Drawing Up

[lestatluvr]

yo, do you find it easier to draw from the bottom of a figure up, or the other way around? It's just that I usually start my sketches starting with the face (with people) and then go down but I started at the feet with this one guy and I'm so totally stuck. I've spent so long on it but I just can't get the figure right. Any suggestions or do you think I should blow it off and start something new?

[fallenangel]

I always start with the head because it's a handy comparison for proportions. It's much easier to size the rest of the body based on the head than get everything in proportion without it and try to add the head last. Then I sketch in the body, then the face. When it comes to what I work heavily on, it doesn't really matter because I don't start until I'm happy with the rough sketch.

Depending on what medium you're working in or how far along you are, you've got a couple options.

1. Post it somewhere for critiques. Maybe other people who haven't been looking at it for so long can point out the major areas that need tweaking without having to redo everything. http://www.wetcanvas.com is a good one.

2. Use the head you have drawn in and compare the standard proportions to what you have now. Then adjust what's off and go from there.

3. You could use a light table (computer screen open to a blank white document, sunny window, whatever) and lightly trace the parts you like, then redraw what's off.
_________________
"I care about people as much as I care about lawn furniture" - Dexter/Michael C. Hall

[Stratadrake]

When I do a drawing, I sketch it out pretty much all at once, repeatedly erasing and resketching/refining it. After that, I add in the detail usually starting with the head, and when I do the final shading I usually start at the head/face as well. Maybe because it's a small portion of the overall drawing and I can experience with color mixtures so that I can hit the right one before I start shading in the larger areas....
_________________
Strata here: [url=http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/242293]Nanowrimo[/url] - [url=www.fanart-central.net/user-Stratadrake.php]FAC[/url] - [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com]dA[/url] - [url=www.furaffinity.net/user/Stratadrake/]FA[/url]
[size=9]Disclaimer: Posts may contain URLs. Click [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife]at your own risk.[/url][/size]

[Lizkay]

I would call myself a heavy sketchy drawer.. I start with movement lines when I make a drawing, just lines and I make more and more and scribble over it.. than I add some more details with every step. When I make pics in that way I must use a lightbox or the PC to finish it then, because the sketch pic looks really heavy! what a chaos, but you can catch pretty movements with that method.
_________________
- hmm... did someone say "MUFFIN"? -

[jhonenfreak]

I don't really draw from top to bottom or vise versa, but rather from the outside inward. First I start off with an outline of my object, then I add basic shapes, whether they be ovals for eyes, rectanges for windows, etc. Then I go more into dimention, and from there.. detail. Then I work in the fine detail, shading, etc.
_________________
[url=http://starrust.com][img]http://starrust.com/images/linksout/starrust2.gif[/img][/url]

[Meredianna]

I always start with the head..but not always, depends on what im drawing.

[DaBear]

[quote]I always start with the head because it's a handy comparison for proportions.[/quote]
[quote]First I start off with an outline of my object,[/quote]

both ideas I use. the second Amy suggested I only use when doing multipule subjects in one frame (girls), but then I will go back to the first, but even a little more specificly I start with the eyes of a subject. the size, direction, and seperation of them directs the whole face. hence then head, body, and proportions of any background. yes, even those enormous Angel Eyes I draw...I start with them. in 2002 when I started drawing the Angels with the then "tombstone" eyes, that I originally called them, I had to rethink my whole idea of the proportions of their faces too.

you ought to post it like Fallen suggested and get some "good" critiquing, instead of totally restarting another...I do that all the time on DA's scraps, and sometimes here in the forums.
_________________
'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.' - Ronald Reagan

[CyberkittyKG]

I always start a picture by drawing rough sketch lines like what Lizkay described, but I usually draw an oval of where the head is going to be first...it makes it easier for me to position the figure. And the head is important for me because I like drawing figures, and the attention of the viewer is usually centered on the face, so sketching in the head first helps me see its relationship to the rest of the drawing. I never draw starting with the feet; drawing something that way would just give me headaches.

[Tulips_and_Chimneys]

i thinka gesture sketch is the best way to start cuz i hate it when i draw the head real good and the body real good but then have to start over cuz the porportions suck! anyways its whatever gets the job done best in the end

[Papercut_Dragon]

If I'm doing a full body drawing, I'll do a gesture first, starting with the hips, working down, and then back up to the head. That way, I know I can fit the whole body in. For anything else, though, I start with the head, always.

For your picture, I suggest just starting over. Working on something that much will kill your drawing in the end.
_________________
222.
[url=http://www.fanart-central.net/pic-607038.html]No Shaking Throne[/url]

[VR_Jay]

I always start off with basic shapes, ovals and circles and such. Once I have the general proportions, I then define the general shapes, and then finally the detail.
_________________
[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/VR_Jay/Anti_Commecial_Banners_by_Nevar530.jpg[/img] [img]http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/VR_Jay/th_myvsweetkiss1xc.gif[/img]

[color=black]"Your toast is burnt and no amount of scraping will remove the black stuff!" ~ Caboose, Red vs. Blue[/color]

[TenthDivine]

More often than not, I start with the head and work my way down. Or at other times, I may start out with an outline of sorts, composed of simple shapes and build form that...


Or when I wanna do freehand, I just start from about any body part and so on and so forth. It can be fun o.O

[wittlewabbit]

I start with the head all the time! I haven't tried working from the feet up. Sounds quite interesting but difficult to do.
_________________
Check out my art on FAC! - http://www.fanart-central.net/user-wittlewabbit.php

http://ethena.deviantart.com