the unfortunate truth about drawing scales is that they never really get less annoying to do and getting better at them only means you get to draw more complicated ones
the way they generally work for me is i tend to follow a pattern of larger, flatter scales following the tops of arms and leg surrounded by smaller, rounded support scales - i try to use a lighter touch on the pen pressure while filling in the scales so the outlines end up more distinctive
this works basically the same for the head!
for the longer stretches of body i tend to use the interlocking u’s, starting with one row on the widest part of the body and building downwards
copying and pasting isnt a perfect shortcut, especially if you have a lot of curves, but it DOES save a chunk of time
they dont have to be perfect!! honestly the hardest part is getting them to be even, and that just takes a lot of practice. remember that theyll fold in a bit as they get closer to the edge of the body if you can manage it ( which is hard ) - the closer the thinner, which helps give the illusion of curving. uhhh hope this helps
