#how i draw

I accidentally deleted the question, but I was asked how I draw, as in the process I use.

Really, there’s not a lot to it. I’m not much of a planner for most of the work I do: it’s literally the desire to draw and an idea coming to me, then putting it down.

I don’t do preliminary sketches, rarely use references, and finish most everything I start in a few hours. Using references and making preliminary sketches to nail down the pose/lighting/etc is actually very useful… I’m just too lazy.

The vast majority of what you see was done on-the-fly. I refine sketches to “finished” product in one sitting and on the same canvas, whether traditional or digital. That’s why a lot of my stuff is overworked.

I want to change that, the not planning part, so I can improve, and use references more but I always tell myself that’s cheating even though I KNOW it’s not. I know anatomy, but it’s like the light in my brain goes out when I sit to draw and it kinda goes like this.

Brain: Oooooh, idea! Let’s do this!

Hand: Yeah, man, let’s go! Okay, so, what does a hand look like?

Brain: …you’re kidding right?

Hand: What? Kidding? No. Does it look like this?

Brain: No.

Hand: This? Orrrrrrr… Is it like this, maybe?

Brain: No, stop drawing random lines! You ARE a hand, and there are two of you here to look at and use as references!

Hand: This?

Brain: OMG, you’re driving me insane. Skip to the face! Faces are the best anyway.

Hand: So, we’ll come back to the hand?

Brain: We’ll see. If anything, we’ll crop it into a headshot and not have to bother with it, or the clothes, or a background.

Hand: Right. So, now, how do you draw a face? Is it like this?

Brain: … Let’s just stop. This isn’t working.

The above is pretty accurate and it’s very frustrating. So, instead of looking at images, I keep drawing over my own lines until I get something reasonably close or leave it vague. It’s a very bad habit.

And if working in colour: I USE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE!

All that to say, I need to improve my process.