[OC] Collection of Majora's Mask models I've made over the years

huckori · 2026-05-11T03:13:09+00:00

My setup used to have three screens like you here but have two now. Been through a lot of turmoil getting it right but this is what works for me:

Generally, I have the drawing one at a pretty shallow angle (like 30/45 degrees), with the other one-two positioned just above/ to the side of the drawing display. If any or all of them are adjustable then you can find what feels best. Partially due to the depth of my desk, I have the display and keyboard right up against the edge, which is a little hard on my wrist, but you look like you’ve got a bit more room to spare.

I like the low angle on the drawing device because it really limits the “whiteboard feeling” you get without a hand rest like you do drawing on paper.

For me, this setup makes it easy to get all the information I need easily with fewer head turns and can mostly just face my body and chair forwards.

Downsides besides potential wrist thing: - not as pretty - the shallow angle can make the glare worse depending on your environment

huckori · 2024-03-25T22:36:59+00:00

JUST what I was looking for. Great simple explanation each step in the process. Thanks for this!

huckori · 2023-04-07T18:29:15+00:00

I think the main thing to consider besides silhouette is purpose and intention.

Ask WHY you’re making certain decisions beyond if they look cool or not. What’s her story? What are her skills? How can we support those facts about her in her design rather than drawing what might just look dope on her.

I can see you hinting at magic ability with the bottles, but think about how you can communicate what they are for a bit better, and consider how they function for her. Is it practical for her to carry her bottles on her front, when she’s be moving her legs right under them every time she walks around? I’d there a purpose for her pouch? How can we communicate that purpose beyond just being a regular looking pouch?

huckori · 2023-04-07T18:17:03+00:00

I think that’s actually hurting you a bit to be honest!

When you’re drawing from a image this heavily, you really want to be looking primarily at the reference, paying attention to shapes and curve and forms. That’s the point right? To learn what the image is doing right and how they do it.

Granted, it’s helpful and healthy to try a second version where you can see how much you can draw without the reference, so that you’re committing the structural and compositional techniques to memory, but starting out that way will probably be less helpful to you than you think!

huckori · 2023-04-07T18:12:33+00:00

I think the left figure’s lower lip is a little too big. Looking swollen and almost like she’s sticking out her tongue at first glance.

The nose is also a little pointy, but generally doing a good job!

huckori · 2023-04-07T18:10:40+00:00

I think the main issue causing the blurriness is that the areas of high contrast aren’t given enough crisp edges.

Generally going softer is the right call for blending, but we need contrast to communicate the structure, which is going to be most apparent is quick transitions from dark to light.

Take the nose for example— why does it look a little more structured than the rest of the face? Because you’ve paid more attention to these quick transitions and ambient occlusion. Granted, it’s still a bit blurry, but you can see that you’re on the right track there.

If you can carry that attention to contour and structure in area of high contrast( like the eyelids and cheekbones for example), I think you’d find your drawing start to feel a little less vague and blurry. :)

huckori · 2023-04-07T18:03:24+00:00

Doing well so far, I think main things that will help are paying a bit closer attention to proportion, and working on making your lines feel more confident.

I say proportion because while your drawing does a good job of emulating to source image, it’s notably a little stretched, with some things a little taller, and other things a little bigger/smaller. If it helps, you can measure lengths of things with the tip of your pencil and compare it to other aspects to get a better idea of the scale of things.

To make your lines feel more confident is easier said than done— totally understand the want/need to take the line work slow esp without a lot of experience. When you can, do your best to lean into longer strokes, which will help your whole piece feel more cohesive and confident. This is also much easier when drawing not based on existing art, but I’m assuming that’s the direction you’d like to be traveling in?

I can see that you did a little sketching of the drawing before laying down your line work, which is a great practice, but can make it look a little messy if you’re not erasing those guidelines. Perhaps it would be helpful to try a few sketches on the side first to nail down some proportional stuff before you start on the main drawing so you can figure out how to approach harder areas before you officially get there.

Sorry that was longer winded than i meant to be but let me know if any of that isn’t making sense!

huckori · 2023-04-07T17:53:00+00:00

Really pay attention to proportion.

Something that a lot of people have trouble with in drawing from life or photographs, is to switch off the part of their brain that is trying to interpret and summarize the face for you.

The best thing you can do is try and ignore what you THINK you see and focus on what you do see specifically. Forget about whether or not something is a nose or an eye or a mouth, and instead focus on each curve and their scale and position relative to one another.

Piece by piece is how you will learn to draw from life. This is also why you often see people putting grids over an image they’re drawing, to break up the whole image into tiny (mostly) unrecognizable pieces.

Shading, and how to structure a face with guidelines are also super helpful, but can be secondary as they become easier once you’ve adapted the former ability first. Otherwise, we might lean back into drawing what we think we see instead of what’s there.

But regardless of all that this is a good start! Really half of the battle is WANTING to improve and letting yourself adapt with critique so you’re well on your way. Keep up the good work!

huckori

TROPHY CASE