She is so adorable in your style! She should be french (I'm not racist!) and always wear super feminine floaty floral-print clothes! I love this!

I dunno about floral-printed stuff. I don't even like that. x3
I'll have to play with her more often, though. She's really cute and really fun to draw~ <3

I agree, this style suits you very well.

OH, something new and something quite nice. ^^

hehe

So its just tracing over the whole thing over and over again? Or are these just different snapshots of localized line edits?

Well, obviously, for the first one, I had to trace her sketch. Mostly to see what I had to play with. Then the second one, I quickly drew the pose from scratch next to it, making little edits, like turning her to the side a little, adjusting the angle of her hips, shoulders, legs, arms, and head; but mostly trying to re-shape the pose without really changing it.. Once that was done, I copy/pasted it next to that, and started to refine it more. Adjusting things like the lightweight in certain areas, fixing little things like her arms, legs, and the curve of her back. Then, once I got it to a point where I liked it, but still thought it could use more tweaking, I copy/pasted it over once more and so I could clean it up even more. Making the lines more shapely and just adding the little details you can see between the two. So, when I was done with that, I felt like coloring and making it look pretty, plus I could use the practice, So I moved it over once more and just colored it.

The point for copying and pasting it next to the previous is, for me, a way to have a back up in-case I end up not liking what I did to it. It allows me to go back and do it again, if I need to. Another point is so I can see the progress of it coming along and it helps me stay focused and interested in what I'm doing. That also sorta doubles as 'flipping the canvas' effect, for me, (If you've heard of that) so I can see it 'in a different light.' I also helps, like, if I want to try something, I can always look back at the previous versions, since they're right there, to see that 'hey, this will work' or 'no, it might not' Stuff like that..

Could I have done it all in one sketch? Of course. I've done it many times before. But, doing it like this makes it easier for me, and also much more enjoyable.

Sorry, this is so long-winded. :p

Ah! I ask because I follow a similar process with the 'rough' sketch, then a new 'refined' sketch, which I just just fix up using the eraser. Sometimes though I will do multiple complete line traces just to try and keep the lines consistent in form; sometimes the 'localized' edits stick out in the line art, like in slight bulges or unusual smoothness. Typically, I only use copy paste when I'm working on sensitive (i.e. things i suck at) parts of the drawing. Thank god for layers!
I was curious because I've been trying to teach myself how to draw, and while I've picked on quite a few useful techniques and concepts, I've found that there a lot of gaps (sometimes subtle ones) in my knowledge and skillset.

Funny you should say that, because pretty much everything except the first sketch and the finishing coloring was all done on the same layer :p
Basically, though, I treat digital sketching just as I would for traditional sketching. I try to use as little separate layers as possible
Also, what you're seeing above was done at 100% zoom. I didn't resize it, which I probably should have, after the first sketch. I have a problem with drawing things too small, unfortunately. .-.


One thing I would really recommend is that you get yourself a sketchbook and draw at least one something a day in it. It'll really help with the teaching yourself the aspect of how to be comfortable and loose and flowing with your sketches, and with time, it will make you better at drawing and a better artist. Plus, I really do think it's necessary to know how to draw on paper before you should even try doing it digitally.

Mmm, I haven't done anything traditional in a while, so it is a bit spoiling to use layers. Thanks for the advice!

Wow this seems like a great technique to really improve the dynamics & posing in sketching, I might have to try it next time!

Also I love seeing your progression-works, it gives me an idea of how you work & your technique. <3 lovely job portraying mood into the pose, too!

I do this sort of thing all the time in my sketchbook. If I have the space to try to re-work a pose that I think could be better, I usually try to draw it three or four times next to it, at the same size, or till I like it more then the first.
The nice thing about that, is that it's done traditionally so you can't copy/past anything, so it gives you even more practice, drawing the pose again and again. <3

Keep up the great work, Ami. <3

She should roll that snow ball down a steep hill

Maybe she will. o.o