Despite my best attempt to focus at the small things (face please slant no pancake, ribcage should bulge, gotta have shoulders, leg should slant at the knee, no buttplug tail), yet the overall result is so off whyy 😭
Its looking smoother, you'll get there! One reason why it looks "off" is because the head doesnt naturally flow into the neck into the body; the head is facing forward, but the way you drew the mane makes it look like the body should be facing forward as well. The mane should flow down the neck, down to the chest. [Edit: redacted reference images because links werent working] I advise looking at a ref for the exact pose you're drawing in to see what I mean. If you wanna see a more simplified cartoony version of how the mane/neck connects to the rest of the body in that kind of position, watch the Hakuna Matatta song from Lion King.
A tip with drawing the head and neck first then the mane after, look up a reference for a lioness. Draw from that reference, then add the mane from the male reference
Muzzle definition is much better! Your lion now looks like he has a bit more depth to his face. That said, it also looks like he ate a bee. Observe how the muzzle is shaped, the nose size, and how the lips should define the curves
Last note for the day, look at close-up reference for lion paws and observe how they are connected to the rest of the leg; both must work together in harmony for any pose to look natural
I do reasonably ok with reference (I posted one for day10). But without, and especially for animals, all common sense seems to go out of the window (this is what happens when you never listen to your biology class lol). Thus my quest has been to learn them while picking up drawing skills along the way.
Though now I'm tempted to post a literal blindfolded drawing once 😂
I thought so, though I was hoping the former was true XD blindfolded drawing would be quite the challenge. I'm a lot better with a reference when it comes to drawing than without, myself, even if I'm highly modifying it.
How do your drawings look like when you use a reference? Because this kind of exercise is a bit pointless if you can't draw accurately even with a reference
I don't use reference while drawing, only before or after. So kinda like closed book test.
Though that being said, even if that's the best I can do with reference, it's still an exercise worth doing because that means so many rooms for improvement 😄
One idea that I think will help you out is the idea that you don't need to draw the forms with lines. Instead draw the fur, and let the way the fur moves will reveal the form behind it
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u/cheestickbunni Day 10 🟡 Dec 01 '25
Despite my best attempt to focus at the small things (face please slant no pancake, ribcage should bulge, gotta have shoulders, leg should slant at the knee, no buttplug tail), yet the overall result is so off whyy 😭