drawing improvements?

[Karen]

2b - the B indicates softness of the "lead" - so a 4B is even softer than a 2 B
2H - the H indicates the hardness of the "lead" - so a 4H is harder than a 2H
Hard pencils generally draw lighter, but hold a fine point longer. Soft pencils draw darker, but lose a point very quickly, and the lines get wider.
HB is in the middle between hard and soft.
Technical drawings - like an architectural drawing, you need a fine point, so use H pencils.

Drawings - top one is pretty good - the best of them, I think you need to move the right nostril up and in a little. Oh, and darker in the nostrils - it's dark in there! The next two, the horses' necks are too narrow, wouldn't hold up that heavy head well. The neck on the last one is much more appropriate.

[buttercup132]

I was going to say the same as Karen about the necks, they look too skinny. And the first one looks like the mouth needs to be fixed like the bottom part. Other then that they look good.

[rutylr]

Nice but you need to start out drawing lighter,then add the darker pencil to fill in your out line.Have you ever used circles to draw,It helps ...
Here is what I mean.
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/horses/horses.html

[JuniorxMyxLove]

about the necks - I did all of these drawings from pictures...and that's what the necks looked like. It was like the neck from a front view..and the head turned sideways? idk..but that's what the picture looked like. If I can, I'll put a few of the original pictures up to show you what I mean.

and yes, I have tried the circles...and it did not work lol. yeah i don't use any circles or anything wierd when I draw the heads lol :]

[Miss Z]

They're good, you are improving! If I must critique, then this is what I noticed:

On the first sketch, the outline of the eye is way too dark. Yes, you want the eyes to stand out, but they also have to look part of the face, so shade the eyes more and also shade the area around the eyes. With horses' heads, I often find it useful to try and imagine their skull. If you get a good picture of a horse skull from google, then you'll see all the little convex and concave parts, and these will help you with your shading. Things that are closer to you are darker, things that are further away are lighter.

I I I I I I I I I


Here, for example, stare at the above for a few minutes. You should start to see a sort of passageway, as if you are standing near the dark Is and the furthest point is the lightest I.

I would also say that you are being too neat with your original outlines! I know that's a weird thing to say, but your outline shouldn't be too detailed. Like rutylr mentioned, drawing with circles can help (which is what I do), or simply making a rough outline lightly using your lightest pencil. Your eraser is there for a reason, don't be afraid of using it when your picture starts to take shape to tidy up any loose scribbles.

Your eraser is also good for highlighting light areas, as remember, unless you are in pitch black (which wouldn't make much of a crawing, lol), light has to be falling somewhere. A stroke of the tip of your eraser can bring out this light and make the picture more 3D.

Hope that helps! I have a bunch of sketches I'd like to show you as examples on how to improve yours, but unfortunately SOMETHING *kicks scanner* is stopping me doing so.

[wombat2u2004]

Wow! ...Your top drawing is truly excellent! You are obviously a sensitive individual with a love of animals. The head & neck proportions look good. Because you haven't finished the "shading" on the L of the neck it appears to be thin. Is that the case?
My advice is to forget about using any HARD pencils. They can often tear into the paper. Next, don't always START your drawing from an outline & work inwards. Variation in line quality will always make a drawing more interesting. So, in other words, use thick, thin, heavy, light, sweeping, straight lines etc to give interest.
One observation about the nostrils - they are in the correct position IF you redraw the angle of perspective of the horse's jaw line so that its bottom R side is lower than you have drawn it. A suggestion for drawing eyes - drawing a dark even outline around any object or feature will flatten it so it loses its volume. This has happened here.
"SMUDGING" as a shading technique is not the best option to take to add volume & a 3 dimensional quality.
I will give WOM some useful websites for you that will clearly illustrate what techniques are possible.
DON'T be AFRAID of the paper or of making a mistake. Keep on making art because you have a natural talent!
Oh, I forgot to say that sometimes it is NOT what you put ON the paper that makes a drawing superb, but what you LEAVE OUT!
Regards, Karen

[JuniorxMyxLove]

thanks :]]

and what IS the best option? you said smudging wasn't the best...yet if i try anything else, it looks like a 5 year old got at my drawing