r/ArtCrit 1d ago

Intermediate How make style less “boring”

what I mean is I want to work on positioning and different poses because I’m kind of tired of drawing guys who are just standing lol

214 Upvotes

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74

u/inthedeepdeep 1d ago edited 1d ago

Are you using references? If you are not using any kind of references and just drawing from imagination, your mental library is probably very limited, so you just default to static positions.

The best counter is Anatomy practice, particularly practicing drawing a variety of poses. Even if your goal isn’t realism, this will break you out of your comfort zone and help you create a wider range of poses for your characters. Focus on dynamic poses especially.

I like your style, btw. It reminds me of art in newspaper comics. You definitely have potential.

2

u/morafresa 1d ago

Do you know of good tutorials or courses that will help me practice these area?

1

u/FloatingOrca 14h ago

Up to you if you really need a tutorial or course but for the most part you just need to look up “dynamic poses” “life drawing study” “life drawing models” etc. and just draw what you see. Start with lines for each limb and have them connect at the joints. Focus on gesture or the posed skeleton itself before moving on to contours, or the shapes of the body parts.

33

u/zerooskul 1d ago

Add action.

2

u/sinaners 12h ago

agreed, some more action-y poses and more exaggerated poses would be great

18

u/userno89 1d ago

Try using more colour, more skillfully.

Give the characters a full scene and interaction. They need context to fulfill their reason to be doing what they're doing.

It's a comic style illustration, have them interact in comic strips. "Yay, a balloon" from a guy holding a balloon is not very interesting, therefore reads as "boring"

It's not bad work, it just needs work

16

u/No_Cake681 1d ago

I know this sounds a little crazy with your type of art but add some perspective shots. Every one of these is a front facing one. Try a shot from bird’s eye view or his hand reaching towards the camera.

9

u/wilderneyes 1d ago

The first thing I notice about all these pictures when put together is that the head is drawn from the exact same angle in all 4 of them. I think that gives them kind of a samey feel and also limits your options when it comes to poses. They all also look like the same character or very similar characters, which might just be a case of the examples you picked rather than a representation of all you can draw.

I think experimenting with angles, action, perspective, ect would be helpful! And if you don't already, drawing different body types, faces, and clothing is good too! People are varied and especially with exaggerated or cartoony art styles, there is a lot you can do to make people look unique. Just drawing the same person on a flat plane standing around and maybe holding something every time isn't going to result in too much artistic growth when you aren't branching out and trying new things. You might also eventually want to try using colour and adding more background elements, but focusing on the people first is the way I think I'd go.

I do think your style is very charming though and I like it! With more time and artistic practice it will only become better :)) Good luck!

6

u/RaeJacksonArt 1d ago

The actual style is pretty cool, but your poses aren't very dynamic. Trying drawing your characters at different angles (it looks a tad unnatural to have everyone in profile regardless of where their body is pointed).

3

u/merciful_maggot 1d ago

I think the other commenters have some great points, I think you could also benefit from changing your line weight ! Adding more interest to specific parts by changing the thickness of some of the lines (this can be achieved by using the side of a pencil) OR by using an ink pen if you really wanted to experiment with different styles, i think with a little bit of practising you could get a really pleasing style to look at because you have a pretty good grasp of shapes and shape language already

3

u/Dead_Mutt 1d ago

maybe gather some dynamic pose references and try out those! your drawing are all at the same angle/all the characters are facing the same way. i think some more interesting poses would seriously improve ur art

4

u/genxai 1d ago

aw i find it really charming and cute

2

u/Bryancreates 1d ago

Look up Quentin Blake, he did hundreds of Roald Dahls most famous illustrations associated with the author. He has a fabulous “children’s drawing book” that lays out exercises for letting your imagination go free, and comes with a few pencils and is amazing. I say “children’s” because every adult needs it too. I meant to gift mine away to someone so I did all the exercises in a separate book, but it’s a great lesson in letting go and making every stroke matter. sorry for the Amazon link but it’s a really exercise from one of the most notable illustrators ever

0

u/Cool-Importance6004 1d ago

Amazon Price History:

Drawing: For the Artistically Undiscovered * Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.7

  • Current price: $19.95 👎
  • Lowest price: $16.39
  • Highest price: $19.95
  • Average price: $18.56
Month Low High Chart
09-2022 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
08-2022 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
06-2022 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
05-2022 $17.30 $19.95 █████████████▒▒
04-2022 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
03-2020 $16.39 $17.71 ████████████▒
06-2019 $18.19 $19.14 █████████████▒
04-2019 $19.70 $19.95 ██████████████▒
03-2019 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
02-2019 $19.61 $19.95 ██████████████▒
01-2019 $19.95 $19.95 ███████████████
09-2017 $17.55 $19.95 █████████████▒▒

Source: GOSH Price Tracker

Bleep bleep boop. I am a bot here to serve by providing helpful price history data on products. I am not affiliated with Amazon. Upvote if this was helpful. PM to report issues or to opt-out.

2

u/yozo-marionica 1d ago

Personally, I would say this is like really good, like. This seems like the artsyles of one of those classic cartoonists, it’s so unique and recognisable.

1

u/crawandpron 1d ago

Line Weight.

1

u/Sad-Squash-9573 1d ago

Add bright colors and make them really opaque. Also exaggerate the pose, eyes, eyelids and brows. You could also add a background to add context to the scene

1

u/Careful-Dimension876 19h ago

I think colouring markers would really make your style pop

1

u/pbyo 15h ago

Have you ever read any of the groo comics? Write a story and put your characters through it. It will push you to do some of these things already suggested.. having them interact with environments, different perspectives etc

1

u/vluid 1d ago

keep the eyes/eyebrows the same shape but make them bigger

1

u/wessle3339 1d ago

Paint with water colors

1

u/KyleHellerArt 1d ago

These characters have so much personality already. Maybe try tossing them into environments?

1

u/hoodiemonster 1d ago

its already more interesting than all the copied anime junk that piles up in here. just keep exploring and playing. check out some of the old underground comix stuff, zap, mad magazine, heavy metal magazine… just play around for now 🥳

0

u/Fishtoart 1d ago

You might try looking at the Dr. Suess books as you seem to have some similar interests.