Copying other illustrations/pictures?

Question

I am fairly good with drawing/sketching from my mind- not copying any other pictures,

but I'd like to finally start sketching from copying photographs.

Any tips or suggestions?

Answer 1

If you are copying a photograph you didn't take you really aren't allowed to sell it but it's a very good start to have a visual reference. I encourage you to take your own photos as you will start to appreciate the final product more.

I know in college when we started with a photo we would trace the general outline first and then fill in (and I mean general...very rough). That way we had perspective right. The more we did that, the more we got used to different form and then didn't need to trace anymore.

Answer 2

It's good to always change the perspective and how you view your drawing and compare to the photograph. By changing the perspective, it'll be easy to catch errors you may miss otherwise. For example, every once in a while, flip your drawing and photo upside down or hold it against a mirror. It'll give you a new perspective so you can find mistakes or anything that may seem awkward.

If you can, photocopy your photograph so you can lightly draw a scaled grid on both the photocopy and your paper. This will be guidelines to help with proportion.