This week I haven't really had much time for drawing on my tablet - its odd but I think a little break was necessary. I have, however, made sure to doodle in my sketchbook and on random bits of paper/post-it notes (it's funny because my .

I've also done a couple focused areas in my sketchbook, and I think I'm improving a little.
I don't know whether I understand mouths fully though unless they're at one or two angles.

I am doing my best to try and build up a visual library (which is difficult with Aphantasia), I've been studying random people's faces when I'm out of the house to try and learn. I may try to study some faces and do a couple draw over's to learn positioning.

I am also trying to draw and shade shapes in random orientations. I'm not sure how people do this effectively though as I get through a couple orientations and find myself unable to flip and draw shapes in ways to help me learn. Are there any methods you use to do this sort of thing?

Also, is there a trick to the pillars of the mouth? It's one of the many places I'm certain will give me flat faces. Any tips are appreciated

Thanks for the advice @Vonschlippe.
I think much of my drawing comes from replicating Marc's video - he does outline the bottom of the lips and in one section shades the pillars (though I noted he erased the outer edges to leave the render as you've done yourself).
I think, where faces are concerned, I've tried to go off of the memory of both the video and real life, which hasn't helped me out so much. Looking back at the video I see what you've also explained again I'm going to study actual faces and draw over them to learn proportion.

I'm still very unconfident drawing a full head, so similarly to the nose alone, I may post a full process in stages for critique. I think if I can add depth/shading correctly to my drawings this will help, so studies it shall be

When it comes to drawing shapes in different orientations, it is exactly as you suspect. I find that I can draw 3 or 4 different orientations before repetition.

So I attempted to figure out the face a bit more by drawing over some images. It's definitely helpful and has given me some insight, so I'll continue breaking down the face in this way - but i'll take it further when I feel confident enough.

I tried my best here to not just trace over the images, but instead, follow Marc's method to construct the head. For the most part everything worked out fine and it's helped me understand the method a bit more. It's definitely given me help with noses, I don't always have to draw in the full second nostril - it's sometimes obscured by the bottom of the nose. Seeing how noses actually work in addition to @WeirdOwl's advise has given me more insights, and I'm eternally grateful for the advise given here I hope to return it one day.
I have been analysing more people's facial features in tv and whatnot and have seen exactly what @Vonschlippe demonstrated with the bottom lip. However, here I wanted to indicate where both the lips are for reference.

I also attempted to put into practise what i've picked up by drawing the eye of one of my references:

I think the bottom lid is possibly a bit rounder than it should be, and I guarantee that my shading is off (I'll get there ) but I feel like I can at least get references down with enough time. Imagination is going to be difficult D:

There's still areas I don't quite get, like how to identify where the chin ends (for the curved planar lines that go from the ear to the chin - if that's understandable?), or making sure the mouth is correct. I will have to actually attempt a full face drawing from reference.
Hopefully this is a bit more clear:
- For the chin, there's always a section at the most forward part of the chin that looks 'flatter' than the rest. I don't quite know how to find the two points when this 'flattness' ends. I know the chin isn't flat, but it's the easiest way to explain it (I feel like this is confusing D:)

• With the mouth, I can never seem to orient the philtrum correctly which ends up with mouths that look very weird (I don't know how to explain it, but it's evident in my previous post on 11th September). In these references, it looks more flat than I seem to draw it in. I may be putting more thought into this than I should, but it does help me place the top lip a little better when the angles are awkward.

I think the main thing i'm asking here is more for tips others have picked up from drawing faces - i'll be sure to post my own tips should I come across them.

I'm going to draw more from reference for a while to get a better idea. I have issues with the amount of time it takes to do just one (the guides I did took long enough), but I assume this gets faster the more I do it

So my motivation from the last post dwindled due to sorting university stuff out for my Master's Degree.. I haven't done anywhere near as much as I wanted to do.

I'm at that point where I've lost my direction again. It always gets to the point of self-directed learning where I start to get lost. I begin to find frequently that I cannot identify how to progress and end up getting disheartened. I think that because I've wanted to learn how to draw/create digital art for so long, it has a large emotional impact on me.

Today I tried my hand at a head in 2 point perspective:

As a first attempt, i'm pleased with what has come out of this. I definitely need to work on a lot of things, but it looks like a face, and i'm proud of myself I don't quite know where to progress from this, all of my attempts may come out looking the same as this D:

I also drew one of my previous references (the hair was intimidating, so i left it out for now):

This took about 45 minutes, and multiple starting attempts. I'm not displeased, the proportions compared to the reference aren't too bad, and for my first proper attempt at a face, i'd say it's successful. I can't say I've captured the reference as I'd like, but I think some of that would come from shading and maybe the hair.
Other than that, i'm not sure how i'd go about manipulating the features. I used my 'wire mesh' from the previous post to help me out, but even still I struggled with getting it as I wanted.

Would it be better to focus on the separate parts of the face, or work on it as a whole?
Marc's video (Anatomy 2) focuses on the face separately, but I'm a little apprehensive of being able to put the pieces together once I'm confident. I've felt a little more confident with noses, ears and general head proportions, but putting them together not so much.

I appreciate any critique, and advice on my work so far, and also how to more effectively study and understand the anatomy.
My goal is to be able to draw my D&D characters and some other random ideas I get. I want to focus on character and creature design, and maybe add backgrounds to give them life. Reference is applicable (and I will use it lots), but I want to be able to understand how things work so I can go beyond my references.

It's been a while. Such a while I considered making a new thread D: But I ended up realising that I should just keep this one alive

I've started my Master's Degree in Data Science and it did really mess with my ability to focus on drawing. As a result, I had a couple months drawing hiatus, which did upset me - I'm happy to be able to get back to it properly. I did some doodles that I was happy with, but other than that I've not done any drawing

I feared I'd lost progress, so I'm going a lot slower and trying to put more effort into learning each part. I'm really wanting to get the fundamentals down and be able to create things effectively when I feel confident enough to just go for it with my first real pieces.

I haven't begun watching the videos again yet, but I'm using what I've learned with gesture drawing. Despite having a couple months away, I don't feel like I've lost too much of what i'd developed previously.

Ignore the large space (It will be filled :P). The top left was a few weeks/months ago and everything else has been done over the past week or so.

Gesture1_2021.jpg4961x3295 1.6 MB

I went over a few to strengthen the lines, but I'm pleased. So many of the gestures feel very apparent, and there not too much stiffness in the poses. I'm still not sure how to do 'loose' and flowy gestures yet - I'm not super flowy.

I'm also not confident with my lines, they're all scratchy and not nice. Is this a thing that just gets better with time? Or are there exercises I can do to train myself out of it - I don't want the bad habit.