Kreekakon's Artist Training Grounds (2012/9/15 Chapter 3 - Shading Phase 1)

**Kreekakon** · 09-12-2012, 06:55 PM

Chapter 2 - Standard Outlines

NOTE: The following method of outline drawing only applies to drawing from reference. Once you have a grasp of anatomy, or have enough creative thinking, the things discussed in this chapter will mostly become obsolete.

NOTE 2: Many of the pictures here have been altered in Photoshop for easier line visibility. Some are darker than they actually are/need to be.

It's time to begin the first step of any drawing: doing the outlines. Of course, before you do anything more we're going to need the reference picture you'll be using. For this tutorial, we shall be drawing a Brute from Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

We'll use this picture below:

Spoiler below!

Once you have selected your picture, you should then print out your picture. After, you have your picture out on a sheet of paper, draw a 4x4 grid based on the picture's length on your reference picture. Remember to use the ruler here. Like so:

Spoiler below!

Do not worry about drawing the lines too dark/hard, as the lines you draw here will need to be completely visible, especially if the reference picture is dark.

TIP: Though not completely necessary, it is recommended that you select/crop the length of the lines you choose to use on it's easiness to divide by four for convenience purposes. For example, in this picture's height I chose 24 centimeters which can easily be divided into four 6 cm sections. Still, only do this if you won't crop the master image too much, or worse, slice off your subject's body.

After you have finished drawing your grid, take out your drawing paper. Here, use the ruler again to recreate the 4x4 grid you have just drawn on your reference images. Like so:

Spoiler below!

NOTE: If for whatever reason you wish to make drawing larger, or smaller than the reference image, be sure to maintain ratio when enlarging, or shrinking the 4x4 grid to suit your needs, otherwise your drawing may turn out very strange. Also, it's not recommended to make the drawing too large, as pencils are ill suited for creating largely-sized pieces.

After, you have created your grid on the drawing paper, start to draw the outline of your picture. Use the 4x4 grid to figure out where everything needs to go.

NOTE: Try not to draw too hard, as you will likely be erasing, and altering things quite a few times.

When starting off, I recommend to not go for the details straight away. Try to simply capture a simple geometric shape based off of the reference grid. In the case of the Brute, draw a simple outline of his body first, and do not add any of his steel plating, or metal panels which stick out from his body.

The reason for this is that by drawing a simple shape first, you are setting a general foundation where you can expand off of. It will be very easy to spot if something is off, and change it right away.

If you focus too much on detail from the start, you're more likely to misstep due to all the curves, and angles details require. This can throw off the shape of a drawing very easily.

After you have a standard outline which you are satisfied with, start to apply details. An important thing to note, in this step is that you should only apply the details which are larger, and/or have more defining outlines/feature. The reason for this is to keep your outline from becoming too cluttered, as many of the smaller details can be applied very easily later. In the Brute's example, I neglected to add his toes, the more complex shapes in his head, etc.

TIP: A good, and quick way to check if a particular part of your outline's angle is off is to hold your pencil (Make-shift ruler) to the reference picture to check the angle of the line, and quickly move the pencil to your outline to see if the angles match the reference picture.

TIP 2: Another good way to see if something is off is to check two details of the reference picture which are of identical horizontal, or vertical height, and see if that is the same with your drawing's outline.

After you have finished this step your drawing should look something like this:

Spoiler below!

TIP: You do not have to erase your grid after this. I find it useful when applying the more precise shading at the later steps.

This will conclude the chapter of "Standard Outlines". As always, feel free to voice your thoughts on how this chapter was, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

~End of Chapter 2

Next chapter: Shading Phase 1: Dark Areas

PS: The next chapter will likely be very short, but I chose not to merge it with the chapter after that, because that chapter (Shading Phase 2) will be very large, and complicated.