NEW [Drawing/Anime]

[xBaskinRobbinsx]

I just made this. Everything, the background and the character.

[darkwoon]

My comments...

Anatomy: You need to straighten your basics. Watch yourself in the mirror, compare to your picture, and see where the most obvious differences are. Check for example how your arms are attached to your body. If you want some guidelines, this FARP tutorial (http://www.elfwood.com/farp/figure/williamlibodyconstruction.html) will give you a short introduction. Although I'm not fond of them, the Polykarbon tutorials (http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/index.htm) are another decent (and free) source of basic informations.

At this stage, your key word should be: keep it simple. Try to keep everything in correct proportion and shape, even if it means dropping details in the process. Details are, well, details, so you can always add them later.

Background: I'll be honest here: that kind of background makes me want to tear the drawing into pieces out of berserk rage :). What doesn't work is that it adds nothing to the character, doesn't set up a scene for it, and doesn't help pushing him forward. The background should help the viewer focusing on what's important in the picture: in this case, your character. If your character is dressed in bright colors (like here), make the background colours less aggressive, reduce the randomness of the pattern and the number of different colours, so they don't become a distraction. And really, really forget those software-generated effects like that whirlpool thing - it bring nothing to the picture, so in most cases, it is a bad idea to use them.

Drawing tool: I'd suggest starting with plain paper and a boring old pencil. Computer drawing, unless you own a costly drawing tablet device, is a more difficult task. You'll get much better results with a simple pencil, as you will not have to deal with the software options and tweaks, letting your braincells focus on the task of drawing itself.

At any time, keep drawing! It is practice that you need the most - you'll quickly get better at it!