The Caffeine Queen's "Art"

[QueenOfCoffee]

Okay, so... Those who have seen my introduction post will have seen that I mentioned I draw. I am by no means a good artist. I stopped drawing properly for a while, but recently, I decided to start again. And that included trying my hand at digital art, as well as a new style for traditional art. Feedback and critique are both very much welcome.

Here are a bunch of drawings I recently did, a mix of digital and traditional. Yes, quite a bit of it is furry, because that's what I've mainly been focusing on lately. The titles of the spoilers are a little... formal, I know. But that's the best way for me to organize all of them in one post. Plus, it does make it a lot easier for me, as I'm doing this on my phone right now. They're not in the same order as I drew them, I can't be bothered with figuring out which came first.

Queen Espresso - Digital

So, my main anthro character is called Espresso (you can probably guess why). She's a bat, who loves coffee. Here is a silly little picture I did, with her as the 'Queen Of Coffee'. Once I finally stop being lazy and get on my laptop, this will be my profile picture.

Espresso - Traditional

Here are a couple drawings of Espresso in my new style. Ignore the mess on the first one, I spilled my coffee on the paper when I was drawing.

Demon Cat - Traditional

This is a little demon cat I drew in my new style, just to try drawing something other than Espresso in the style.

Lukas Dean - Traditional

The other day, I couldn't find an image I liked for a character of mine, so I decided to draw one instead. It turned out more feminine than intended, but I'm still happy with it.

Smokey Cat - Digital

I was messing about with the watercolor brush on Ibis Paint, and made this cutey.

Unnamed - Digital

I decided to mess around a little with colors and shading, and made this. It has been likened to a messed up gremlin, but I like it anyway.

Roman and Lukas - Traditional

This was a drawing I did, of a little scene between my character and someone else's. Their character is Roman, the taller one on the left. Mine is Lukas, the shorter one on the right. No, it is not the same Lukas as the above drawing. I'm just not always the most creative with names, and I like the name Lukas.

If you can't read the writing:-
Roman: Hey Shortie
Lukas: Don't call me that...

Bluebell - Digital

And last but not least, another anthro character, Bluebell. I drew her and then put a... sepia filter, I think(?) on the drawing, and I liked the way it looks like that. Simple as.

That's all, folks!

I will most likely post more of my art here, at some point. As I said at the beginning, feedback and critique are both very much welcome. And if you have any suggestions for things I should try drawing, I'll be more than happy to hear them!

 

[Daz]

I am not really an artist - I just sketch stuff occasionally - so take all of my advice with a big ol' handful of salt.

I think it would be good to work on your lineart. Your traditional drawings have a very sketchy style, which isn't inherently wrong, but if you wanted a more "finished" look you should have some cleaner lines. You might want to consider inking over your pencils drawings. This video gives some tips for traditional lineart. Your digital lines look somewhat unnatural, like they're too straight. For example, all the hair on Bluebell's ears just sticks straight up in clumps, which isn't what real fur looks like. Perhaps using some references would help you create more natural looking lines? This video might have some helpful digital lineart tips too. Your digital lines are looking pretty smooth though! It can take a a lot of practice to draw smooth lines, as your hands can be a bit shakey when you first start out.

I think my number one tip would be to use some references. Even when you've got a non-realistic style, references can help you get an idea of what things should look like before you stylise them. For example, I take pictures of my hands so I know what my desired hand gesture is meant to look like, even though I'm drawing in a cartoony style. The demon cat looks like you used a reference since it's tough to get the shape of a snout right without references, and that's a pretty accurate snout. If you drew that without a reference, you really know your snouts, aha.

 

[QueenOfCoffee]

@Daz
Thanks for the advice!
With my lines in the digital art, that's something I recently stopped doing. Well, I've been working on using only my phone to draw, and I found that I really like the sketch look when it's done digitally, especially if I use the watercolor brush to color it in (and the sketch-y lines kinda help it to look like fur). But since I've been doing that, when I do draw stuff with clean lines, it just looks kinda flat to me. Something I need to work on. Probably what I really should use references for, lol.

This is what I mean about the lines in my digital art, by the way:

Spoiler

And speaking of them, I do occasionally use references, like for when I was drawing Lukas Dean, but that's very rare. Honestly, my reluctance to use references is probably because it's the only piece of advice my older sister (who I think is a brilliant artist) will give me. And! I can honestly say, I did not use a reference for the demon cat's snout. A while ago, I saw something about using 3D shapes when drawing, like cubiod-like shapes for snouts and things like that, which was really helpful.

 

[Nathchi]

A general advice I can give when it comes to both the traditional art and digital art is to train with contour lightning.
With what you have said yourself that "when I do draw stuff with clean lines, it just looks kinda flat to me" different thickness of lines can make a huge difference when it comes to make a sketch/painting feel more alive.

Solarski, Chris. (2012[2012]). Drawing basics and video game art: classic to cutting-edge art techniques for winning video game design. First edition. New York: Watson-Guptill. ISBN: 9780823098477. Is a good book that takes up different techniques for drawing. You can also check out other art/drawing books for advice. But here is a page (p. 47) from Chris Solarski that describes in a short way about contour lightning.

Contour Lightning

If you have an idea where the shadow and light will be on the drawing, it will be easier to define where the lines should be thicker or thinner.
I hope this helps and that you continue to evolve!

Edit: What's more is if you want a more cartoon look to your drawings, the outer lines can be thicker of the character/object and the details inside can be thinner.