A promising start. Keep practicing and you'll skyrocket. I've tried to draw at least one thing everyday over the last month (I started May 29), and I've noticed a huge improvement in my work.
Two things about the piece:
1. Feet: Whenever I draw feet, I round it out to sort of a flipper shape, depending on the type of foot (shoe, spandex, etc.).
2. You *can* draw out an electrical effect. For example, try drawing a rough circle, and arc out electrical bolts from that circle. Viola: Electric orbs. You can come up with different (and better!) techniques, but I'm just giving you something to start with. 
Just keep drawing and drawing. Study other people's art, and how they use their technique (shading on certain parts, etc.). Knowing anatomy helps a ton too. Just keep going and develop your own style. The more dedicated you are to improving, the faster you'll improve, IMO.
It's good that can critique yourself. Many times when you want someone's feedback, they will only try to say positive things about your work. Sometimes (most of the time, actually) it will be up to you alone to stand back and judge the value of what you have made. I've been in enough art classes to know that people are uncomfortable with giving "negative" opinions about other people's work, especially to their face.
Sorry, went on a bit of a rant there....
This shows promise, and you seem to have the right kind of attitude for self-improvement. Just make sure to draw something every day. Like you, I took a about a month off from drawing and now I'm regretting it.
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. I've been in enough art classes to know that people are uncomfortable with giving "negative" opinions about other people's work, especially to their face.
Sorry, went on a bit of a rant there....
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In the classes I teach, I require one person to same something positive and one person to say something constructively critical about each piece that's critiqued. It's not about the person, it's about finding the flaws in the work so they may be fixed. Critiquing is an act of LOVE!!!
Anyway, I like that the OP put up his self critique, so we don't have to tell him things he already knows. I would disagree with him about the pose. I like the pose. I just don't think all the forms are fitting together properly to sell it.
And don't go all Liefeld on us! You HAVE to draw the feet! If there aren't any crappy feet for us to look at, how are we supposed to tell you how to make them better?
Feet are easy. They're just wedges. thick in the back, trailing thinner and widening out as they get to the toes. Start with a wedge and work from there.
Thanks guys!
One of my biggest problems is consistency. Not so much in what I draw, but when I draw. Sometimes I'll get in the mood and draw a lot, other times I'll go half a year without touching a pencil (except for getting the check book balanced *hiss* ). I just seem to have problems getting in the mood to draw quite often. Perhaps I just have to get used to drawing when uninspired just to draw something. Thats probably just a personal quirk I'll have to figure out on my own.
Hmm, feet as a flipper shape? I'll have to try drawing a foot with that in mind. I've always liked how others draw feet, but couldn't put my finger as to how they achieved their effect. I also look at my own feet, and they look more like tire-blocks (the things you put by tires to stop them from moving) than flippers. I have to keep in mind that somethings (comics especially) are very exaggerated, and may not completely match reality.
Braddock, I know exactly what you mean about feedback. I'm one of those people who doesn't like giving 'negative' critiques (maybe I should say constructive, they're only negative if you word them that way), but I've been trying to speak my mind more. I must say, it feels awkward when I look at some of the highly skilled here and think I see something amiss. After 10 posts of "thats awesome!", I feel like an jerk pointing out what I percieve as a flaw. Especially since I can't demonstrate mastery over the subject. Okay, that and often times they don't specifically ask for critiques...
Oh and PMD, since you mentioned it, what do you see wrong with "all the forms fitting together?" I can see that it's not quite right, but I can't put together a laundry list of reasons as to why.
Oh yeah and... (sheepishly)... who is Liefeild? 
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who is Liefeild?
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Better you not know.
Hey I know that guy! 
Serrate I think your on the right track to understanding and getting better. Like all the artists said above me. I know that with everything else in life if you can see whats wrong then theres a chance too learn how to fix it.
way to go on this one though I like it. But I'm biased on the character!
Is this Liefeild?
Heheh, well I'm glad you like it TA. It was a fairly experimental piece on my part, but I'm glad it came out favorably.
I was wondering how long it'd take you to say something. 10.5 hours, you're slacking!
thats Rob Liefield..
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After 10 posts of "thats awesome!", I feel like an jerk pointing out what I percieve as a flaw.
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I have a hard time with that too. Sometimes I feel like a wet blanket for being the first person to say something critical about a piece by, say, Darkjedi after literally pages and pages of compliments. But, I know that Doug wants to hear critique and that it can help him, so I just do it.
Regarding your drawing, I'm going to explain myself a little better in a post to follow. Just woke up. Brain not work so good.
I almost went ahead and started another thread, but I decided against it. In the end (if I do one piece a day) I'd just flood the forums and get people ticked off, heheh. 
Without further delay, let me unravel my second piece, Blight Scarab (dark / rad corruptor).
Reference
Drawing
Personal Critique
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Likes
<ul type="square">[*]In this one, I like th pose, and I think it came out very well. It's a bit different than I originally intended (both feet planted far apart), but the drawing just "came alive" so to speak.[*]The legs (and feet!) seemed to come out pretty good in overall proportions and positioning. The left (our right) leg should have more insecty, but I didn't have any reference pics and was getting lazy. [*]The two effects (radiation / dark) seemed to come out pretty well too.[/list]
Dislikes
<ul type="square">[*]The face came out a bit wonky. In the past, I've drawn a *lot* of anime eyes, but I'm trying to get away from it now. The face also isn't too feminine (sp?), thou it isn't supposed to be overly. Definately need to pay more attention to how to draw faces. Oh, and mouths... I definately don't draw 'complex' mouths well, so I have been avoiding 'em.[*]Same as above with hair. I have problems making it "flow" right. For me it always looks clumpy.[/list]
I feel a little cheesy reusing the right leg position as on TA's piece, but since everything else is different, it's not that big of a concern to me. I'm really happy with how this came out. Especially since I got the idea when I was laying in bed trying to get some sleep, and remembered it this morning! 
I'm curious to hear what you guys think though.
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Critiquing is an act of LOVE!!!
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As both writer and artist - I think you! >.< Yes! This is truth to the millionth degree. I try very hard to give constructive criticism where possible for exactly this reason - its great to get "This rocks!" from 10 people; but you can't improve unless you get the one guy who says "Hmm... nose is a little off."
The problem of course is 2 fold - the critiquer is afraid they'll be seen as simply badmouthing the artist/piece (And of course, you have people who DO just badmouth the artist and piece; and simply claim to be critiquing - which they aren't)
The other problem is that the critiquee can feel beat up after a critique - simply because after you put so much of yourself into your work, finding out you 'only gave them four fingers' is not only humbling and embarassing - but can feel downright crappy.
The trick is finding language that is helpful, and pointing out both the good and bad in the piece >.<
Sorry >_< I had to expound on the idea that critiquing is very important and a positive thing - in my artwork and writing both I encounter a great many people who say "It's good!" Which is great <;.;> But it makes me wonder if A) they really cared enough to look; and B) if they did, are they giving me an honest assessment?
Of course I'm paranoid in that respect! <,<
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Having said that <,< I'd be hypocritical not to give a bit of a critique here <@o@> Here's what I'm personally seeing right and wrong with the piece.
Right - I think your pose is very good, especially the way he looks like he's descending to the ground, looking up at the sky and thinking 'why?'
Thats what I got from it anyway >.>
Also, I love your wiring. You captured the feel of the 'tech wired' costume bits *perfectly* imho >.< So great job there. The visor and breastplate are both excellent as well!
Could improve -
His knee bends at a...disturbing... angle. >.< as does the hip on that leg - just need practice drawing legs really is what I'd say. That comes in time though <@_@>m
Too thin; overall TA looks just a bit too thin; like he's been fasting too long or something <~.~>; Its not so much his stomach, as his hips. I think they could stand to be just a tad wider or something >< I'm not sure what to describe it as <;.;> I'm only so good myself lol <~,~>
Thats the way I see it anyways <@o@> nice job overall, we want more! <,< <holds up a sign /em demandart> <'x'>
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Right - I think your pose is very good, especially the way he looks like he's descending to the ground, looking up at the sky and thinking 'why?'
Thats what I got from it anyway >.>
Also, I love your wiring. You captured the feel of the 'tech wired' costume bits *perfectly* imho >.< So great job there. The visor and breastplate are both excellent as well!
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Shucks! My biggest beef with the tech wired part is well... I didn't get the 'connection' to look right. Seems like a lot of wires yeah, but not enough substance to hold them together I think. (I knew it was going to happen when I started drawing them too. D'oh!)
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Could improve -
His knee bends at a...disturbing... angle. >.< as does the hip on that leg - just need practice drawing legs really is what I'd say. That comes in time though <@_@>m
Too thin; overall TA looks just a bit too thin; like he's been fasting too long or something <~.~>; Its not so much his stomach, as his hips. I think they could stand to be just a tad wider or something >< I'm not sure what to describe it as <;.;> I'm only so good myself lol <~,~>
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Hmm, you are right, that left knee is a little... ow... I guess I wasn't 'seeing' that part in my head clear enough when I went to translate it to paper (which is never even close to a flawless process!).
He is a bit thin in parts, I agree. I'm not used to doing super human males, soo I don't exagerate some aspects enough to make them seem really imposing. Soo many things to practice...
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Thats the way I see it anyways <@o@> nice job overall, we want more! <,< <holds up a sign /em demandart> <'x'>
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Check one post above yours.
Damn you're fast <O_O>;
And wow... that new one is *leaps and bounds* better than the previous <O.O> Great work there!
First of all; you got *alot* of things right in this picture, your proportions are quite good and the posing is again, excellent. Very villainous looking <,< (And I love the spine extending from the edge of the right leg!)
The robotic arms are also tres manifique! <,<
My biggest problem with this one is the face... its a tad too pointy <@.@> at least imho; like she doesn't have cheeks. Course then again, that may be what you were going for! So take this particular criticism with a grain of salt.
The other problem, and its one that I too have... >< the 'energy' build up on the hand thats in the background... it looks odd somehow, not three dimensional you know? I can't really explain how to fix it though; cause I'm not good enough to do that kind of thing yet either ><
Anyways though; all in all alot of progress <@_O> jumpin jeebus!
Glad I checked this thread again <^.^>
Thanks Squirrel! I'm really happy with the way that one came out. I know the face is a bit weird. I don't think the chin was originally as pointy as you see there. I think I erased around there and didn't draw it back in right, come to think of it. As for the particle effect being 2Dish, it doesn't surprise me. It's one of my first attempts at (in recent history at any rate). I was going for the "radiation" look, with all its green and red bubbles. Looks like I failed there.
Was kinda hoping for more opinions critiques on that piece, but I'm guessing people got scared off by the longerish posts here. That's what I'm telling myself anyways.
So what better way to continue this post then adding to the problem? Heres Blight Scarab's partner in crime (hah, I crack myself up) played by a friend of mine, The Pathmaker (Stone / Elec Brute).
Reference
Drawing
Personal Critique
--------------------
Likes
<ul type="square">[*]I like how the armor came out in this piece, especially in the upper thighs and shoulder pads. They just look sweet. (Could use some shading, but more on that later.)[*]The face. yes, I said it, I drew a face that I'm damned proud of. It's one of the first faces I've ever drawn that has an older look to it. Sunken in cheeks, thin/wirey hair, and I managed to get the head tilted back a bit. I'm sure there are flaws in it, but it's still awesome for me. [*]While not overly dynamic, I think Pathmaker looks really sturdy in the piece. Hes pretty thick in all areas (no skinny hips here), feet planted far apart. It's not perfect, but still looks pretty good I think.[/list]
Dislikes
<ul type="square">[*]Number one beef I have with the piece is when I decided "Hey, it'd look cool if I colored everything in by pencil!" Man, what a mistake. I'm no Gill Bates with pencils, should've just left the boots white and shaded them. (I didn't shade anything else because I was planning on coloring them black with, but after seeing how bad the boots looked, I didn't continue.) Bleh![*]His left hand is a bit out of whack. I swear, I redrew it about 10 times, and that's the closest to accurate I could get it. Still looks like crap though.[*]After I finished drawing I realized his arms were a smidge too long. Need to pay more attention late at night.[*]Did I mention I hate the shading? [/list]
I was originally going to play Blight Scarab and try to hit 14 for Super Speed, but I got fixated with the idea of drawing my friend, and so here it is an hour and a half after I started. I think it's a good piece overall, but could have been better.
Man, I forgot how draining, but rewarding drawing can be! I don't know if I can keep up this pace once work resumes on Wednesday (taking tomorrow off), but we shall see. Comments welcome on any of my 3 pieces!
Coloring in pencil works:
From what I've done, you do *nothing* with all the white and shiny parts (leave them paper-white), shade the dark colors very darkly, and the lighter colors with a lighter shade. Basically you're taking the picture, and turning it into black and white with your pencil.
Also, you're hammering closer to the feet, but you're not *quite* at the right shape yet (it needs to be a little lengthier in this example). Keep experimenting. Try doing a whole page of feet in different positions/angles for practice.
You're getting better though. The key thing is to find your mistakes and correct them in the future.
Well, I hadn't drawn anything in a few days, so I decided to break the rut and take a stab at drawing Atomic Knight. I had a few difficulties doing the piece. First, I chose a 'pose' (if you want to call it that) which always has given me trouble in the past. If I avoid it, I'll never get better, right? Second, I couldn't find many (read, none) zoomed in, detailed shots to use fo reference. They're very zoomed out, so I couldn't get much (any) detail in, despite having plenty of space for it. Lastly, I tried a different approach at shading than in the past. I took my fingers and purposefully smudged the lead.
For your pleasure, I managed to scan it in three places during it's creation, so you could have a peak at the process.
Basic skeleton
Fleshed out
Finished piece
Instead of boring you guys with my likes/dislikes, I'll just open the floor to you guys directly. I'm theorizing my old post style was intimidating others from posting, so we'll try it this way.
i'm very flattered! Thx!
(gonna cross post this on both your post and my thread as well)
Excellent job on the detail. You did exactlly the right thing, in my opinion. You layered the armor pieces on the body. Many artists just "paint" lines over a body, but cloth and muscles are layers upon layers. Bravo! I'm a sucker for detail, though. If I draw an apple, it won't be an apple to me untill I can capture that slight bruse on the bottom. But thats all just a style choice.
And yes, Atomic Knight is a very hard figure to draw. lol
Now the critique: Don't discount the pose. That can convey a lot of personality to a drawing. Would you rather see batman eating a dounut, or crouching in the shadows ready to pounce?
Also, don't be afriad to exagerate! A common animation mistake is that when you draw something, the artists mind will subconsiously correct it even more. What you learn in animation is over exagerate the pose and look, when the mind tries to correct it as you draw, it makes the drawing look dynamic and you wont lose the style. Make Ak's head more angled than you think is right. Angle the wings on the helmet back more. Enlargen the muscles beyond what you think is "fine". Don't be afriad to go far beyond what you see.
I'll later post some examples on my thread. But I have to say I really like your style and pose choices, especially the latest ones.
Well, I'm glad you like it AK! It didn't come out quite as I was planning though, gotta work on the brain to paper translation a bit more. 
I've read a couple books several years back about how everything has shape, volume, etc. I try to keep that in mind when I draw things in an attempt to avoid the "flat" look. Of course, when I try to envision all the sub-objects in my head, it gets completely overwhelmed and I make mistakes. (My brain isn't a graphics card able of handling 10 billion polygons. )
Oh, you have no arguement from me about poses. I know how important they are to capture the personality of characters. Again, just because I have a good idea for a pose doesn't mean I'm able to draw it properly.
Exaggerating, so true! I often look at other peoples' art and see how much more 'style' they have than mine. While exagerration is great for adding flavor, I'm scared of finding myself adding a bit too much flavor, and not enough content. Get the basics down, then start exagerrating has been my philosophy so far.
Thanks a lot for the compliments AK, they mean a lot. /bow
I'll be sure to keep an eye on your thread for your examples (and awesome sketchs too)
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Would you rather see batman eating a dounut, or crouching in the shadows ready to pounce?
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I'd rather see Batman eating a donut.
I had a little bit of a drawing bug tonight, so I decided to get it out of my system. Once again, pose in brain turned out entirely different... for the better! I don't know what it is, but by the time I get the head's shape and angle sorted out, I see a different pose to fit it.
Before commenting how sloppy / dirty it is, I just realized I'm fresh out of eraser! I have one itty bitty eraser piece, but it's smaller than a pea (which split in two while working on this btw).
Without any further delay, I present my representation of Dragonberry. (I'm a sucker for the costume, and so I had to draw it.)
I'm pretty proud of how this came out. Sure, there are things that look a bit out of whack (waist seems a bit thin to me, left hand could be repositioned, better job shading, details such as scales, tail seems flat), but... I still like it despite the short comings. I'd say this took me about an hour from start to finish. I'm such a slow poke.
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Would you rather see batman eating a dounut, or crouching in the shadows ready to pounce?
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I'd rather see Batman eating a donut.
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okay.
I laughed my head off when I saw that, AK. You only further prove that I would like to see Batman eating a donut more than him being in the shadows.
Sorry to derail your thread, Sarrate. You are improving, though!
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I had a little bit of a drawing bug tonight, so I decided to get it out of my system. Once again, pose in brain turned out entirely different... for the better! I don't know what it is, but by the time I get the head's shape and angle sorted out, I see a different pose to fit it.
Before commenting how sloppy / dirty it is, I just realized I'm fresh out of eraser! I have one itty bitty eraser piece, but it's smaller than a pea (which split in two while working on this btw).
Without any further delay, I present my representation of Dragonberry. (I'm a sucker for the costume, and so I had to draw it.)
I'm pretty proud of how this came out. Sure, there are things that look a bit out of whack (waist seems a bit thin to me, left hand could be repositioned, better job shading, details such as scales, tail seems flat), but... I still like it despite the short comings. I'd say this took me about an hour from start to finish. I'm such a slow poke.
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Very nice indeed! The pose suggests a personality, so thats brilliant!
And what I use instead of an eraser (especially if it was a messy job), is Paintshop Pro and I airbrush the fingerprints and smudges out. Also, you could place a piece of paper between your drawing and your hand, or use white out if it's going to be photcopied (white out will show on a regular scan if you're not carefull).
And I apologize for my tangent, but the image was too good to pass up trying... I'll give one to you. Can you do Batman cleaning a catbox?
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Would you rather see batman eating a dounut, or crouching in the shadows ready to pounce?
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I'd rather see Batman eating a donut.
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okay.
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Awesome.
=^_^=
Well, it's been a pretty boring day so far, not much progress in my CoX characters (racked up 430k debt, d'oh), I haven't felt like WoW recently, so after doing a whole lot of nothing, I decided to do something.
[*]Left (our right) forearm is messed up.[*]Right (our left) forearm looks like a turtle shell. 
[*]I can't color / ink to save my life, so the whole "theme" of him using an electrical nova type attack is completely lost.[*]Proportions, proportions, proportions! I always draw th!e head too big...[*]Pose didn't come out dramatically enough.[/list]
That something was actually breaking out my pencil and eraser after a month of drawing nothing. I also decided to be a little bit different from my usual (female characters I've made), and draw a male character. I don't have many myself, but I eventually selected (unknown to them!) guinea pig.
Here is the result
Personal Critique
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Likes
<ul type="square">[*]The shoulder pads, I don't know quite why, but I like how they came out.[*]I think the torso came out pretty well, the wires near the belt too.[*]Foreshadowing on the right (our left) leg works well I think. I (in general) stink at foreshadowing.[*]I erased the right (our left) hand many, many times. I couldn't get it right without looking completely wrong. After spending some time staring at my hand, I think I drew it decently.[/list]
Dislikes
<ul type="square">[*] The left (our right) leg didn't come out right. For one thing, it's tilted towards the viewer instead of away (you can tell by not seeing the inside of the armor facing the groin). I was trying to avoid making the piece to symetrical (bad habit of mine) so I drew this leg's position differently. Don't think it worked too well.[*]I hate drawing feet.
Despite the overly long 'dislike' list, I'm pretty pleased with the piece. Not only because I don't draw nearly enough to compare with people like Gill Bates (whose TA picture I used for many details), but I'm also being realistic. Besides, I'll never improve if I don't see flaws in my own piece. Half of drawing is just being able to "see" anyways.
Welll enough rambling from me, hope you enjoy the piece!