Realisim

[Sjjx]

Okey dokey. I've been trying for some time to draw more realisticly, I've got all the stuff down pretty well, cept everything comes out too cartoony. Anybody help me on how to make my stuff look more real.
thanks

[Drew Davis]

Can you post some samples?

The word "cartoony" makes me think you're still doing a lot of outline drawing. Try concentrating on value, rather than line. Use a big stick of charcoal, or the side of a pencil (preferable woodless), so you can't draw very neat lines, and just focus on big simple areas of light and dark. Rather than draw lines around things to mark them, just color in the spots where they're dark, and cast shadows.

[Julia]

Drew Davis is absolutely right. Try to work more on the value, cause I believe this is the most important thing not only in drawing, but in other forms of art. The cartoon look stems, may be, form the fact, that the shapes of the forms you draw are too unstable. It's hard to explain, but, for example, the round apple is not that round as it seems and it's got its angles. The same is with all fruit and sometimes vases and bottles. Try to feel the form and shape of objects. I'm happy that
you like realism. I stick to this manner too. I'm sure an artist should first go through realistic drawing and then have its choice and plunge into abstract or surrealistic art.