Improvement Timeline: Anaria Part 1: The First Time I Picked Up a Pencil

Oh does this bring back the memories.
This was way back in the day, back when I just quit those accursed drawing lessons. This was back in the day when I was those animu fans we’ve all learned to hate, the ones who hope to make their own series out of their Sailor Moon/DBZ rip off characters.

Now I caution you now: what you’re about to see was drawn back  when I was in grade 4. Actually, if I remember correctly, it was Anaria herself which was the first serious animu character I’ve ever done.
My first animu picture ever, sparking my long animu draw journey. So, overall, it sucks.

Looking back, I’m a little surprised at myself. Though the arms look like they’ve been stretched in a similar fashion people use to do the same to their necks, I actually referenced – yes, people, you heard that right: referenced – my arm for the correct length. Sure, I was sitting down, thus making it seem like my arm reached my knee, but I digress. I still did it.
Don’t you love the InuYasha rip off outfit, too?

Came shortly after the first picture. Her friends were included here, but I cut them out.

…Yet again, more Anaria. There are more pictures in this similar fashion (as I traced the general head shape for the rest, LOL) of her friends, but that’s not worth the time.

Though still horrible shitty, this one, at least, improvements are seen. This is probably drawn when I was in the fifth grade. And, if memory serves me right, this is one of those imaginary scenes of her I’d play in my head and over. I believe she’s in a hot spring in the middle of the forest located in the middle of nowhere.
Ignore the “goddess of the stars” part. I think I forget about that later on anyways (proven by the next pic). Besides, that part is pretty unnecessary.


Drawn on this hugeass pad of cooperate advertising paper with mechanical pencil, coloured with supermarket brand pencil crayons and markers. (A tell-tale sign that these pictures were drawn back in grade 4/early 5)

I was going to delve into her horribly Mary-Sue corrupted back-story, but I’ll save that for another day. Right now, I have something else to show you people:

Meet Anaria’s star/moon goddess form (I’ve always thought it was the moon, but after looking back at some old pictures… guess I was wrong?)  This is a pretty good depiction of my improvement over the years. Lets get this started then, shall we?

1. No surprise that the deformed, excuse-to-not-learn-anatomy-because-it’s-my-“style” picture in the top left is the first in my improvement time line. I mean, look at that. I didn’t even try. I used my before-anime-this-is-how-I-drew-people style on it. So probably around grade 4 was she drawn.
2. Middle left, left of all the eyes comes next. I don’t know why, but when the middle chunk of grade 4 rolled around, it brought forth eyes which got cut off the skull and skinny appendages, but what was next to come was anything but.
3. The picture at the middle right (right of the eyes) still contained the same awkwardness when it came to bodies (I even prefer my older, more petite style over this shit), but now, everything ballooned into even more awkward sizes. At this time, I was obsessed with detail, a detail that never really existed once I look back. I would say this picture was drawn around grade 6.
4. I don’t think I need to explain much when it comes to what comes next: bottom left-hand corner. In grade 8, an epiphany dawned upon me: heads are suppose to be round. Gasp, right? You can see the outline of where I sketched out the roundness before-hand.
5. …All this leaves the picture on the top right to be the most recent! And yes, that is true, being only drawn, perhaps, a week ago – maybe not even. Not much to say besides it kicks all the other ones’ asses.
   

Drawn on lined paper (if it already isn’t obvious) with mechanical pencil.

Improvement Timeline: "That" Face

The reference picture:

First picture: I was still practicing my realism skills so it's a bit rough. I had this thing for elongated features back then, too, if it wasn't obvious. Needless to say, it looks nothing like the original picture.

What the hell happened here?! I got worse in my second sketch. This just looks so screwed up that I don't have words to describe how screwed up it is.

Redrawing of the above pic. I just wanted to see what I could do with a retarded picture and if I just used it as a reference, could I make it look what the reference photo looked like? Well, obviously not, but this looks the most normal of the bunch.
Well, that is until I drew this:

Whoa! Super improvement, I'd say. o-o It started with shit, ended up shittier, and suddenly looked a bit normal out of some freak accident. Though, of course, it's not perfect (like, come on, she's not even facing the right way) it's way way way better than the other ones.

See, practice man.


Made on Strathmore Sketch notebook and (for the first pic) a graph paper pad using mechanical pencil.