You seem to have the usual problems, anatomy, perspective, flat faces and bodies.....I'd advise this http://icrit.org/resources.html

Also, bodies are basically three dimensional shapes put together, so you should structure them as such. For example!

>>33751
Another example
So there's that, and the obligatory "draw from life/proper reference"

Regarding the tablet thing, I think somebody here had a link to some helpful insight on that......

Your poses and anatomy need some work, you've got some seriously stiff poses going on.

It looks to me that you're trying to draw details without plotting out the rest of the figure first. You've gotta lay the foundation before you start putting up wallpaper.

Remember to start with a loose line of action and gradually build up from there. Start loose and tighten things up as you go and remember to think of the body as a collection of three-dimensional shapes.

>>33763
>>33751
Thanks for the help so far.

So, going and trying to draw the figure posed with joints at first is getting ahead of myself?

>>33765

Still make sure the joints are part of the process, but don't start there. Start simple and loose and tighten things up as you go.

>>33751
This man speaks the truth. Your drawings are flatter than flatland, you draw symbols instead of 3-dimensional objects, etc. etc. You are a complete beginner, frankly.

Here's a book I wish I had bought 3 years ago when I got into drawing. I scanned it a few months back.

http://www.mediafire.com/?joomyzebdj4

It teaches you to draw like this:
First draw the gesture, then form and connections (basic shapes in perspective), then anatomy (muscles and landmarks) then rendering and shading.

Skipping any part will fuck up a drawing unless you know exactly what you're doing.


Also, these books might help you in the future
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/2182308/

Start with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and then get into Loomis. Don't be impatient or you won't learn anything. Take it easy and at a fairly slow pace, and draw every day. Good luck.

Here's something I did before the advice dump. Kind of tried to put some of the first book Lovecastle left me to work, but I did most of the drawing before then with references.

It's also worth noting that until you get the concept of three-dimensional objects and how to foreshorten them, drawing realistic poses is pretty close to impossible.
To warm-up before drawing something properly, I suggest you loosen up with some geometric shapes. Start with basic ones, move on to more complicated ones, put them at different angles and work out how to foreshorten them. Don't start drawing something that you're going to put a lot of effort into until you know what angle you want. And, preferably, you've done a couple of different loose pics or gesture figures in miniature to work out the angles.

Any tips for getting into a mood for loosening up? I keep trying to measure things and erasing, and making sketchy lines instead of solid ones.

Used a reference with this, and the Michael Hampton book.

...and something I tried to do freehanded. I'm feeling like I should try these drawings freehanded, but it never feels quite right. Should I just go ahead and practice with refs, or just wing it and see how it works out?

>>34346
You might as well make it a habit, so yeah, definitely use references. Drawing from memory doesn't really work