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Doodling is good. It simulates the brain and keeps one preoccupied. But one must be quite bored to stand drawing the same missing hands and the horribly stiff posture over and over and over again. So, here are some experiences I’ve accumulated over the years, condensed into two parts. One can draw anything and call it art, but hopefully, this guideline will save some eyes from bleeding too hard.

1. Technicalwise

Chicken-scratches Are Bad

i.e. Short and thick lines due to the use of wrists instead of arms. They are bad. Don’t over-sketch your lines, instead, go over them in one swift motion for guaranteed smoothness.

If you are uncertain as to how you should proceed with your character(s), don’t sketch multiple lines until your person looks passable. Instead, draw a thumbnail as a guide, or lightly sketch preliminary lines signifying the location of torso and limbs. If those guides look unnatural, trust your instincts: something is wrong.

Style

I’ve heard from young to old that they have a certain “style”. Although style may exempt you from correct anatomy, it does not automatically make you a good artist. Understand what humans look like–only then are you allowed to break rules.

Anime

Why is everything so pointy? Is it a guy? A girl? Is it alive? Should we shoot it in the face? What on earth is it?

I hold no grudge against anime or manga, but life feels hopeless when everybody jumps on the anime bandwagon. Develop your unique point of view and truly call it yours.

2. Anatomicalwise

Learn Anatomy

Not everyone can sit through an entire biology class, but if you want to draw well, hit the books. Many anatomy books offer pictures and explanation of skeletal and muscular structures of the body. As a bonus, you can talk like a genius in front of your friends once you learned the names of different body parts.

Draw From Life

Experience is a good teacher when it comes to drawing people. If you don’t have a model available at your request, you can be a narcissist and stare at yourself in front of the mirror, be a stalker and look at other people, or be an online predator and look at pictures of other people on the Internet. Your choice.

Details are Your Friend

Don’t be afraid of the flowing cloths or the shimmering hair. The more you tackle the challenge, the easier they become. These details also enhance the quality of your drawing.

The Clothes

I don’t mean to sound like a party pooper, but clothes do follow the rules of physics and get affected by gravity. Unless you do not believe that people die by falling off tall buildings, or the clothing is made from neutrinos, your folds ought to be logical. Try studying from real life and see how clothes fold and reflect light.

The Hair

The hair is not a mass of strands originating from your head. Things get from bad to worse when you treat those strands in bundles to make life easier for yourself. Instead, treat hair as a solid, and imagine (or from reference) how the it lies and reflects lights. Details can then be based on those information for more elegance or ornamentance, whatever you are looking for.

Show Your Stuff

If you can’t draw detailed things, like hands, hair, feet, and etc., don’t hide them. Hiding them makes learning twice as hard, and is often a great indicator for inexperience. If you cannot visualize the fingers, look at your own hand or borrow somebody else’s hand for reference. There are always props lying around for you to use.

Storytime

Sometimes, poses can be very stiff and uncooperative. In that case, make up a story for a more natural pose.

1. Where is that person?
2. What is he/she thinking and feeling?
3. What condition is he/she in?

Say, you have a girl standing with a pretty skirt you designed. She looks very unnatural and stiff.

1. She might be on a catwalk/on the street/in a studio.
2. She might be very arrogant/very bored/working.
3. She might be a pampered model/a tired prostitute/a newbie weatherperson.

Repose your character and give her the appropriate expression so that she’ll fit right into your story. Many good art involving people tells a story, however drab or exotic. And when people stare deeply into the heart of drawings and paintings, they see some sort of story, guestured through colours and lines.