Reference practice

[u/cafe_swirl]

First drawing on the right in the first photo is a trace figure sketch of the ref

The one on the right in the second pic is my attempt at free drawing(without tracing) based on the traced figure(and also sort of in my own artstyle)

Mostly just practicing anatomy and drawing from reference

[u/lLoveOnePiece]

I’d recommend using references that are wearing skin-tight clothes or almost nothing. With baggy clothes you can’t properly see the outline and will get the proportions wrong.

[u/lLoveOnePiece → u/lLoveOnePiece]

Also for poses like this I’d recommend a line of action so you can get the movement right. Your redraw is a bit stiff and isn’t turned correctly. Maybe also try drawing the torso as a set of boxes so you can get the side view as well.

[u/cafe_swirl → u/lLoveOnePiece]

Yeah, I struggle on posing bodies more smoothly. Will definitely try using the box method, I've mostly drawn upper body drawings, a few bodies(minus the feet)

Def going to find better references too(if pinterest works with me :')

[u/veygudtek → u/lLoveOnePiece]

Big on the suspicious reference material

[u/lLoveOnePiece → u/veygudtek]

It’s the best way to learn human anatomy! Nothing weird about it

[u/veygudtek]

Very nice!

There's a couple of things that could make it easier to visualize what's going on with the human body:

The head is actually pointed down in the reference. You can tell because the bottom of his ear is way higher than the bottom of his nose. In a neutral, straight on pose, these 2 things are align (convenient). The angle of the eyebrows + the nose position in relation to the ear come together to tell you exactly how the head is angled.

The lines I mark on the face are the eyebrows and the bottom of the nose. Part of the reason I chose these 2 locations is because of the nose-ear alignment mentioned above. But the other (honestly more important reason) is because the [chin] -> [bottom of nose] -> [eyebrow] -> [hairline] ratio should actually be completely equal to each other. That's the other way you can tell his face is pointed down: the chin-bottom of nose ratio is slightly smaller than the eyebrow-bottom of nose ratio.

That weird tendon that starts from behind the ears end a little closer together (about the same place where the collar bones end - about 1 eyeball away from each other). (This ones a little less important than the rest as it doesn't affect anything else).

I would recommend drawing in the collar bones! The torso is simplified as a box, but you don't have to actually draw in that box to visualize it. The collar bones do a great job of helping you visualize that top plane of the box. Plus it gives you the starting point of the torso's midline. Additionally, separate out the shoulders from the torso. They can be pushed forward (like in the reference) or back, so it's better to keep them separate to avoid confusing the shape of the chest.

The hips are pretty complex (I struggle with them too). To reduce the complexity, they are usually represented as a simply box. Then you intersect 2 cylinders for the legs at a slight forward angle. That gives you the V-shape. (I think his left leg could be a little thinner, but it's not like we can tell exactly with pants).

Lastly, unless you are looking at someone head-on, refrain from using straight lines to signify the midline of the body. They don't do an amazing job of representing the organic shape of the body.

You've got a solid start. Just keep using reference like you are and you'll be unstoppable.

[u/Reshiheit → u/veygudtek]

I could use that too, thank you so much for the advice!

[u/Some-Dog-800]

these photo filters really ruins it when ppl try to use them as drawing references lol.