[Muzlack]

Ok... I'm in need of help. I am getting very good at shading, coloring, etc. Basically, if you gave me some line art, I'd be your man to make it nice and snazzy. Well, I can't draw if my life depended on it. I just CAN'T do it. I'm getting actually quite good at nature/etc, I'm not sure why, but I can still see tons of flaws in it, just because I CAN'T draw. I'd like to work on som line artwork for portraits 3/4s view. I just want to learn how to draw the major outlines of the face, and I can take it from there. Do you have any suggestions for me? (Also, I'd need a lot of help with eyes/lips/nose as well. I just need to learn how to do LINE ART/

[Jason_Manley]

draw from life every day...its the only way

a great line work artist is arthur rackham....another is alphonse mucha

between the two you will find anything you need to know about how to have your lines read in space...suggest light...and even weight and visual focal areas.
_________________
Jason Manley
www.conceptart.org

[IDrawGirls]

You think that line art is your problem!?
You're not getting very good at shading and coloring IMO ... better maybe but there are so many beginner's mistakes as I said.
Maybe I'm wrong. Post some more of your images please. No King's Quest stuff if possible.
I think you have to work on the basics in general (not just line art).
Try not to use dodge and burn and freehand selection tools. Read tutorials and the Loomis Books.
How often and how hard have you tried learning to draw btw?

[Citizen Cow]

WELCOME TO THE BOARD MATTHEW!!!

[Muzlack]

Odd... my name (at least on these boards) is muzlack. There's certainly a problem with posting my artwork. I haven't done any real artwork besides when I started, with making King's Quest backgrounds. You said I made beginner mistakes. Did you see my last image? I (in my opinion) am improving exponentially after each image (even if it's not top notch). My newest KQ background, to me, is just as it would have appeared in KQ5. I have done a lot of pixel art for my current project, and a lot of tiles/etc. And a few battle backgrounds, but I don't have much to really show. If I take someone else's sketch, I can make some really nice (IMO) CGs with it. I took that sketch from the thread "ruins: directional lighting" and did some pretty cool things with it. Basically what I'm getting at, is, if I can draw right, then I'm confident I can paint it, maybe not perfect, but hey, it's a learning process.

[IDrawGirls]

I have seen the latest image. It's smaller and I couldn't really see if the edges are better.
The earlier version was obviously cut with a freehand selection tool. The perspective is weird and you would never see a horizon like that.
(Maybe ... but only when you are looking at the ocean)
The objects seem to be copied and pasted without an interesting composition.
The original artwork from Kings Quest looks a lot better.

But if you do know that it's a learning process it's ok. The "then I'm your man" part kinda surprised me. It sounds different now.
Maybe you are well on your way. I just think you should buy books like "Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain" if you actually can't draw as you said.
Some people think it's no good but I guess they are just not the target group.
And again ...
the Loomig Books should come in handy as well. Just read the basics (about line/compsition/perspective and so on...) and copy some of the images you like. That way you will learn the theory and you will practice drawing at the same time.

I think that if you work on other's images the result is better because you don't need to know so much about the basics.
And maybe you just don't see the errors in your images. It's always hard to tell how good your own images are.

[Muzlack]

That's what I'm talking about. If i have a correctly perspectified drawing (Like my vocabulary?), I can paint it. Or at least I think I can. I've tried a few paintovers of a few sketches I've seen here. They all look pretty good to me. I'm pretty critical about my own art. And after each piece, I learn a lot. I think that's pretty obvious. What I learned from t his last piece, was that I need to draw the background, not just add it in photoshop.Also, to make the effect that I did, the horizon would have to be lowered to look correctly. A lot of the work I've done is just after studying KQ5. I realize my mistakes from this piece, and I improve it with the next one. Like I said before, that's pretty much all the artwork I've done on computer. I'd say only 2-3 more and it'll look really neat.

[Radiance]

if you want to learn drawing, then i'd say grab pencil and paper and start drawing. that's the only way, i think.
paint overs won't help you, because the ground work is already there. all you do is redecorate. lay down the fundaments yourself. with the pencil.

as pointed out before, there are basically 2 ways of drawing: the 'artistic' way and the 'scientific' way. i believe everybody can learn to draw, especially using the scientific way (in which every stroke you make should be rationalised). it may not be the way you like, but it can help tremendously.

above all, practice makes the master. nothing else.