Daily sketches

[Mikey the Moblin]

Now, I'm no artist, so spare me your praise lol
I'm going to be doing a dark souls sketch every day for the foreseeable future until it's time to host my mafia game
Now keep in mind I've been drawing since I was a kid, mostly comics and fake mons, and my grandpa is a fairly famous cartoonist, so... most of my art comes out pretty toon-y and I cant change that. Probably poor contouring on my part. Anyway, here's solaire

Spoiler: huge

Heck boots tbh didnt even bother trying to fill that in
No reference picture, just looked at solaires outfit to make sure I didnt screw up the chain mail and here we are, had to look at myself in the mirror to get the perspective on the left arm correct
All in all proud of my first sketch in about 10 years, and I was pleased to see the artistic processes starting to come back to me as I drew

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Day 2: Lucatiel of Mirrah
I'm not happy with how this turned out, in no small part to the realization that faces are hard yo
arms are poorly proportioned as well, and drawing the cloth of her sleeves just didn't work for me

Lucatiel's defining feature is her blemished face, which she covers up using a silver mask. She carries a greatsword meant to slay Hollows and wears a fine feathery cap. She's one of the most popular characters of Dark Souls II.

 

[Chevywolf30]

Lucatiel's defining feature is her blemished face

Looks fine to me.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Looks fine to me.

The armies of lucatiel stans agree with you

 

[Chevywolf30]

The armies of lucatiel stans agree with you

I was teasing you for messing up on the face but sure.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

I was teasing you for messing up on the face but sure.

Oh that's the burn/blemish lol
The lines are crosshairs

 

[Echolight]

Day 2: Lucatiel of Mirrah
I'm not happy with how this turned out, in no small part to the realization that faces are hard yo
arms are poorly proportioned as well, and drawing the cloth of her sleeves just didn't work for me

Lucatiel's defining feature is her blemished face, which she covers up using a silver mask. She carries a greatsword meant to slay Hollows and wears a fine feathery cap. She's one of the most popular characters of Dark Souls II.

Nice! You are doing very well for one who hasn't drawn in 10 years.

I'd love to help you out with some tips like I did Chevy, but it that okay? I don't want it to seem rude.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Nice! You are doing very well for one who hasn't drawn in 10 years.

I'd love to help you out with some tips like I did Chevy, but it that okay? I don't want it to seem rude.

I'm not sure you're physically capable of being rude
I'm open to tips for sure but I'm definitely not looking to become an artist in any sense of the word

 

[Echolight]

I'm not sure you're physically capable of being rude
I'm open to tips for sure but I'm definitely not looking to become an artist in any sense of the word

Aww, that's so sweet, thank you!! <3

I'd love to help you out then! You don't have to be an official artist to know some helpful tips.

I see you can apply the pencil really lightly, which is great! Sketching is a lot easier when you are light handed.

Have you heard of the line of action?

The line of action is a curve you draw at the very beginning. You then draw your sketch over it. The line of action improves your character poses, making them more dynamic, forceful, alive, and interesting. A lot of times, if you don't use the line of action, your drawings might seem stiff. I use them frequently now, and they have greatly improved my character's poses.

Some people may think sketching isn't that important, but it actually is one of the crucial steps in drawing. It is the foundation for your art piece; you'll be basing everything else off of it, so that why it's a good idea to have a nice basic sketch: If the arm looks a little wonky in the basic sketch, it'll look wonky in the final piece. Making an overall sketch with basic shapes will make it easier. Then you can refine it as you go along.

I see you're struggling with the arms and face a bit. You should look up some reference pics or watch some tutorials if you want. One of the most helpful ways I found to develop and improve my art was to just observe and study other pieces of art. See how they drew the hands, face, body, and legs. How they balance proportions. How they mix the colors well.

I never took a serious art class, all I did was observe art around me and draw. A lot.

Also, don't be afraid to line over your art with pencil and make the lines darker. You could use pen even. A good contrast of line thickness and tone will always make your drawing pop. Take my avatar pic for example. The wings and the legs have different line thickness.

I hope these tips helped! <3

It's nice to use these tips and learn from them, but the most important thing is to have fun, especially since you're not planning on becoming a serious artist. You can use these tips if you want, but don't stress over it or anything.

Just enjoy drawing and creating art!

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Have you heard of the line of action?

You can faintly see my action lines in both sketches if you look carefully- both subjects are fairly static so the action lines guide their poses more than their direction if that makes sense
It really helps when trying to nail down the subject's perspective, like solaire's off center and slightly upward pose

As for inking, I'll probably do that later on with sketches that I like better. Is it easier to ink over them and then scan, or scan them and ink over them digitally?

 

[Echolight]

You can faintly see my action lines in both sketches if you look carefully- both subjects are fairly static so the action lines guide their poses more than their direction if that makes sense
It really helps when trying to nail down the subject's perspective, like solaire's off center and slightly upward pose

Ah, that's great that you using line of action already!

I agree, line of action is super helpful. I noticed Solaire's pose, good job!

As for inking, I'll probably do that later on with sketches that I like better. Is it easier to ink over them and then scan, or scan them and ink over them digitally?

I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. I haven't done digital anything before. I've dabbled in some art programs, but I don't have a drawing tablet, and using a mouse is really hard for me. I really want a drawing tablet, but they're expensive, so I'll have to wait a few years when I get a job.

Inking digitally won't be as stressful: you could erase and repeat as much as you want. Traditional inking you would need to buy some pens, but digital you could just use one art program.

I'd suggest try out both and see which one you prefer!

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Day 3
Solaire of Astora

Spoiler: huge

Spent a bit more time today than I did on tuesday and it shows for sure imo. I would have liked to refine that awkward right arm rofl but that would have taken more time than I have probably
Solaire is currently casting sunlight spear, a miracle he particularly enjoys. I had a lot of fun posing for this one too ahaha

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Day 4
Gwynevere

I'm going to Hell for this.



Gwynevere is the goddess of MILFs and is one of the true tests of story comprehension in Dark Souls. To actually know what's going on with Gwynevere, you have to be as sharp as a (Deserter) Hawk(wood), or just watch lore videos on youtube like the rest of us.

...Huh? There's something wrong with the face? Nonsense.
Please send help I don't know how to copy a face I'm forever a cartoonist

 

[Chevywolf30]

Sometimes you have to hope for a miracle. My Danny DeVito face is one such miracle.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Don't worry bro, I still struggle with faces sometimes too. I tend to not do the whole layout references line fsr and I always feel like one eye isn't straight, or something just looks off. Keep at it though, it gets easier.