ohartspace

1. identify what's making you draw so slow. can't figure out pose/anatomy? too perfectionist about inking? getting caught up in details? indecisive coloring?

2. timed gesture studies. draw a loose figure w photo reference in 10 minutes. do that a bunch of times. then 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 1 minute. train yourself to omit as much detail as possible while keeping the figure recognizable.

3. the dot/line exercise, sometimes called the "target practice" warmup. draw two dots, then a line connecting them. keep moving the dots farther apart while drawing the line as fast as you can while keeping it STRAIGHT (not wobbly!) and hitting the second dot. the line is ONE stroke. it's harder than it sounds. this should help you get an idea of how fast you can make a controlled stroke

4. look up tutorials on coloring more quickly in whatever art program you're using if you do digital art. chances are there's a tool or setting that can make it easier to fill in shapes. i almost never color by hand, i fill bucket everything

5. free yourself of "clean line art"... 9 times outta 10 people think sketchy lines are more visually appealing anyway. it's faster and they have more life. in my opinion at least

6. use lots of references. spending hours on a complicated pose from memory instead of just looking at photo/3D model reference isn't impressive it's just stupid and unnecessary

7. study with intent. if you struggle with leg anatomy for example, do lots of studies from photos (eyeballing and tracing), then try it freehand/from memory, rinse and repeat 9000 times until it's not something you get stuck on when it comes time to do an illustration/comic page

8. less detail. simplify. you can have ultra detailed art or you can draw fast. pick which is more important to you

9. bullshit it... draw ugly and bad but do it fast. done is always better than perfect

10. thumbnail. it's not just for comics. do a teeny tiny sketch of your drawing beforehand with colors. then use it as reference. helps to finish the actual piece faster when it's planned out

really helpful technique ^ once you know how to divide by halves and thirds it makes drawing evenly spaced things in perspective waaay easier:

When drawing fat bodies it’s very helpful to visualize each individual part you’re drawing. When it comes to the double chin, you wouldn’t usually draw two actual chins, but sketching it that way can give you an idea of how the fat hangs! (also you can’t go wrong with literally just drawing the neck slightly wider)

Once you’ve accounted for the double chin in your sketch, you can start experimenting with lines. Generally you’ll want to use minimal lines to indicate where the first chin is, and then the second chin will be a bit more free form. Weight is carried mainly in the bottom of the face, so as a general rule, a heavier person will have a larger double chin.

Also keep in mind that the jaw becomes rounded and will sit lower on a heavier face! And remember that the neck can have rolls, too.

My simplest advice for drawing fat faces and necks boils down to this:

ERASE THAT ANGULAR JAWLINE

Redraw the jawline lower and rounder

Draw the neck wider like literally just take the two lines that make the neck and scoot them outwards BAM that’s already an improvement

two (2) people asked how i did the matchbook thing so take this

this is just a simple idea but if you spend some more time you can get real krazy with it:

making fake prints is so fun please do it immediately free resources under cut xoxo