not sure if this necessary qualifies as an #industryQs but any tips for doing line art that does just look like i’m drawing a coloring sheet if that makes sense? idk something just feels clunky and off about it compared to others art (including yours which is awesome btw)
Oh hmmmmmmm, well honestly my lineart is a result of my handwriting being pure cursive. So, I normally suggest people to practice writing in cursive haha. It might be a weird suggestion, but penmanship classes actually helped me a lot with understanding line depth and control throughout my art journey. If you think about it, writing in cursive is about using one line (or the least amount) to write a whole word. That requires control of pen pressure and when to curve, make short strokes, long strokes, etc. The more you practice that, the more decisive you are with your line making.
For this drawing, I used a thicker, gritty brush and you probably can't tell but I'm using a combination of long and short strokes to help push the pen pressure (or really the line thickness from the brush).
All the red lines are long, singular strokes that have a bit more variation in line thickness unlike the blue lines (mainly the hair) which have the same line thickness. Personally when I see young artists start out, the line weight feels heavy and flat because there's not a lot of confidence in the line making. More strokes doesn't always mean a better line. Knowing when to use a long or short stroke can drastically change the "look" of a line. And the extra cool thing about it is that it can be applied to any pen/brush you use:
In this drawing, I'm using a brush that has no pen pressure whatsoever. The line weight/thickness doesn't change regardless if I'm using a long or short stroke and yet it doesn't feel flat.
But something like this starts combining line with form (human body, fabric, hair, etc.). Which for myself was good way for me to learn how to depict form more decisively (and accurately) since I couldn't rely on line weight to make thicker strokes. So, I would say try practicing writing in cursive to help feel more comfortable with line making. A common practice is writing the English alphabet in one stroke (it's possible trust me haha) or the least amount of strokes possible. Also drawing/writing strictly in ink traditionally can help you think more about what lines you want to make since it's more permanent. At least that's what helped me, so don't feel like to have to do any of this if it doesn't work for you. ^^; I hope that answered your question!
