My first attempts to draw

[on:]

...Futurama characters, that is.

Okay, so this past year I started messing around with drawing.  It began with copying ATHF figures on notebook paper with mechanical pencils -- now I'm trying to draw relatives from photos, and I have a real sketchpad.  Shocking, considering the fact that not only have I ever thought of myself as an artist-type, but I've even managed to screw up stick-figure characters in the past.  (Happy Noodle Boy anyone?)

Anyway.  Of course I progressed to Futurama.  As of right now I've only done three, but I do plan on trying more - lately I seem fixated on photos, but I'd love to work on more characters.







I know these are old, but I haven't done any character-sketches (of any type) since the summer.

They're by hand.  I pause the DVD, and draw it while looking back and forth. 

*hides*

[Reply #1 on:]

Nice work! I especially like the last one, it's really great! I always print off a load of screenshots of the character I want to draw, with loads of them packed onto one sheet of paper, and copy them from there, usually editing them slightly. Keep it up, and you'll keep improving!

[Reply #2 on:]

They are reslly good! especially nibbler!

[Reply #3 on:]

Aww... Bender looks like his younger self. Yuo should draw more.

[Reply #4 on:]

I found a tutorial on The Fry Hole about doing scans, which I keep seeing all over the place.

I got curious and wanted to experiment.  This resulted.



I may or may not do more.  I think I like drawing them more, though.

...Ah, man.  I didn't realize the outer edges were messed up.  Hold on while I fix that.

Mmmm, I don't know if this is any better.  I thought I fixed the edges, but I don't seem to have made any progress.   

[Reply #5 on:]

Wow! That's really good! - what programdid you do it on?

[Reply #6 on:]

Cool pictures!  I liked them all.  You draw Bender very well! 

[Reply #7 on:]

 

Originally posted by PazuzuJr:
Wow! That's really good! - what programdid you do it on?

I downloaded Paint . Net - someone linked to it in Off-Topic.  Works very well; I'm very happy using it.

And thanks, Kurt!


I did another one -


Really not pleased with the lines in this one.  (You can tell these are my first ones - it's harder than it looks to trace with a mouse!)  But the background turned out nice. 

Also, totally irrelevant but it amused me:

I was sick of being so paranoid and thought, "Someone needs to invent something for that... hmmmmm... ParanoiAway!  Yes!  'Rub it on your head and paranoia's dead!'" 

[Reply #8 on:]

Hm.... That should be used on some of those really edgy people...You know, like Xanfor.... I kid I kid. I think the scans are great, compared to mine done on MS Paint. Lines will be wobly when using a mouse, giving it a sorta pixel art effect, and your first Leela looks like she's covered with a thin layer of ice. Interesting effect to say the least. Kepp making them and your hand'll improve.

[Reply #9 on:]

I'm using a touchpad mouse for the most part.  Actually, I hooked up my mini mouse for the Leela trace, because I couldn't get used to tracing and the regular mouse made it semi-comfortable.  Then with the hug, I just used the touchpad - but with a smaller paintbrush tool.

Now, if I'd only get off my butt and do some traditional drawings! Maybe this weekend.

[Reply #10 on:]

Wow!i love the new one! your pics are great!

[Reply #11 on:]

Thanks. 

I did a batch of LJ avatars today.  First time, but not the last!  They're here if anyone's interested.

[Reply #12 on:]

Wow! I love the avatars! V. shippiful!

[Reply #13 on:]

Thanks!   

It would seem today's been productive - in addition to the avatars, I actually did another drawing. Number four!



It's ... bad, though, I know.      Apologies to Groening & Company. 

I based it from this screencap.  I'll probably do more tomorrow.

[Reply #14 on:]

It's not bad it's really good!!!
( and shippy  shippy  shippy)

[Reply #15 on:]

I've apparently forgotten how much I enjoy drawing, even if the proportions turn out wrong and I have to re-draw it again and again.


<3 I love that episode so so much.

[Reply #16 on:]

AWwwwwwwww!!!

Shippy shippy shippiful!!! 

YOUR PICS ARE GREAT!

[Reply #17 on:]

Something a little different...


    Yeah, I messed that one up.  It's the "...That explains Fruity here" scene with Bender A and Bender 1 in The Farnsworth Parabox.


He looks like a zombie!   
Trying to draw this scene.  But too late I realized I had Fry too much in the middle of the page and Leela wouldn't fit, so I'll have to draw her on another page later.

[Reply #18 on:]

so far they'relooking pretty good sedna, keep em coming

[Reply #19 on:]

 

Originally posted by Sedna:

Hehe.Love how Fry looks in that one.Darn dirty hobo!

[Reply #20 on:]

Awww. Cute pics! ^^

[Reply #21 on:]

Awh, these are absolutely AWESOME!!!....

Wow, I'm being positive! (spelling?)  =]

[Reply #22 on:]

Hey, what's so bad about them? I hardly see grayscale images around here. I applaude for you and your good arts.

[Reply #23 on:]

 

Hehe.Love how Fry looks in that one.Darn dirty hobo!

Oh, wonderful.     You realize the pants thing was my attempt at shading, right?  I ran out of ways to "color" grey and ended up using my finger to try to make them look grey, instead of just using the pencil. :\  Ah well.

 

Originally posted by Professor Zoidy:
Hey, what's so bad about them? I hardly see grayscale images around here. I applaude for you and your good arts.

*blush*  Thank you.  I guess it's because I'm so new at this, still.  And it takes me ages to get them right and... yeah.  It's so much easy for me to polish a poem to something I can look at and go "Oh yeah, that's something I'm proud of," than a drawing.  I'm not used to it quite yet.

Speaking of, I haven't done any new drawings lately, but I have been on an avatar-making craze.  Last Saturday I did a handful and just an hour ago I did a bunch.   You can find them here in my icon community.  (That's the direct link to the Futurama entries.)

[Reply #24 on:]

Double-posting, but with new stuff!
(Sorry about how you can see through the pages a little. :\ )


It's a tad hard to see, but I wrote the "It's Saturday night..." quote underneath.  Speaking of underneath, if you're wondering what's behind this picture in my sketchbook - it's that zoomed out scene where they're first moving stars in 3x14.  (Here.)  It really didn't turn out that well, so I didn't scan it.






(I'm ridiculously proud of that one.  I find it hard to start anywhere else but from the head and on; and since I began with Leela, I had to draw Fry's arm and then torso, and then finally his head last.  And it actually turned out!)

And over my spring break, I worked on - and finished - these.  I'm proud of them, too. 

Version 1, without a background.  Or at least with a transparent background:


Version 2, with a background from the Astronomy Picture of the Day site:


(And the screencap.)

[Reply #25 on:]

OMG - the last ones are amazing!!! and the drawings are great too!

[Reply #26 on:]

Warning!The following comment should not make sence.Any attemp of understanding it may cause serious injury.

OLOLOLOLOL BIG HEADS!!!11


Seriously though,nice drawings.

[Reply #27 on:]

Really nice work! The scans are coming along great and the drawings all look awesome! One piece of advice about the drawings: you need to work on the proportions. Other than that, though, they're great!

[Reply #28 on:]

Oooh! Can you send the link of that website you got that background picture for?  The one behind fry/leela dancing?

And nice shippy drawings!  I agree with RobotDeviltRox though; you need to work on proportions.  But that comes with time and practise.  Keep up the shippy work!

[Reply #29 on:]

Re: the proportions
Yeah, I know.  Hey, I'm just amazed I'm still at this.  Fourteen months now! *blinks*  Last January I started doodling and never stopped.  Has it really been that long?  Damn...  And when I previously tried drawing, I was messing up stick figures!      

Fryandlemon, I got the picture from Astronomy Picture of the Day.  I can't believe I didn't credit them. :\  I couldn't find the specific picture at first, but it's from January 6 of this year.  That's one of my favorite sites.

[Reply #30 on:]

So, nothing Futurama related lately, but I just finished this sketch tonight of my niece.


 

I kind of like this; usually they turn out looking strange.  This still looks weirder than I'd have liked but it's better than some of my other attempts to sketch "realistically".  I still suck at facial expressions and whatnot, though.   


Update: Apparently I lied in JustNibblin's thread.  I've been repeatedly delighted/inspired by song lyrics but not getting ideas yet.  This week, I finally got an idea when I read an old episode thread.  Today I prewrote and then outlined a story.  I'm not sure when I'll get around to starting it and/or finishing it, but still.  My fanfictions also had a tendency to be slightly dark, and this is no exception.  Eh, if it turns out too horribly I'll stick to doodling.

[Reply #31 on:]

Very nicely done. I like dark things. Impossible-to-defeat evils, etc. Of course, my Star Wars music might contribute to that feeling... Darn those Sith lords... 

[Reply #32 on:]

Yeah, my version of dark usually goes the "angsty" or "violent" route.  In this case, angsty.  Well, slightly - I've done a lot worse to other characters.   

Anyway.  I guess I'll start posting it and looking for critique.  I'm really nervous; this is only my second Futurama fic and I really want to keep the characters ... um, in character.  I have no guarantees that I'll finish - although I really hope.  And since I completed the outline, there's a better chance I will.

------------
As Yet Untitled Fanfic:
Back When, Back Now

“…elivery to Deimos.  The president of the Bibblyofilles has ordered a shipment from Waldenbarners and she needs them today or she’ll declare war on Earth,” Farnsworth was saying.  “Within the hour, in fact.”

“Books?  And she’s threatening war if they’re late?”  Leela narrowed her eye suspiciously, then glanced at the large cardboard boxes the store had dropped off.  “What kind of books?  Should we be worried?”  Fry was trying to pull at the tapes over a flap to see what was inside; she elbowed him sharply.

“Oh my, no.  You see, the Bibblyofilles are a fairly peaceful society until they have nothing new to read,” Farnsworth shook his head.  “They’re fine to reread what they have for a short time, but eventually they get restless and demanding.  Apparently their library has run completely dry of new material and the whole planet – ”

“—Moon—” Leela corrected.  “Fry, I told you - get away from there.”

“—whatever—is reading anything they can get their eyes on.  But they’re tired of breakfast ingredients and TV Guide listings, so they made another order from Waldenbarners.  And we are infamous for putting packages ahead of crew members – they know it’ll get there.”

Leela sighed.  “All right, fine.  Seems a bit off to me, but all right.  Let’s go get Bender and load up the ship.”

-

The tenth and final box was loaded into the cargo hold, and Fry and Bender started up the stairs.  Leela followed, pulling the keys from her jacket pocket.

Just as she took the first two steps up, a certain feeling of heaviness and dread fell unexpectedly and quite suddenly.  Leela held her breath and turned around – instantly tightening her grip on the railing and feeling her shoulders leap involuntarily.  “God!  Amy!  Don’t do that, please.”

The younger girl stared wide-eyed.  “I’m sorry, Leela.  I thought you heard me.”

“What do you want?” 

Amy smiled.  “Well, I heard you were heading out to Deimos and since you’ll be about two seconds away from Mars and all…”

Leela nodded, understanding.  “You want us to drop you off at your parents’.”

“Yeah…”

“How long?”  She sighed.  “Are you going to need a ride back or will y…?”

Amy shrugged.  “You’re forgetting that new carship I just got for my birthday.  I can drive myself back fine – I just don’t have a ride there.”

“All right, all right.  Come on, let’s go.”

They hurried up the stairs and prepared for lift-off.

----------

I think I put too much thought / time into this first part - it comes across as vital but it's [mostly] exposition. 

More tomorrow.

[Reply #33 on:]

I think it's a good start. Trust me, starts and endings are the most tredious things to do in a story, not that everything else that's in a story isn't, but beginning and ending sequences are key to keeping an audience...and great suspense.

[Reply #34 on:]

So, I sort of abandoned this story for a bit.  It's been so long since I wrote fanfic that I actually got too embarrassed to try to work on it.

Forced myself to dust it off this week, though, and wrote until at least the halfway point.  (!)  So here's a couple new parts:


Flying to Mars – or its satellites – never did take long.  Besides the three-second trips to the moon, it was the shortest trip they took on a regular basis.

Leela stared steadily out the windshield, not saying anything.  Behind her, Fry reclined in the seat he tended to prefer, gazing out at the passing point of view.  Bender was napping in their cabin, of course, while Amy had taken a seat in one of the chairs up front, looking at her curiously.  Any second now, Leela knew, she’d be bringing up that weird reaction.

“So, um, what are we deliverin—”

“Nothing!  All right!” Leela blurted instantly, inadvertantly raising suspicions once again.

Amy blinked.  She waited a moment, then asked again.  “What are we delivering?”

“Books.  The Bibblyofilles society.”  Sighing, Leela relaxed in her seat and wiped the back of her hand over her forehead.  “I thought you already knew?”

“I asked the Professor where you were going and all he said was that you guys were making a delivery to Deimos,”  the younger girl replied.  “What’s wrong with you today?”

Leela ignored the question.  “Did you want dropped off before or after our delivery?”

“Before, I guess—”

The clatter of an empty can sailed across the room before Amy could inquire further.  It hit the edge of the garbage chute and then clamored to the ground.  “Fry, you could have taken that over yourself!”  Leela strode to the wall and threw it in.

He shrugged.  “Yeah, but I didn’t wanna.”

Leela shook her head, muttering as she returned to the pilot’s seat.  Strapping herself in, she prepared to land the ship at Wong Ranch.  Then on to Deimos for a relatively painless delivery (she hoped).

-----

“Keep going, it’s only a few hundred feet more.”

“Easy for you to say!”  Fry snapped.  “You’re not the lazy one here.”

Bender cracked up.  “You said it, not me.”

Fry glared at him.  “Shut up.”

Leela rolled her eye.  “Do you have any idea how weak Deimos’s gravity is?  You shouldn’t be shedding a tear over this.  Watch.”  She grabbed one of the four large boxes on the cart, labeled 50 kilograms and easily dangled it from her fingertips.

“Whoa…”

“She’s a witch!” Bender exclaimed.

“The gravity makes it weigh less than two kilograms,” she explained.  “Keep moving.”

Crossing his arms, Fry kicked at the cart.  “I said I was lazy, not weak.”

“Same thing.  Except, I guess, in this situation,” Leela realized, then brushed it off.  “Nevermind.  Now let’s get this done.  We’ve only got another trip to make if we all carry two boxes.”

“Fine, fine, whatever…”

-----

“…ight, so sign here.  Thank you.”  Leela saluted and turned to follow the crew hurrying back to the ship.

The gravity was so light that it was similar to walking on the moon; Fry and Bender were alternately taking large acrobatic leaps as they raced ahead.  Leela almost smiled.  It did look like fun.  Still, she walked conventionally, enjoying the brief silence.

They’d long since been in the ship by the time she got within ten feet of it.  Observing the houses built into boulders in the distance, Leela stepped under the ship and pushed the cart onto the cargo elevator.  Stepping around it she headed for the stairs.

The second she put one black boot on the step, she immediately stopped.  Hell.  I forgot the clipboard, didn’t I?  And of course it had to be now she realized it, not before trekking all the way back.  Leela shook her head, contemplating whether or not to return befo—

A hand tapped her shoulder as a voice cleared its throat.

She jumped about half the height of the steps and swiveled sharply to strike out.  Not again!  Blindly she kicked at the person standing there before she could recognize it as one of the Bibblyofilles – specifically, one of the leaders.  Leela had kicked him in the head; he pushed himself up warily and glared. 

A moment passed as they stared cautiously.  The Bibblyofille crossed its arms and whistled.  Within two seconds four others showed up.

Leela raised her arms defensively.  Two of them approached and tried to attack; she quickly smacked their heads together and took them down easily enough.  Another came in from the side; she jumped and kicked with both feet, sending this one sailing into a fourth. 

The last one seemed nervous.  He kept looking at the bodies, and had no apparent interest in the attack.  Actually he was backing away.

“What?” Leela asked.

“You forgot that,” he said finally, pointing.

For the first time Leela realized that the first one had been carrying their clipboard; it lay a few feet from the unconscious Bibblyofilles’ forms.  She closed her eye and shook her head, then looked again at the last one still standing.  “Go,” she ordered.

He took off without a word, running away so quickly he all but flew.

Leela boarded the ship in silence, dropping the clipboard with a clatter onto a side table.  As she took her seat she just knew Bender and Fry were staring at her.

She couldn’t take it any longer.  “What?!”  Her fists clenched into knots as she turned to face them.

Fry’s eyes were wide.  “Jeez, Leela,” he said, reeling back a bit.  “What’s with you?”

“We didn’t do it!” Bender yelped.

“Nothing,” Leela insisted. She piloted the ship off the small moon and into space.  There was a short silence.

“But—”

“I said it was nothing.  I don’t want to talk about it.”  Leela’s voice was ominously quiet.  After a second or so, she relented.  “Fine.  All right.  I’m sorry.”  She put the ship on auto and spun her chair around to face them.  “I just…”

Bender crossed his arms.  “I smell a flashback.  Come on, we’re waiting.”

“Are you okay?” Fry asked.

Leela nodded.  “Pretty much.”  She glanced out the window.  “Oh, hang on—”  She quickly keyed in a longer route.  “All right, that’ll give me more time now.”

Fry narrowed his eyes.  “Something happened, didn’t it?”

“I was eleven.  Well, close enough anyway.”  Leela propped her feet up on a console.  “It was in the Orphanarium…”

--

Sorry to leave off with that cliffhanger.  I swear I'll try to get to the lib. to post more!

[Reply #35 on:]

Sedna, I can hardly see any of your pictures! I see two of them, and because they're so good, I'd like to see more... but everyone else can see them, so my computer must be mucking up. I'll try to get those images showing as soon as possible. Great work on the two i've seen.

[Reply #36 on:]

I can't see them.I used to be able to, I think, but I can't any more.

[Reply #37 on:]

Re: pictures
Yeah, I know.  I changed the name of my art folder - and subsequently broke all my links!  :\  Will hop on that now...

Okay, so I only have a handful fixed.
I need to get going though, so:
The ones with broken links need the "\artsy_stuff\" bit changed to "\artsy_crap\".  Just change that part to see the rest.  I'll finish next time I get to the lib., I swear!

[Reply #38 on:]

Very nice, I can see them again. 

[Reply #39 on:]

Okay, so I still haven't finished updating the broken links.  Sorry about that!
But on the other hand I did experiment with scanning the other day.  It's absolute crap, which is why I'm showing a link instead of posting it - but it is only the first draft. My first experiment in piecing together bits of a picture.
Don't click me!!

I'm going to be working on this until it's a hell of a lot better.  (I keep realizing little tweaks I could do, like "Oh!  I should have used a different scene for the arm instead of that one!"  etc...  And the tux, it's "ice"-y because when I pasted in the image it was smaller than I'd realized.)  But you get the idea of the scene I wanna make.  God, I need practice at this!