So very new at this...

[TurtleJen]

Welcome!

I like this channel on youtube for helping with proportions and such. http://www.youtube.com/user/Sycra

:D

[WhiteDove01s]

Thanks for all the welcomes.

The quote button seems to have disappeared on me, and I haven't memorized the HTML code yet, so...

From SoapBubbles
>>For drawing proportions, have you checked out any tutorials available on DeviantArt? I'm not very good at drawing, but whenever I get constructive criticism for my drawings a lot of people praise me saying that it's good that I've got the proportions down. And the only 'lessons' I've had for proportions are a couple of free tutorials that I found online on DeviantArt, so I'm sure it'll be worth checking out at the very least.

I've wandered around there a bit for doll faceup tutorials, but not for anything on flat drawings. I never really liked drawing on paper. Even with shading the images are just flat, and I've always preferred things I could hold and look at from different angles... a real thing instead of a flat image. I tried model car kits as a kid and liked that a little better, except that I wasn't really into cars (at all, unless they turned into giant robots) and I had to get the snap-together ones because I had troubles using superglue. (I seem to have outgrown that at least, and can use it now.) I've also done and liked raytracing and 3-d graphics, but I can't afford the better software for that kind of thing.

The pictures I've done since middle school fit in two notebooks, and I'm no spring chicken. I also know what I mess up with proportions. I draw the eyes too large, the arms and legs tend to be too short, and the hands and feet shrink down out of scale. It's almost like the figures had a chibi grandparent or something, not enough to look chibi themselves, just enough to look a little weird. I can watch for this and do flat images right, but I draw very slowly anyway and after a few hours I have cramps in my hand and neck. It's just too much trouble for one image. And, yes, I know that a whole lot of practice might correct my habits with proportion, but I'd rather spend my time on an art form I actually would enjoy doing instead of something that feels like a placeholder and causes me physical pain. I really think the dolls might be what I'm looking for there, and the proportion issues I have wouldn't apply there since the bodies are already made and there's an outline on the head for the eyes.

From TurtleJen:
>>I like this channel on youtube for helping with proportions and such. http://www.youtube.com/user/Sycra

Again, thanks, but as I said, it won't be an issue when doing doll face-ups, or at least the parts I tend to mess up won't be. Also, I'm on dial-up, so youtube is very difficult for me. I'm hoping to get highspeed soon, though. Soon, however, for me, means 'in a year or two'.

[Fallen-AngelGirl]

Welcome! ^^ It looks like you have a lot of plans huh? I think you'll love the hobby even if you got into it spontaneously. Heck, I just came across BJDs one day on Deviantart and instantly fell in love with them. They offer ENDLESS possibilities for being creative and they're the perfect way to create a tangible representation of an original character. I'm sure you'll find some useful info on here ^^

[WhiteDove01s]

Yeah. I've already taken a dremel to one of the Back Room Barbies to provide myself with a decent Little Old Lady head for one character. Most of mine are either from a Megaman AU I've roleplayed for over the past eight years, some Final Fantasy 9 charas, some from playing through Star Wars tabletop scenarios... There are a few original ones in there, too.

I really love how poseable the BJDs are, even with my budget meaning I'll be sticking to the 1/6 scale Obitsus (with salvaged Barbie heads). I'll be able to script out fights and not have to worry about whether or not I can draw them since I can just take a picture.

I was a little worried my last post here might have gotten a bit snippy regarding the drawing issue. I've had signs over the past couple of years of what I highly suspect might be arthritis. There's no way I could draw enough to do all the stories I'd like, even with some of my proportion problems aside. At least with doll face-ups, you're not supposed to do too much at a time. Rather like with the dremel... it starts to get hot and I have to turn it off and give it a rest after about three minutes, which is about when my hands need a rest too.

It's going to be a lot of fun, and a good creative outlet, to find ways to make all of the charas look the way I want them to. And since I finally have a laptop with a webcam, I plan to record a lot of that, just in case there's something someone else might be able to make use of. I'll likely share sewing patterns as I adapt them, too... though that's holding on when I get the bodies I want.

[maywong]

Hi and welcome.