# Newbie



## Kittiefurr (Jul 11, 2015)

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum here and kinda new to drawing. I've only been drawing for a couple years (self taught). I just wanted some insight on a few of my drawings. Any advice or tips on how to better my art skills? The bird facing the left was about 2 years ago, and the bird facing the right is more recent.


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## chanda95 (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi!! Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you here.

The main thing I always say is..ditch the outlining if you want a more realistic effect. When you do your initial outline do it very lightly so that when you shade in your outline virtually disappears. Also - work on shading. I think practicing going from dark to light - holding the pencil at different pressures on your paper will really help. Once you get shading down there is no limit to how far you can go. 

Your work really shows a lot of promise. You have very nice line work and control. I think you have loads of potential!


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## Kittiefurr (Jul 11, 2015)

Thank you! I will try the lighter outline next time. Maybe I can find some videos on shading ?


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## FanKi (Apr 23, 2015)

I liked the three of them :3

Keep showing us your art! ^^


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

I can see a marked improvement from the bird done two years ago to the one done recently. That in my book is what art is all about, constantly improving.


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## Kittiefurr (Jul 11, 2015)

Thank you!


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## newartist (Jul 11, 2015)

Hi!

You're already really good, especially for someone who is self-taught and has only been drawing for 2 years! Personally I think your shapes are pretty nice but that your textures could use work. How much more awesome would that bird look if you had a branchy/wooden texture under the bird's feet and really feathery textures on the body?

I haven't used *this exact* tutorial before, but I really like Tuts Plus for animal drawing. It has helped me with the cheetah project I'm working on right now. This is their page on birds. A lot of it is anatomical, but the end shows a bit about how to place your feathers. 

This is a cool, basic intro to the textures that wood can have. This might help with the branches.


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## CEDRU (Jul 13, 2015)

Nice work , try to study more the bird anatomy and proportions , but it's very good!


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## SmashedCake (Jul 26, 2015)

What style are you hoping to achieve with your art? Realistic, or more on the illustrations side? The reason I ask is because I think these are an awesome start to a comic/illustration style! I've tried for years to achieve that particular ability, and I just can't.


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