Project - Learning to Sketch from Imagination
Project - Learning to Sketch from Imagination
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Project - Learning to Sketch from Imagination
courseDrawing BasicsFull course (185 lessons)
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assignments 2466 submissions
Lynn Fang
Thanks for the classmate who uploaded the cat's photo to #14 days challenge#. Sorry I can't remember your name. Your cat photo is so funny, I couldn't help myself drawing a picture for him or her.
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ASSIGNMENTS

Pick an animal, a bug, or some kind of creature, and find several reference photos to use as inspiration to sketch a new character.

Don't copy the photos. Feel free to explore with proportions and exaggerate or simplify things to make it your own. Do multiple sketches to experiment and try different ideas.

Once you think you have a clear idea of a character, do one full page sketch. Even in this final sketch, try to use loose, confident lines and focus on the shapes of the character you have in mind. We're trying something new here with this project by starting to develop our ability to draw from imagination. So it might be a bit of a challenge, but don't sweat it.

Let's keep it loose and rough with our sketches and just focus on letting those creative juices flow. Don't focus on the cleanliness of your lines. We're sketching, and when you post your assignments, please include the photos you found and all your experimental sketches.

If you'd like to have a chance to be included in the upcoming critique videos, you must submit your drawings below by March 9th 2023

And don't forget to have fun!

@seths_crypt
I had a lot of have fun with this assignment and decided, why not make cassowary a punk rocker. Any critique would be greatly appreciated.
@lhd
6d
Even though I consider myself very much Level 1 this project sounded like so much fun I really wanted to do it. So here are my sketches of an elephant shrew. I enjoyed doing them a lot, these creatures are just so adorable. I‘m not happy with the sketch of the front view I did, because I can’t communicate depth and perspective appropriately. I really hope that will improve with continuing this course.
Ash
4d
cute!
@na_talie
Your sketches are adorable, too! Good work :)
@nyarlathotep738
Honestly I didn't think I'd be up for it but I gave it a try anyway picking a rather simply animal and I pretty happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect but I expected to be much worse!
Martha Muniz
Nice shapes and stylization! It's definitely a fun one :D If you want to keep going with it, try drawing a capybara from some different angles, like from the front and/or a 3/4 view. Drawing the same thing from different angles helps your brain familiarize itself with the overall shape and feel much more comfortable with drawing from imagination too :)
Sean Stinson
Hello! These are my imagination/references drawings & reference photos. I also included some studies I made from Joe Weatherly’s guide to animal drawing. I tried to give the main drawing some character elements, with the fierce expression and arrow shafts lodged in the shoulder. Feedback welcome!
@bladi
13d
@jeep
15d
I picked scorpion flies because they looked cool, and Hollow Knight is one of my favourite games so I wanted to see if I could simplify a bug like they do. The first few sketches I copied from reference, just to see which features would stick out more. I liked the pose in the third image, and turned the fly into a sort of diva character where the wings were a scarf and the legs were a sort of cravat. I kind of abandoned a lot of the sketching advice in the final drawing because I was busy trying to figure out how to design it to look cool, I think I might redraw it again later. But it was fun!
@bladi
15d
Good job bro, this is cool
Hechmi K
21d
I loved working on this. I couldn't help but ink the lines to see it come to life. It is my witch's familiar in a DnD campaign that is capable of camouflaging as jewelry. I think I may have more sketching to do and breaking down of the different body parts and the details. I'd like to keep pushing this artwork further. Feedback is welcome. I tried not to erase my construction lines. I am doing all of this digitally.
Martha Muniz
Hi! It's looking pretty cool already! A quick tip is to add more area for the width of the tail as it wraps around the pole. It helps to think about the entire circumference/thickness of the tail, as all of it will have to go around the pole and be visible from the sides of the pole. I drew it in a different angle if it helps to visualize it that way too. Adding the scales on top of the main shapes also is a way to push it further and make it more dynamic and alive, making sure the scales follow the direction of the tail to reinforce that idea of depth. I also think the flaps around the head add a nice composition at the top, too!
@gibble
23d
@viksune
22d
Last one looks like Sonar from Dispatch.
Ash
23d
I love your bats! That last one is definitely scary
Nero
25d
Moths look really cool. I like how the foreshortening came out (especially the hands). But i think i got impatient towards the end, and the legs are a bit off.
@jeep
15d
this looks awesome haha
Ben Kraske
23d
What a cool combination of ideas turned into a really cool character! My one suggestion would be to experiment with darkening some of the lines to give a bit more clarity to your drawing! From far away, the details get a bit lost. Nicely done!!
Anastasiya
28d
Something is off with the legs and I'm not quite sure how to make them better. But I hope the idea with the wind is readable though
Chuck Ludwig Reina
Love this! The wind is totally reading. Sheep are tricky because of so much fluff! Like with drawing people, it is often easier to draw the sheep naked (or as close to it as sheep get!) Finding a pic of a sheared sheep might help. Their wool drops surprisingly far down their body. Also learning the anatomy of 4 legged mammals is very interesting. What we often think of as their elbow (where you have the little curly bit) is actually their wrist! They are really fun to learn to draw, and once you learn one mammal, most are very similar. Again love the drawing. Such fun character.
Cesar Espinoza
I thought it was going to be easy, but it looks like my imagination didn't go that far. Hahaha.
Ash
28d
nice haha
@erinbentley
This was a fun assignment! I think I picked a bit of a hard subject because leopards don’t have super distinctive proportions. My last pic is the “final” one and I’m pretty happy with it. Would take any critiques.
Ben Kraske
1mo
You ended up with a very cute character, nicely done! I like how you leaned into the big eyes, ears, and paws.
@tilbury
1mo
I chose the capybara as my subject. Attached are my references and sketches. Final sketch is the Dancing Queen - sorry if some of my S and C curves are a little bit too thicc.
Ben Kraske
1mo
I love the personality you've given your capybara. Excellent!
@hundredd
1mo
I stumbled upon these little guys (tarsier) while looking for an animal to draw. I thought they had really funny faces so I decided to go with them. I felt like I drew the ears kinda wrong on that first full page sketch so I tried fixing them but I think the first one still has more "character". And curse their freakishly long fingers.
Ash
1mo
I love these. You captured the expression perfectly. They're so weird and cute!
Bashayerfhs Bash
K Town
1mo
I really enjoyed creating the studies for an alligator but I didn’t have too many ideas on what to change. Alligators are cool looking!
Oya
1mo
Drew a few characters
Chuck Ludwig Reina
Super fun!
Ash
1mo
I see you, Alastor-inspired hair!
@ljgrimm
1mo
My son loves sloths.
Destiny Daniel
I've never been one for drawing beetles
@geek432
1mo
My imagination failed to imagine proper paws
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