Drawing (Sketching?) Techniques with Kimmy Nguyen (^・ω・^ )

The Obligatory Introduction (feel free to skip):

Hey, guys! M'name is Kimanh Nguyen (AKA Kimmy), and if you know me (or seen me in class) then you know that I am very involved with drawing.

I've been drawing since the end of... 4th grade, and have been drawing since. My style has evolved from the typical 'anime' style to one of my own. Style develops naturally throughout practice and time, and mine, I would like to say, is different (though there still isn't a firm style, yet).

However, it has been on my mind for the past couple of months lately that I did not have a solid base/understanding when I started drawing. Back then, it was more like a hobby than what is now a goal in life to pursue a job in this sort of industry. I never actually thought of values, line weight, shading techniques, etc. Now that I'm more experienced and have knowledge, my lack of experience in the technical aspects is really hitting me in the face right now. Seriously. I cringe at my artwork most of the time. There is also the fact that my drawings feel static and repetitive. I'm in a stump, actually, because of my lack of skill. Basically, I feel like my art isn't good enough.

And so I decided to make that base of understanding. After browsing through a bookstore, I got the Beginner's Guide to Sketching: Characters, Creatures & Concepts by 3dtotal Publishing. Going through it, I can tell that it teaches technique rather than the usual "step-by-step how to draw this" sort of thing. For me, this is perfect. Yet...

This book really isn't for beginners. Rather, I feel as though it's meant for those who already have the experience yet want to enhance their drawings. There are some parts that aren't fleshed out and parts that I don't really agree with in the book, but overall, the book is good. I don't recommend this book for those who are just starting to draw.

Along with following some techniques in the book, I will practice drawing anatomy (because my anatomy game is not strong).

So, I guess... let's begin?

Session 1: Accent Lines and The Study of 2「ユーリ!!! On Ice」 Characters 

I know I said I was going to practice anatomy while following the book, but I was planning on drawing heads for the first post... and drawing a head is a staple for drawing people. Meaning, I have a lot of practice on drawing faces and such, so my priorities on practicing heads are quite low. Meanwhile, my need to draw these characters are quite high and I don't feel satisfied with the way I am drawing them now. Thus, the character studies. I'll be using screenshots from varying scenes and only drawing the bust.

In the book, Beginner's Guide to Sketching: Characters, Creatures & Concepts, it states: "Accent line drawing is a more developed type of contour drawing. In this case, the lines are accented with a variety of line weights..." (3dtotal Publishing 29).

Basically, accents lines are lines that have varying pressure, thickness, and lightness (aka line weights). It helps add emphasis to certain parts in a drawing and makes the drawing interesting.

My first subject is Katsuki Yuuri (勝生 勇利), the protagonist of the anime.

Yuuri is the easiest out of the 3 main characters to draw for me. However, I feel like I wasn't truly encompassing his features, so I attempted to for the 6 drawings I did. I tried to take in his round/square like head structure while making his eyes more round as well.

During this time, I tried to add in accent lines. The drawing that I think best shows this is drawing 4, the bottom-most left.

While drawing accent lines, the closer the part of the image is to you, the thicker the lines and vice versa (29). Accent lines are also created when 2 lines meet. As you can see, there are parts in the drawings where the lines are thicker than most. I know that if I had drawn this without attempting accent lines, then there would be only one line weight, making it seem blander than what I want to achieve. This drawing seems much more interesting to me and it actually looks nice in my eyes.

My next subject is Viktor Nikiforov, the second main character in the anime.

For Viktor, he's the hardest for me to draw. I don't understand his hair and I don't really know how to shape his face. All I know is that Viktor's head shape is sharper/narrower than Yuuri's. What I'm trying to avoid here is the 'same face/features' problem. It's where every character looks basically the same if you compare them. It's... a hassle really. No artist wants all their characters to look the same.

Unfortunately, I don't think I did well with accent lines on Viktor. I was unsure of what I was doing and was more intent on trying to get his features than anything. So, I won't delve deeper than I already have.

And... That's about it. My next post will be about shading techniques while featuring torso studies! Nothing too explicit will be shown, don't worry ☆⌒（＊＾∇゜）v .

Now, my question is... Why do you think hobbies sometimes turn into a lifetime job or dream?
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3DTotal Publishing. Beginner's Guide to Sketching: Characters, Creatures & Concepts. Worcestershire: 3DTotal, 2015. Print.