Can somebody help me put the face on this?
6yr
@pinkapricorn
I was just messing around in Photoshop and I started drawing this little acorn dude and his face is majorly frustrating me because I can't seem to position it in a way that feels believable.
Probably the problem is I don't understand the form of the acorn well enough but... I dunno.
Suggestions anybody?
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6yr
@pinkapricorn I think a few construction lines might help. I see you drew a vertical centerline - notice the distance from it to the eyes on each side and try to keep it symmetrical. You can also use some cross-controus wrapping around the form to help you figure out the size of each eye, considering the turn in the form and how the sizes should look smaller when farther away. Overall, just try to think of it in 3D and use cross-contours when you need to show volume. Here's a visual note:
@Liandro Roger *looks at image* AHHHHHHHHHH!!! I love it!!!! <3 <3 <3
And yeah I thought something wasn't quite right in relation to the center line. And I was wondering what the horizontal construction lines on the body of the acorn would be like.
And oh I hadn't thought about using cross contours to size the eyes!! Good strategy!
Hi @pinkapricorn ! Yesterday I finally looked up “apricorn” (ぼんぐりのみ) . Before we saw the Japanese, my family had a lively speculative discussion on whether the English was a mashup of apricot and and corn, or apricot and acorn, because of the images online. Once we saw the original Japanese it was obvious - so I sense this has some special meaning on some level and is important - and that’s why I’m posting even though I know nothing 😅. This is too far out of any of my wheelhouses to be of service I’m afraid, except to ask if you’ve done facial structure/anatomy studies before or done any caricature type of studies. The other day you expressed an interest in composition, but you have it slated for later. May I ask what your primary area or areas of focus are right now? I wonder if we have anything that matches.
Btw, you were right, the “Wall of Awful” videos were very helpful and an excellent place to start.
@Teresa Bolen I was stupid and until today I didn't know that an apricorn isn't a real fruit (or nut) haha. I was trying to come up with something to put in my avatar and I tried to google photos of apricorns to use for refs to draw from and I wondered why I was just getting Pokemon art. Then I realized that Pokemon made it up. Haha xD
So I just said "Eff it" and drew an acorn instead because I like how those look lol I'll probably color it pink. People are gonna be confused xD
When I used to play Pokemon, the second generation of games (Gold, Silver, Crystal) was my favorite and I really liked a lot of the items--especially the apricorns. You could make special Pokeballs with them. The pink apricorn makes a love ball. I thought about putting a love ball in my avatar but then I was like "Nah."
"except to ask if you’ve done facial structure/anatomy studies before or done any caricature type of studies. "
Mmmmmmm I've messed around in the Proko portrait course and I've watched some of the videos in @Aaron Blaise 's character design course. It helped but I've been so mentally exhausted lately it's been tough to spend even 5 minutes on art during the really bad days.
So today I just sat down in Photoshop and figured I'd draw whatever my brain wanted to let me draw. It wanted to draw an apricorn, so here we are xD
I think my mental fatigue is tied to my physical fatigue. I've been sooooo tired lately. It's frustrating because I wanna go all out working on both my Japanese and my art and I often can't :(
Oh well, it is what it is. 仕方がない This will pass. I've learned to take advantage of my good days when they come and get lots of stuff done while I'm able. :)
So what am I focusing on right now...
Mmm mainly Drawabox. My lack of a proper foundation shows up in every piece of art that I do, so I'm using Drawabox to get those basic skills up to a good level so I can stop get distracted by, like, shaky lines and focus on what my other courses are trying to teach me.
That's why I'm not progressing in the Proko figure drawing right now. I was having lots of distracting problems that will be solved once I fix the problems in my basic skills like good line quality.
Maybe if I had more mental energy I could do both but, eh, it is what it is. I'm not defeated unless I quit :)
Edit: Yeah I love that wall of awful stuff!! Totally captures what happens when I know I need to work on Japanese/art, I have the desire to do so, but I just cannot do it.
I feel like a race car stuck in the mud. Such a huge passion to do things but often end up just spinning my wheels.
