[Blade]

Whenever I draw I usually end up either drawing front,side, 3/4 view of the head and front views of the body. Whenever I try to draw something other than like that I ALWAYS need to use a reference for more than half of the body parts.
Anyone have any tips or suggestions for me?

[burn0ut]

start simple, draw cilinders and balls! break up the body into the simpilest forms! http://www.antsin3d.com/loomis/
This will help you alot more then i could

[troopa]

I also have a problem like that, I draw really good when I copy things, like I might look at a cup and draw it down, I can't make things up from my mind like noses and eyes and weapons and such.. How do you make things or design things from pure air.. I always have to look at what im drawing to draw it.. How can I fix this?

[Duckman2]

I'd tell you but I don't see any beer here.

[jzero]

Hey! Get off the "Help me, why do I need to use reference!" crybaby showboat, y'all.

I see this all the time in the forums and I don't understand it. Don't need to feel guilty about using reference. If you need to look at photos or real-world objects to make your art look good, the only thing that means is that you don't have a photographic sense of visualization. If you use reference, it does not automatically mean you are tracing or copying. As long as your finished product looks like your work and not a swipe of what you looked at, it's okay. Reference is supposed to be used to help refine your art, but the only thing to watch for is to not use it as a crutch.

As for 'what you can do about this', the answer is the same: practice. Once you've been drawing the stuff long enough, you'll automatically remember the basic stuff. If you are gifted with a photographic memory, you're lucky, but the rest of us will always have to look back at the stuff every now and again.

/jzero