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AgrithDragonflame In reply to TheBoldMouse [2017-12-24 17:43:20 +0000 UTC]

Only in art classes for school. I decided to try drawing this after looking at some of the amazing dragons here (on DeviantArt).

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TheBoldMouse In reply to AgrithDragonflame [2017-12-25 14:37:18 +0000 UTC]

That’s actually how my own dragon species spawned; I saw one on here that I liked, and was inspired to make my own. It’s been sooooooo long since I’ve taken an art class, so I would consider myself self-taught.

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to TheBoldMouse [2017-12-25 16:33:16 +0000 UTC]

My drawings in those classes were not really good. I don't remember much from them, anyways.

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to Ferrum95 [2017-12-24 01:20:40 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! Honestly, there are parts I'm not fond of (like the stalagmite. What was I thinking with that?), but I wouldn't mind drawing more, even if some parts manage to try my considerable patience (the wings and the paw *ahem*)

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Greybeard-CG In reply to AgrithDragonflame [2018-04-04 14:39:38 +0000 UTC]

If it helps, try using the side of the pencil instead of the tip and get used to making unclean lines with little fluent strokes, as opposed to holding the pencil tightly with the tip and then trying to get a perfect line.
The more important bit of a drawing is getting the silhouete, weight and forms right. After that details are truly quite easy. The main difficulty with the former is that it's quite abstract (how does on "see" such things after all) and not obvious to practice. In addition, very smooth lines are usually uncommon... and the jaggy lines might even give a suggestion of scales at the edges too

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to Greybeard-CG [2018-04-04 16:17:08 +0000 UTC]

I do tend to use the side. But you are right with the little strokes, I start with them, then switch midway through. I'll try to work on that.
You have a point... When I draw, I start with the drawing, then shade and add details like scales afterwards... Thank you, though! I love to get feedback, especially feedback that helps me improve.

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Greybeard-CG In reply to AgrithDragonflame [2018-04-04 17:47:38 +0000 UTC]

When I started in graphite I tended to look at the pencil as a kind of "line-marker", but later on realized it's just some sort of tiny brush You're not doing all that bad though!
If you wanna practice the forms, take out drawing the scales for the time being and focus on your lighting. Pick one lightsource at first and try to get the surface of the dragon's hide to have the right darks and lights; light facing the light and dark when facing away from it.

Also, if you wanna shade larger regions, try getting a stick of graphite or compressed charcoal, it's so much more easy to apply it uniformly to the entire paper.

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to Greybeard-CG [2018-04-04 21:14:38 +0000 UTC]

You can see where I was working on the shading. I'm not terrible, but I do need to make it look more like shading and not the smudged lines I've got. (A lot of my shading was by putting do some graphite and smudging it with my finger.
As far as tools go, this was made with a mechanical pencil, a sketch book I bought at a Wallgreen's, and my finger. Though I do have a couple charcoal sticks I can try using next time. Maybe I will on the scene I'm drawing for an art trade...

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Greybeard-CG In reply to AgrithDragonflame [2018-04-06 18:03:57 +0000 UTC]

The smudges are okay. Having super-smooth gradations is tricky with just graphite if not using charcoal sticks. You'll keep seeing some form of "direction". You can try to smudge using a paper tortillon though! Just get some paper and roll it up tightly. Then fold it until it's about as thick as your finger and wrap some tape around it to keep it snug. You can then cut one end and sand it down on sandpaper or on a brick until the paper is kinda fluffy That works great for smudging and you do not contaminate the paper with your skin's oils.

Another thing that really helps is to plan your 3 main values: white, dark and grey. The white of the paper should be the brightest part in the drawing (so a fire or a specular in an eye) while the darkest tone you can get with graphite is the shadow region. As you practice you'll get more comfortable with more gradations, but these 3 form a good basis. If you learn to put lights against darks you can usually get quite nice images! Isn't the whole road, but a big part of it anyway Try making a sheet for yourself with 3 squares of about an inch in a row. The right one will be left white and the left one you should fill with the softest graphite pencil you have. (2B+, etc) then try to make the middle one half of it. Then split it both sides; add 1 box in-between them, so there should be 5 in total now. Again, make the left the darkest and the rightmost blank. Then fill in the middle as your did before again and then try to draw an intermediate tone for the remaining two boxes too.

You can repeat this as much as you want until you feel like you've got control over your palette of greys Then whenever you need a type of grey you know how to obtain it.

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to Greybeard-CG [2018-04-06 20:35:55 +0000 UTC]

Hmm, I'll have to try that. All of that. Thanks!

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AgrithDragonflame In reply to dragonriderabens [2017-12-24 01:08:32 +0000 UTC]

I know what you mean.

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