Well, I picked up a pencil this weekend and worked on a couple of sketches - one of the Condor and one of the Eagle. The good news is that my people look like people. The bad news is that they don't resemble the people that I'm trying to draw. Help!

I'm struggling with that too. I think it just all boils down to practice and concentrating on trying to draw what we see.

I'm seriously considering the old teaching tool of trying to copy the picture upside down. I think I must have some preconceived notions of what the team looks like.

I think it just takes practice...there's a meme on Deviant Art where artists compare their early stuff to their newer stuff (they try the original picture again)...and the difference is amazing! The professionals make it look so easy, don't they? Please keep drawing...I love seeing what you come up with! If you're drawing Ken and Joe...have you looked at the tutorial that Wendy made? Notes on Eyes Notes on Drawing Ken and Joe

Thanks Springie!

Thanks, Springie! Those are helpful notes.

Well, I tried drawing Nambu upside down - interesting result. The facial features were good, but the proportion of the head was all wrong. Same problem with G-2, only there the face was too short instead of too long. Argh!

Here's a thought: you could draw a grid on a picture of the subject you want to draw. (Use 1 cm-sized squares, for instance.) Then get a piece of graph paper with a larger square (say, 2 cm). Draw a larger-scale picture using the grid for accuracy. Do this a few times, going from one size to another, until you have a better feel for a character's proportions. (I did that a couple of times in school when the art instructor wouldn't accept my abstract stick figures!)

Are you a stick figure drawer as well EW? There are several of us here, welcome to the crowd.

Originally posted by clouddancer Are you a stick figure drawer as well EW? There are several of us here, welcome to the crowd.

Yup. I first admitted it in "A Fic From a Fic For a Pic" (try saying that three times fast!) over at the Gatchfanfic site....so different from my mom, who'd had paintings hang in New York galleries back in her day!

Get a picture you like, a set of drawing pencils HB etc get some copy or tracing paper place over picture and outline in a fine pencil. Remove you copy from original, get darker pencil and outline, refering back to the original as you start to fill in your copy. shade , hatch etc depending on how you like to draw, this also enables you to change or add to picture ( eg add extra people, change background) to your liking - colour if you want after you are happy with your pencil drawing This process allows you to get use to how others do their picturs - once you are happy with the basics, and are comfortable doing it free style, you expand to your own style and do your own originals ps also if you stuff up, it's easy to start over again, and re-trace

littlewolf and EW: I'll have to try your suggestions for the Condor. I got a reasonable looking freehand (although I did start it upside down) for Anderson/Nambu, but I am missing - something - with the Condor. It doesn't help that in half of the original stills I see from the show, he doesn't look quite right.

Is there any way you can post your work? Maybe a fresh set of eyes can see what's needed.

EW - I sent you a couple of emails, thanks. I may post my stuff later. I put up a couple of pieces on Gatchfanfic years ago and they still make me cringe. My newer stuff is definitely better, but Jason and Mark still don't look like Jason & Mark.