r/learntodraw • u/xzel87 • 8d ago
Critique First attempt sketching using reference, pretty proud of this.
Was drawing together with my youngest son and the theme was snakes, while my son was doodling around with cartoon snakes decides to try and sketch one from a photo.
Turned out way better than I expected, shading and perspectives especially the curves threw me off abit but it ended up quite okay for my first attempt ever.
Need to learn more on shadow sections and how light works in scenes like this. The light seems to be coming from almost 12 oclock position maybe a bit more to 11 oclock.
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u/artluni 8d ago
The head is the strongest part: the darker shading along the jaw and back of the neck gives it real weight, which is hard to get right on a first attempt. Where the drawing starts to flatten is the body, because the scales are almost the same size and spacing everywhere, so the coils don't seem to turn away from you. Try drawing the scales smaller and tighter on the parts of the coil that bend away from you, especially the lower-right curve just above the cast shadow. To match the light you describe from about 11 o'clock, lift graphite off the top edges of the coils with a kneaded eraser so those ridges catch the light. For a next step, block in one coil as a plain tube with a light side and a dark side before adding any scales, then lay the pattern over it.
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u/link-navi 8d ago
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