I'm learning how to draw chibi style, and I wanted a few pointers.

So, this is the:

"DRAWING TIP THREAD!"

Just ask/answer questions, and stuff. This is for anyone.

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Whenever I draw regular style (non-chibi), I always fail on the hands. Any tips?

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When it comes to drawing the chibis, the first thing I always say is: Be Simple.
The point of chibis to draw a "simplified" person. It's best not to get caught up in details.
Another is to stick to your proportions. Whether you draw your chibis 2, 3, or even 4 heads tall, always stick to that.

For hands, look online for a picture of a hand that is close to what you have in mind. As you get better, you will be sureprised at how well you can draw them on your own.

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What's a good technique for drawing the outlines of faces? It always comes out weird when I try...

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Hmm... I dunno about that.... I usually just freehand the faces.

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Pay very, very, very close attention to the curvature of a face when drawing it. Look at it from different angles. If you're drawing a three-quarter view, which is sometimes considered the hardest, I would suggest looking at a model.

I wouldn't recommend looking at your own face for reference. The "ideal face" would be a nice forehead, indentation near the eyes, normal-to-thin cheeks, and a visible chin. A visible jawbone is extremely nice. Draw while your model has a "neutral face"--not smiling, etc. Things like ears you really need to pay a LOT of attention to, but as for everything, try and look at as many models as you can to get a good overall feeling for drawing. I usually use Obama for reference. http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog ... 20size.jpg http://images.politico.com/global/07101 ... itters.jpg http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/barack-obama-4.jpg http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/photos/ ... obama1.jpg (The last two are REALLY good.) You'll eventually round out your own style, once you get on a roll.

If there's anything on faces you need SPECIFIC help on, please ask! :)

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Last edited by Haibara~n on Fri Jun 06, 2008 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Obama? as a reference? Cool.

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For the hand drawing thing, I don't know about chibi but it would probably be best to get a grasp on hands in general first, yeah? This tutorial is great http://alexds1.deviantart.com/art/Hand- ... l-83785318

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this is cool.

chibi heads usually really round, child-like. It's like drawing a baby's head so I guess you can use babies or toddlers for reference.

argh, it's so hard to explain things without pictures.. >.<

maybe I'll make some tutorials later, when I'm not really busy..

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Oh, If anyone uses Open Canvas 1.1 and is willing to draw and post their recordings, that's actually a really good resource for watching someone draw. The last version of 1.1 has it so you can slow down/speed up the drawing too, which is really neat.
I can probably upload some of mine if you're interested, but I'm not the greatest.

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Well, even though it's a good idea to do so, I hardly EVER use the "cross-lines-and-circle" way of drawing heads...I just start at the middle-forehead and draw a line all the way down. Then I draw the chin, and go back up. As soon as I draw the neck, it suddenly looks like a face rather than a misshapen line.

So I'm probably not a good example when it comes to that....DX

Although, I guess I could try! o__o

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OH, When I said chibi (though I am still learning chibi) I meant the style of drawing as seen in "Ultimate Naruto Fanflashes." (My friend made those, btw!) (NEVERMIND, THE BITCH LIED TO ME she wasn't snow) It's also the style of art in Sklarvv's "If you're Leo, then..." drawing.

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Last edited by PhoenixFire on Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You know Snow?
And, holy crap my ego just balooned up pretty badly XD THANKS
I'll do a drawing tut if you really want.

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Ya, she goes to my school. (She might be lying to me, but she showed me some concept art for a new flash. Looks exactly like its from a flash. )

Sure, I would enjoy a tutorial, plz. What's that style called, anyway? ^_^

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Cooly.

My style..? I have no clue. XD

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But yeah, a tut is a good idea!

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Lies, you totally rock.

I'll start on the tut then, though I won't have my tablet for a few days..

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You should try it! I think if used once in a while, it can be of great help.

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Drawing hand...here is a page from my drawing guide book:


Drawing hands joint by joint,considering the fingers as connected tiny cylinders...it helps a lot.

I strongly recommend imitating all hands on this picture carefully, trying to use the skill on the above page. Maybe you will find yourself have some idea of drawing hands after that...at least it worked to me.


And the most important point is, always keep one thing in mind: hand is something three-dimensional, not a paper.=P

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Last edited by Komachi on Sun Jun 08, 2008 3:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

TUESDAY!!! I LOVE YOUR WORK!!!!!!!

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Haaaa! EVERYONE loves anything made by かようび.♥

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Thanks!> < Ah...I'm sorry, I submitted the reply by mistake before I could post the page...now it has been fixed!XD

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Thanks, Tues.... You are truly amazing. ^_^

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No problem, I'm always ready to steal others' wonderful drawing skillsXDDD

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ahh chibis~ They are usually fat, cute, and wide eyed. But they can also be tall and have some detail [I like those kind usually~ but the fat ones are cute!] They style differs on the person. I would try to just look up as many tut's as you can, take advice from all these awesome people, and then keep your pencil to the paper :D




andIneedsomehelppleasealso >>;; I cant draw side view for free box to sleep in at night. I always draw the nose too...wierd! And the lips.....D8 And its just epic phail. Help would be awesome!

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anyone here using manual watercolor? or any manual technique?

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@Yamineco- I lived off faber-castell brushypens till I got my tablet, if that counts.
Can't paint to save my life

EDIT- Holy crap, did Tues actually draw that?
Stop asking ME crap, man XD

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Oh...no, it comes from one of my favorite GS fan site. Here

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Uh, I'm not that skilled at drawing, but I know a good technique for drawing hands.

Draw a sort of curved rectangle, just to get the shape and position, roughly. Then you can start to add detail without messing up the general shape of the hands! ^o^

*bump*

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Okay... <<

>>

Bumping this because it was very helpful.

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Any new techniques?

*takes out pen and papers

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Hurm, I may not be the best person to explain this, but I'll try.

First let's talk about proportions.

Chibi style usually means super-deformed style, as in proportions do not follow an average humans. Normally in manga/anime a character would be 6-8 heads tall, whereas for chibis it would be 3-4 heads. An adult's shoulders are usually 1.5 to a little over 2 head wide, legs are as long as the body and head combined (usually ending at the hip) Also elbows are usually at waist level, and the hands when in resting position (as in straight down on the sides) it would reach half of the thigh, about a palm length below the butt.

Now when you've known about the basic rules of proportion, it's time to bend them! You already know that chibi characters usually have large heads, so you can make the shoulders as wide as the head itself. You can also try cramming the rest of the body and legs into the 2-3 head space as I mentioned earlier while following the abovementioned loosely. Normally an average adult human's hand would be almost as big as the face when fully spread out, but for chibis you can shrink them for the baby/child-like feel. As for feet it depends to each person's preference and style, some have huge clunky feet while some have just as tiny feet as hands : 3

When it comes to faces if you're still a beginner, it's best to use the circle and lines method, it actually helps you map out where each facial part would go. Normally I would draw out a circle, a jawline, then a cross to indicate which direction the character is facing. I would then draw one eye in one of the upper "quarters" of the face making sure to leave about half an eye's space from the middle line, then the other eye following the same rule (if you haven't noticed the space between your eyes is aprox one eye's length : 3) then a nose (that's another lesson altogether so I guess just look around and see what you like XD) slightly below the central crossover point aaand then the mouth somewhere in the center of the bottom "half". Also the top of the ears are on the same level as the middle of the eyes, but you can adjust accordingly for chibis. Please don't forget humans and chibis both have foreheads, so don't draw the eyes too high and near the hairline or too low and far away >___<"

On hands and feet again it's a totally long lesson itself, I'll save it for next time ~___^" In brief for chibis draw a circle for the palm, then draw a sort of rectangle with an extra point at where the middle finger would be (so it would be a 5 point) connected to the circle, and a small rectangle for the thumb to serve as a guide and for the feet draw a right angled wedge (think of doorstoppers)

After that proportion lesson it's time to ask yourself what kind of chibi style you want to draw. I myself have two styles of drawing chibis, one of which I call the "spastic style" which you can see in my avatar and sig. It's rather simple and angular as break the head, body, arms and legs into parts when I draw in this style. Also the facial feature are extremely simple that they look like emoticons. It's pretty quick to draw too, that's why I usually draw like this when I'm commenting on Tegaki or chatting on MSN or Paintchat. The other style I use is more for refined works (though not very when you think about it) which is when I start paying attention to proportions and details. But like someone said earlier keep it simple, so don't go crazy over too much details otherwise it would look like a overaged dwarf instead of a kid lawl.

ETA: I just realised the question was to how to draw non-chibi hands *fails*

Anyway for drawing non-chibi styles, you may be able to draw super bishie people but they look dead or they only just stand there. So grab a sketchbook, go out and do gesture drawing. Keep it quick (the norm is 30 seconds to 1 minute) and simple, remember you just want to practice drawing poses so forget about the intricate details. After some sessions you'll find that you would be able to picture poses much more easily. : 3

Yes it applies to hand gestures as well.

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