TF2 Soldier Sketch (Critique)

FractaL

Hey guys, I got a wacom tabet (intuos4 medium) for Christmas, and I've been practicing at least 3 times a week with it. I have finally produced a sketch that is decent enough to be posted online. I know this forum is more for doing 3d modelling, but you technically need reference for modelling. My goal in the end is to try to recreate low-poly models of my sketches with 3DS Max.

Please help me learn by pointing out as many flaws as possible! Also you can compare my sketch to the image I used as a reference...

REF:


SKETCH:


Thanks in advance guys!

Jason Young

Biggest one I see is he's leaning way to the left making him feel off balance. You can try flipping the image every once in awhile during drawing as it will sometimes reveal issues that you may not have seen otherwise.

Attila

For starters, focus on basic human anatomy and proportions, and draw through the figure instead of trying to get the outlines perfect. Valve has called the TF2 art direction "stylized realism" and it is influenced by the famous 20th century illustrators. Practice your basics, and just know that there's no shortcut to good.

Wacom tablets can be difficult to draw freehand with, because your input is happening in a different place than you see the result. It doesn't feel quite like regular drawing tools either. Something that I wish someone had told me when I first got my tablet is to tape a good piece of a rough, thick paper (watercolor is good) to the surface. That improved my control and the experience, at the cost of shorter nib life.

Good luck and work hard.