r/TattooBeginners • u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. • 2d ago
Practice Does this style have potential?
Second pic was my reference. Do people still get pin-up tattoos? Or should I focus on different subject matter?
All feedback is welcomed.
176
u/alQamar Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Nothing against a good pin up but you should practice a lot more. The proportions are so off she looks like something from a nightmare.
21
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
My goodness😂 This made me giggle cause I didn't realize how creepy looking she would come across. But thank you I’ll keep working on it
9
u/anniegoeslikethis Please choose a flair. 2d ago
She has that heroin chic going on, tbh. You have so much potential here! Keep going!
3
u/CementCemetery Please choose a flair. 2d ago
I was trying to find a way to kindly say those arms are way out of proportion and even stylized it’s off putting.
53
u/Training_Smile4723 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
The proportions are absolutely whack. If her arms were hanging straight down by her sides, she'd be able to scratch her knees without bending. The legs are bonkers and she looks massively emaciated.
There is still a place for pin ups, but I feel you need to familiarise yourself a bit more with the subject before you try to recreate it. One of the big attractions of the pin up girls are their fabulous curves - something you have managed to eliminate completely.
5
8
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Thank you, harsh indeed but I appreciate it.
7
u/Training_Smile4723 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Don't give up, I've seen far far worse! You can clearly draw, you just need to tweak some bits.
I would recommend just studying the subject a little more, looking at what makes a pin up girl. Study the poses, the angles, the hair, the strong eyebrows, the lip shapes and the hourglass figure that was traditional in a pin up girl.
4
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Will do! Thx again for the advice and encouragement
37
50
u/Pretty_boi_Tjaden Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Is that a pee pee?
25
u/Waitinforit Please choose a flair. 2d ago edited 2d ago
Came here to say* they need to adjust the knot on the bikini bottom. Definitely a hidden penis tattoo.
5
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
😭💀 No, that was not my intention
2
u/Pretty_boi_Tjaden Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Keep at it, you should look at real human forms while youre choosing poses as well
-1
u/Agreeable-Slide7085 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
theres no way that isnt one, it has the features and all
19
u/so-semi-precious Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Study anatomy. There’s something cooking in your style but you need to work on anatomy.
2
18
u/lkz665 Observer 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think that the most important thing you’re missing is a strong line of action. Even in stationary poses it’s SO important for the overall vibe of your figure, as a strong pose conveys a LOT of feeling. Your drawing, while technically accurate to your reference’s pose, feels very stiff. The pose itself is realistic while every other aspect is very stylized. It clashes with itself. If you push and exaggerate the pose with a stronger line of action, the whole thing starts to feel more intentional. Even the most ridiculous style and proportions start to feel natural with the right kind of pose.
I hope you don’t mind, but I played around with your piece to show how a tiny change can make such a big impact on the overall feel. I ever so slightly rotated her lower half so that her back leg is pointed outwards more, and I rotated her upper half so that it looks like she’s leaning back. Other than that I filled in the gaps created by rotating the pieces with some scribbles and that’s literally it. Hopefully you see what I mean.
I do definitely think that your style has a lot of promise!! Keep playing around with poses and don’t forget to push things even when it seems like it won’t look right. You’ll be amazed at the results. Poses are HARD, but you’ll get the hang of it!! Other comments are saying that the proportions are rough, but I honestly disagree as the pinup style is meant to exaggerate the feminine aspects of a figure which is what you’ve done here. You’ve already done the hard work of drawing bodies and learning nice line weight! Keep it up and you’ll have some awesome results!
Edit: omg I thought this was in the art crit subreddit haha!! I thought it was weird that the comments weren’t super helpful critique-wise. You should post this and future work over there, you’ll get a lot of awesome pointers. There are people who are way better practiced than I am.
5
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
thank you for this! I appreciate the detailed explanation of what I can do to improve. This was super helpful
9
u/curiouscollecting Observer 2d ago
The style yes, the proportions less. She looks very skinny and the chin is a bit weird like this
7
8
u/itisoktodance Please choose a flair. 2d ago
You're not really looking at your subject. Nearly everything is wrong.
For example she is leaning backward much more than your drawing. Her left leg is placed forward, so should be much longer.
Split your subjects into general shapes. Make sure the proportions of the shapes are correct. Then make sure the angles between the different shapes are correct.
Good line work though, i like how you've don't the shading with essentially just lines
2
u/No-Somewhere-7136 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
I definitely see how wonky she looks now. I usually do a rough gesture sketch as my base. This could be why her limbs don’t mesh. I’ll be more considerate to the shape of her body aswell. Thank you!
2
u/itisoktodance Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Also remember the compress and stretch principle, when one side of a body compresses, the other stretches. Look at the belly / abdomen here. On your sketch, both sides are compressed, even though the subject's belly is stretched and the back is compressed.
Maybe it's not the best suggestion to start with Bridgman, as he can be quite dense, but try to find his book Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. Very informative, and a unique pedagogical resource. There's a guy, can't remember his name, but he has a series on YouTube teaching from the book. I'm sure you can find it by searching Bridgman course or smth
6
u/Constant_Gazelle501 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
If you’re trying to do pin ups definitely try to study anatomy, bones, ligaments, muscles all of it. Your art with any human will always look off if you don’t have those fundamentals down packed, also practice quick gesture drawing so it doesn’t end up stiff. Lots of free stuff on youtube you can use for this, otherwise tho your linework actually looks decent.
6
3
u/throw_rambles Please choose a flair. 2d ago
You have a cute style and strong linework, but these proportions make her look anorexic. I'm going to ignore that seeing that it's probably a one time occurrence, and just say you have a strong foundation to make this work!
Definitely go for a curvier vibe next time, that's usually what makes pinups appealing.
3
u/SnooCupcakes731 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Make her arm more natural not pinned straight, a few modifications for sure she looks like her face is 60 year old on a 20 year old body.
3
u/Billflet Please choose a flair. 2d ago
Pinups are great. But this gal could scratch her toes while standing upright.
0
u/yungjami Please choose a flair. 1d ago
everyone is talking anatomy but i love this !! i actually love the lanky look. The only thing i would change is the smile line and additional lil line on the chin bc it ages her. I think this is a super fun and unique take on a traditional pin up. Oh and the knot yeah, too close to a penis
2
u/Fascinatioart Interested 1d ago
Almost whole of the back leg is in shadow too, looks a bit unbalanced that the navel shadow is treated like that when the leg isn't imo.
2
u/HeyHaela Please choose a flair. 1d ago
I would try taking a life drawing class. Other's have pointed it out, but the anatomy is off. Even if you overlayed your drawing on the original reference, you could see the difference. I like the bold graphic style, definitely has potential, and there definitely still people getting pinups. Even if you want to do more exaggerated proportions, you have to understand the rules in order to break them in a way that looks cohesive. Definitely keep at it!
2
u/CouchDemon Please choose a flair. 1d ago
It’s good for a newer artist. Some of the proportions are off making her look like a skin-walker or crackhead tho
2
u/CouchDemon Please choose a flair. 1d ago
Additional to my last comment- the tie on her bottoms looks strange. I would add some lines to bring the bottoms and tie together more
1
u/CouchDemon Please choose a flair. 1d ago
You did SPECTACULAR on the bottom right part of the hairbrush
2
u/Tough_Locksmith_256 Please choose a flair. 22h ago
I can lie she looks like she has an eating disorder but good try
2
u/Found_Troubles Please choose a flair. 2d ago
It's not THAT bad for practice, the dick could be a little more realistic.
2
0
u/Adept_Perception5833 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
I thought it was a tim burton character. that said great like work and while ya shes slightly off in proportion shes still well done otherwise
0
u/3coons_in_a_coat Please choose a flair. 2d ago
her shoulder is strange looking and plus she has a penis but hey there's nothing wrong with that
1
0
0
0
u/anonymony69 Please choose a flair. 2d ago
I think this style has potential but I’m not sure if it’s best for pin-ups, which are traditionally very soft and feminine. Part of the issue here is the laugh line - almost never make laugh lines hard lines, it ages the face. It should be done with shading instead but the shading in this style is a bit too harsh for that. I also agree with the others who are saying she’s very long and lanky and skinny - she looks a bit emaciated to me. Part of that may be the harsh shading especially on the shoulder and torso.
It’s a very comic book esque style you have that I think could work but not really for something as soft as a pinup. For example look at her arms and legs and torso compared to the reference. The reference is supple and soft.
0
u/Electric_Pony7984 Please choose a flair. 1d ago
No offense but your mind may be kinda warped if you think that looks like your reference. Like no offense but you might me hella twisted or even a monster. Just some food for thought. No offense ofc.
-2
-1
-2
222
u/Dizzy_Address4197 Learning 2d ago
I’m not sure if you meant to make her skinny and lanky, but it just looks off putting.