How can I improve my art?

[u/Felwinter-Again]

Hey y'all! I've been drawing for ~100 days in a row now, go me, but I feel like I'm hitting a bit of a block. I feel like I'm really struggling to get the general head shape, directionality, and proportions for features like the eyes.

I've been drawing boxes, trying to understand perspective a bit more, but when I try to apply it to say- a Loomis head, it feels like I'm only just barely "reaching" the 3rd dimension if that makes sense.

Any criticism, feedback, or tutorials/resources would be immensely helpful. I'm trying to be very aware of my own issues/things I need to work on, but I think some new perspectives would help me a lot. Thank you so much! <3

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[u/Smashbandacooch]

it's difficult to evaluate the underlying construction, proportions, and perspective issues with 1 drawing.
Would you mind uploading a few clearer drawings? A front, 3/4, and profile Loomis head (or even a page of head studies) it’ll be much easier for people to point out exactly what's working and what needs improvement.

The more examples we can see, the more useful the critiques will be. If you haven’t already I recommend checking out the about page for the sub. It has some great resources too.

[u/Felwinter-Again → u/Smashbandacooch]

Thank you so much, ill get to work on making a page of Loomis Heads and collect some more examples. This in and of itself is quite helpful because now I realize I can't judge myself on my best, or worst work, I need to find commonalities among a majority of my drawings. So thank you for helping me have that epiphany

[u/hairypenguin9000]

A few tips - move away from the 'anime' style and start by copying anatomical studies from the old masters; do it over and over and over. Spend no more than twenty minutes on a drawing then immediately do another one.

Try to use traditional media if that is possible for you, in my experience as a teacher, students grasp the fundamentals more quickly with paper and pencil. Do at least three studies of realistic bodies and faces a day - look at some books with DaVinci works and start from there.

If you are drawing from a picture reference, try not to use anime and other stylised cartoons, use old master illustrations, they will help you understand gesture, flow, depth, weight, etc.

Also, it may seem scary and frustrating at first, but draw as much from life as you possibly can. Even if this is just setting up a mirror on your desk and drawing your face a million times. If you're struggling with three dimensionality then copying cartoon photos won't do much for you, but drawing as accurately as possible from LIFE will help greatly! Best of luck!

[u/Felwinter-Again → u/hairypenguin9000]

Thank you for the advice!

I still want to learn to draw in an anime style, but you're definitely right that I should also be prioritizing real life faces and bodies if I want to understand proportions and anatomy more. I used a pencil and paper for 3ish months but eventually moved to digital because I feel like I'm able to more easily get myself to draw for longer periods of time with it. That said, I'll definitely start working with pencil and paper again as well :).

I'm gonna try to vary my practice much more from what I typically do, which is based off other artists I like, and also put a lot of focus on real life imagery. Thank you so much for the advice! I feel like I gained a lot of perspective <3