Attempting to draw anthro for the first time

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

Didn't have much to do today and I've always wanted to start practicing so today couldn't have been a better day for it. I looked up some tutorials and realized the first thing I'd have to know how to do correctly is make circles...so I practiced that a little

http://i.imgur.com/8UhleQu.png

Then I found these tutorials: http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4130675/ http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4130687/ and thought I'd try my hand at that

First attempt: http://i.imgur.com/mehgvMf.png

Now I'm not (EDIT: can't believe I forgot to add that in) gonna lie, I had to trace the beginning circle, cause I just couldn't get it down, but the rest I did myself, constantly looking at the picture for reference

Then I tried it again, this time without tracing the beginning circle: http://i.imgur.com/um5eQQT.png

Just wanted your opinions on it. I'm gonna try it out tomorrow without looking at the picture, see if I remember the steps.

 

[ThisisGabe]

My opinion is those are some SEXY circles.

 

[Drexel97]

I wish I had the patience to be an artist, It takes time to get really good at it. you have to start somewhere and I'd say that this is a good start. I can't really give you any technical points, but my friends that are artists say "practice, practice, practice, it doesn't happen overnight." hats off to you for getting into it, cant wait to see the progress! cheers!

 

[Nobel]

That tutorial very helpful thanks bud.

 

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

My opinion is those are some SEXY circles.

Good to know my circles arouse many

I wish I had the patience to be an artist, It takes time to get really good at it. you have to start somewhere and I'd say that this is a good start. I can't really give you any technical points, but my friends that are artists say "practice, practice, practice, it doesn't happen overnight." hats off to you for getting into it, cant wait to see the progress! cheers!

Thank you very much! I'm definitely gonna keep it up, try out new things as I learn

That tutorial very helpful thanks bud.

The whole page has some pretty good tutorials as well as a tumblr that shows even more techniques. I'm glad I found it!

 

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

And just tried it a third time, just to test myself. Messed up the right ear, but im happy i kinda got the ears to look similar to each other in terms of shape I usually suck at that http://i.imgur.com/bkVE6ns.jpg

 

[Willow]

Pretty good first attempts though I'm kind of not a fan of that tutorial. I think it's mostly because I don't like the style of eyes. They look really square and weird. But w/e, that's just me.

Honestly speaking you don't need a perfect circle for a base when drawing heads. It just has to be circular enough in most cases because as you draw over it, you'll probably be adjusting the shape anyway. That being said, wouldn't hurt to add in the grid lines to help place everything and make sure it's relatively symmetrical. No joke but of all the things I learned and still use from How to Draw Manga books, it's this.

Mine have kind of devolved over time but they still serve the same general purpose, so here's an example of what I'm talking about: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/16926876/

And don't be afraid to experiment with style. Look at other people's stuff and implement things you like. Don't copy their style completely but if you like the way one artist does their eyes and how another one colors, make it your own.

 

[DevilishlyHandsome49]

Pretty good first attempts though I'm kind of not a fan of that tutorial. I think it's mostly because I don't like the style of eyes. They look really square and weird. But w/e, that's just me.

Honestly speaking you don't need a perfect circle for a base when drawing heads. It just has to be circular enough in most cases because as you draw over it, you'll probably be adjusting the shape anyway. That being said, wouldn't hurt to add in the grid lines to help place everything and make sure it's relatively symmetrical. No joke but of all the things I learned and still use from How to Draw Manga books, it's this.

Mine have kind of devolved over time but they still serve the same general purpose, so here's an example of what I'm talking about: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/16926876/

And don't be afraid to experiment with style. Look at other people's stuff and implement things you like. Don't copy their style completely but if you like the way one artist does their eyes and how another one colors, make it your own.

Yeah I realized when I did it the third time, that I was pretty much just erasing and tweaking that circle...which made me feel goofy for practicing with all those damn circles but hey, cant do much about that now

So practicing on grid paper would work better than lined?

And yeah when I continue practicing tomorrow, I'm gonna look at different styles of muzzles, eyes, ears, see what really attracts my attention. Oddly enough, I really like those eyes in the tutorial, even if they are a bit blocky, but i do plan to do something to make them look more natural once I become comfortable with how I'm drawing

 

[Amiir]

When drawing a face I personally ALWAYS start from the nose, then I draw eyebrows, eyes, mouth, the overall head and finally the ears. In that order. I don't know, this may be useful to you.
Alright so in this first phase you're focusing on drawing the heads. That's a good beginning step. Once you've grown comfortable enough with 'em I suggest to start practicing on the anatomy by drawing nudes. Just look 'em up on google and copy them the way they are.
Lastly, always use references but I see you already know that. And yes! Draw constantly and frequently, especially now that you're in a beginner stage

 

[DrGravitas]

I would add emphasis that you should copy, not trace, the anatomy practice images. Tracing would eliminate all benefit beyond pencil control. One useful practicing technique it to try to break down the target drawing into the minimum number of strokes you need to make to accomplish the shape. Personally, I don't count strokes that I erase because I didn't get them right The idea is learn about how to represent shapes and figures through your strokes rather than to try to make an exact duplicate of a real world object. By thinking about it as what it is, an abstraction - a representation - it slowly because easier to imagine what you need to do in order to create that representation. Through that, the use of making things like the circle and component parts becomes more helpful. Perfecting the circles are not completely necessary and can take away from focus on more useful lessons. The pencil control necessary for good clean shapes will come with practice. Instead, try to focus on thinking through what the tutorials are trying to teach you about constructing figures rather than memorizing steps and just practicing pencil control.

Your on the right track by looking through multiple tutorials and examples and comparing their styles. Try to think about common features shared between their techniques and to also zero in on the difference that make them unique!

 

[FireFeathers]

This makes me really want to do a tutorial to help with drawing heads, if my goshdarn hand weren't busted atm. I agree with the square eyes comment, like a wierd Invader Zim hybrid.

I'd suggest using the gridded paper, then trying to draw that same face, but from the side. Really think about where the eyes and nose would be, use the lines to keep that anatomy together. Keep going!