jesus christ how long will it take until im fucking decent?

>but then when i go to draw some shit from imagination
This is just an ide but, maybe you are not used to drawing from imagination? could it be that you need time to get used to it? how long have you been trying it out?
Also, might as well post work if you want critiques

show one of your works.

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this isn't as bad as i usually draw. this is completely from imagination, save for me feeling my neck muscles to see if the sternomastoid would pop out a bit like hers. i think thats it... sorry kind of shitty pic

>>3095224
>>3095240
bait

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this is what most of my shit looks like. im not really sure where to go from here. the girl i posted before is a fucking fluke.. every once in a blue moon i can draw something like that, even though it's not that amazing. most of the time its garbage like this, or dumb little cartoon faces, because thats all my imagination can muster up it seems

>>3095240
Not bad for 2 years. Keep at it and stop being impatient.

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sorry it was too huge, resized it

>>3095251
what? that is fucking horrendous for 2 years. its literally indistinguishable from some day 1 weeb drawing

>>3095255
How old are you?

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these stupid little square head dudes are like the only things i can do consistently from imagination. but this isnt anime shit

>>3095261
oh...

>>3095263
yup. every once in a while ill draw a decent anime thing. but i can count how many times ive done that on one hand it seems...

most of the time, when im drawing from imagination, it feels like im bumbling around, and all the hours studying these art books and drawing gesture seem to just disappear. like i have NO idea what im doing

>>3095224
Vilppu's systematic approach in figure drawing helped tremendously, because you learn how to approach a problem step by step starting with the most fundamental part of a drawing to the last bits of details that gives results you should search for his videos.

>>3095269
what series is it? i'm subscribed to New Masters Academy's videos and Villpu has videos on there

>>3095253
I don't think it is as bad as you say, but maybe you you could focus a bit more on making it more appealing.
Maybe try looking at pictures you like, take a look at the poses, the angle, maybe other features you notice that may be the reason why you like them.
>>3095255
It depends on what those 2 years have been of. This is something people here always struggle to get. If you spend 2 years learning to draw portraits of pretty girls in 2/3 view, you are gonna make some pretty draws of pretty girls on 2/3 views, but that's it.
If you spent that time grasping the foundation several things, it'll take you some time before your 2/3 view portraits start looking as good as the previous one's, but you are gonna be capable of more.

>>3095272
Start with the series that begins with gesture and it then continues onto forms and progresses to using anatomy.

>>3095284
ive been doing gesture, so a lot of quick drawings of different dynamic poses (mostly women, but ive been doing more men recently).

i've been watching anime and drawing bits and pieces of it as i watch. also have some manga books and ill just draw some faces/features (like eyes, some hair etc) once in a while.

ill also take books like george bridgman and paul richer and ill draw the diagrams/drawings from their books. ill just go throughout my day and think about all of the drawings... how this muscle fits into that muscle; ill try to rotate the human body around in my head, remember different anatomy things (or whatever i studied), etc. it all feels like its been BARELY helping and it all fucking goes away when i try to draw from imagination

The gap between studying and drawing from imagination needs time to bridge especially if you don't excersize it. I'll recommend drawing from a photo into weeb style or do a study, cover it up and draw the pose from memory, do corrections, then try again from memory.

>>3095303
how long do you think itll take to get decent at that? im decent at drawing from reference but like i said, my imagination shit is garbage. after around 2 years of working hard at this shit, im kind of losing my patience

not saying im going to quit, just wondering how long you think it'd take

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>>3095224
>but then when i go to draw some shit from imagination,
>imagination
>an entirely different skill that you barely practice

dont give up, anon.

>>3095307
>2 years
8 months of drawing exclusively from imagination (no more reference/studies) daily assuming you are a wagie (~3 hours practice daily)

the jump to imagination is overrated you won't even notice when you have it figured out, just keep going. All you're really doing is forcing your brain to remember and adapt to hard mode.

>>3095309
yeah i mean, most of my 2 years of drawing have been studying from books/drawing from reference and NOT drawing from imagination. but ive been doing imagination drawing more recently.

its just progress with drawing seems mad slow. sucks. i feel like even with all the reference drawing ive done, my imagination drawings shouldnt look as shitty as they do.

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>>3095224
This probably isn't the best way to do things, but I've been drawing for like 3 years and have also improved very little and only just started portrait drawing a few months ago.
What I do is, start a portrait study and try to get the proportions and general shapes down as accurately as possible (I'm impatient so everything is always off) and plop down landmarks for the lighting and try to adjust things to stylize it to anime while adding the values in.

Drawing from imagination is hardest thing to do, because you need to know everything beforehand and you need to remember that in the process.

If you can draw good using refs then you are good to go. Imagination work will come with experience

>>3095224
you should only draw from imagination if you have to. Always use reference. As many as possible. If you draw a hand incorrectly from memory each time you draw it you will be imprinting that image of an incorrect hand into your mind.

Always use reference when creating art.

>>3095224
I have been drawing for almost 5 years and I have yet to make something decent

>>3095224
I drew at least 4 hours every single day for 5 years before I became good. Like pretty much anything in life, it takes a shit ton of time and effort to become proficient at something. I went from being barely being able to draw stick figures to getting a full scholarship at an atelier. With some serious training and constant drawing i'd be shocked if you didn't see any major results in a month. I'll give you some learny material if you're interested but you're probably just a lazy american

>>3095307

It depends anon on how well you know your material. Instead of time measurement I would do a checklist. Do a study, then try to do it from memory as a check on what you still need to work on. Gesture? Anatomy? Face? This video has someone working on this excersize

https://youtu.be/ZJlCCNeMsHA

do little projects from animation. have a sketchbook for ideas. don't judge yourself too hard. just have fun.

>>3095380
from imagination*

>>3095352
You can get scholarships at ateliers?
But really, what kind of work do you even do that you wanted to go to an atelier? Traditional work then?

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>>3095224
Been there, and have been trying to draw anime for 3 years now. Don't worry OP you're not retarded or something.

These anons >>3095227 >>3095303 >>3095340 >>3095343 are right on the money. The imagination wall is what stops you drawing anime. Honestly at your level you shouldn't even approach that bloody wall, first learn to draw from reference at least

>>3095390
Sounds like it goes.
Imagination > Reference > Memory > Better Imagination

>>3095261
that anime eye on the top left looks kinda neat. Almost like a kanji.

>>3095398
That is a kanji, anon.

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>>3095224
>jesus christ how long will it take until im fucking decent?
>been trying to draw weeb shit for like two years now.
yeah

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You have to practice drawing from imagination to be able to draw from imagination well.
Crazy, I know.

>>3095469
>tfw remember drawing from imagination being the hardest part of my HS art class
>"just do what you want anon"
>fuck I don't know what to do
>week goes by without any progress
Just copying off a ref is so much easier.

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>>3095352
yes give me all of the material you have. i have a bunch of recommended shit (loomis, bridgman, etc) but tell me some shit i should get

>>3095303
also i tried this exercise before. stopped and went to get donuts but it seemed interesting

>>3095224
How about you learn to draw because... you enjoy it? Like for fun. You'll burn out otherwise.

>>3095524
why wouldnt you want to draw well if you've been learning to draw? why would you be satisfied if your shit isnt great?

but honestly, drawing is generally not fun for me. whether its because im just not satisfied with my work, i just dont like drawing, or a combination of both, im not sure. but i sure as hell am frustrated with my lack of progress, even though ive been working pretty hard.

>>3095224
Try drawing without construction.

>>3095539
really? you don't like the construction approach?

POST PROKO'S COMPLETELY ORIGINAL DRAWING OF A BIRD

>>3095319
>>3095514
Based on these drawings, you start defining the lines too early.

Learn a proper sketching technique. Draw the lines of action, lightly add some shapes then spend time adding volume to them. If something looks off, go back and fix it. You should go over areas atleast 2-3 times until it's safe to define them.

Draw using A3 paper and fill the whole paper with the character. It might seem like a waste, but it's the best way to see all the details and learn from your mistakes.

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>>3095539
Bad advice. Construction is good if you tweak it for anime

>>3095539
ive always thought construction was the brainlets task. i confirmed this when i learned that not everyone is capable of 3d visualization.

>>3095564
You have to be able to imagine stuff to draw from imagination. >>3096050

>>3096045
This is just ugly

>>3096094
>You have to be able to imagine stuff
Is there such a thing as 'imagination skill'? I mean, do people who suck at visualization get better by drawing?

>>3096045
that looks nothing like anime tho, looks closer to disney or "cal arts tumblr style"

many say the key number is 10.
10 years.

I'm on year 8 lol

>>3095253
>>3095240

Grab "Anatomy for sculptors"
study some proportions, muscle groups, etc... and your mango will improve.

But really, keeping an eye on the proportions might help you lots.

>>3096140
People who never really drew from imagination only imagine an "idea" I guess you could say. They don't really have a clear picture of what everything looks like and where all the lines have to go without reference.

>>3096180
mmm yeah, I generally don't think too much about any kind of proportion system. maybe that'd help

>>3096045
Who is this artist??????

>>3096350
Teal-line guy. Was one of the best anons on here until the shitposters bullied him away, although I think I did see him posting a few weeks ago

>>3097099
yep, at the inception of the anime thread, what a weird coincidence

>>3096140
You can get better at visualization.

>>3095224
Dig up the archives or ask around the artbook thread and find the "Sketching Manga-Style" pdfs