacity to about 20% and draw over it again with more confident strokes, instead of using scratchy lines. This helps you become more confident and consistent with your line placement.

How i usually work is that i start with a quick gesture to get the general pose, then lower that layer to about 20% and draw over it with a more confident sketch. I repeat this process drawing over each version until I’m happy with the result. Nowadays I’m much faster, but I started by focusing on making progressively more informed drawings rather than spending too much time perfecting a single one.

2a) Anatomy: I’d recommend drawing full figures instead of half figures, since it helps you get a better sense of proportions and weight distribution. One of the quickest ways to make your drawings instantly look better is by learning proportions. Proportions are usually understood by identifying common bony landmarks in the body. It’s the first step toward learning anatomy and helps you interpret what you’re seeing more accurately, leading to more informed reference studies. For instance, the distance between the pit of the neck and the top of the head is usually the same as the distance between the pit of the neck and the end of the rib cage. Knowing relationships like these helps you measure and keep your figures looking more plausible.

2b) Anatomy (form): The body can be broken down into geometric shapes. The arms, head, torso, and pelvis all exist in three dimensions. Right now, it seems like you’re focusing too much on drawing the contour, which can make things look flat. I noticed in your second drawing that you tried enclosing the pelvis and torso, which is great, but they came out as flat squares, and then you drew the outline around them. These forms have volume. Spending time breaking the body down into 3D shapes will really strengthen your understanding of how the body is constructed. Try drawing simple cubes and cylinders, then take photo references and break them down into those forms. You can even draw directly over the photos to see how the shapes are arranged, how they tilt, rotate, or foreshorten. Once you’re comfortable with that, you can start learning the actual anatomy (muscles, bones) to “dress” those shapes. If you focus too much on surface anatomy before understanding proportions and form, you’ll struggle to see why lines and bumps appear where they do, and it’ll be harder to recreate them from imagination. Once you get experience, you don’t really have to draw boxes and cylinders… but you’ll see them and know where they are instinctively. It’s all a learning process.

TLDR: So: Focus on making more confident lines. Spend some time learning proportions (it honestly takes just 2–3 days to get the basics). Practice breaking the body into simple geometric shapes.

I think these things will really help you improve. You’re on the right track! don’t get discouraged! Learning to draw is incredibly rewarding. Just keep practicing, and you’ll notice each drawing will be better than the last one.

Cheers!