First drawing in 7 years.

[Peter McCoy]

http://www.plmccoy.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/draw/alien3b.jpg

This is my first serious attempt at a proper drawing in about 7 years (since I did art at GCSE-level). I used to draw quite a bit when I was younger, but my enjoyment faded as I studied GCSE art. I just didn't like drawing still life. I was good at art though, so it was an easy subject to get a good mark for. Part of me wishes I did it for A Level and then maybe pursued it at university level in a graphic way.

But I'm now resolved to practice and develop my technique so that I can produce work of the same quality (or as close as I can get) to the Dark Horse comics. I need to focus on being able to design my own aliens/characters and then scenes, rather than copying other images for practice (but that's where I'll start). But it all seems very daunting at the moment. Any comments on the pic or even tips/suggestions for getting started would be very much appreciated.

[HK-48]

I can't draw very well, but this is pretty good. You used smudging! =) Uh, the head is gleaming on some parts, and so is the tail. I can't think of anything about tips! Good job :dance

[Peter McCoy]

Thanks for the feedback :) Not sure what you're getting at by saying the head and tail are gleaming. If you mean the huge white 'bubbles', it's intentional.

[Taja Loraan]

My advice would be to stock up on pencils of varying softness/blackness, and work on your depth and shading. Heck, anything darker than HB ought to do the trick. This (http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs8/300W/i/2005/319/a/4/Scarecrow_Original_by_aranaea.jpg) is something I did very quickly using only a 4B pencil to show you what I mean, but I suggest using an entire arsenal of different types. That way you could get the gleam just right, by forming a subtle gradient instead of having the transition jump suddenly from dark to light, and your pencil strokes won't be too visible either.

Otherwise, good stuff. I like the teeth. :D

[Zeke]

Yeah, he's probably talking about the highlights. I like that they're not placed randomly all over; it looks like there's an actual light source. The figure's arms are kinda stiff looking, but otherwise everything looks good. :)